MOSAIC may not be a household name, but they are the world’s largest phosphate mining company. They provide the raw materials that go into the fertilizer that grows the fruit and vegetable products that you consume every day. Last week, they announced plans to lay off over 200 workers from their plant in rural Polk County, FL.

You read the headline that a company resorted to layoffs and your logical response is “it’s the economy, stupid.” Good answer, but wrong. It isn’t the economy. It isn’t a lack of demand or resources and it isn’t competition, domestic or foreign.

MOSAIC was forced to idle their Fort Meade plant and lay off workers because of a line on a map. There is a road, aptly if not creatively named County Line Road, separating Polk County from Hardee County. MOSAIC has, over the course of decades, mined all the phosphate from their land on the north side of the road, but they own more than 10,000 phosphate rich acres on the south side of the road.

Despite their legal ownership of the land in Hardee County, appropriate zoning, and approvals from the US Army Corps of Engineers, MOSAIC’s enormous drag-lines sit idle on the north side of the road because of a restraining order (they’re not just for crazy ex-boyfriends anymore) issued by a judge in Jacksonville. Not just one, not two, but three distinct environmental groups have sued to stop the company from mining any of their land in Hardee County.

Oddly enough, MOSAIC isn’t even a party to the lawsuit, leaving the defense of their very business in the hands of… the Federal Government. The three groups – the Sierra Club Inc, People for Protecting Peace River, and ManaSota-88 – filed suit against the US Army Corps of Engineers. The allegation is that the expansion of the mine would essentially destroy nature and turn the county into an environmental wasteland fit only for cockroaches and high school dropouts (I’m paraphrasing).

Regardless of the impact it will have on the next generation, these people don’t want industry intruding on their little slice of retirement paradise. The current economy is forcing more than enough layoffs as it is; it doesn’t need any help from a group of people who earned themselves a nice living somewhere else in industry have since retired and moved to Florida.

There was much hullabaloo this week over Apple’s decision to ban all pornographic applications from their app store. Porn-addicts around the nation huddled in Internet chat rooms and decried Apple for abridging their first amendment rights. Over and over again, in all form of media, the cry went up: “1st Amendment, 1st Amendment”.

So, as a public service, I’d like to provide here the unabridged text of the first amendment:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

It doesn’t take a legal expert to realize that it is IMPOSSIBLE for Apple to violate the 1st Amendment rights of pornographers, or anyone else for that matter. Apple is not Congress. The 1st Amendment protects us, the people, from Congress. That’s it. Anything else is revisionist at best. Forget what you’ve hear on TV or read online.

The 1st Amendment is a proper and necessary safeguard against government censorship. But that’s it. Apple can choose to sell or not sell whatever they want. No one is forced to buy an iPhone; porn on demand is not a right. This whole debate is misplaced.

We live in a free market economy (mostly, sort of). If you don’t like the way Apple does business, buy an Android. That’s the way it works. Apple is a corporation. All slogans aside, all corporations exist for the sole purpose of maximizing shareholder wealth. If enough people are so upset about the lack of porn that they switch cellphone companies, it would put pressure on Apple to reconsider their business model because they would be losing money.

I don’t know if Apple made the decision based on their values or on the demands of the market. I’m guessing that the negative feedback for having porn was greater than the negative feedback for banning porn. Either way, the decision is Apple’s alone and I think it was a good one.

Goldman Sachs is the face of what’s gone wrong with the American financial system. They are nigh universally reviled among the blue collar general populace who has no use for an investment bank.  Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, is considering dropping them.  In England, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called them morally bankrupt.  Back in the US, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) is suing them.

So, obviously all this is having a pretty big impact on Goldman Sach’s bottom line right?  Right?  Well, it is true that there has been a big change in Goldman’s earnings for the first quarter of 2010.  They are UP.  A lot.  Goldman reported first quarter earnings of nearly three and a half BILLION dollars.

