The New York Times has an article pointing out that if you were laid off from your Wall Street job, “East Coast venture capitalists and start-ups want you to know they are hiring.  Josh Kopelman at First Round Capital, a Philadelphia-area venture firm, started LeaveWallStreetJoinAStartup.com on Monday, after waking to hear the news that Lehman Brothers was filing for bankruptcy protection and that Bank of America would buy Merrill Lynch. Like any good investor, he saw opportunity in pain.  His plea to the 150,000 financial sector employees who could be laid off:  ‘You might want to consider joining a start-up. These days, start-ups are more stable than Wall Street (seriously).’  He listed job openings at seven First Round Capital portfolio companies and invited other VCs and start-ups to add their job postings.” 

According to CNetNews.com, “Web companies had better get used to more government interference, intervention, and regulation targeting their businesses.”  At least that’s what Kevin Kuzas, vice president and general counsel for Comcast Interactive Media, thinks.  Kuzas gave a keynote address at a Web 2.0 forum on Wednesday hosted by business and legal publisher Pike & Fischer. 

[…]  ‘So far, politicians have had a hands-off approach to the Internet,’ Kuzas said.  But ‘that kind of disparate treatment will go away over time.’  Even though CIM is affiliated with a heavily regulated cable television business, Kuzas said it should be regulated more like Google than Comcast.  He said Congress is receptive to suggestions in the way it approaches Web law, particularly with respect to copyright law.”

Reuters points out that “[m]obile phone makers and operators risk losing thousands of their most profitable customers as financial havoc whacks the global banking industry.  Analysts said the success of Blackberry-maker RIM is the most dependent on Wall Street’s future.  In worst case scenario 40,000 workers may lose their jobs in finance following Lehman’s collapse and problems at other big financial firms, New York Governor David Paterson said earlier this week.  ‘RIM probably looks most exposed to any downside risk in this segment,’ said analyst Neil Mawston from research firm Strategy Analytics, adding that also Palm and HP could feel the pinch.  Handset makers already face an increasingly fierce battle for market share as demand slows in the United States and Europe, where economies are under pressure from the global credit crunch.”

The Mercury News writes that, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office, “U.S. regulators have done little to stop the export of used computers and other electronic products with toxic materials that endanger foreign workers.  The growing flood of electronic waste is fueled by the short lifespan of many products, and by manufacturers who rush to get the latest gizmo or upgrade on the market.  U.S. consumers disposed of 300 million electronic devices in 2006, and ‘a substantial amount ends up in countries where disposal practices can harm workers and the environment,’ the 65-page report found.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that “Yahoo Inc. will begin testing a new home page Thursday that plays down its own content and allows users to customize it with services from other Web sites, as the Internet company tries to jump-start its growth.  The site’s new elements — which Yahoo will begin showing in stages to less than 1% of its more than 300 million monthly home-page visitors — is part of the Sunnyvale, Calif., company’s push to revamp all of its major Web properties. Under the tests of the new home page, users will for the first time be able to swap in more content from outside companies, as well as see less text, a bigger search box and new ad formats. Currently, users who want to access outside services can do so through a separate product, called My Yahoo.”