Japan's way to combat the growing unemployment

Just minutes before, I was watching a programme on CNN which showed Japan intuitive measures to overcome the harms of unemployment.Say Hello to Hello Work!!! That's right, Japan's new initiative includes these places where the unemployed can not only register to get unemployment benefits but also receive Job training.The administrators said that all sorts of jobless people were getting trained there; from motor company employees to office workers,everybody is there to learn some new tricks.This ensured that the jobless people get, at least, some of their pay to feed their families. While Japan's economy has been synonimous for some time with economic slowdown, the worlwide slowdown has hit it hard,causing exports to plummet down. Let us see whether these Hello Work centres actually Hello jobs in the future!

PM's ambitious dreams!!!!!!

Today's latest news is our esteemed PM has asserted that he wants the country's literacy rate to be 100% 15 years fro now.One thing is for sure,our PM sure loves bright students. Anybodywho has seen the prize giving ceremony of the matric high achievers can attest this fact. But then, dont you think that this claim is too far fetched? One might as well start believing that the recession is going to end completely in the next few minutes.
Although,this statement shows that our PM wants our literacy rate to improve but the assertion itself is extremely difficult to achieve.Unless, Mr.president is planning to sell everybody he has and ask every country for aid(which is, of course, his favourite past time),it remains an utter impossibility - especially with the time frame given.Although, nobody is going to be happier than me if that were true.Lets hope, a miracle happens and what Mr.Gillani has said comes true:)

Samsung mobile phones sales increase by 14 percent in Q2

Day before yesterday,Samsung announced its quarterly financial report and the company obviously finds itself in a very good spot with each of its divisions' profits on the rise.
The consolidated operating profit for the quarter has been about 1.42 billion euro, marking a 5 percent increase year-over-year and 436 percent rise over the previous quarter.

The sales of mobile handsets have increased 14 percent quarter-over-quarter to 52.3 million units in the second three-month period of the year. Another good news is the 2 percent increase in the average sales price for Samsung handsets, suggesting a larger number of high-end devices sold.

Samsung are estimating that the world economies are starting to shake off the financial crisis consequences and expect the handset demand to increase by 5 percent in Q3. This seems pretty bold compared to the far more conservative predictions of most competitors for continuation of the hard market conditions.

The South Korean company expects to continue to gain market share by expanding its product lineup and through close partnerships with mobile service providers.

Samsung even forecast that even with the current market conditions it will exceed its full year sales target of 200 million units. Now certainly if the trend of Samsung outperforming the market goes on for a while longer we might just have a new market leader in the coming years.
For all you,numerophiles (if that is even a word) I will also post the link to the samsung's officially released report.http://www.samsung.com/us/aboutsamsung/news/newsIrRead.do?

THE BIG FAIL

tate regulators shut down seven regional banks Friday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said, bringing the total number of banks to fail in the United States to 64 this year.
Six of the banks that closed were subsidiaries of one larger bank, the Security Bank Corporation, based out of Macon, Ga. So far in 2009, 16 banks have failed in Georgia, more than in any other single state.
The State Bank and Trust Company, headquartered in Pinehurst, Ga., will take over all of the deposits of the six bank subsidiaries that failed. As of March 31, the six subsidiaries had total assets of $2.8 billion and total deposits of approximately $2.4 billion.
The six failed Georgia banks had a total of 20 branches, and the branches will reopen Saturday as branches of State Bank and Trust Company.
Earlier in the evening, Waterford Village Bank, of Clarence, N.Y., was shut down, and the FDIC was named the receiver. Evans Bank, N.A., headquartered in Angola, N.Y., took over all of the deposits of the failed bank.
It makes sense,doesnt it?The smalller banks give out loans to smaller firms and lenders who are more prone to recession and stuff.So,it is easy to see that the banks were mostly small.However,this closure is costly as it would cost the FDIC $812.6 million,bringing the total cost for failed banks to $14.6 billion as compared to $17.6 billion in all of 2008.So,apparently,this is no ha-ha business.

