Intel plans 1,000 high-tech jobs in 2 states

Intel announced Tuesday that is investing up to $8 billion in microchip manufacturing plants that could create up to 1,000 permanent high-tech jobs in Arizona and Oregon.

Intel said it will spend between $6 billion and $8 billion to fund a new development fabrication plants in Oregon and to upgrade four existing plants in Oregon and Arizona. The plants will manufacture "next-generation" 22-nanometer microprocessors, or chips, the company said.

The company said this will support the creation of 800 to 1,000 permanent high-tech jobs as well as 6,000 to 8,000 construction jobs.

Intel also said the investment will allow it "to maintain its current manufacturing employment at these U.S. sites."

Intel spokeswoman Lisa Malloy said the new plant will be built in Hillsboro, Ore., near Portland, where the company already has a significant presence. Of the four plants slated for upgrade, two are in Hillsboro and two are in the greater Phoenix area.

Intel, based in Santa Clara, Calif., said it generates three quarters of its revenue from overseas markets, but employs three quarters of its chip-making employees in the United States.

"It does cost a bit more to build one of these factories from scratch in the U.S.," Intel chief executive Paul Otellini told CNN's Ali Velshi in a live interview.

But he said labor costs are not the main problem -- grants from foreign countries are the biggest incentives for U.S. companies to build factories overseas. He said the U.S. government should offer more incentives to build plants in America.

Rail strike shuts down Belgium, disrupts international travel

A 24-hour strike by one of Belgium's main rail unions has forced the cancellation of nearly every high-speed rail service in and out of the country and severely disrupted the national network.

The strike, which began affecting the worldwide trains linking Belgium to France, Germany the United Kingdom and the Netherlands on Sunday evening, has shut down the country and led to massive traffic jams.

"Not one train is rolling in [the Southern province of] Wallonia or in Brussels. In [the Northern province of] Flanders, only a handful of trains are moving," a spokesman for Belgian rail network operator Infrabel told the Belga news group.

Eurostar, Thalys cancel service

Eurostar canceled trains between the northern French city of Lille and Brussels until 10 p.m. local time Monday, though said the Paris-London line would not be affected.

But trains coming from London to Brussels will end at Lille, with buses taking passengers the rest of the way to the Belgian and European Union capital. All Thalys service to and from neighboring countries has been stopped.

The CGSP union, the largest in Belgium's rail company SNCB, called the strike to protest a deadlock in negotiations over working conditions and job losses.

Coinciding with ongoing protests in France, the walkout has led to blocked rail transport across much of northwestern Europe.

Normal service in Belgium was set to resume late Monday, but service disruptions were expected to last until Tuesday morning.

Google nears $600

Shares of Google opened up 10% Friday morning, and came within striking distance of $600 for the first time in more than nine months, after the company posted solid quarterly earnings that impressed investors.

Google's (GOOG, Fortune 500) stock rose as much as $58.42 to $599.35 a share in early morning trading, before sliding back a bit. It was the stock's highest level since January.

Late Thursday, Google reported a third-quarter profit that rose 32% on the back of stronger search ad fees from advertisers. But the company's results were also buoyed by its non-core businesses, like YouTube, display advertising and mobile.

Google defied skeptical investors and analysts who feared that the search giant would never find a a significant new revenue stream besides search advertisements. In the past, the company has been tight-lipped about the financial details of its non-search businesses, leading some analysts to speculate that those product lines were insignificant to the company's overall revenue.

For instance, Google has made tremendous headway in mobile. Its Android operating system will command 17.7% of the global mobile device market by year's end, according to a Gartner forecast, making it the second best-selling smartphone operating system, behind Nokia's (NOK) Symbian OS and ahead of Apple's (AAPL, Fortune 500) iOS. That's stunning, considering it entered the market just two years ago.

Google said its mobile advertising business was doing sales of $1 billion on an annualized basis. Display advertising, which includes images rather than textual ads, is on pace to be a $2.5 billion business annually. The company said its display business is likely the third largest in the world, behind AOL (AOL) and Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500).

Investors had slammed Google's stock this year, sending it down by as much as 30%. Shares started to rebound in September, but were still down 13% before Friday's market open. But Google's impressive quarterly numbers sent shares soaring, and the stock is now down just 4% for the year.

