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Economic & Employment News Highlights

from Around the World:

AUTUMN 2009

Be sure to check back for updates....

Worldwide

"A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world..."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hixr2M_Qx1JQ-RsMvvAlU1RwLPiwD9BGACFG2

"The leaders of the Group of 20, or G20, of the world's most powerful countries are meeting in the US city of Pittsburgh, to discuss the global economic crisis and measures which have been taken to deal with the crisis and prevent similar crises in the future… Click on the links below to find out more about the economic challenges faced by member states and what signs of recovery are starting to appear..."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/business/2009/g20/7897719.stm

"Major economies across the world are showing strong signs of recovery, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has said….The OECD's leading indicators 'point strongly' to growth in Italy, France, the UK and China…"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8346570.stm

"…"The good news is that the recovery — albeit a weak one — is underway," Angel Gurria, the group's secretary general, said in its latest economic outlook. But "with millions of jobs lost and public budgets under strain, governments will have to tread carefully in the months ahead."...The Paris-based watchdog of industrialized nations raised its forecast for economic growth next year. It now predicts 2010 growth at a 1.9 per cent pace in its 30 member countries, which include Canada, the United States, Japan, Germany and Britain…"

http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2009/11/19/oecd-increases-2010-forecast-unemployment.html

China

"China's recovery is becoming broader and potentially more sustainable, a shift that could provide better support for a still-fragile global economy. Reinforcing those signs is a change of tone from China's cautious government, which is now becoming more confident in a solid rebound…"

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125614710439399359.html

"The World Bank has upped its 2009 growth forecast for China from 7.2% to 8.4%, but says the nation needs to encourage more consumer spending…"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8341819.stm

Japan

"All regions of Japan have started to show signs of slight economic improvement over the last three months, according to the Regional Economic Report released by the Bank of Japan on Monday…"

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/19/content_12270366.htm

"Japan's jobless rate unexpectedly dropped to a four-month low in September, adding to signs that a recovery in the world's second-largest economy is spreading to consumers..."

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aRXGsXdP9PFE

"Figures released by the Japanese government show that the country's economy has grown for a second successive quarter…The world's second biggest economy grew by 1.2% in the three months from July to September - faster than economists had predicted...However, analysts say overall growth is likely to be sluggish for years…"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8361726.stm

England

"The pound has rallied after the Bank of England said its monetary policy committee voted 9-0 earlier this month not to pump more cash into the economy…"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8317879.stm

European Union

"Consumer prices in the 16 nations that use the euro were down in October for a fifth consecutive month while unemployment continued to rise, the EU statistics agency said Friday, suggesting the region's economic recovery was sluggish..."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ipzZ-ZVFuBCVK810-PpiBUogE45wD9BLDDS80

"Europe's economy will rebound next year from a deep slump and accelerate in 2011, the European Commission said yesterday. ..The finding paves the way for major deficit cuts across the 27-nation bloc from 2011 at the latest…"

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,357632,00.html

Canada

"…So where do we go from here? Nobody really knows, of course. Speculative psychology plays such a big part in currency markets that forecasting is even riskier than in most areas. But when you throw all the key factors into the mixer, it could be that the dollar's rise doesn't have too much further to go…"

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Comment+Nobody+knows+where+loonie+goes+next/2129783/story.html

"Canada's labour market may appear to be stabilizing but employment figures alone don't tell the whole story, says a CIBC report released Monday that shows measures of job quality have declined in the past six months..."

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Employment+have+rebounded+quality+falling+CIBC/2173161/story.html

"British Columbia took a step forward Monday in opening up the Chinese market to this province's wood products with a memorandum of understanding signed Monday in Shanghai by Forests Minister Pat Bell…The MOU with the Shanghai Housing Bureau is aimed at hitching B.C. and Canada to a $141 billion urban housing initiative that's part of China's $586 billion stimulus package…"

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/lumber+part+China+billion+stimulus+package/2202136/story.html

National -- United States

The Beige Book – "this report is published eight times per year. Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank and Branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources. The Beige Book summarizes this information by District and sector. An overall summary of the twelve district reports is prepared by a designated Federal Reserve Bank on a rotating basis."

http://www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/Beigebook/2009/

"A private forecast of economic activity rose for the sixth straight month in September, a sign the economy will keep growing early next year despite rising unemployment…"

