WASHINGTON – Applications for unemployment benefits fell last week for the fourth time in five weeks, a sign that layoffs are declining.
The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for jobless aid dropped by 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 445,000. It's the lowest level since the week ending July 10 and down from 504,000 initial claims in mid-August — the high point for the year.
Economists were mildly encouraged by the drop. But they also pointed out that claims remain at an elevated level consistent with weak job growth. Employers aren't hiring enough to bring down the 9.6 percent unemployment rate.
"While it's comforting to see claims grinding lower, the fact is that they remain at levels that suggest continued sub-par job growth," Sal Guatieri, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a note to clients.
In a separate report, the department said job openings rose in August for the second straight month to 3.2 million. Private sector openings increased to their highest level in 21 months. That could bode well for future hiring.
The department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey also said that private-sector layoffs plummeted to 1.6 million in August, the lowest monthly total in more than four years.
The stock markets were mixed after the release of the reports. The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 17 points, while the Nasdaq edged up.
Weekly unemployment applications have rarely fallen below 450,000 this year, and never for longer than two weeks. Economists say a sustained drop below 425,000 would signal employers are stepping up hiring.
The four-week average of new claims, a less volatile measure, dropped to 455,750, the sixth straight decline.
Separately, retailers reported surprisingly strong sales gains for September due to healthy back-to-school shopping. The results raised hopes for a positive holiday shopping season.
Numerous chains reported better-than-expected results, including Macy's Inc., Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works parent Limited Brands Inc. and Abercrombie & Fitch.
The claims report, while volatile, is considered a real-time snapshot of the job market. It is also a measure of the pace of layoffs and an indication of companies' willingness to hire.
Claims have fallen sharply since June 2009, the month the recession ended. They topped 600,000 at the end of that month.
But the improvement has largely stalled this year. Initial claims have generally fluctuated around 450,000 since January. Any sustained decline below that level would be a positive sign that the job market is improving.
The report comes a day before the government is scheduled to release its monthly jobs report for September. Private companies are forecast to have added a net total of 75,000 jobs last month. But that's likely to be offset by the loss of 75,000 temporary census jobs. Overall, economists expect no change in total payrolls, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
The unemployment rate is projected to rise to 9.7 percent from 9.6 percent, as more people enter the labor market searching for work.
Total unemployment benefit rolls, meanwhile, dropped by 48,000 to 4.46 million, the Labor department said. That doesn't include several million people who are receiving benefits under extended programs approved by Congress during the recession.
The number of people on extended benefits rose by about 250,000 to 5.1 million in the week ending Sept. 18, the latest data available. All told, about 8.9 million people received unemployment aid that week.
Some companies are hiring despite the weak economy. Daryl Dulaney, chief executive of Siemens Industry Inc., says his company's parent, Siemens USA, has 1,200 job openings. About 40 percent require an engineering or information technology background, and the company has had difficulty finding qualified candidates, despite the high jobless rate, Dulaney said.
Are China and India are on the road to war ?
Fri Oct 1,2010
When Manmohan Singh warned of China's "new assertiveness" last week, Asia watchers snapped to attention. The normally sage Indian prime minister accused Beijing of seeking to expand its reach in South Asia. With China muscling for resources and geopolitical clout, India, he warned, had better take heed. The timing of the rare public rebuke was especially provocative, as it came hot on the heels of a series of diplomatic flare-ups between the two giants. Temperatures on the continent are rising in step with the Asian rivals' growth.
Last month, China denied a visa to an Indian general on the grounds he was based in disputed Jammu and Kashmir. That was retaliation, experts figure, for India's earlier denial of a visa to a senior Chinese diplomat. China has, for more than a year, been angering India by refusing to issue normal visas to residents of Indian Kashmir. It is also stoking Indian fears of being encircled by a Chinese infrastructure build-up in northern Pakistan, and Indian Ocean port and rail developments in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Last month, India's excitable media seized on reports that China has stationed as many as 11,000 troops in northern Pakistan, feeding growing fears of the "Chinese dragon." For now, a planned defence exchange between the two has been halted at New Delhi's behest.
This diplomatic tit-for-tat is getting a lot of attention because the lineup features the world's two biggest countries, its two fastest growing economies, and two of its biggest militaries, which boast a combined four million troops, and nukes in both arsenals. To regional analysts, China and India are gearing up for what the Economist recently dubbed the "contest of the century." To hawks, they're on the road to war. Not only has China become a key concern for Indian strategists and decision-makers, but Beijing has begun fretting about India's diplomatic assertiveness and military modernization, says Jonathan Holslag, a Brussels-based scholar of Chinese foreign policy and author of the recent book China and India: Prospects for Peace.
Right now, "the top leadership in each country is well aware of the high costs of a clash," he says. "But there is huge pressure to respond strongly to alleged provocations and to keep the other's military power in check."