Sometimes numbers like this can be obscured by the the magnitude of the industry.  Does the average Joe know if $3.5 billion is a lot or a little for Goldman Sachs?  Probably not.  And it’s probably good for Joe’s blood pressure if he doesn’t know because Goldman’s earnings are up 91% from a year earlier.

How can this be?  Well, simply put, Goldman’s clients are leaving.  If you had a doctor who was a well-known scoundrel who was known to be grossly inept and was being sued for malfeasance,  you’d find another doctor.  But what if he was the only MD in town? Or what if there were other doctors, but you believed them all to be worse than yours?

You’d hold your nose and stay.  That’s more or less where Goldman’s clients are right now.  Somewhere between denial and out of options.  So they stay, Goldman proclaims its innocence, and the investment firm continues to make money hand over fist.

Until & unless the government’s lawsuit is settled, Goldman will continue to operate business as usual.  Investors beware.  Ignore all warnings, and you’ll end up with what you deserve.

Microsoft unveiled Windows 7 this week. It didn’t take long for the first reports of problems to begin trickling in. How is it possible that the biggest software company in the world, with something like 96% market share, cannot roll out a new product without taking two steps backward for every one forward?

It’s not like expectations are very high.  Vista was such an unmitigated disaster that Windows 7 would have to cripple the user’s computer immediately upon installation for it to be viewed as a downgrade.  Despite millions of dollars in advertising, the Official Random Stock Survey of People I Know (ORSSPIK) reveals that NOBODY in the entire world liked Vista even a little bit.  The highest praise I’ve heard for Vista was “It’s not as bad as I thought it would be.”  Wow, there’s a ringing endorsement.

Yet still, Microsoft rules the world.  The small but happy group of counter culture radicals who insist on using Apple Computers because “they just work” notwithstanding, the world runs on Windows.  If Bill Gates wants to include a bit of software that automatically deletes your favorite pictures of Danica Patrick in a bikini and replaces them with pictures of Nancy Pelosi in a bikini every hour, you’ll just have to make do.  You’ll find a work around.  You’ll buy a third party patch.  You’ll do whatever it takes because Microsoft has a stranglehold on the Operating System software that makes computers go.

So, as business and personal users convert to the latest and greatest Windows product, computer consultants everywhere will put in overtime.  IT staffs at companies big and small will use this to happily justify their existence and maybe even ask for a raise.  Mac sales will go up a good bit, but that bit will be almost imperceptible to Microsoft’s bottom line.  It’s a sure bet that Mac will use whatever headaches Windows 7 causes to create some very funny “I’m a Mac. I’m a PC”commercials.  So if you’re a PC user looking for a silver lining to Windows 7, that’s about the best you can hope for.

Recently, sources have revealed investors are dumping large amounts of money into Twitter.  There has been much speculation and rumors that Twitter.com could be prepping for an IPO.  Why else would companies dump $100 million into a company with zero revenue?

According to Bloomberg.com, the company is believed to be valued at $1 billion.  The only rationale for valuing the company this high is if they are ready to unleash a massive revenue plan or if they are going public.  Either strategy would require some type of plan to make some money for this social media company.  The traffic is there to form unbelievable potential to investors.

Currently, Nielsen states that there are over 25 million “Tweeple” throughout the world.  Businesses, celebrities and entrepreneurs really are beginning to take advantage of this unique site.  Ashton Kutcher is followed by 3.7 million.  He capitalizes on this to help raise awareness for his television productions and charitable causes.  Businesses keep customers up to speed on new products and events.  Entrepreneurs are sharing marketing and business tips with their followers.  Even pastors and motivational speakers are able to share quotes and inspiration.

Twitter really gained worldwide recognition because of the media and recent events in Iran.  When no reporters could get firsthand information during the election protests and ensuing violence this summer, they relied on Tweeple.  The value of its communication power became evident and had everyone asking, “What is this Twitter-thing?”  How could they possibly turn this traffic into money, though?

