FORTUNE -- Applied Materials had to fly in 100 interviewers just to screen all the job applicants for its new Solar Technology Center in Xi'an, China, last year. The company wanted to fill 260 high-tech jobs. It got 26,000 resumes. A fraction of those applicants were invited to interview. The final selectees, board member Andy Karsner tells me, "were top-of-their-class, English-speaking engineers... more

(Money Magazine) -- Michelle Spranger and Scott Zuckerberg have been husband and wife for eight years, but they've yet to marry their finances. Scott, 43, has a full-service broker, variable annuities, and a union pension, while Michelle, 42, uses a discount brokerage account and IRAs. Neither knows what the other is doing. "The only thing we have together is a checking account," Michelle says. .. more

NEW YORK -- California's state workers just can't catch a break. For the past year and a half, 200,000 of them have been forced to take three unpaid furlough days a month -- losing as much as 14% of their pay. The furlough order expired July 1, when workweeks and full salaries were restored. But the reprieve was short: The state's workers are getting slapped back down. On Wednesday, Californi.. more

(Money Magazine) -- Question: What is the difference between a total world index fund and a total international index fund? How you see such funds as part of a retirement portfolio? --Dave, Apple Valley, Minnesota Answer: There's a big difference between a world and international fund. But before we get wade into the specifics, let me address your second question. While I don't think you would b.. more

DESTIN, Fla. -- Business owners in Florida believe Kenneth Feinberg will manage the $20 billion oil spill claims fund fairly and efficiently, but because of the complicated nature of their claims, they're anxious about how much they'll get paid. On the 100th day since the oil started spewing, Feinberg spoke to a jam packed crowd of business owners and industry leaders in Destin, Fla. The oil sp.. more

FORTUNE -- At the G20 summit in Toronto last month, the leaders of world's largest economies embraced a brave new theme: Halting the alarming, potentially ruinous growth in already mountainous sovereign debt. Now that the spotlight is shifting to the dangers of big deficits and excessive leverage, many politicians, pundits, and even investors, are mostly ignoring the most remarkable feature of th.. more

NEW YORK -- Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it was recalling more than 400,000 older-model vehicles sold in the United States, citing potential steering-related problems in both. The Japanese automaker said the recall would affect 373,000 Toyota Avalons manufactured between 2000 to 2004. The company said the vehicle's steering lock bar could break under certain conditions, increasing the risk o.. more

NEW YORK -- Foreclosure filings climbed in 75% of the nation's metro areas during the first half of 2010, according to a report issued Thursday. RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed homes, said that California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada continue to lead the nation in the rate of foreclosures. Las Vegas was the worst-hit city. But now unemployment has replaced toxic mortgages as the le.. more

NEW YORK� -- U.S. stocks were set to edge higher Thursday morning, as investors attempted to shake off worries about slowing economic growth and looked to corporate earnings. Dow Jones industrial average (INDU),S&P 500 (SPX)andNasdaq (COMP)futureswere higher. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance. Stocks dropped Wednesday as fears about the economy and.. more

FORTUNE -- Corporate chiefs may seem hardboiled, but they can be sensitive, too. Take the ruckus they've been raising over what they perceive to be rough treatment from the Obama White House. The bubbling resentment of the administration among top corporate brass burst into the open in late June, when Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) CEO Ivan Seidenberg addressed a lunchtime crowd gathered at a hotel in.. more