Home » Search results for: “LinkedIn”

Covid pandemic has pushed poor countries to record debt levels – World Bank

Comments Off on Covid pandemic has pushed poor countries to record debt levels – World Bank

World BankCovid pandemic has pushed poor countries to record debt levels – World Bank‘Tragic reversal’ has set back progress, president says, as he calls for a comprehensive plan Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Larry ElliottMon 11 Oct 2021 10.57 EDTLast modified on Mon 11 Oct 2021 14.22 EDTThe Covid-19 pandemic has led to a “tragic reversal” in development and pushed debt in poor countries to record levels, the head of the World Bank has said.David Malpass, the bank’s president, warned the virus had widened the gap between rich and poor nations, setting back progress by years and, in the case of some countries, by a decade.Announcing new World Bank figures showing the debt burden of more than 70 low-income nations had increased by a record 12% to $860bn (£630bn) in 2020, Malpass called for a comprehensive plan to ease the debt pressures and for rich countries to make vaccines available to the less well-off.Wealthy nations must share more resources or risk crisis for billions, warns UN chiefRead moreHe said one particular problem was the lack of a bankruptcy process to help in cases where debts had become unsustainable. Under the current system, companies can declare themselves bankrupt but countries cannot.With income per head expected to rise by an average of 5% in developed countries this year compared with 0.5% in developing countries, Malpass said the problem of inequality …

Continue reading …

Tunisia: president appoints new government 11 weeks after power grab

Comments Off on Tunisia: president appoints new government 11 weeks after power grab

TunisiaTunisia: president appoints new government 11 weeks after power grabKais Saied will technically head administration after paring back powers of PM’s office A …

Continue reading …

Nobel economics prize jointly awarded to labour market expert David Card

Comments Off on Nobel economics prize jointly awarded to labour market expert David Card

Nobel economics prizeNobel economics prize jointly awarded to labour market expert David CardCanadian-born academic wins prize with Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens Larry ElliottMon 11 Oct 2021 08.59 EDTFirst published on Mon 11 Oct 2021 08.57 EDTA labour market expert whose work influenced the introduction of the UK’s minimum wage has been named as a joint winner of the Nobel economics prize.David Card, a Canadian-born economist, was one of three US-based academics given the prestigious award for their work on whether economic theory is supported by real-life situations.The trio – Card, Joshua Angrist, an American, and Guido Imbens, from the Netherlands – were cited for their work on natural experiments, which is said to have revolutionised empirical research.UK’s supply chain crisis hits confidence; Nobel prize in economics awarded – business liveRead moreCard, who received half the 10m Swedish kronor (£838,000) prize fund, made his name with a paper that studied whether an increase in New Jersey’s minimum wage from $4.25 to $5.25 an hour in 1992 cost jobs in the fast-food industry.Contrary to previous research, Card and his fellow economist Alan Krueger found that employment in New Jersey restaurants increased after the minimum wage was raised.The widely cited paper was seized on by Gordon Brown and his then economics adviser Ed Balls to justify their plans for a UK national minimum wage, which was introduced in 1999. Although there is now cross-party support for …

Continue reading …

The big idea: should we work less?

Comments Off on The big idea: should we work less?

The big ideaBooksThe big idea: should we work less? A shorter working week could benefit society, the environment – even the economy. Is it time to reassess our relationship with our jobs? Sarah JaffeMon 11 Oct 2021 03.00 EDTLast modified on Mon 11 Oct 2021 03.48 EDTFor the last year and a half, most people have fallen into one of three categories: the unemployed, whose jobs disappeared during lockdown; the work from home brigade, who balanced family responsibilities or solo strain with a workday that extended even longer sans commute; and those who were still going to work but under hazardous, sometimes terrifying conditions, whether in healthcare or grocery stores or meatpacking plants. In so many of these cases, much of what made work enjoyable or at least tolerable was stripped away, and we were left with the unpleasant reality of what our jobs actually were: not a fun pastime, but something we have to do. As Amelia Horgan notes in her book Lost in Work, “We, almost always, need a job more than a job needs us. Our entrance into work is unfree, and while we’re there, our time is not our own.”Yet for all its misery, Covid-19 did show us that it was possible to radically change the way we live and work, and to do it quickly. And it’s worth remembering that working life pre-pandemic wasn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows for many people – a UK poll early …

Continue reading …

Why it’s high time to move on from ‘just-in-time’ supply chains | Kim Moody

Comments Off on Why it’s high time to move on from ‘just-in-time’ supply chains | Kim Moody

OpinionSupply chain crisisWhy it’s high time to move on from ‘just-in-time’ supply chains K …

Continue reading …

Donald Trump’s own treasury secretary blocked Ivanka World Bank role – report

Comments Off on Donald Trump’s own treasury secretary blocked Ivanka World Bank role – report

Ivanka TrumpDonald Trump’s own treasury secretary blocked Ivanka World Bank role – reportSteven Mnuchin said to have stopped move likely to have upset world leaders, which ‘came incredibly close to happening’ Martin Pengelly in New York@ …

Continue reading …

US wages are going up, and those who don’t adapt to the new reality will fail | Gene Marks

Comments Off on US wages are going up, and those who don’t adapt to the new reality will fail | Gene Marks

US small businessUS wages are going up, and those who don’t adapt to the new reality will failLabor is in short supply, so it’s more expensive. It’s simple economics and hankering for pre-pandemic times won’t help Gene Marks@ …

Continue reading …

What the US unemployment rate doesn’t tell you

Comments Off on What the US unemployment rate doesn’t tell you

US unemployment and employment dataWhat the US unemployment rate doesn’t tell youThe true measure of unemployment depends on who you ask Rashida KamalSun 10 Oct 2021 06.00 EDTLast modified on Sun 10 Oct 2021 06.03 EDTJust how healthy is the US jobs market? On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its latest jobs report, showing that the US added a disappointing 194,000 jobs last month while announcing that the official unemployment rate fell to 4.8%, the lowest it’s been since its frightening climb to 14.7% when the Covid-19 pandemic first struck the US.The figures seem somehow disconnected and, for some, September’s headline figure is woefully misleading, as it is every month. What if the “true” unemployment rate is actually closer to 22%?Overall unemployment rateWhile most reporting (including our own) tends to focus on the BLS’s monthly headline figure – referred to as the “U-3” – the true measure of unemployment depends on who you ask. Some experts argue the official headline figure hides a far darker picture of the state of the labor market.First, it is important to unpack what this commonly cited statistic does and does not tell us.The headline unemployment rate measures the proportion of the American civilian labor force – anyone over the age of 16 – that does not have a job and is still actively looking for work. It does not include the large number of people who have given up …

Continue reading …

Ireland ends 12.5% tax rate in OECD global pact

Comments Off on Ireland ends 12.5% tax rate in OECD global pact

IrelandIreland ends 12.5% tax rate in OECD global pactLow-tax policy of past 18 years had attracted multinationals such as Google and Facebook to Dublin What does the Irish tax deal mean for multinationals? Lisa O’Carroll in Dublin@ …

Continue reading …

AT&T funds rightwing channel One America News, Reuters reveals

Comments Off on AT&T funds rightwing channel One America News, Reuters reveals

MediaAT&T funds rightwing channel One America News, Reuters revealsOAN founder said the inspiration for the channel came from AT&T executives but the company disputes the reports S …

Continue reading …