Cooler minds, however, point to a long history of economic co-operation, an interdependent relationship cheerily named "Chindia." The two countries, meanwhile, see eye-to-eye on a range of issues, from development to global finance--especially since Washington backed off its recent push for deeper ties to New Delhi, says Joseph Caron, a former Canadian ambassador to both China and India. Two-way trade, he adds, is booming, and should top $60 billion this year.
Yet they are also rivals for increasingly scarce resources, notably oil and water; the fight for the latter is sure to get ugly, given that many of India's big rivers rise from Tibet's rapidly melting glaciers. And their long-standing grudges aren't going anywhere. Beijing continues its support for India's foe, Pakistan, while the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, remains happily ensconced in exile in India. Trade, even doves admit with worry, is deeply skewed.
While China exports manufactured goods to India, India, a resource provider--chiefly iron ore--can't get its products into China. Beyond the massive trade imbalance, many Indians have deep-seated security concerns about the products China's Internet and telecommunications giants are selling them, says Caron. These fears were reinforced when in April, Canadian researchers exposed the systematic penetration of Indian government computers from locations in China.
Their brief but bloody 1962 war has since faded from memory, but tensions remain over their shared 4,000-km border. In places, there simply is no agreed border, says Caron, now a distinguished scholar with the Vancouver-based Asia Pacific Foundation. China, meanwhile, claims some 90,000 sq. km in India, an area more than twice the size of Switzerland. A lot of its claims are tied to Tibet, which Beijing now considers a "core interest" on par with Taiwan, according to China expert Susan Shirk, a former Clinton administration official. With cross-border incursions recently spiking to one a day, Brahma Chellaney, an expert in strategic studies at New Delhi's Centre for Policy Research, sees a "perceptible hardening" in China's stance toward India. In response, India has had to beef up its Himalayan forces, which he considers an "attrition tactic" by the People's Liberation Army designed to bog down India's military.
Many of the incursions, however, are bogus. After all, no one knows where the border really falls. Shirk even accuses India of "exaggerating" the Chinese threat. "It's frustrating to them that China doesn't take them more seriously." Caron agrees. China puts itself on the same mat as the U.S., he says, not India. This underlines a big problem, he adds: the Indians don't know much about China, and vice versa. "They're close neighbours geographically--but the societies couldn't be more different," and their interaction for long years has been minimal, says Caron.
To many Chinese, according to a recent opinion poll, India remains a backward country, teeming with "poor, homeless people," not a rising giant. Their mutual incomprehension does little to build friendships.
To Caron, there's nothing new or noteworthy about China and India's cat-and-mouse game--"they've been at it for 300 years." Certainly none of it signals a march to war. Bad as it may seem, Beijing and Delhi are also sitting down for their 14th round of border talks, and recently orchestrated a joint walkout at the Copenhagen Climate Conference. The outside world's interest does, however, serve to underscore the immense and growing power of the Asian rivals. Even five years ago, this odd little spat would have drawn a yawn from the West.
by Nancy Macdonald
When Manmohan Singh warned of China's "new assertiveness" last week, Asia watchers snapped to attention. The normally sage Indian prime minister accused Beijing of seeking to expand its reach in South Asia. With China muscling for resources and geopolitical clout, India, he warned, had better take heed. The timing of the rare public rebuke was especially provocative, as it came hot on the heels of a series of diplomatic flare-ups between the two giants. Temperatures on the continent are rising in step with the Asian rivals' growth.
Last month, China denied a visa to an Indian general on the grounds he was based in disputed Jammu and Kashmir. That was retaliation, experts figure, for India's earlier denial of a visa to a senior Chinese diplomat. China has, for more than a year, been angering India by refusing to issue normal visas to residents of Indian Kashmir. It is also stoking Indian fears of being encircled by a Chinese infrastructure build-up in northern Pakistan, and Indian Ocean port and rail developments in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Last month, India's excitable media seized on reports that China has stationed as many as 11,000 troops in northern Pakistan, feeding growing fears of the "Chinese dragon." For now, a planned defence exchange between the two has been halted at New Delhi's behest.
This diplomatic tit-for-tat is getting a lot of attention because the lineup features the world's two biggest countries, its two fastest growing economies, and two of its biggest militaries, which boast a combined four million troops, and nukes in both arsenals. To regional analysts, China and India are gearing up for what the Economist recently dubbed the "contest of the century." To hawks, they're on the road to war. Not only has China become a key concern for Indian strategists and decision-makers, but Beijing has begun fretting about India's diplomatic assertiveness and military modernization, says Jonathan Holslag, a Brussels-based scholar of Chinese foreign policy and author of the recent book China and India: Prospects for Peace.
Right now, "the top leadership in each country is well aware of the high costs of a clash," he says. "But there is huge pressure to respond strongly to alleged provocations and to keep the other's military power in check."
