US Jobs Slump as Job Losses Cancel Out Job Gains

Posted by Clive in Politics

US jobs slump as the Department of Labor reported that there were no new jobs (net) created last month.

The US jobs news is alot worse than had been predicted by commentators although the official unemployment rate remained at 9.1%.

It is the first time that this has happened since 1945 and occurred because private sector jobs were cancelled out by public sector losses.

The news has brought more fears that the US is about to succumb to a double dip recession with growth still very fragile.

The Department of Labor also revised their numbers for US jobs created in June and July in a downwards direction.

Stock markets around the world fell on the news of the US jobs figures and all eyes are now on President Obama and his speech next week.

He will spell out a new strategy for job creation and economic recovery although most people are not too hopeful about what that might be.

With the economy in the shape it’s in, there are no easy fixes or shortcuts. More help for the economy from the Fed is looking even more likely.

The US jobs news comes at the same time that the US regulator announced plans to sue various banks including Goldmans Sachs, Bank of America and Deutsche Bank.

They say that the banks misrepresented the quality of the mortgage packages that they sold, a fundamental cause of the financial crisis.

The result were losses of $30 billion for Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac leading to a bail out by the taxpayer to the tune of something like $140 billion.

The banks are currently discussing a deal that would free them from any future litigation and expense.

Hurricane Irene Gets Closer To US East Coast

Posted by Clive in Travel

Hurricane Irene is rapidly approaching the east coast of the United States today as millions batten down the hatches.

Millions of people are being told today to pack their bags and evacuate their homes as Hurricane Irene hits the US with wind speeds up to 90mph.

US President, Barack Obama, cut short his holiday to warn people about the dangers and advised anyone in the projected path to take precautions. People have been stocking up on water, fuel and food while others have evacuated altogether.

In some areas a mandatory evacuation order has been put into effect. These are low lying areas that are in danger of heavy damage and include parts of New York City. Hurricane Irene is expected to hit New York on Sunday.

New York’s subway will be shut down, airports closed and some areas will become no go, including the financial district in Manhattan. Power companies warned of potential outages.

There are so far 7 states that have declared a state of emergency and Hurricane Irene is just the first hurricane of the season. One wonders how the rest of the year will progress.

The good news is that the National Hurricane Center has moved Hurricane Irene from a category 2 to a category 1 hurricane for the moment, but it is still a beast of a storm.

Extending almost 100 miles across and gusting at wind speeds of up to 90 mph. Pressure changes can speed up or slow down Hurricane Irene so it could potentially move back to a category 2.

You can follow the updates from the National Hurricane Center on twitter, http://twitter.com/#!/NHC_Atlantic.

Hurricane Irene comes not long after an unusually long and hot heatwave and a large earthquake struck the US.

US residents are taking it in good, or should that be grim, humor but must be wondering what is happening as these events become more frequent.

If you would like to see what Hurricane Irene looks like from the International Space Station then check out the video below from NASA.

Hurricane Irene Seen From Space

Photo: NASA Goddard Photo & Video

US Interest Rates Frozen for 2 Years

Posted by Clive in Business

US interest rates have effectively been frozen for 2 years by the US Federal Reserve.

US Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, said the exceptionally low interest rates of 0.25% would stay in place until 2013.

The statement did enough to reassure investors after days of huge losses on stock markets around the world.

The Dow bounced back almost 4% and other stock markets around the world made similar gains as investors sought bargains in the turmoil.

The credit score scale slide by the US triggered a huge loss in confidence in the markets at the start of the week with shares losing millions off their market values.

Continuing problems in the Eurozone and depressed growth forecasts in many developed economies added to the general sense of malaise.

Apple briefly became the world’s most valuable company as the oil giants temporarily lost some of the their value and Apple became a safe haven for investors.

However, analysts believe that that Apple’s brief reign at the top is an indication of the future. The company that was on it’s knees just 15 years ago until the return of Steve Jobs, is now widely expected to become the first trillion $ company.