Stocks pull back a bit after prior day's big jump

After crossing the high 9000 psychological marker,stocks are slightly lower in the early friday market.Stocks are slightly lower in early trading Friday, as disappointing earnings news from companies like Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. weigh on the market.
Microsoft shares dropped more than 7 percent after the tech giant said late Thursday its revenue fell short of analysts' expectations. Amazon.com also reported weaker-than-expected sales, and its shares fell more than 6 percent in early trading. (Source:Yahoo News)

Although the theme had been one of consistent reports of increased earnings by the companies,these had been achieved more by agressive cost-cutting strategies than increased sales but still, expectations that a recovery in the next quarter is iminent have not abated.

US leading economic indicators rise more than expected in June, 3rd straight monthly increase

"More plans to build homes, higher stock prices and fewer people filing first-time claims jobless aid sent a private-sector forecast of U.S. economic activity higher than expected in June.
It was the third straight monthly increase for the New York-based Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators, and another sign pointing toward the recession ending later this year.
The index rose 0.7 percent last month. Wall Street analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a gain of 0.4 percent."(Source:Yahoo News)
People,and here is the good news,it is also said that the figures in themselves(as always) do not signify that recession is over but do send a positive message that we can expect a slow recovery this autumn.Now aint that a thing to party about?

BROADBAND GAINS TRACTION DESPITE ECONOMIC CRISIS

More people worldwide are subscribingto high-speed internetconnections,despite the economic downturn,with China and other Asian countries among the world leaders. This was indicated in a study released at the CommunicAsia 2009 trade fair in Singapore last month.
The study showed that the number of broadband lines grew by 16.6 million globally in the last quarter alone to more than 429 million. I t said that broadband penetration in 20 countries grew by 10% or more in the first quarter from the previous three months,with the biggest rise coming from India at 13.4%.Sure,all this goes on to show the importance given to broadband that even at these harsh times, broadband continues to excel. (Source:Yahoo News)

I know I should have posted this post before sony ericsson(think it would have made a better comparison) but nevertheless here I go.Well when the report of Q1 came out,I had not started this blog,so, for the uninitiated I would like to tell that Nokia saw a 90% decline in Q1 and things looked gloomy.Now as the report for Q2 came out, things look a little flashier than before.
The numbers are showing sings of recovering from the shock of the recession - their operating profit went up by almost 51% and their estimated market share increased a percent to 38%. The total number of phones they shipped was just over 103.2 million, a healthy improvement over the 93.2 million the previous quarter.
Reading through the report shows that things are improving since the begging of the year but they are still not as good as they used to be. Net sales for the quarter rose 7% from last quarter's 9.28 billion, but are 24.6% lower than those for the same period last year. Operating profit has also shrunk by 71% from the same quarter the previous year, but compared to Q1's 90% it's not as abysmal.
Geographically, sales for the quarter went up by about a third in the Middle East and Africa, as well as Latin America compared to Q1. The other regions saw a more moderate increase of between 4 and 7 percent, the only exception being North America, where Nokia sales were down by 5.9% .
The Average Selling Price went down to 62 euro from the 65 euro from the previous quarter, which Nokia explain with increased production of lower-end phones. In an attempt to counteract this, they've began shipping their flagship smartphone the Nokia N97, their flagship imaging phone - the N86 8MP, and finally, their flagship email-oriented phone - the E75. In other words - Nokia is gearing up retake some turf at the high end, too.
Here are all the numbers a nd flashy words if anybody wanna see.
http://http://www.nokia.com/about-nokia/financials/quarterly-and-annual-information/q2-2009

