Get ready: A delegation of Japanese government and academic officials are meeting with IEM today to find out how to plan for typhoons. Japan is marking the 50th anniversary of Super Typhoon Vera, which killed more than 5,000 people. IEM has been working with the Japanese on scenario-based planning for disasters.
All electronic: Wal-Mart is eliminating payroll checks for U.S. employees, transferring workers’ earnings to a MasterCard debit card or directly depositing the money in a bank. The Wall Street Journal says Wal-Mart is the largest company yet to make the move, which has recently been adopted by some government agencies, such as the Social Security Administration. Wal-Mart says the move will save paper and money, but declined to specify how much payroll costs will be reduced.