Almost every financial website covering Twitter agrees on two main ways revenue can be generated.  One is to create business applications, such as calenders and private messaging.  These business packages would open the lines of communication to employees worldwide.  The business possibilities are expansive.  The other main way for income is for them to go with the advertising route.

No matter what they do, they are poising for major profit generation.  Keep your eyes posted for the IPO and let me know.  I’m on Twitter at (www.twitter.com/joeylaw) and so is Wasabi Media Group (http://twitter.com/WasabiMedia).

What other ways can Twitter generate profits for its investors?

Apple Computers made an unusual move this week. Unusual, at least, for a company that has had great success doing things just the opposite of everyone else for the last twenty-five years.  Apple lowered their prices on some of their hottest selling items.

In true Apple style, they did lower their prices in a different way than most companies.  They did it quietly, almost apologetically.  This isn’t the first time Apple cut prices.  When they first released the iPhone a few years back, they gouged the ‘gotta have it first’ crowd for 600 bucks a pop before slashing the price in half just a few months later.  But then, as now, there was a note of apology along with the price cut.  Apple gave all of those early adapters a $100 coupon to use at Apple’s online store to make up for the gouging.

The whole counter-culture vibe is a huge part of Apple’s appeal.  Apple users relish their role as the underdog, the rebel.  They make Bill Gates the butt of their jokes and scoff at Windows’ users who get unintelligible error messages at random intervals on their PCs.  Ever since Apple’s famous 1984 commercial back in… 1984, the company’s paradigm has been to present themselves as the outside of the mainstream alternative to the same old same old offered up by faceless corporate giants and gobbled up by the unknowing masses.  And it works to a large degree.  Although their market share in the computer marketplace is small, their devotees are rabidly loyal.

The introduction of the iPod has brought renewed attention to Apple and their alternative appeal.  The thing is, when you’re part of the counter culture, you don’t want EVERYONE to join you, or else you’ll just be part of the culture.  So, Apple has to walk the fine line of trying to get everyone on board that they can, while still looking like a rebellious alternative to the norm.  That means you lower your prices, but don’t make a ballyhoo about it.  I could be wrong, but I think someone has finally found a way to have their cake and eat it, too.

It’s bonus time again at AIG. America’s favorite charity, to which we gleefully contributed $180 billion, is set to hand out bonuses to 40 of their best go-getters. Unlike the gargantuan payouts of a few months ago, this is a paltry $2.4 million in bonus money.

It doesn’t seem like all that much, unless you consider that $2.4 million divided by just 40 employees means that these guys will be taking home a cool sixty grand a piece, on top of their regular salary. $60,000 is more than a lot of people make in a year. Let me take it one step further – $60,000 is more than a lot of hard working people who did NOT directly contribute to the collapse of the American economy make in a year.

What could these individuals have contributed that would justify such bonuses? These are deferred bonuses from 2008, meaning that these were ‘earned’ based on their performance as the company was falling billions of dollars into the red. Maybe these men and women are heroes in their own rights. Maybe AIG would have needed a $190 Billion or $200 Billion bailout if these bonus-worthy champions hadn’t done whatever it was that they did to prove themselves so valuable. But I don’t think so.

Continuing the proud tradition of making a bad thing worse by intervening in commerce, the federal government is now in the business of reviewing executive compensation. President Obama has appointed a Compensation Czar (no, I’m not making that up; that is a real position paid for by your tax dollars) to look into the salaries and bonuses earned by companies that are coming under the control of the United States government.

Of course, the Compensation Czar is powerless to do anything in this case because the bonuses were promised back in the carefree days before such a position even existed. The best we can hope for is another round of hand wringing and public vilification followed by complete and total inaction by the government. But the NEXT time a huge multination corporation fails and is bailed out by the government, just you watch.

Pete Peterson may not be the most well-known businessman or economist in America. His name doesn’t float among the luminaries of the billionaire philanthropist set like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and George Soros. But Peterson is both a billionaire and a philanthropist. The story of how he came to be among the wealthiest individuals in the world is interesting and encouraging.

