Americans still prefer male bosses, but not by much

There’s a reason they still call it “working for the man”: Americans continue to prefer male bosses to female ones.

But the male edge is now the slimmest it's ever been. When pollster Gallup first began asking the question in 1953, 66% of Americans wanted Don Draper compared with the 5% looking for a female boss.

Now, male managers get 32% of the vote while female ones get 22%. Nearly half of people (including the majority of men) surveyed said they don’t care about the gender of their higher-ups.

But women –- especially ones older than 50 –- are much more opinionated. More women (39%) would like to report to a man than those (27%) who would rather have a woman in charge.

The gender of current bosses may have influenced the responses, Gallup said. Currently, 56% of Americans have a man at the helm while 30% are led by a woman. Thirteen percent said they have no boss.

RELATED:

Employees satisfied with co-workers, unhappy with benefits

Is meanness a moneymaker? Nice guys are paid less, study finds

-- Tiffany Hsu

Photo: Female managers are catching up to men in American preferences. Though few would probably want one like Miranda Priestly, the tyrannical (and fictional) editor from the movie "The Devil Wears Prada." Credit: Barry Wetcher / 20th Century Fox

California Senate approves Amazon sales tax deal [Updated]

After days of intense negotiations between big-box national retailers and Amazon.com Inc., the California Legislature is poised to send the governor a bill that would require the Internet seller to start collecting sales taxes on purchases by Californians, beginning a year from now.

The compromise on Friday, the final day of the legislative session, was approved by the state Senate on a bipartisan 36-1 vote. As of 8 p.m., it had yet to clear the Assembly, but supporters said it had a good chance of passing.

[Updated at 10:17 p.m.: The bill passed the Assembly 59-8 and was sent to Gov. Jerry Brown for his approval.]

As part of the deal, Seattle-based Amazon agreed to start collecting California sales taxes Sept. 15, 2012, unless Congress first passes legislation setting a national standard. Such a law would end squabbling in dozens of U.S. states over whether and how to make Amazon and other online merchants follow the same rules as the big bricks-and-mortar chains.

The companies that operate on California Main Streets and shopping malls, such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp., said they suffer from unfair competition because Amazon doesn’t collect sales taxes, enabling it to sell products at overall prices that are as much as 10% lower. Amazon countered that getting taxes from companies that don’t have stores or warehouses in the state is unconstitutional, according to a a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Passage of the new bill, AB 155 by Assemblyman Charles Calderon (D-Whittier), and a signature from Gov. Jerry Brown, if it comes, would head off a costly and unpredictable legal and political fight between the rival business interests.

The governor, who signed an earlier version of the tax bill in June, has declined to telegraph his position on the current bill. Amazon, which until recently refused to collect sales taxes from its customers here, was getting ready to submit petitions with more than 500,000 signatures of registered voters. That’s sufficient to qualify a referendum for the June ballot seeking to repeal the law that took effect July 1.

The new bill, though, would supersede the current law and could not be subject to a referendum because it would take effect immediately upon being signed by the governor.

“Nobody wanted this referendum,” said Lenny Goldberg, a supporter who is executive director of the labor-oriented California Tax Reform Assn. “There’s a big down-side risk for everyone with the referendum. Amazon gets hammered [with bad publicity], and we could lose [the election].”

Amazon refused to comment on the legislative agreement it’s been negotiating for the last week. The deal between Amazon and the big-box stores is a “classic compromise” even though it deprives the state treasury of an estimated $200 million in sorely needed revenues during its first year, said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento).

At the same time, the agreement guarantees that the state will get even greater revenues in future years without being bogged down in court battles. “Sometimes the [legislative] process works,” he said, “and this is a good example.”

-- Marc Lifsher

California Senate approves Amazon sales tax deal

After days of intense negotiations between big-box national retailers and Amazon.com Inc., the California Legislature is poised to send the governor a bill that would require the Internet seller to start collecting sales taxes on purchases by Californians, beginning a year from now.

The compromise on Friday, the final day of the legislative session, was approved by the state Senate on a bipartisan 36-1 vote. As of 8 p.m., it had yet to clear the Assembly, but supporters said it had a good chance of passing.

As part of the deal, Seattle-based Amazon agreed to start collecting California sales taxes Sept. 15, 2012, unless Congress first passes legislation setting a national standard. Such a law would end squabbling in dozens of U.S. states over whether and how to make Amazon and other online merchants follow the same rules as the big bricks-and-mortar chains.