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20091022/BREAKING/91022010/Leading+indicators+signal+economic+growth++but+jobs+remain+scarce

"The nation's unemployment rate may have hit a 26-year high in September, but many small businesses are getting ready to hire, according to a survey released Monday by Intuit Inc..."

http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2009/10/26/daily2.html?surround=lfn

"…The measure, passed after weeks of delay in which hundreds of thousands of Americans exhausted their government aid, will increase to 99 weeks, or nearly two years, the maximum length of time that a jobless worker can get benefits in some states…"

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/us/politics/06benefits.html?hp

"…Investors also cheered the biggest jump in productivity in six years. The government said the amount of output per hour worked rose 9.5 percent in the July-September quarter. Getting more from each worker could make companies put off hiring workers but the lower costs will bolster profits as the economy recovers…"

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/business/06markets.html?hpw

"A U.S. program that pays generous benefits to jobless people displaced by global trade has been swamped with applications in recent months, leaving thousands of potential beneficiaries in limbo….About 3,000 applications representing hundreds of thousands of workers have flooded into the government since May, when the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program was expanded. The benefits include unemployment checks, retraining and 80% of the cost of medical insurance for workers whose jobs move overseas or are diminished by foreign competition…"

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125772203487737201.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_careerjournal

"…The 52 surveyed economists—not all of whom answer every question—on average expect the unemployment rate to rise to 10.3% by the end of this year from its current 10.2%, and they expect it to stay above 9.5% through 2010. The respondents expect job growth to return over the next 12 months, but the forecast calls for an average of about 50,000 jobs to be added per month over that period. The economy needs to add about 100,000 jobs a month just to keep up with new entrants to the labor force…"

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125797275784744057.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

"The most basic measure of how the economy is doing for most Americans is the job market….."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2009/11/18/GR2009111803469.html?hpid=sec-business

"…Economists forecast the leading indicators index would increase 0.4 percent, according to the median of 58 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey….Geithner Forecast…"We expect continued growth in the fourth quarter and ahead in 2010," Geithner said today in testimony before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress…He urged Congress to pass a financial regulation overhaul intended to strengthen the banking system and guard against "market-driven excess," to avoid a repeat of the worst crisis since the Great Depression. Congress is considering a plan that includes changes to oversight of large banks, consumer protection and derivatives…"

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHjrqduC48Ok&pos=3

Hawaii

"...While reinventing themselves is not easy, many have found that perseverance is key to changing careers....Nakamura enrolled in computer-training courses in May 2008 paid for by the City and County of Honolulu's Oahu WorkLinks program while temporarily working as a community relations specialist under a yearlong contract with the city..."

http://www.starbulletin.com/specialprojects/09/yah/20090924_Laid-off_workers_reinvent_themselves.html

"Things are looking up for the U.S. and global economies. Japan returned to growth in the second quarter, and it appears likely that the U.S. will post positive growth for the current quarter. It is harder to find evidence of a turnaround in the Hawai'i economy, although we expect recovery to begin by early next year. A technical recovery will not mean a rapid return to economic health. Because of anticipated weak U.S. and Japanese consumer spending and the drag from continuing State fiscal problems, the local economy will take a number of years to fully recover…"

http://uhero.prognoz.com/Default.aspx?src=forecast

"Armed with federal contracts, Hawaii businesses have created or saved 250 jobs in the eight months since the creation of the economic stimulus package, according to preliminary data..."

http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2009/10/26/story8.html?b=1256529600^2320271

"An estimated 46,900 people in Hawaii will benefit after the U.S. House of Representatives today voted 403-12 to extend unemployment benefits for 14 weeks to 1.3 million jobless Americans who will exhaust all their unemployment benefits by the end of the year, Hawaii Congressman Neil Abercrombie said in a news release today…The extended unemployment benefits were part of the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, which also extends the homebuyers' tax credit and tax relief for military families and businesses…"

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20091105/BREAKING01/91105081/Bill+extending+unemployment+benefits+to+help+47+000+in+Hawaii

"Yet another forecast predicts Hawai'i won't come roaring back from a stubborn economic downturn, projecting only lackluster gains next year followed by modest growth in 2011..."

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20091118/NEWS01/911180367/Hawaii+s+economic+bounceback+likely+to+be+slow++state+says

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Last Reviewed: Monday, November 23, 2009

Monday, November 23, 2009