Jesse Presley, of Clarksville among first to earn online MBA degree

Source: Theleafchronicle.com
Jesse Presley, of Clarksville, was among the first 13 students to graduate from the University of Tennessee at Martin with a master of business administration degree offered online and designed primarily for banking and financial services professionals. He participated in fall commencement Dec. 18 and was honored in a pre-commencement ceremony by the College of Business and Global Affairs. Pictured with Presley are (left to right) Dr. Tom Payne, chair holder for the Horace and Sara Dunagan Chair of Excellence in Banking and also interim chair for the UT Martin Department of Accounting, Finance, Economics, and Political Science; Dr. Ernie Moser, dean, College of Business and Global Affairs; and Dr. Kevin Hammond, faculty member and MBA program coordinator.


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The year 2011 financially predicted by history

Source: The Guardian
Monday 10 January 2011
By Larry Elliott
History suggests 2011 will be a year of living frugally
The three downturns in 1981, 1991 and 2001 were triggered by tightening policy to cut inflation or deflate asset-price bubbles

If history is anything to go by, 2011 will be a stinker. In 1981, unemployment was rising towards three million in what was, until then, the deepest post-war recession. In 1991, Britain was wallowing in a sea of bankruptcy and negative equity amid the collapse of the 1980s housing bubble.

And in 2001, the global economy tanked during the brief interlude between the dotcom mania of the late 1990s and the US property boom of the mid-2000s.

With high commodity prices and the eurozone gripped by what appears to be an existential crisis, it is little wonder that there is a degree of trepidation about the year ahead that ends in a 1.

Those who take a more upbeat view would argue that there were specific reasons for the recessions of 1981, 1991 and 2001 that do not apply to the current situation. In each of the three decades, the downturns were the consequence of a tightening of policy deliberately designed to reduce inflation or deflate asset-price bubbles.

But even a starry-eyed optimist would struggle to make a case for 2011 being a vintage year for the UK. Taxes are rising and spending is being curbed; wages are being pegged at a time when inflation is going up. Even assuming the Bank of England is right that upward pressures on the cost of living will abate this year, for the first half of 2011 at least there is going to be a severe squeeze on personal incomes. Most households will be faced with the choice of cutting their spending or borrowing more to maintain the same level of consumption. A backdrop of rising unemployment and weak house prices will mean that most, if they are sensible, will be prudent rather than reckless.

There are already signs of belt-tightening taking place, despite the reports of high street spending bonanzas late last month. New car registrations last month were 18% lower than in the same month of 2009, with private buyers especially thin on the ground. To be sure, the December 2009 total was flattered by the car scrappage scheme, but there was no sign last month of the expected rush to beat the VAT rise.

The message from the CIPS/Markit survey of the service sector was similar. Even allowing for the weather, activity was weak in December, continuing the trend for the second half of 2010. Consumers were facing the prospect of higher domestic fuel bills, dearer rail fares and rising petrol prices even before VAT went up. You don't need to be Adam Smith or Maynard Keynes to work out that the first six months of 2011 look pretty nasty.
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But the bulls are right to point out that there are forces that will support growth this year. One is that monetary policy remains expansionary, with bank rate now approaching the two-year anniversary of its drop to 0.5%. While it is true that lenders have failed to pass on the full benefit of lower borrowing costs to their customers, millions of homeowners have seen their monthly home loan payments plummet and this has enabled them either to spend a bit more or to reduce their personal debts.

The second piece of good news is that the rest of the world economy is looking healthier. In the first half of 2010, the story was that the big emerging economies – India, China and Brazil – were acting as the locomotive for global growth. But during the second half of 2010, there were signs of the United States and Germany joining the party. Most of the economic data in the final quarter of 2001 surprised on the upside.

That brings us on to the third reason to be modestly cheerful: the strong performance of UK manufacturing. For most of the past 15 years, industry has languished while the service sector has boomed, but in recent months the strength of global demand coupled with a competitive exchange rate has turned the tables. Last week's purchasing managers' indices showed the strongest performance by manufacturing in close to two decades at the same time as the service sector flirted with recession.

Manufacturing only accounts for about one eighth of the economy, but there are tentative signs that a rebalancing of the economy is underway. This will take time and it will not be pleasant, but it is inevitable if we want to wean the country off its dependence on property speculation and excessive debt.

Some of you, I'm sure, are thinking that all this sounds a bit too good to be true, and a degree of scepticism is warranted in the light of the host of dangers lurking out there. Inflation could prove stronger than policymakers expect, prompting an increase in interest rates or a sell-off in bond markets. High unemployment and a weak housing market could cause a relapse in the United States. China could overheat or the eurozone implode. Financial markets believe that inflation will be tamed, interest rates will stay low, the US will continue its recovery, China will go from strength to strength and the single currency will survive intact. Yet were interest rates to rise or the prospects for exports be impaired by a slowdown in global growth, it would clearly have an impact on Britain's growth prospects.