Sony Ericsson summarizes Q2 financially, loses more ground

While nokia's position improved a little relative to Q1 but sony ericsson's position is definitely not stable. Just as planned, day before yesterday, Sony Ericsson announced their Q2 financial results. The times are getting tougher and tougher for them it seems, the number of units shipped fell 5% compared to the previous quarter (and they weren't spectacular then, too).
The good news is, the Average Selling Price went from 120 euro to 122 driven by a "more favourable product mix", which resulted in 4% higher gross margin. This wasn't enough though - the net loss was 213 million euro (the fact that this is better than the loss of 293 million the previous quarter is hardly any consolation). The reason for this, according to Sony Ericsson lays in the challenging market conditions, with Latin America being singled out as particularly tough.
Sony Ericsson are trying to handle the situation, their programs for reducing expenses are on track and the restructuring charges related to those programs are within the expected bounds. Part of those cost reduction programs included reducing the global workforce by 2,350 workers.
By Sony Ericsson's estimates, their market share is slightly more than 5 percent.(figures from GSMARENA.COM) The company admits that they need to turn things around and grow financially if they are to retain their Tier one manufacturer status.The company even expects a global mobile market contraction of 10% throughout this year.
Catch the full numbers and statements here:http://http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/corporate/press/pressreleases/pressreleasedetails/q209financialpressrelease-20090716

BofA posts 2nd-quarter profit of $2.4 billion, beating Street, in sign banks may be recovering .http://http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/story;_

of America said Friday its earnings after payment of preferred dividends were down at 33 cents per share compared with a profit of $3.22 billion, or 72 cents per share, a year earlier. The earnings beat the forecasts of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who forecast Bank of America would earn 28 cents per share.
Revenue rose to $32.77 billion, slightly below analysts' forecast of $33.1 billion http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/story;_ylc=X3oDMTI1dWE4aGJsBFJfYWlkAwRSX2RtbgN5YWhvby5jb20EUl9maWQDNTdhYTAxNTA5NGQxMDIzOGZiNjlmZTllMzNjNDMyOTQEUl9sdHADMQ--/*http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/topfinstories/*http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/090717/us_earns_bank_of_america.html

Weighing Price and Value When Picking a College

This article appeared recently in Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203739404574288301760990542.html) about the ever going debate whether elite and expensive universities are really worth it or a person can be as happy in attending a cheaper stste-run university?Basically,I would think it really depends on the person:if a person can afford to pay the heavy fees,then so be it,he should go to his dream school(provided he gets admission which is getting really tough these days,frankly).As I am an international,I would talk about International financial aid:schools like Yale provide full financial assistance)and there are some schools like Duke which provide financial aid according to demonstrated need to a few applicants .This increases exponentially the private rate of return to students who study in such excellent universities and as I discussed the news about Obama spending more on higher education,this is exactly what the esteemed president wants

RECESSION AINT THAT BAD ANYMORE?

Industrial companies cut back production yet again in June but not nearly as deeply as they have been, another sign the recession is easing its grip.
The Federal Reserve reported Wednesday that production at the nation's factories, mines and utilities fell 0.4 percent last month as the recession crimped demand for a wide range of manufactured goods, including cars, machinery and household appliances.
Well, due to diminished consumer appetites,industries were inclined to put more of their plants on closure,which made the overall operating rate at 62,a record low since 1967 but it looks a lot better now as these reports might help restor consumer's confidence and as Geithner urged middle-east to invest in US.Who knows? they might just comply!!It just constitutes a small step to make the prediction of economists of abating recession in Q3 true.

CONSUMER PRICES JUMP 0.7%IN JUNE

The government of US says consumer prices shot up in June by the largest amount in 11 months, reflecting the biggest jump in gasoline prices in nearly five years.
This was a little higher than the expected 0.6% predicted by economists.However,the big jump is only temporary as inflation is not going to happen in economies emerging out of recession.Although we can expect a substantial amount of infaltion when we are back on the road of economic growth but for now,given the high amount of cyclical or keynesian unemployment taking place which keeps a lid on wage price and,thus prevents wage price inflation.

RISING DEFICITS AND ....... WORRIES

The U.S. government rang up a $94.32 billion budget deficit in June, a record for the month, as the price tag for efforts to prop up the economy, banks and automakers mounted while revenues weakened.
Move down to the end of the article to get the link but I'll talk you through it anyway.Well as the situation stands,the US deficit is at a post WW2 high and that sure looks gloomy.While,June is usually a month which enjoys a surplus;it is after 1991 that it has experienced a deficit and that is saying something.While a panel of senior economists said last week that the economic crisis will end in Q3 of the fiscal year while others say the deficit is yet to climax at 1.5 trillion.But either way, the situation is uncertain enough to expect this deficit to go down overnight (who would be naive enough to think that?) but as I say lets hope the clouds of doom go away quick enough.

