GM Hooks Up Employees from Home

November 9, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - General Motors employees can now log in from home to access their 401(k) accounts, electronic pay stubs, e-learning enrollment, and other company services, thanks to the launch of the company's new employee portal.

With mySocrates, an extension of the automaker’s existing Socrates employee information site, which was available primarily on employee workstations, GM’s 180,000 US workers can connect to the site from any computer, via America Online.

Apart from employee benefits, compensation and e-learning information, MySocrates will also include news, weather, and traffic updates.

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The portal is powered by software developed by Workscape, vendor of self-service human resources applications.

GM hooked up the first 1,000 employees to mySocrates last month. The remainder will be hooked up before the end of the year.

Nasdaq Hopes to Extend Reach Abroad

November 8, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Nasdaq Stock Market's new chief executive, Harwick Simmons, on Thursday revealed the exchange's plans to expand into other countries.

Speaking at the Securities Industry Association’s annual meeting in Boca Raton, Florida, Simmons stated that these tentative plans could include a merger with a major exchange in Europe or Asia.

Simmons added that he hopes that Nasdaq would be floated before the end of 2002, with the third quarter being a realistic target for an initial public offering, subject to favorable market conditions.

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Asked to clarify the form a merger with an overseas exchange would take, Simmons wouldn’t provide details. He also wouldn’t explain how such a deal would fit with the exchange’s planned IPO – except to say the events could occur in tandem.

Although Nasdaq already has established a presence in both regions through Nasdaq Japan and Nasdaq Europe, Simmons noted that the merger he had in mind would extend much farther.

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