Cooler minds, however, point to a long history of economic co-operation, an interdependent relationship cheerily named "Chindia." The two countries, meanwhile, see eye-to-eye on a range of issues, from development to global finance--especially since Washington backed off its recent push for deeper ties to New Delhi, says Joseph Caron, a former Canadian ambassador to both China and India. Two-way trade, he adds, is booming, and should top $60 billion this year.
Yet they are also rivals for increasingly scarce resources, notably oil and water; the fight for the latter is sure to get ugly, given that many of India's big rivers rise from Tibet's rapidly melting glaciers. And their long-standing grudges aren't going anywhere. Beijing continues its support for India's foe, Pakistan, while the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, remains happily ensconced in exile in India. Trade, even doves admit with worry, is deeply skewed.
While China exports manufactured goods to India, India, a resource provider--chiefly iron ore--can't get its products into China. Beyond the massive trade imbalance, many Indians have deep-seated security concerns about the products China's Internet and telecommunications giants are selling them, says Caron. These fears were reinforced when in April, Canadian researchers exposed the systematic penetration of Indian government computers from locations in China.
Their brief but bloody 1962 war has since faded from memory, but tensions remain over their shared 4,000-km border. In places, there simply is no agreed border, says Caron, now a distinguished scholar with the Vancouver-based Asia Pacific Foundation. China, meanwhile, claims some 90,000 sq. km in India, an area more than twice the size of Switzerland. A lot of its claims are tied to Tibet, which Beijing now considers a "core interest" on par with Taiwan, according to China expert Susan Shirk, a former Clinton administration official. With cross-border incursions recently spiking to one a day, Brahma Chellaney, an expert in strategic studies at New Delhi's Centre for Policy Research, sees a "perceptible hardening" in China's stance toward India. In response, India has had to beef up its Himalayan forces, which he considers an "attrition tactic" by the People's Liberation Army designed to bog down India's military.
Many of the incursions, however, are bogus. After all, no one knows where the border really falls. Shirk even accuses India of "exaggerating" the Chinese threat. "It's frustrating to them that China doesn't take them more seriously." Caron agrees. China puts itself on the same mat as the U.S., he says, not India. This underlines a big problem, he adds: the Indians don't know much about China, and vice versa. "They're close neighbours geographically--but the societies couldn't be more different," and their interaction for long years has been minimal, says Caron.
To many Chinese, according to a recent opinion poll, India remains a backward country, teeming with "poor, homeless people," not a rising giant. Their mutual incomprehension does little to build friendships.
To Caron, there's nothing new or noteworthy about China and India's cat-and-mouse game--"they've been at it for 300 years." Certainly none of it signals a march to war. Bad as it may seem, Beijing and Delhi are also sitting down for their 14th round of border talks, and recently orchestrated a joint walkout at the Copenhagen Climate Conference. The outside world's interest does, however, serve to underscore the immense and growing power of the Asian rivals. Even five years ago, this odd little spat would have drawn a yawn from the West.
by Nancy Macdonald
Employment expectations By Jack Linden
The Gazette-Enterprise
Published September 24, 2010
Southern states and Texas in particular are known as non-union states. Politicians and many citizens proudly state that we don’t need unions and unions are bad for the economy and the nation.
As a result, the South and Texas are attractive to manufacturers who provide lower wages and fewer benefits than those demanded by workers in the Northern states who tend to be unionized.
While there has been corruption in the labor unions, many people fail to recognize that the unions are responsible for many of the rights and benefits that employees now enjoy.
It was the unions who demanded that there be child labor laws. That coffee-break and uninterrupted lunch break you enjoy are the result of the efforts of union workers. Safe working conditions and vacations are enjoyed by most of us because unions demanded it. Even the minimum wage law was the outgrowth of union efforts. It has always surprised me when the very people who have been helped are proud of the fact that they are non-union.
While mentioning some of the attributes of unions, I am more concerned about the jobs that are being brought into Texas. Our governor proudly points out the many jobs and businesses that he has brought to Texas. While his numbers may be impressive to him and to other people, a bigger question is being left unanswered. “What type of jobs have been brought to Texas?” should be the question that he is being asked, not how many.
Entry level jobs at just above minimum wage have an impact on the entire environment of a city or a state. The first indication of companies needing only entry level jobs moving to a state is the quality of the education in that state.
Obviously, higher paying jobs demand a higher and more rigorous education. Since Texas has been declining in their ranking in education, is this contributing to our attracting lower paying jobs?
Jobs that do not offer a future in the place of employment often means that the community does not offer much of a future to the employee.
Attracting a large plant is good for any community, but that plant must offer some future for the employee. If there is a maximum wage for the employee, what contribution will that employee make to the community? The employee must see opportunities in both the workplace and community to stay and contribute.
How many small communities with entry level employment have seen their community become a training ground for another city? Too many, unfortunately.