That is especially true given the lack of an obvious get-out-of-jail-free card for policymakers. In the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher had the bonus of colossal North Sea oil revenues; in the 1990s John Major reaped a growth dividend from the end of the Cold War and the dawn of the digital age; in the 2000s, Alan Greenspan's relaxed approach to asset bubbles flooded the global economy with cheap money.

Now, there may be a quick fix for the economy out there that nobody has yet detected, but it is not obvious. The North Sea oil money has been spent, Europe is in big trouble and only 7% of UK exports go to China, India and Brazil combined. The economy may well avoid recession in 2011, but if we imagine that the next few years are going to be anything other than a hard slog, we are deluding ourselves.

China willing to give land for UK business

Source: BBC News
9 January 2011 Last updated at 12:39 ET
By Rebecca Marston Business reporter, BBC News

The UK's top power brokers - led by the prime minister David Cameron and Prince Andrew - are spending the first part of this week with the vice premier of China, Li Keqiang and a host of top Chinese politicians and business bosses.

The most prominent cabinet ministers, including deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg and the Chancellor George Osborne will be at his side.

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David Cameron, said of the visit: "Stronger relations with China offer a real opportunity for Britain in terms of trade, jobs, and economic growth. "
Just two months ago he led a visit to China, with about 50 top flight business leaders from the UK in tow. You could call this round two.
Trade gap China, whose economy is growing at about 10% a year, is seen as a key export market for the UK. But currently the UK exports more to the Republic of Ireland than it does to China, Brazil, Russia and India put together.
At the moment it is not a large customer, with the value of goods exported for the first 10 months of 2010 worth £5.8bn, ninth on the list of countries we export to, according to HMRC.
On the list of importers though, China is the third biggest supplier to the UK, selling us £23.2bn worth of goods, behind Germany (£37bn) and the US (£26bn).
In an effort to drum up more business, David Cameron's November trade mission signed a number of much-needed new deals.
A recent report from analysts Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply suggested that the UK economy was stagnant at the end of the year, and that expanding sales of UK goods abroad was now vital.

"The market is phenomenal. Fifteen years ago when the traffic lights turned green 15,000 bicycles would stream past. Now, it is thousands of cars." (Stephen Dawkins Air Freight Logistics)

The chief economist of Markit, Chris Williamson, said: "There is a strong indication that UK economic growth is completely reliant upon export sales while domestic demand has wilted."

'Phenomenal' growth Stephen Dawkins, the chief operating officer and founder of Air Freight Logistics, which runs cargo operations for more than 100 airlines, is in the process of setting up the company's first office in mainland China.
He says the pace of growth in the country is breathtaking: "It is fantastic to be working in China. The market is phenomenal. Fifteen years ago when the traffic lights turned green 15,000 bicycles would stream past. Now, it is thousands of cars."

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But its systems can make doing business a great deal more challenging than in Europe, some business leaders say.
Michael Johnson, a former official at the UK department of trade, now an independent trade adviser, says it is difficult to know who to apply to to get relevant permissions.
"I was at a lecture by the mayor of Shanghai. Someone asked him how to get through the system. He said 'don't bother about the people in Beijing, come straight to us'. There are different answers given according to where you go."

Stephen Dawkins' Air Freight Logistics is preparing to open up in China

Germany's economy minister on Thursday said conditions for Western firms operating in China were opaque and subject to sudden apparent rule changes.
Quoted in the Handelsblatt newspaper he said: "Foreign firms still complain about a lack of transparency and predictability. On my visit to China, I often heard complaints that important regulations were introduced suddenly and without consulting the economic players involved."
'Challenges' Andy Scott, the CBI's director of UK and international trade who also sits on the China-Britain Business Council, says doing business there does present challenges for a company.
"It is a very different business environment. There is no familiarity of legal process, of governance but the challenges are not insuperable."
So how realistic is it that the UK could become an important trading partner for China?
Eugene Lim, a partner with Baker & McKenzie in Hong Kong who specialises in international trade, thinks the UK has a perfectly good chance.
"With the economic outlook in North America and Europe, Asia and China will be the engine of growth in the short to medium term.
"As China transforms her economy from an export-oriented to a consumption-oriented economy, most if not all multinationals need to have a strategy to take advantage of this development.
UK companies are no different.
"Given the long history of engagement between the UK and Asia, UK companies are well poised to take advantage and profit from this transformation."
Mr Lim also says that China is keen to see more international trade.
"China is very open. It welcomes investments from UK businesses as well as businesses of all other nationalities."
Fierce competition The CBI's Andy Scott advises: "Do your prep, do your homework and talk to people who have been there."

"It is important to have local people running the sites. They make the connection to the customers" (Keith Nichols CFO, Akzo Nobel)

Stephen Dawkins' Air Freight Logistics
is preparing to open up in China

Stephen Dawkins says Air Freight Logistics was acclimatised because it already had an office in Hong Kong and picked up a lot of useful contacts through that.