BIG NEWS FOR EDUCATION IN US

I was going through my daily dose of news when I saw this news and this is a biggie.President Obama announced a $12 billion plan for community colleges in an effort to aid the United States towards its goal of highest proportion of graduates by 2020. Now that is what we call ambitious.For the complete story,visit http://http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090714/pl_nm/us_usa_education_obama.Yes I have given up the practice of copying the whole story to my blog as it is time consuming and did not go well with a visitor to the blog.So I will only post links.Whoa!I wish our government did something similar as ourhigher education system is mourning its downfall.But then again we are not America,we are Pakistan. Wish I had that kind of power,then I would make the educational system my first priority.Listen everyone! Pakistan can not flourish until we get good education.Is not the vision to see pakistani people getting good education reason enough to live, to strive,to put forward one's life. For me it is!

TOP UNIVERSITIES

I am about to apply to universities for undergraduate study.So,I have been doing some research about the universitites.Now,for the uninitiated (as I was some while ago),a good place to start is at the Times Higher Education rankings.Not only will it give you information about the top universitites of the world but it also serves as a good index for universities (I admit I didnt know at least 90% of the universities listed) so it helps you to explore new options for your higher education.The link ishttp://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2008/overall_rankings/fullrankings/
Remember all of the universities in the website are the world's best and you would get good education in them. Instead,try to focus on a university that fits your personality so you would be happy there.

DONT UNDERSTAND THIS,CAN SOMEBODY HELP

Today I watched FAREED ZAKARIA at CNN and the talk was about the financial crisis of the states and the treasury secretary of States,Mr.Geithner asserted that to help the situation,Americans should spend less and somehow make chinese consume more.I do not know whether it was due to my imperfect knowledge of the subject or the fact that since I came to my home just in time to catch the last five minutes of the show,I did not understand the statement.How can the chinese help the States?Please can somebody explain me because this question comes back to hauntme from time to time!!!

APPLYING ECONOMICS TO OBSERVATIONS

I had gone to Murree which infact is a tourist haven in Pakistan with extremely pleasant weather and there are many things I observed which caused me to use economic theories to understand situations.here are a few examples:

• I know it has become cliched now that we have a major oppurtunity cost in making housing schemes in deforestation.Never has this idea struck me with such a great force than went I went to murree.Man ,it is such a beautiful place due to its plantation growth but recent rapid housing developments most inevitably is leading to a great deal of deforestation.In fact,I learned from an acquaintance that he sold 'diar' ,the best wood,for roughly Rs.25 a kilo obtained from a tree in shamilat or government area.This example goes on to show ,in a very unscientific way,not only the relative abundance of plantations in the area but also the local indifference to such a major issue.Also,the ubiquitous accession of land by land mafia of government is what I would also like to write about but not now.
• As the tourist season is in full swing these days,Murree was full to its brim.If you dont see lines of upto 60 cars long along roads in murree now,then,I would suggest you should get your eyes checked.When I was part of these onerous traffic rushes,I started thinking about ways of regulating this traffic.Maybe some taxes or something should be introduced.there are some measures in place e.g. one way traffic system,no entry of cars during peak times but still more needs to be done
• It is always a great pleasure to actually see what you have studied or study what you have observed.As we were invited by some our friends over there.so it was more of a visit than an actual holiday and it is presumable that we had to buy very little from there for sustenance as our friends played such great hosts.but what stuff we bought had one thing,it was heavily overpriced;a coke cost Rs.110,300% overpriced.It all reminded about everything I had studied about monopoly and its effects.In fact,it was interesting to note ways to coerce monopoly on consumers.Many places do not allow outside stuff such as eatables inside,thereby forcing consumers to buy goods from them at sometimes upto three times the market price .
• I also observed that although Murree is carrying out its job as a tourist attraction due to its natural beauty but it requires more advertising to attract foreign tourists.Yes,I saw some foreigners but the more,the better :)My observation says that if money on advertising Murre as tourist haven is done properly,it might help to counter some of our long-running trade deficit.We have halted at making a tourist ministry and making scandals of the tourism minister.Next to nothing is done on advertisement