Are there some ways that communities can ensure that while they are getting companies to move to their community, the company is more than just an entry level employer? The first thing that should be asked is exactly what type of jobs and employees does the city wish.
Cities and states, and their individual entities must look at potential employers if the city is to grow. The city and state must have the quality of life that the workers will want to stay and better the community.
Cooperating with the community, the employer must also add to that quality of life. Sales tax and real estate tax are not the only contributions that will help the community.
If the employer is paying just above the minimum wage, how can we expect the employees to be more than just that? How have the employer and the community shown the employee that they are a good place, not only to work but also to live?
Our employment opportunities are important but so is the quality of life of our residents. Let’s not give our community away just for low paying jobs.
Jack Linden is a retired history professor and a contributor to the Gazette Enterprise editorial page.
Published September 24, 2010
Southern states and Texas in particular are known as non-union states. Politicians and many citizens proudly state that we don’t need unions and unions are bad for the economy and the nation.
As a result, the South and Texas are attractive to manufacturers who provide lower wages and fewer benefits than those demanded by workers in the Northern states who tend to be unionized.
While there has been corruption in the labor unions, many people fail to recognize that the unions are responsible for many of the rights and benefits that employees now enjoy.
It was the unions who demanded that there be child labor laws. That coffee-break and uninterrupted lunch break you enjoy are the result of the efforts of union workers. Safe working conditions and vacations are enjoyed by most of us because unions demanded it. Even the minimum wage law was the outgrowth of union efforts. It has always surprised me when the very people who have been helped are proud of the fact that they are non-union.
While mentioning some of the attributes of unions, I am more concerned about the jobs that are being brought into Texas. Our governor proudly points out the many jobs and businesses that he has brought to Texas. While his numbers may be impressive to him and to other people, a bigger question is being left unanswered. “What type of jobs have been brought to Texas?” should be the question that he is being asked, not how many.
Entry level jobs at just above minimum wage have an impact on the entire environment of a city or a state. The first indication of companies needing only entry level jobs moving to a state is the quality of the education in that state.
Obviously, higher paying jobs demand a higher and more rigorous education. Since Texas has been declining in their ranking in education, is this contributing to our attracting lower paying jobs?
Jobs that do not offer a future in the place of employment often means that the community does not offer much of a future to the employee.
Attracting a large plant is good for any community, but that plant must offer some future for the employee. If there is a maximum wage for the employee, what contribution will that employee make to the community? The employee must see opportunities in both the workplace and community to stay and contribute.
How many small communities with entry level employment have seen their community become a training ground for another city? Too many, unfortunately.
Are there some ways that communities can ensure that while they are getting companies to move to their community, the company is more than just an entry level employer? The first thing that should be asked is exactly what type of jobs and employees does the city wish.
Cities and states, and their individual entities must look at potential employers if the city is to grow. The city and state must have the quality of life that the workers will want to stay and better the community.
Cooperating with the community, the employer must also add to that quality of life. Sales tax and real estate tax are not the only contributions that will help the community.
If the employer is paying just above the minimum wage, how can we expect the employees to be more than just that? How have the employer and the community shown the employee that they are a good place, not only to work but also to live?
Our employment opportunities are important but so is the quality of life of our residents. Let’s not give our community away just for low paying jobs.
Jack Linden is a retired history professor and a contributor to the Gazette Enterprise editorial page.
Convicted Accountant Loses Legal Bid for MBA Degree By David Glovin
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- A certified public accountant who hid his conviction for insider trading from his teachers at New York University’s graduate business school wasn’t entitled to the MBA degree that he thought he earned, a judge ruled.
In February 2007, three months after completing his course work at NYU’s Stern School of Business, Ayal Rosenthal pleaded guilty to charges that he leaked to his brother secret tips that he learned at his job at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Rosenthal never told the school about the investigation of him or his guilty plea, even while serving as a teaching assistant in a professional responsibility course, according to a court ruling.
Rosenthal sued after faculty learned of his conviction and voted not to award the degree. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in New York today upheld the university’s decision, saying Rosenthal wasn’t entitled to damages and can’t force NYU to grant him the masters of business administration degree.
The faculty determined “that Rosenthal was not fit to receive a degree of the basis of his admitted felonious conspiracy to commit securities fraud,” Kaplan wrote. “That decision was fully within the faculty’s power and discretion.”
Rosenthal, who was a part-time student, also didn’t tell the school that he had served a two-month term in prison, Kaplan said. Two days after he was released from jail, Rosenthal told the school’s Judiciary Committee that his guilty plea was for “conscious avoidance of securities laws, which is materially different from a customary guilty plea,” Kaplan wrote in his decision.
Grade Change
As part of its recommendation to the faculty that Rosenthal be denied a degree, the school’s committee also recommended that Rosenthal’s grade in professional responsibility be changed to an “F,” the judge said.