In the last month alone Apple’s value has gone up by $50 billion and is now valued at $346 billion. This compares to Exxon at $352 billion, even though Exxon earns 4 times the amount of revenue that Apple does, the future is seen in technology.

US Special Forces Helicopter Downed in Afghanistan

Posted by Jeff in Politics

A US special forces helicopter has been downed in Afghanistan with up to 30 US troopers and around 8 Afghans on board.

It is thought that the US special forces were from the same unit which stormed Osama Bin Laden’s complex and killed him. It is unlikely that they were exactly the same personnel however.

The Afghan’s on board were likely to be interpreters and commandos.

The loss of the the Chinook helicopter, just west of Kabul, is the biggest single loss of life for the US in the Afghanistan campaign.

It’s not known if the Taliban claims of shooting down the Chinook are true or not, they often claim shootdowns that later turn out to have been caused by mechanical failure or something else.

However this time it looks more likely. The Taliban say that they shot down the helicopter with a rocket after troops attacked a house in Wardak where a meeting was taking place.

Troop carrying helicopters in hostile territory are a soft target with minimal protection from ground to air missiles. They fact that they carry large amounts of personnel and equipment also makes them a prime target.

The troops were obviously out on a mission but as with every special forces operation, official details are hard to come by. It is not known for instance, just how many personnel are in the special forces team, thought to be Navy Seal Team Six.

A NATO operation has been mounted to recover the helicopter and determine the cause of the crash.

President Obama made a statement paying tribute to the Americans who died in the crash. He said the incident was,

“A reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families, including all who have served in Afghanistan. We will draw inspiration from their lives and continue the work of securing our country and standing up for the values that they embodied.”

He also mentioned the Afghans who also lost their lives,

“We also mourn the Afghans who died alongside our troops in pursuit of a more peaceful and hopeful future for their country.”

It comes over the weekend when President Obama is having to deal with the US dropping down the S&P credit score scale and it’s subsequent political and economical fallout.

Photo: David Forster

Obama Gets Deal on US Debt Ceiling

Posted by Clive in Politics

Obama strikes a deal with Republicans to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a US default.

The proposed deal between Republicans and Democrats means that the US debt ceiling could rise by up to $2.4 trillion in return for making the same amount in reductions over a 10 year period.

Voting on the deal will take place today and Congress will have to approve the deal. There are still politicians on both sides that are worlds apart with their views, the Republican Tea Party members don’t believe the cuts go far enough and there are many Democrats opposed if it doesn’t include tax increases. However, party leaders will be confident that it will be approved.

The deadline for acting is tomorrow and President Obama re-iterated the point in his statement that a default would have a devastating effect on the US economy.

The debt ceiling is unusual because it is written into law in order to control Government spending. With the financial battering that the US has taken over the last few years since the banking crisis, they have been exceptional times for the US economy and that ceiling kept on getting closer and closer. For the first time in it’s history the US was in danger of not being able to pay it’s bills.

Stock markets around the world rose on the news that a deal had been struck. Markets had been nervous that the worlds biggest economy would default and start a chain of events that would reverberate around the world.

Photo: Dana Beveridge

Heatwave Settles Over US & Canada

Posted by Jeff in Travel

Temperatures have surged over parts of the US and Canada as a heatwave parks itself over large parts of both countries.

There have been over 20 cities in Canada have broken their previous heat records and in the US there were more than 200 heat records broken.

People have compared the soaring temperatures to being in a sauna all day with no escape. The temperatures have been accompanied by high humidity.

Many cities have hit 40C including New York, the humidity factor has meant it felt more like 45C.

The city has starting to cut back on electricity usage in certain areas as it tries to stop infrastructure from overheating. The electrical grid has seen power usage go through the roof, mainly from use of air conditioners and gadgets to keep cool in the stifling heat.

Over in Canada, temperatures in Toronto reached the 100F mark. This is close to 38C, a record for July in the city.