BEST EXAMPLE OF THE HEART OF ECONOMICS 'OPPURTUNITY COST'

Oil below $60 as traders eye company results

VIENNA – Oil prices slid well below $60 a barrel Friday as investors braced for company earnings reports next week that will provide clues on the strength of crude demand.
While global appetite for crude over the next few months remains unclear, expectations are that it will increase by next year, with the International Energy agency predicting a 1.7 percent rebound in demand by next year.
Benchmark crude for August delivery was down $1.58 at $58.83 a barrel by afternoon European electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, the contract rose 27 cents to settle at $60.41.
Oil had bobbed near $60 a barrel the last two days after dropping from an eight-month intraday high of $73.38 on June 30 on investor concern that a rally since Masaid global oil demand will increase by 1.4 million barrels a day in 2010 to 85.2 million barrels a day — a "strong rebound" that would be led by growth in developing countries.
The IEA left its forecast for 2009 oil demand unchanged, and still expects it to drop 2.9 percent.
Still the direction of the oil market remained unclear in the short run, with prices poised to rise substantially above — or fall precipitously below — the $60 mark., Brent prices fell $1.24 to $59.86 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange(SOURCE:YAHOO NEWS)
WELL,THIS IS WHAT SHOULD I SAY,FAIRLY GRAVE NEWS:)

World has avoided economic disaster, Obama says

L'AQUILA, Italy – Lasting worldwide recovery "is still a ways off," President Barack Obama declared Friday, but he also said at the concluReckless actions by a few have fueled a recession that spans the globe," Obama said of the meltdown that began in the United States with a tumble in housing prices and drastic slowing of business lending. The downturn now threatens superpowers and emerging nations alike.
Obama urged national leaders to unite behind a global recovery plan that includes stricter financial regulation and sustained stimulus spending.
"The only way forward is through shared and persistent effort to combat threats to our peace, our peace, our prosperity and our common humanity wherever they may exist. None of this will be easy," Obama told a news conference at the end of the Group of Eight summit of major economic powers.sion of a global summit that a disastrous economic collapse apparently has been averted........................................................On the world economy, Obama said that rising food prices mean millions more are falling into desperate poverty "and right now, at this defining moment, we face a choice. We can either shape our future or let events shape it for us."..............................."While our markets are improving and we appear to have averted global collapse, we know that too many people are still struggling. So we agree that full recovery is still a ways off." He said the world leaders felt "it would be premature to begin winding down our stimulus plans."
Earlier in the week, the 186-nation International Monetary Fund released an updated economic forecast, predicting that the global economy will shrink 1.4 percent this year, the worst performance in the post-World War II period. That forecast was slightly worse than the 1.3 percent decline the IMF predicted in April.
The international lending agency did see prospects improving for next year with global growth forecast to climb to 2.5 percent, up from an April projection of 1.9 percent.
Leaders at Friday's meetings also committed themselves to a $20 billion initiative to help farmers in poor countries boost production. (SOURCE:YAHOO NEWS)
Here goes Mr.president with something really happy and cheerfull to say in times where bad news have become the norm,I reaally thin theat specially in these hard times ,we all must work hand in hand with each other to get stability

New GM emerges from bankruptcy protection

DETROIT – The new General Motors will be faster and more responsive to customers than the old one, and it will make money and repay government loans faster than required, CEO Fritz Henderson said Friday as a leaner version of the automaker emerged from bankruptcy protection.
The bulk of General Motors Corp.'s assets were transferred to a company controlled by the U.S. government.
Once the world's largest and most powerful automaker, new GM is now cleansed of massive debt and burdensome contracts that would have sunk it without federal loans.
But the new GM also emerges amidst the worst sales slump in a quarter-century............................................................."If we don't get this right, nothing else is going to work," he said during a morning news conference at GM's Downtown Detroit headquarters. "Business as usual is over at General Motors."(SOURCE:YAHOO NEWS)
I do not know whether any of you saw Obama announcement of $50 billion bailout for GM motors but he sure as hell looked grim and never made the speech eloquent.Just,a short sort of note about the bailout and he was gone.But I am pleased that it is helping and someday I can see that company again becoming the largest motor company again(Toyota beat the hell out of GM in 2008)

INFLATION RATE OF PAKISTAN IN THIS MONTH WAS 13.3%!!