Rosenthal argued in his 2008 lawsuit that the Stern faculty lacked jurisdiction to discipline him and that NYU failed to comply with its own disciplinary rules and procedures.
Edward Hernstadt, Rosenthal’s lawyer, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment after regular business hours.
The case is Rosenthal v. New York University, 08-cv-05338, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- A certified public accountant who hid his conviction for insider trading from his teachers at New York University’s graduate business school wasn’t entitled to the MBA degree that he thought he earned, a judge ruled.
In February 2007, three months after completing his course work at NYU’s Stern School of Business, Ayal Rosenthal pleaded guilty to charges that he leaked to his brother secret tips that he learned at his job at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Rosenthal never told the school about the investigation of him or his guilty plea, even while serving as a teaching assistant in a professional responsibility course, according to a court ruling.
Rosenthal sued after faculty learned of his conviction and voted not to award the degree. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in New York today upheld the university’s decision, saying Rosenthal wasn’t entitled to damages and can’t force NYU to grant him the masters of business administration degree.
The faculty determined “that Rosenthal was not fit to receive a degree of the basis of his admitted felonious conspiracy to commit securities fraud,” Kaplan wrote. “That decision was fully within the faculty’s power and discretion.”
Rosenthal, who was a part-time student, also didn’t tell the school that he had served a two-month term in prison, Kaplan said. Two days after he was released from jail, Rosenthal told the school’s Judiciary Committee that his guilty plea was for “conscious avoidance of securities laws, which is materially different from a customary guilty plea,” Kaplan wrote in his decision.
Grade Change
As part of its recommendation to the faculty that Rosenthal be denied a degree, the school’s committee also recommended that Rosenthal’s grade in professional responsibility be changed to an “F,” the judge said.
Rosenthal argued in his 2008 lawsuit that the Stern faculty lacked jurisdiction to discipline him and that NYU failed to comply with its own disciplinary rules and procedures.
Edward Hernstadt, Rosenthal’s lawyer, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment after regular business hours.
The case is Rosenthal v. New York University, 08-cv-05338, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU NEED TO BE MAKING TO BE HAPPY
Can money buy happiness? Maybe, up to $75,000
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Can money really make you happy? Not really, but up to about $75,000 a year can ease the pain of life's stresses, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.
A survey of 1,000 Americans shows they are overall fairly happy, and more money equals more satisfaction up to a point, Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton of the Center for Health and Wellbeing at Princeton University in New Jersey found.
"More money does not necessarily buy more happiness, but less money is associated with emotional pain," they wrote in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Perhaps $75,000 is a threshold beyond which further increases in income no longer improve individuals' ability to do what matters most to their emotional well-being, such as spending time with people they like, avoiding pain and disease, and enjoying leisure."
The people surveyed answered an intensive telephone survey with 450 questions, including detailed queries about income, satisfaction, emotions and stress, called the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.
"Low income exacerbates the emotional pain associated with such misfortunes as divorce, ill health, and being alone. We conclude that high income buys life satisfaction but not happiness," they added.
Feelings of well-being rose with income, but only up to about $75,000 a year, they found.
"As in other studies of well-being, we found that most people were quite happy and satisfied with their lives," Kahneman and Deaton added reassuringly. About 85 percent of those surveyed smiled, felt enjoyment or happiness each day, although 39 percent felt stress.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Can money really make you happy? Not really, but up to about $75,000 a year can ease the pain of life's stresses, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.
A survey of 1,000 Americans shows they are overall fairly happy, and more money equals more satisfaction up to a point, Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton of the Center for Health and Wellbeing at Princeton University in New Jersey found.
"More money does not necessarily buy more happiness, but less money is associated with emotional pain," they wrote in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Perhaps $75,000 is a threshold beyond which further increases in income no longer improve individuals' ability to do what matters most to their emotional well-being, such as spending time with people they like, avoiding pain and disease, and enjoying leisure."
The people surveyed answered an intensive telephone survey with 450 questions, including detailed queries about income, satisfaction, emotions and stress, called the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.
"Low income exacerbates the emotional pain associated with such misfortunes as divorce, ill health, and being alone. We conclude that high income buys life satisfaction but not happiness," they added.
Feelings of well-being rose with income, but only up to about $75,000 a year, they found.
"As in other studies of well-being, we found that most people were quite happy and satisfied with their lives," Kahneman and Deaton added reassuringly. About 85 percent of those surveyed smiled, felt enjoyment or happiness each day, although 39 percent felt stress.
Fidel Castro admits the Cuban model doesn't work anymore
Cuban model 'doesn't even work for us any more': Fidel
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Cuban revolutionary icon Fidel Castro has joked that the "Cuban model doesn't even work for us any more," the Atlantic magazine reported Wednesday.
