January U.S. jobs report: Good news for the economy, bad news for the pessimists

By Massimo Calabresi3 February 2012 Some Obama opponents are struggling to find a cloud in the silver lining of January’s jobs numbers, which estimated that there was a 243,000-job boost and a big drop in the unemployment rate, from 8.5% to 8.3%, last month. Their biggest gripe focuses on the size of the labor force: […]

Eurozone unemployment at new record high

31 January 2012 (PA) – Unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone ended 2011 at 10.4 per cent, a new record high for the single currency since its launch at the start of 1999, official figures showed today. Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office, said the rate in December was unchanged, as November’s was revised upwards from a […]

‘Most severe drought Mexico has ever faced’ leaves two million people without access to water, devastates cropland in nearly half of the country

By KARLA ZABLUDOVSKY30 January 2012 MEXICO CITY – A drought that a government official called the most severe Mexico had ever faced has left two million people without access to water and, coupled with a cold snap, has devastated cropland in nearly half of the country. The government in the past week has authorized $2.63 […]

Graph of the Day: National Current-Account Balances as a Percentage of World Gross Product, 1996-2013

The large and persistent external imbalances in the global economy that have developed over the past decade remain a point of concern for policymakers. Reducing these imbalances has been the major focus of consultations among G20 Finance Ministers under the G20 Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth and the related Mutual Assessment Process (MAP) […]

Food waste denounced by ministers as almost 1 billion people go hungry

By Rudy Ruitenberg23 January 2012 Food waste was denounced by farm ministers and policy makers gathered in Berlin as almost 1 billion people in developing countries go hungry. Consumers in rich countries dispose of 220 million metric tons of food waste every year, equal to the entire food output of sub-Saharan Africa, Jose Graziano da […]

Apple shows us why manufacturing will never return from China

By Michael Santo, Tech Buzz Examiner22 January 2012 Reports such as SACOM’s from May of 2011 have shown us of the stresses, low wages, and unsafe conditions of plants such as those used for manufacturing iDevices and other electronics. Yet, on the surface, a New York Times report seems to point to more than just […]

Graph of the Day: Price Indices of Commodity Groups, January 2000 – September 2011

After sliding considerably in the first half of 2010, the agricultural commodity price indices of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) rose sharply, reaching peaks around February 2011 (figure II.9). Despite subsequent falls, prices remain comparatively high. The food price index averaged 268 points from January to September 2011, up 21.8 per […]

Video: ‘Unemployed graduates’ set themselves alight in Morocco

RABAT, Morocco, January 19 (AP) – Five unemployed Moroccan men set themselves on fire in the capital Rabat as part of widespread demonstrations in the country over the lack of jobs, especially for university graduates, a rights activist said Thursday. Three were burned badly enough to be hospitalized. Self-immolation has become a tactic of protest […]

Roubini: The Straits of America

By Nouriel Roubini, Project Syndicate 13 January 2012 Macroeconomic indicators for the United States have been better than expected for the last few months. Job creation has picked up. Indicators for manufacturing and services have improved moderately. Even the housing industry has shown some signs of life. And consumption growth has been relatively resilient. But, […]

With work scarce in Athens, Greeks go back to the land

By RACHEL DONADIO8 January 2012 CHIOS, Greece – Nikos Gavalas and Alexandra Tricha, both 31 and trained as agriculturalists, were frustrated working on poorly paying, short-term contracts in Athens, where jobs are scarce and the cost of living is high. So last year, they decided to start a new project: growing edible snails for export. […]

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