Man I am sorry,I have been pretty busy this week and did not get time to post.Sometimes I wonder that there is more work to do in holidays but it is for a cause in which I believe in (I mean meeting my hometown nazim as a member of local society to give my humble suggestions about improving the local education oppurtunities is worthwhile and do not get carried away,I was not the only one; there were about 7 people,many of whom elders but nonetheless it was a successfull and SURPRISINGLY enjoyable meeting) OK for those of us(including a sweeping majority and me ,of course) who have been grumbling that inflation is killing us with inflation rates going as high as 25% in the last year,it is heartening to hear that it has come down to nearly half i-e 13.3%,but wait a second,one may expect a rise with the new, highly unpopular presidential ordinance which coerces us to accept higher fuel prices mmight cause some cost pull inflation.At least,thats what my analysis says.n sorry people,I know I bring shame to all my english teacher and SAT study by writing extremely flawed english but ironically,this is what I love about blogging,you can write about anything,about anyone and no body would ask you to correct a comma splice.

Today I am going to share some excellent resources with you for those who are either studying O or A levels.
They are mainly past papers and notes links an they helped me a lot.Even when I was ill in papers,these resources did a lot to compensate for my loss of study time and provided me a quick revision.
http://www.freeexampapers.com
http://www.blackpapers.com
http://www.xtremepapers.com
http://www.tutor2u.net
http://www.bdeconomy.blogspot.com
Hope that helps.catchya later

EMBARRASING SCANDAL

Some days back,a new scandal emerged when one of our esteemed board of education's checked papers were found in the local scrapyard.You might say who cares really!!RIGHT?WRONG!Because those papers were of the latest examination session of april 2009 whose result has not been revealed even.NOW IMAGINE THAT.Now thankfully I am taking Cambridge tests but I can not help visualizing my latest papers lying in in some scrapyard.However, common sense tells me that Cambridge ,unlike our boards,is too respected an institution to do something like this.What intrigues me is nobody is willing to accept the blame.The examiner says that he put all the papers in the stack and sent it to the head,but the head maintains that the papers were not hand-delivered to me by the examiner.Who is to blame is what remains to be seen in this catfight.
Now here I am reminded of my personal ambitions,as a pakistani I have grown up to see the problems pakistan faces and what my personal analysis suggests is that all the problems in pakistan are caused by lack of education.I firmly believe in it,although I try to do what I can do and at every oppurtunity available to me to propagate education.I am not naive to think that my efforts would change pakistan but it is a step in the right direction.I have a dream that every child in pakistan gets education,and not only education but proper education(because it is a shame to call education at what is taught in government schools).I want to see pakistanis who are independent to make decisions,who have the acumen to choose their path,who want to change pakistan and leave their marks on the world and that can only happen through good quality education.To be honest,it hurts me to pay the money to the british as a price tag for quality education.I want,at least,the pakistani academics should be at par with the current british standard and we dont pay for the "services imports".But my ultimate dream is to make pakistani education so competitive that even the british seek our help and expertise in education.If I get a chance I will see to it that it happens.