Meeting with a reporter from the US magazine, the 84-year-old former Cuban president who remains head of the ruling Communist Party, appeared well on the mend after his near-fatal gastrointestinal crisis in 2006, the report said.
Since then, under President Raul Castro, 79, Cuba's feeble economy has been propped up by subsidized oil from ally Venezuela. The government has launched minor reforms but no major structural change in an economy overwhelmingly controlled by the state.
Castro lunched on "small amounts of fish and salad, and quite a bit of bread dipped in olive oil, as well as a glass of red wine," the report said.
When asked if he believed Cuba's model was something worth exporting, Castro left his reporter guest slackjawed, the report said.
"The Cuban model doesn't even work for us any more," Fidel Castro was quoted as saying in the report.
Julia Sweig, a Cuba expert at the Council on Foreign Relations who was present at the meeting was quoted as saying Castro "wasn't rejecting the ideas of the Revolution. I took it to be an acknowledgement that under 'the Cuban model' the state has much too big a role in the economic life of the country."
In the same interview, the former Cuban president criticized Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for denying the Holocaust and said Tehran should acknowledge Israel's fears for its own survival.
Castro, who was at the center of the 1962 missile crisis pitting the Soviet Union against the United States, warned, however, that US sanctions and Israeli threats would not cause Iran to change course.
"This problem is not going to get resolved, because the Iranians are not going to back down in the face of threats. That's my opinion," he said, observing that religious leaders were less apt to compromise.
"The Iranian capacity to inflict damage is not appreciated," he said. "Men think they can control themselves but (US President Barack) Obama could overreact and a gradual escalation could become a nuclear war."
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Cuban revolutionary icon Fidel Castro has joked that the "Cuban model doesn't even work for us any more," the Atlantic magazine reported Wednesday.
Meeting with a reporter from the US magazine, the 84-year-old former Cuban president who remains head of the ruling Communist Party, appeared well on the mend after his near-fatal gastrointestinal crisis in 2006, the report said.
Since then, under President Raul Castro, 79, Cuba's feeble economy has been propped up by subsidized oil from ally Venezuela. The government has launched minor reforms but no major structural change in an economy overwhelmingly controlled by the state.
Castro lunched on "small amounts of fish and salad, and quite a bit of bread dipped in olive oil, as well as a glass of red wine," the report said.
When asked if he believed Cuba's model was something worth exporting, Castro left his reporter guest slackjawed, the report said.
"The Cuban model doesn't even work for us any more," Fidel Castro was quoted as saying in the report.
Julia Sweig, a Cuba expert at the Council on Foreign Relations who was present at the meeting was quoted as saying Castro "wasn't rejecting the ideas of the Revolution. I took it to be an acknowledgement that under 'the Cuban model' the state has much too big a role in the economic life of the country."
In the same interview, the former Cuban president criticized Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for denying the Holocaust and said Tehran should acknowledge Israel's fears for its own survival.
Castro, who was at the center of the 1962 missile crisis pitting the Soviet Union against the United States, warned, however, that US sanctions and Israeli threats would not cause Iran to change course.
"This problem is not going to get resolved, because the Iranians are not going to back down in the face of threats. That's my opinion," he said, observing that religious leaders were less apt to compromise.
"The Iranian capacity to inflict damage is not appreciated," he said. "Men think they can control themselves but (US President Barack) Obama could overreact and a gradual escalation could become a nuclear war."
Why does Unemployment lasts longer for Asian Americans?
Unemployment lasts longer for Asian Americans
Unemployment is lower among people of Asian heritage, but it drags on longer.
Asian joblessness
Nearly half of all jobless Asian Americans in California had been out of work for 27 weeks or longer in July, according to state data. Above, a man checks a jobs board at Career Partners in Rosemead. (Gary Friedman, Los Angeles Times / August 30, 2010)
By Alana Semuels, Los Angeles Times
Asian Americans typically have the lowest unemployment rate of any ethnic group in the United States. But in this weak labor market, once they lose their jobs, they have an especially hard time reentering the labor force, data show.
In July, nearly half of all jobless Asian Americans in California had been out of work for 27 weeks or longer, compared with 40% of Latinos and 42% of whites, according to an analysis of data from the state Employment Development Department.
Experts said the strong family and cultural ties that bind Asian entrepreneurs and a largely foreign-born Asian workforce can be a liability during tough times; laid-off workers often aren't sure where to turn for work outside their ethnic circles.
About 13% of the 37 million people who live in California are of Asian descent, according to 2009 census data. About two-thirds of them are first-generation immigrants, said Paul Ong, a UCLA professor who has served as an advisor to the census. Many of them work in businesses owned by Asians, many of whom typically cut employees' hours as a first response to an economic downturn rather than let them go, Ong said. That explains in part why the California unemployment rate for Asians is relatively low, just 9.5% in July, compared with 17.1% for blacks, 14.9% for Latinos and 12.0% for whites.
