By Jeremy Hance, www.mongabay.com27 April 2011 The Asian Development Bank has warned that high food prices on the continent could push 64 million people in developing countries into extreme poverty, reports the AFP. On average food prices are up 10% since the beginning of the year with staple prices significantly higher than last year. For […]
By Sarah Goodyear26 Apr 2011 My head nearly exploded at the breakfast table on Saturday morning. I was reading a piece in The New York Times about an Illinois developer who has finally found a way to unload the new houses he has built some 50 miles from downtown Chicago, in a place he has […]
By Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY 26 April 2011 Americans depended more on government assistance in 2010 than at any other time in the nation’s history, a USA TODAY analysis of federal data finds. The trend shows few signs of easing, even though the economic recovery is nearly 2 years old. A record 18.3% of the […]
By Jason Straziuso and Tom Odula, Associated Press 20 April 2011 NAIROBI, Kenya—Stephen Omandi scratched out the number “55” on the sign advertising buckets of maize and wrote in the new price: 60 Kenya shillings. The price hike amounted to only $0.06. But for the residents of Nairobi’s largest slum, where most people live on […]
By Tami Luhby, senior writer15 April 2011 NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The Detroit Public Schools district is sending layoff notices to all its 5,714 teachers, saying it must determine its staffing needs amid a drop in enrollment. The district is also mailing non-renewal notices to 248 administrators. Detroit has lost one-quarter of its population over […]
By Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY13 April 2011 The share of the population that is working fell to its lowest level last year since women started entering the workforce in large numbers three decades ago, a USA TODAY analysis finds. Only 45.4% of Americans had jobs in 2010, the lowest rate since 1983 and down from […]
By Tami Luhby, senior writer13 April 2011 NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — One in six Americans is receiving help from the government, just as fiscal austerity threatens to reduce some of that aid. Soaring unemployment during The Great Recession has driven tens of millions of people to the dole. Enrollment in Medicaid and food stamp programs […]
By Gail the Actuary28 March 2011 The idea that high oil prices cause recessions shouldn’t be any surprise to those who have been following my writings, those of Dave Murphy, or those of Jeff Rubin. Last month, though, the Wall Street Journal finally decided to mention the idea to its readers, in an article called […]
The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) rose for the eighth consecutive month, averaging 236 points in February 2011, up 2.2 percent from January and the highest (in both real and nominal terms) since January 1990, the inception date of the index. Except for sugar, prices of all other commodity groups monitored registered gains in February […]
By Donna CooperFebruary 22, 2011 House leaders are unfortunately restricting their proposed budget cuts for the remainder of fiscal year 2011 to nonsecurity discretionary spending in an attempt to tame a $1.3 trillion deficit. This approach is especially shortsighted since the Federal Treasury loses twice as much revenue due to tax breaks than Congress appropriates […]