The heatwave has travelled in from the mid-west last weekend and is expected to last into next week. The city is not the best place to be during such weather, the heat builds up in the asphalt and buildings reflecting it back and storing it up to gradually release it over a longer period of time… meaning stifling nights that are difficult to sleep through.

Photo: Global Jet

Spotify Free Streaming Music Service Launches in the US

Posted by Sam in Entertainment, Music

Spotify, the free music streaming service has finally launched in the US after protracted wrangling with the major US music companies.

Spotify was launched in 2008 as a legal alternative to music piracy with convenience at it’s heart. It was this convenience, coupled with a business model based on advertising rather than paid membership, that saw the service go viral and quickly claim millions of European users.

Since starting, the Spotify service has also added paid membership options with a premium service that allows music to be streamed to mobile phones, the advertising removed and early access to artists material.

It now has some 15 million songs in it’s library, 10 million users with around 1.5 million people using the paid membership service.

It is unclear whether the US version of Spotify will continue to support the free streaming music service past it’s initial beta period, as has happened in Europe. This would leave it with just the paid membership models to support it’s service.

It is thought that the free streaming music service was the point on which the US record companies were unhappy about. The fact that the service has now launched suggests that they have found a compromise…. with conditions attached.

One thing is sure and that is that Spotify will be difficult to ignore in the coming months, they have partnered up with some of the biggest US brands around such as Coca-Cola and Virgin Media. It is also rumoured that a tie-in with Facebook could be announced soon.

A hookup with the social networking site would give it a quick and easy way to rapidly expand it’s user base well beyond it’s current level.

With a current market valuation placed on it of about $1 billion, it will be under pressure to back that up with a rapid increase in it’s userbase.

With major companies such as Apple’s iCloud service being potential rivals it needs to cement it’s position as market leader.

Gay Marriage Rights Passed In New York Senate Bill

Posted by Sam in Politics

Gay marriage, or same-sex marriage as it is officially known, has been given a huge boost in the US as the New York state senate votes 33-29 to approve a bill in it’s favour.

New York is the largest state in the US in terms of population that now recognises same-sex marriage. It could mark a real turning point in recognition for gay and lesbian communities in the US.

New York joins the other states of Iowa, Vermont, District of Columbia, Connecticut and Massachusetts in recognising gay marriage rights.

Some religious leaders had been outspoken in their opposition to the bill but Andrew Cuomo, the New York Governor, said that he would sign the bill into law immediately and the first marriages are expected to happen within 30 days.

Mayor Bloomberg, who supported the bill, said that it was an “historic triumph for equality and freedom.”

Lady Gaga tweeted to her 11 million followers, “I can’t stop crying. We did it kids. Rejoice NY, and propose. We did it!!!”

Photo: Sing-ming Lee

President Barack Obama Middle East Speech Breakdown

Posted by Jeff in Politics

We go over the main points of President Obama’s latest speech on the Middle East, the first since the so called ‘Arab Spring uprisings’.

President started to talk about the opportunity now facing America to show it backs democracy, saying it is the policy of the US to back reform.

With reference to the current problems in Syria, the President made it clear that his view is that President Assad needs to change the political system or leave.

President Obama promises the support of the US if the risk of change is undertaken.

Taking on the plight of women in the region he looks to encourage women to be more independent and to have equal rights.

Moving onto economics the President looks towards integrating those countries which have successfully moved towards reform into the global economy.

With regards to Egypt, he said that the US would write off $1 billion of debt and finance borrowing of $1 billion in order to support the democratic changes in the country.

He goes on to talk about a lasting peace in the Middle East, looking to Israel and the Palestinians to agree on some basic principles of territory and security before moving onto the more emotional topics.

Of course these views are purely America’s take on the world and there was an almost instant rebuttal from the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who insisted that the 1967 border lines were indefensible to his country.

Others said that the President missed the opportunity to say something different, that everything that was said has been said many times before and nothing has shifted.

Perhaps this is true but it seems that Obama is looking for new impetus and looking to keep the momentum of the ‘Arab Spring’ going.

Photo: Dana Beveridge