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But when these employers are forced to lay off staff, their workers often
encounter hurdles to new employment. About half of Asian immigrants have difficulty speaking English, Ong said. Cultural differences also can prevent some from understanding how to apply for jobs with employers outside their communities, he said.
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"They are heavily reliant on employers from the same ethnic group, so if for some reason those jobs are no longer available, it is more challenging for those workers to find employment, given the language and cultural barriers they face," said Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Labor Center.
Shirley Tam, a recent widow, returned to the workforce after a long absence caring for her sick husband. But the 50-year-old is finding that entry-level jobs are scarce.
"I don't have any more money," said Tam, pulling out a bank statement that showed she had $54 left in her savings account. "I need a job. I just need a chance."
She recently began attending college part time to get an accounting degree to improve her employment prospects.
Southern California's Asian community is diverse and employed in all manner of industries. Still, Asians are heavily represented in some sectors that have been particularly hard hit by the economic downturn, including garment-making. The number of people employed in apparel manufacturing in the state has fallen 23% to 58,500 since 2007, according to the Employment Development Department.
Also, new federal regulations require employees to verify workers' Social Security documentation. That has proved especially disruptive to businesses in the garment industry. Los Angeles clothing maker American Apparel Inc., for example, said in July that 1,600 of its employees were not authorized to work in the U.S.
Some employers are avoiding potential problems by not hiring immigrants, said Mark Masaoka, policy coordinator for the Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council.
Asian American banks, which invested heavily in commercial real estate during the boom, have faltered during the downturn, said Sung Won Sohn, a Cal State Channel Islands professor and the former chief executive of the Korean American Hanmi Bank. Koreatown's Mirae Bank was shut down by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and acquired by Wilshire State Bank, a Los Angeles company. Innovative Bank, based in Oakland, was acquired by Koreatown's Center Bank.
And the Korean community has many small businesses in immigrant neighborhoods, which are probably affected by the retail slowdown, said Glenn Omatsu, a professor at Cal State Northridge. In addition, many Pacific Islanders work in the construction industry, which has lost 42% of its jobs in California — or 402,800 positions — since a February 2006 peak.
Some Asian Americans have computer engineering or software jobs that are vulnerable to outsourcing, said C.N. Le, director of the Asian American studies program at University of Massachusetts-Amherst. And a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment rippling through the country might also hurt Asian Americans' chances of finding work.
"In times of recession, Americans are most likely to feel economically threatened by immigrants, and their prejudices, suspicions and tensions rise to the surface," he said. "That can happen on a personal level or an institutional level."
In the Asian American enclaves of El Monte and South El Monte, unemployment in July reached 15.5% and 15.1%, respectively. Garden Grove's unemployment rate was 11.8%.
Rosemead resident Wesley Huang worked at Wells Fargo Bank for 11 years before losing his job three years ago. After a short stint with the U.S. Census Bureau, he's now back to job hunting again, trying to find work as a teacher. He speaks four languages but says it's tough to find work even with that skill.
"There are so many people competing for jobs," he said.
The poor economy has some looking for alternatives. The U.S. military saw its highest proportion of Asian recruits in 2009. Almost one-fourth of all Army recruits in Los Angeles County last year were Asian American, although they make up only about 13% of the county's population. And Asian Americans suffered the sharpest decline in homeownership in 2008, falling 1.24 percentage points, compared with a 0.4-percentage-point decline for whites, according to the American Community Survey.
That's because many Asian American small-business owners relied on home loans to support their businesses and are now at risk of losing both their homes and their businesses, Masaoka said.
Accountant Teresa Tran has been out of work for two years, and her husband, who was in marketing, is also unemployed. They're living on money they've been able to take out of their El Monte home. Tran now goes to a job center in El Monte at least once a week, often taking her kids along. "I go everywhere and don't get a call back," she said.
Bruce Cheun has a degree in sociology and experience in business administration. He spent the last year looking for work while taking care of his ailing mother. He doesn't have a car and hasn't yet found a job. The Hacienda Heights resident said he wished there were more resources for people like him.
"I don't think things are turning around."
ORIGINAL ARTICLE >>>
Unemployment is lower among people of Asian heritage, but it drags on longer.
Asian joblessness
Nearly half of all jobless Asian Americans in California had been out of work for 27 weeks or longer in July, according to state data. Above, a man checks a jobs board at Career Partners in Rosemead. (Gary Friedman, Los Angeles Times / August 30, 2010)
By Alana Semuels, Los Angeles Times
Asian Americans typically have the lowest unemployment rate of any ethnic group in the United States. But in this weak labor market, once they lose their jobs, they have an especially hard time reentering the labor force, data show.
In July, nearly half of all jobless Asian Americans in California had been out of work for 27 weeks or longer, compared with 40% of Latinos and 42% of whites, according to an analysis of data from the state Employment Development Department.