The companies that operate on California Main Streets and shopping malls, such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp., said they suffer from unfair competition because Amazon doesn’t collect sales taxes, enabling it to sell products at overall prices that are as much as 10% lower. Amazon countered that getting taxes from companies that don’t have stores or warehouses in the state is unconstitutional, according to a a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Passage of the new bill, AB 155 by Assemblyman Charles Calderon (D-Whittier), and a signature from Gov. Jerry Brown, if it comes, would head off a costly and unpredictable legal and political fight between the rival business interests.

The governor, who signed an earlier version of the tax bill in June, has declined to telegraph his position on the current bill. Amazon, which until recently refused to collect sales taxes from its customers here, was getting ready to submit petitions with more than 500,000 signatures of registered voters. That’s sufficient to qualify a referendum for the June ballot seeking to repeal the law that took effect July 1.

The new bill, though, would supersede the current law and could not be subject to a referendum because it would take effect immediately upon being signed by the governor.

“Nobody wanted this referendum,” said Lenny Goldberg, a supporter who is executive director of the labor-oriented California Tax Reform Assn. “There’s a big down-side risk for everyone with the referendum. Amazon gets hammered [with bad publicity], and we could lose [the election].”

Amazon refused to comment on the legislative agreement it’s been negotiating for the last week. The deal between Amazon and the big-box stores is a “classic compromise” even though it deprives the state treasury of an estimated $200 million in sorely needed revenues during its first year, said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento).

At the same time, the agreement guarantees that the state will get even greater revenues in future years without being bogged down in court battles. “Sometimes the [legislative] process works,” he said, “and this is a good example.”

-- Marc Lifsher

Dow falls more than 300 points as European fears grow

Fears that the European debt crisis may be coming to a head drove down stock markets around the world.

The market declines were driven largely by reports out of Germany that indicated leaders there are preparing for Greece to default on its bonds but are struggling to reach a consensus on how to handle the problem.

The news sent the German stock market down 4.1% by the end of the day Friday, similar to the declines elsewhere in Europe. Leading U.S. stock indexes followed, with the Dow Jones industrial average experiencing its worst day in more than three weeks, wiping out gains made earlier in the week.

“Now people aren’t talking about a recession here in the U.S.,” said Anthony Conroy, head equity trader at BNY ConvergEx. “Now we’re talking about a global recession.”

The Dow finished the day down 303.68 points, or 2.7%, to 10,992.13. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 31.67 points, or 2.7%, to 1,154.23. Both indexes have fallen five of the last six weeks.

President Obama had hoped to lift some of the economic gloom with his speech to Congress on Thursday night promoting an $447-billion economic stimulus plan that would cut taxes and increase spending on infrastructure.

The speech, though, was immediately met with questions about whether it can pass a Republican-controlled House of Representatives, and whether it is even big enough to have an impact if it does pass.

Investors had also held out hope that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke would provide some hope for stimulus in a speech he gave Thursday, but he stepped back from making any firm commitments.

“Presumably they have shot their big cannons and what they have left are a few handguns,” said Bernie McGinn, president of McGinn Investment Management. “People would like to have cannons now.”

By Friday morning, most eyes had shifted to Europe, where investors were buying up Greek bonds at prices that appear to assume a default is coming.

The European Central Bank has been purchasing Greek bonds in an effort to help support the Greek government as it implements an austerity program.

On Friday morning, though, the bank announced that its No. 2 official, Juergen Stark, was resigning, reportedly due to his disagreement with the bond-buying program.

Shortly after that announcement, reports indicated that Germany is drawing up a plan to shield its banks in case Greece does default on its bonds.

In July the European Union came out with a $220-billion plan to help Greece avoid default, but political disagreements have thrown into doubt whether the second dose of this aid will be delivered to Greece.

The failure to deliver the aid probably would force the Greek government into default.

The specter of a Greek default is so feared because many European banks hold vast stores of sovereign bonds, and could face difficulties like those encountered by U.S. banks in 2008 when mortgage-backed securities lost their value.

“This is Europe’s 2008,” said Kim Caughey Forrest, a portfolio manager at Fort Pitt Capital Group.