BADE NEWS UPON BAD NEWS

As if our recession woes were not over,here comes a new bad news.Although,I would be lying if I said it was not expected but all the same,it is a bad news.
By mid-afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for August delivery was down 16 cents to $66.57 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, it fell $2.58, nearly 4 percent, to settle at $66.73.
Trading in the U.S. is closed Friday for the Independence Day holiday.
Oil came off an eight-month intraday high of $73.38 a barrel earlier this week on growing investor concerns that a doubling of the crude price since March isn't justified by a sluggish global economy.
"Renewed concern over the global economy, reflected in lower equities, is the main driver of weaker oil market sentiment," said Britain's KBC Market Services. "However, in contrast to recent months, weak oil market fundamentals seem at last to be exerting some influence."
KBC mentioned rising oil inventories and U.S. gasoline stocks as evidence of weak demand.
"There is no longer a shortfall, or support, in any key sector of the oil complex," KBC said.
Weak jobs figures released Thursday suggested consumption will remain tepid and crude demand may not pick up quickly..............................In London, Brent prices slid 27 cents to $66.38 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.(SOURCE:YET AGAIN YAHOO NEWS)

WALL STREET SINKS AFTER WEAK JOB DATA

As if bad news which came out yesterday was not enough,here comes another news to abase our morals.Following yesterday's new which I posted,there has been some negative activity apparently at wall street.O!Heavens,when we thought we were finally embarking our road to recovery,here comes an avalanche in the way.For more details,read this.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks fell Thursday morning after a new report showed more job losses than expected in June.
Major stock indexes were down about 2 percent after the U.S. unemployment rate hit a 26-year high. European markets were also down following similarly disappointing data on unemployment in the 16 countries that use the euro currency.
Recession-weary employers in the U.S. cut 467,000 jobs in June, the Labor Department reported, far worse than the 363,000 that economists expected and a grim signal that the path to recovery will be bumpy.
The jobless rate, meanwhile, rose to 9.5 percent last month from 9.4 percent in May. Economists had predicted a rate of 9.6 percent.
In morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 162.26, or 1.9 percent, to 8,341.80. The Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 19.61, or 2.1 percent, to 903.72, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 42.71, or 2.3 percent, to 1,803.01.
Overseas markets also fell after a report showed unemployment in Europe rose to a 10-year high in May.
"This is part of the market recovery," said Roy Williams, CEO of Prestige Wealth Management. "You're going to get bad news." Williams predicted the unemployment rate is likely to reach 11 percent.
Williams also noted, however that other recent data has shown the economy is beginning to improve. After the market's surge from March lows, Williams said data like the jobless figures will give investors pause and sell stocks.(SOURCE:YAHOO FINANCIAL NEWS)

U.S. private sector sheds 473,000 jobs in June

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. private employers cut 473,000 jobs in June, more than expected but down from the 485,000 jobs lost in May, a report by a private employment service said on Wednesday.
The median of forecasts from 25 economists surveyed by Reuters for the ADP Employer Services report, jointly developed with Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, was for 393,000 private-sector jobs lost in June.
Though June's job loss was the smallest since October 2008, the surprisingly large number of cuts deals a setback to those expecting the U.S. economy to recover soon.
"The data surprises me a little bit in that the consensus out there seems to be that business is improving and that the economy has hit bottom," said Mark Bonhard, investment advisor at Dawson Wealth Management in Cleveland, Ohio.
"This definitely is not good news."
After the report, U.S. stock index futures pared their gains. U.S. Treasury debt prices initially recovered some ground but were then hit by renewed selling. The U.S. dollar pared its losses versus the euro.
The May figure was revised from an originally reported loss of 532,000 jobs.
The ADP data comes ahead of Thursday's monthly nonfarm payrolls report from the government, which is much more comprehensive and includes both the public and private sectors.
Economists expect the payrolls report, which will be issued a day early due to the Independence Day holiday on Friday, to show a loss of 363,000 jobs in June and a rise in the unemployment rate to 9.6 percent from May's 9.4 percent.
ADP follows another privately released report showing planned layoffs at U.S. firms fell for a fifth consecutive month in June, hitting the lowest since March 2008 and providing a hopeful sign as the U.S. economy struggles to end its worst recession in decades.(SOURCE:YAHOO NEWS)
Well,that most certainly is not any good news,is it?O man!I thought our economy is recovering quickly enough but then I hear this.Well now all we can do is wait and pray that this horrible period of recession goes away quickly enough