Vancouver top city in travel poll

Vancouver is tops once again with the subscribers of a trendy U.S. travel magazine.

Readers of Conde Nast Traveler have voted Vancouver the top city in the Americas, outside the U.S., for the fifth time since 2004.

The poll asked readers to rate cities in Canada and Central and South America on criteria ranging from hotels and restaurants to shopping and friendliness.

The award is a tribute to the people who work on the front lines of the city's tourism and hospitality sector, said James Terry of Tourism Vancouver.

The Readers' Choice Awards will appear in the November 2010 issue of Conde Nast Traveler and detail the top cities, islands, hotels, resorts, airlines, car rental agencies and cruise lines around the world.

Last year, Vancouver was named the world's most livable city by a business research division of The Economist magazine.

President Obama hails New York teens' life-saving business ideas

President Obama honored two New York teens on Tuesday who are using their business skills to save lives.

Steven Gordon, 18, of Brooklyn, and Nia Froome, 17, of Valley Stream, L.I., are among the winners of the 2010 Oppenheimer Funds/Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, which encourages kids from poorer communities to pursue careers in business.

Gordon founded TattooID when he learned that 1.3 million children are reported missing each year.

After taking a two-week business seminar at Columbia University, Gordon came up with the idea for the "TattooID," a temporary tattoo stamped on the hand or arm of children with their initials and contact information.

"I got the idea for the tattoos one day thinking about my little brother and wondering what would we do if we ever lost him," Gordon said.

"It's an unbelievable honor to meet the President - not something I ever expected. I mean, I'm from Brooklyn, ya know," chirped the Hunter College freshman, who has made about $200 so far from the idea.

Froome, who attends Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, learned how to cook vegan dishes about 10 years ago when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She was told a vegan diet could slow the growth of cancer cells. Froome took a decade of her experience in the kitchen and turned it into Mamma Nia's Vegan Bakery.

Wal-Mart to start selling Apple's iPad

Wal-Mart said the iPad will be available in hundreds of its stores in the United States to start, expanding to more than 2,300 outlets by mid-November.

Wal-Mart rivals Best Buy and Target are already selling the iPad, which Apple launched in April.

Demand for the 10-inch touchscreen tablet has so far been robust, and Apple initially had a difficult time producing enough.

The company sold more than 3 million iPads in the June quarter, and Wall Street expects the company to surpass that mark with ease in the September quarter.

Apple is set to report quarterly results next Monday.

Wal-Mart will sell the iPad for the same price as other retailers, starting at $499 for the more inexpensive model. The world's largest retailer already sells Apple's iPod and iPhone.

Shares of Cupertino, California-based Apple were up $1.75 at $297.11 in midday trading on the Nasdaq.

Start Buying Holiday Tickets, Right Now

Where does the time go? We’re barely into Autumn and the smart money is already telling us to buy our Christmas and Thanksgiving travel tickets RIGHT NOW?

It makes sense. Prices are going up, as they usually do. The crush of holiday travelers and returning college students will peak in a way as to swamp those of us who delay getting arrangements done.

More, SmarterTraveler.com has some good tips:

* Begin benchmarking fares as early as possible so you’ll know a good price when you see it. If you haven’t already started, don’t delay.
* Steer clear of peak travel days such as the day before Thanksgiving and the last day of the holiday’s weekend.
* Be in the know when sales come out: The sale match generally gets lit by one of the low-cost carriers on Tuesday, and by the following morning, competitors have jumped into the fray and created what we call a full-out fare war.
* Be flexible and check fares from nearby airports as well.
* Check out our previous installment on holiday airfare searches

Weather.Com (which offers a lot more than the weather) has its own list of tips, headed by:

* It is easier to get travel and accommodation reservations if you book early. With some airlines and hotels, early booking may even qualify you for a discount.
* Plan to arrive at the airport or station at least two hours early. The holiday season means everyone is traveling, which means traffic jams and long lines; giving yourself this margin will pay off in reduced stress, and may mean the difference between a missed flight and one caught in plenty of time.
* Travel light. Taking public transportation or trying to hail a cab is very difficult at the best of times when lugging around heavy suitcases; holiday crowds increase the difficulty.Go to the link for more.

Most of these ideas are simply common sense — in uncommonly short supply when the press of the holiday madness lands on us like a meteor. Get ready now, is the key thing.