RELATED:

Obama pitches $447-billion jobs plan

Obama jobs plan spurs cautious hope among small businesses

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke doesn't tip hand on more stimulus

-- Nathaniel Popper

Twitter.com/nathanielpopper

Photo: The New York Stock Exchange. Credit: Spencer Platt / Getty Images

Podcast: The Economy, Manufacturing and Commercialized College Life

The economy has been slowing and unemployment in the United States is stuck at 9.1 percent. President Obama has come up with a program that he says will help.

In a speech on Thursday, he offered a $447 billion package of tax cuts and spending programs that received a lukewarm reception from Republicans in Congress. The total of fiscal stimulus items was bigger than expected, but it’s not clear how much of it will be enacted, Floyd Norris says in the new Weekend Business podcast.

The Federal Reserve is contemplating action of its own, deriving inspiration from an old song by Chubby Checker. Among the options being considered to stimulate the economy is a variation on a 1961 Fed program known as Operation Twist. As I write in the Strategies column in Sunday Business, and as we discuss in the podcast, the Fed might twist the composition of its own bond portfolio to lower longer-term interest rates. New research suggests that such an effort might be effective, though its impact could be dwarfed by other influences on financial markets.

In a separate conversation in the podcast, Greg Mankiw, the Harvard economics professor, analyzes the economy’s problems and suggests a long-term solution: stoking the “animal spirits” of business to increase investment spending. This is the focus of his Economic View column in Sunday Business.

And Louis Uchitelle discusses the role of government in manufacturing, the subject of his cover article in Sunday Business. The manufacturing sector is in relative decline in the United States, he says, and isn’t likely to recover without more government help.

The increasing commercialization of college life is the focus of a Sunday Business cover article by Natasha Singer. In a conversation with David Gillen, she says brand marketing on campus has grown in scope and intensity. Along with traditional college colors, student T-shirts have sometimes been emblazoned with corporate logos.

You can find specific segments of the podcast at these junctures: Floyd Norris and Operation Twist (33:31); news summary (25:03); Natasha Singer (22:58); Louis Uchitelle (14:59); Greg Mankiw (7:07); the week ahead (1:43).

As articles discussed in the podcast are published during the weekend, links will be added to this post.

You can download the program by subscribing from The New York Times’s podcast page or directly from iTunes.

Retail gasoline prices at an all-time post-Labor Day high

Gasoline prices are at an all-time high for the week following Labor Day and the end of the traditional summer driving season.

The average price of regular gasoline in California was $3.946 a gallon, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. That was an increase from $3.888 a gallon last week, and it was a whopping 91 cents a gallon higher than the price a year ago.

The latest gasoline prices in the state also topped the previous post-Labor Day high of $3.859 a gallon in September 2008.

Nationally, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline reached $3.659 a gallon, up 1.2 cents since last week. That was also a record for the week following Labor Day.

Experts warned not to expect much relief in the coming weeks.

"You'll see some price drops, particularly after we start to switch over to the winter blend gasolines that are cheaper to make than summer blends, but there is too much demand for refined fuels in the rest of the world for prices to drop very far in the U.S.," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service in New Jersey.

ALSO:

Rising fuel exports keep U.S. gas prices high

Sunoco to end struggling refinery business

-- Ronald D. White

Chart: The AAA rolling 12-month averages for a gallon of regular gasoline. Credit: AAA

Honda plans big recall of Pilot sport utility vehicle

Honda Motor Co. will recall more than 300,000 Pilot sport utility vehicles from the 2009 through 2011 model years to inspect the front seat belts, which could become disconnected in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

The automaker said that because of a manufacturing error in the assembly of some of the vehicles, the stitching connecting the lap section of the belt to the outboard anchor webbing could be either incomplete or missing. 

No injuries or deaths have been reported related to this condition.

Earlier this week, and prior to this latest Pilot issue, Honda said it was recalling about 1 million cars worldwide, including almost 100,000 in the United States.

The recall included about 80,000 CR-V sport utility vehicles from the 2006 model year in the U.S. to replace the power window master switch.

Honda also called back 5,626 CR-Z small hybrids from the 2011 model year in the U.S. The cars subject to the recall are equipped with manual transmissions and require an update to the software that controls the hybrid electric motor. Honda said it wants to fix a problem that can cause the car to roll backward unexpectedly.

RELATED:

Consumer Reports rips new Civic

California is Honda's stronghold

Musk bet over Tesla model leads to $1-million charity payday

-- Jerry Hirsch
twitter.com/LATimesJerry

Photo: The Honda Pilot. Credit: Bloomberg News.