Experts said the strong family and cultural ties that bind Asian entrepreneurs and a largely foreign-born Asian workforce can be a liability during tough times; laid-off workers often aren't sure where to turn for work outside their ethnic circles.
About 13% of the 37 million people who live in California are of Asian descent, according to 2009 census data. About two-thirds of them are first-generation immigrants, said Paul Ong, a UCLA professor who has served as an advisor to the census. Many of them work in businesses owned by Asians, many of whom typically cut employees' hours as a first response to an economic downturn rather than let them go, Ong said. That explains in part why the California unemployment rate for Asians is relatively low, just 9.5% in July, compared with 17.1% for blacks, 14.9% for Latinos and 12.0% for whites.
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But when these employers are forced to lay off staff, their workers often
encounter hurdles to new employment. About half of Asian immigrants have difficulty speaking English, Ong said. Cultural differences also can prevent some from understanding how to apply for jobs with employers outside their communities, he said.
"They are heavily reliant on employers from the same ethnic group, so if for some reason those jobs are no longer available, it is more challenging for those workers to find employment, given the language and cultural barriers they face," said Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Labor Center.
Shirley Tam, a recent widow, returned to the workforce after a long absence caring for her sick husband. But the 50-year-old is finding that entry-level jobs are scarce.
"I don't have any more money," said Tam, pulling out a bank statement that showed she had $54 left in her savings account. "I need a job. I just need a chance."
She recently began attending college part time to get an accounting degree to improve her employment prospects.
Southern California's Asian community is diverse and employed in all manner of industries. Still, Asians are heavily represented in some sectors that have been particularly hard hit by the economic downturn, including garment-making. The number of people employed in apparel manufacturing in the state has fallen 23% to 58,500 since 2007, according to the Employment Development Department.
Also, new federal regulations require employees to verify workers' Social Security documentation. That has proved especially disruptive to businesses in the garment industry. Los Angeles clothing maker American Apparel Inc., for example, said in July that 1,600 of its employees were not authorized to work in the U.S.
Some employers are avoiding potential problems by not hiring immigrants, said Mark Masaoka, policy coordinator for the Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council.
Asian American banks, which invested heavily in commercial real estate during the boom, have faltered during the downturn, said Sung Won Sohn, a Cal State Channel Islands professor and the former chief executive of the Korean American Hanmi Bank. Koreatown's Mirae Bank was shut down by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and acquired by Wilshire State Bank, a Los Angeles company. Innovative Bank, based in Oakland, was acquired by Koreatown's Center Bank.
And the Korean community has many small businesses in immigrant neighborhoods, which are probably affected by the retail slowdown, said Glenn Omatsu, a professor at Cal State Northridge. In addition, many Pacific Islanders work in the construction industry, which has lost 42% of its jobs in California — or 402,800 positions — since a February 2006 peak.
Some Asian Americans have computer engineering or software jobs that are vulnerable to outsourcing, said C.N. Le, director of the Asian American studies program at University of Massachusetts-Amherst. And a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment rippling through the country might also hurt Asian Americans' chances of finding work.
"In times of recession, Americans are most likely to feel economically threatened by immigrants, and their prejudices, suspicions and tensions rise to the surface," he said. "That can happen on a personal level or an institutional level."
In the Asian American enclaves of El Monte and South El Monte, unemployment in July reached 15.5% and 15.1%, respectively. Garden Grove's unemployment rate was 11.8%.
Rosemead resident Wesley Huang worked at Wells Fargo Bank for 11 years before losing his job three years ago. After a short stint with the U.S. Census Bureau, he's now back to job hunting again, trying to find work as a teacher. He speaks four languages but says it's tough to find work even with that skill.
"There are so many people competing for jobs," he said.
The poor economy has some looking for alternatives. The U.S. military saw its highest proportion of Asian recruits in 2009. Almost one-fourth of all Army recruits in Los Angeles County last year were Asian American, although they make up only about 13% of the county's population. And Asian Americans suffered the sharpest decline in homeownership in 2008, falling 1.24 percentage points, compared with a 0.4-percentage-point decline for whites, according to the American Community Survey.
That's because many Asian American small-business owners relied on home loans to support their businesses and are now at risk of losing both their homes and their businesses, Masaoka said.
Accountant Teresa Tran has been out of work for two years, and her husband, who was in marketing, is also unemployed. They're living on money they've been able to take out of their El Monte home. Tran now goes to a job center in El Monte at least once a week, often taking her kids along. "I go everywhere and don't get a call back," she said.
Bruce Cheun has a degree in sociology and experience in business administration. He spent the last year looking for work while taking care of his ailing mother. He doesn't have a car and hasn't yet found a job. The Hacienda Heights resident said he wished there were more resources for people like him.
"I don't think things are turning around."
ORIGINAL ARTICLE >>>
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