Peterson was born into a family of Greek immigrants who made their living running a diner in Nebraska, of all places. From those relatively humble beginnings, he went on to a string of successful leadership roles in businesses including Market Facts, McCann Erickson Advertising Agency, Bell & Howell Corporation, and Lehman Brothers.

From the business world, he went on to serve in high level capacities within the government. He was named as an economic advisor to President Richard Nixon in 1971 and soon after became the Secretary of Commerce. He was the first Greek-American to reach the level of serving in the cabinet of the President of the United States of America. In the last forty years, Peterson has served on a number of committees, councils, commissions, and coalitions under both Democratic and Republican presidents, culminating in the chairmanship of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York at the start of the 21st century.

In 2007, at the age of 81, Pete Peterson became a billionaire when the Blackstone Group, a private equity company he co-founded in 1985, went public. Suddenly finding himself with incredible wealth and significant free time, he set about disposing of his vast fortune. Shortly after he acquired this massive amount of money he gave most of it, roughly one billion dollars, to establish the charitable Peter G. Peterson foundation.

Now Peterson has written a memoir entitled The Education Of An American Dreamer, which is by no means a “get rich quick” book or even a “blueprint for success” book. It chronicles his rise to the lofty rank of billionaire and gives a hearty dose of the values that drove him to success throughout his life. The book also gives the reader an insight into the principles that he holds dear, especially a sense of responsibility that he feels is lacking in modern America.

It is coming up on the summer months, and there are two great stocks to help earn you some lemonade money for the upcoming heat.  There is a great one to watch and another great one to pounce on right now for almost instant returns.  I am talking about General Electric (NYSE: GE) and Harvest Energy Trust (NYSE: HTE).

The stock to watch is GE.  General Electric is currently much lower than their usual range in the $30′s sitting at $10.94.  Just looking at the technical, I expect them to drop in between $8-9 range in a month or two.  However, even buying them right now is a 60% off bargain deal.

General Electric is leading the way in alternative energy ideas.  They are the largest producer of the new Compact Flourescent Light (CFL) bulbs.  These bulbs soon will be taking over our normal bulbs because of their energy savings and long lasting durability.  GE will capitalize on this market.

GE is also a very solid company, famous for their excellent leadership throughout the years.  Everything they build is of great quality and affordable price.  From light bulbs to home appliances.  From medical equipment to aircraft engines.  They are everywhere and appear to have a vision for the new “green” market we are entering.

My top pick that you need to run out and buy now is Harvest Energy Trust.  This company is an energy company based out of Canada.  Their normal range prior to the recession was in the $20′s and now are a steal at 80% off of that.

Coming up on summer and the normal trend of skyrocketing gas prices at the pump, they are poised to make a decent profit.  This is an excellent time to buy a stock like this.  My only regret is that I don’t have more money to throw at them right now.

Oh, I almost forgot.  Dividends.  Harvest Energy Trust pays out monthly dividends.  Normally, they are about $0.30 per share.  Now they are a mere $0.05, but with one hundred shares (dividends reinvested) you get one free share a month.  That is 12 free shares a year just for having faith.

Fortune recently published its 2008 list of the top 100 companies to work for.  This list ranges from Internet companies to hospitals to coffee shops and everything in between.  

While one might want to read this list and dream about a job at one of these companies, there are even more work-related topics about which one might daydream.  At its Website, Fortune lists 15 Unusual Perks offered at some of these top 100 companies.  Forget 2 weeks vacation and an all-expenses paid holiday party, these companies offer some incredible benefits.

While you’ll need to go to Forbes to read the full list, I thought I’d share a few of my favorites:

• SCUBA diving lessons at Chesapeake Energy Corp.
• Matching employee charity contributions up to $60,000 at EOG Resources
• Free lunch Monday through Thursday at FactSet Research

To read the full lists of Top 100 Companies to Work for, Unusual Perks, and more, visit:

Fortune