Canada Shows How U.S. States Can Fix Immigration

Republicans seem ready to play ball on immigration, if only to patch up their image with Hispanics. It would be a pity if this political moment -- which comes only once every few decades -- was squandered on minor and temporary fixes. U.S. immigration policy needs a fundamental rethinking.

This isn’t as daunting as it appears. For inspiration, Americans need look no farther than Canada.

Canada’s provincial-nominee program, while not perfect, avoids the economically meaningless distinctions between skilled and unskilled workers that bedevil the employment-based U.S. immigration laws. It also puts in place incentives to treat foreign workers not as foes but as friends whose labor and skills are vital to the economy.

Full Story :  Canada Shows How U.S. States Can Fix Immigration

Asian Stocks Rise on U.S. Budget Remarks, Japan Stimulus

Asian stocks rose as U.S. lawmakers said they are optimistic a budget agreement can be reached to avoid automatic spending cuts and tax increases and Japan’s main opposition leader called for unlimited monetary policy easing.

Komatsu Ltd. (6301), which gets about a quarter of its sales in the U.S., gained 0.9 percent. Sky Network Television Ltd., New Zealand’s largest pay TV operator, jumped the most in more than six months in Wellington after the company announced payment of a special dividend.

Starpharma Holdings Ltd. (SPL) tumbled 35 percent in Sydney as the biotechnology company said it won’t file a drug application in the U.S. following a disappointing clinical trial for a new treatment.

Full Story :   Asian Stocks Rise on U.S. Budget Remarks, Japan Stimulus

China Mafia-Style Hack Attack Drives California Firm to Brink

During his civil lawsuit against the People’s Republic of China, Brian Milburn says he never once saw one of the country’s lawyers. He read no court documents from China’s attorneys because they filed none. The voluminous case record at the U.S. District courthouse in Santa Ana contains a single communication from China: a curt letter to the U.S. State Department, urging that the suit be dismissed.

That doesn’t mean Milburn’s adversary had no contact with him.
For three years, a group of hackers from China waged a relentless campaign of cyber harassment against Solid Oak Software Inc., Milburn’s family-owned, eight-person firm in Santa Barbara, California.
Full Story :  China Mafia-Style Hack Attack Drives California Firm to Brink

Microsoft's ads deride Google as a bad place to shop

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Microsoft is trying to skewer Google as a lousy holiday shopping guide in its latest attempt to divert more traffic to its Bing search engine.

The attack starts Wednesday with a marketing campaign focused on a recent change in how Google runs the part of its search engine devoted to shopping results. The revisions require merchants to pay Google to have their products listed in the shopping section.

Full Story :  Microsoft's ads deride Google as a bad place to shop

NYC to light iconic Christmas tree

NEW YORK (AP) — An 80-foot Norway spruce that made it through Superstorm Sandy is getting a chance to shine when it's scheduled to be lit as the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree tonight at 9 p.m. ET.

The tree, which will be lit Wednesday night, comes from the Mount Olive, N.J., home of Joe Balku. Balku lost power and other trees during the storm at his residence about an hour outside of Manhattan.

Full Story :  NYC to light iconic Christmas tree