Former trade advisor Michael Johnson's number one tip is to specialise: "Don't think you can cover the whole country. Decide precisely what product or service range you're offering and then decide carefully where's the best possible place to be.
"Put your effort into a specific area with a specific product. It is thunkingly obvious."
One company that has done exactly thatand is thriving is Dulux Paints, in China since 1984.
It is now owned by Akzo Nobel. The company's chief financial officer, Keith Nichols, says he cannot highlight any more major difficulties working in China than in any part of Europe.
"You have to deal with strikes and upsets in France all the time," he muses. "There will always be challenges anywhere."
"They are going through their own industrial revolution," he says.
Mr Nicols also has a tip to give: "It is important to have local people running the sites. They make the connection to the customers."
Counterfeit central
A key problem for many firms though is what can happen after they get established. Success in China can bring swift - and fierce - local competition.
Even international giants can come unstuck. Major retailer B&Q closed a third of its stores with a loss of £52m in 2009, saying it had expanded too quickly.

Intellectual property remains an issue - even hotel chains can find themselves with similar-looking properties popping up around them.
China has worked hard to stamp out its image as counterfeit central, but, says Andy Scott, this remains the number one fear for companies.

"A company wanting to do business with China will ask itself the question: 'Do I want to run the risk of building up a business only to see it copied?'
"My advice is to go in with your eyes open. Use the legal process. Three to four years ago you could legitimately ask whether the legal framework was strong enough. It is a lot tougher now."
Vice Premier Li Keqiang pledged to go further in an article published in the China Daily last week.
"China will continue to strengthen intellectual property protection and improve the business environment for foreign firms, which are entitled to the same treatment as their Chinese counterparts."
This move from the top of government could be strengthened by the natural growth of Chinese firms themselves.
As UK firms enter China, Chinese firms are expanding out of their home country.
As Andy Scott says, although there is still a question mark over the implementation of the law, as Chinese firms become more international, they themselves are realising the benefits of intellectual property protection.
There are many matters to be learned by companies in both countries in order for trade relations to develop smoothly and profitably.
Meantime, the short-term hopes for the high-profile UK figures meeting the vice premier this week will be for more of the kind of deals that marked November's visit by the UK to China - and the vice premier's trips last week to Spain and Germany.

State's jobs returning, but type is changing

Source: Great Falls Tribune
Indicators are pointing to a recovering Montana job market, but it appears there are changes when it comes to the types of jobs that will be available in the state compared with the past, according to a Montana Department of Labor economist.

Using job orders submitted to the state's Job Service for the last six years, Aaron McNay looked at the number of openings that were advertised, the types of openings and the qualifications listed for candidates.

"What we were expecting to find was confirmed," McNay said.
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As Montana's unemployment rate climbed, the number of jobs advertised slid. After listed jobs peaked at 34,426 in 2007, the number dropped to 31,522 in 2008, then plummeted to 24,372 in 2009.

However, in the first ninth months of 2010, job orders were 25,320, exceeding the 2009 total. Year end 2010 data is not available yet, but the listed jobs are projected to be about 32,765.

"The number of job orders are a leading indicator of what will happen with the unemployment rate," McNay said.

It that holds true, Montana's unemployment rate, which was most recently reported in November at 7.2 percent, should begin to trend downward.

However, a decline in construction and changes in the economy mean new job opportunities will have a new look in Montana.

"What we tend to see during recessions, and in fact what we did see in this recession, is a drop in construction and housing, which means there are less jobs focused in those areas," McNay said. "Even if we return to the historical levels of construction Montana has seen in the past, it's unlikely that we'll see all the jobs that were available during the building booms in areas such as Flathead and Gallatin counties."

From 2004-2006, employment in construction exploded in Montana, increasing employment in the sector by 36 percent. But the bust cost Montana 9,000 construction jobs from December 2007 to January 2010.

The drop was shocking, said Cary Hegreberg, executive director of the Montana Contractors Association.

"Everyone knew there was over-building in the state, but no one predicted the 35 percent decline we've had since May 2007," he said. "Right now in Montana, we have a mixed bag. We are not seeing a lot of confidence in the private sector to stretch or build or expand with new facilities. On the positive side, the federal highway funding appears to be pretty solid into the next two years, although we won't see the effect of the stimulus dollars we've been seeing the previous two years."

Hegreberg added that retiring baby boomers will leave a void of skilled-trades workers in the near future in Montana.
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The construction sector historically offered opportunities for low-skill applicants seeking entry-level jobs, and those types of opportunities appear to be decreasing, according to McNay's research.

"At the same time, the trend in Montana in health care continues to be one of strong growth as our state's population ages and people need more health care," he said.

Montana's education sector also is seeing job growth.

In 2005, 13.3 percent of all new job openings in Montana were in education and health services. In 2009, 17.7 percent of Montana's job openings were in those sectors.

"Montana's jobs are shifting, from hands-on labor and construction to those in the knowledge-based economy," said Montana Superintendent of Schools Denise Juneau. "And we are working in education to create the work force that is ready to step into those jobs."

For example, when Montana's health care industry lacked radiologic technologists, the post-secondary schools responded, said Liza Benzel, director of the South Central Area Health Education Center. Today six campuses in the state offer associate of applied science programs in the field.

"They answered our call a few years ago and addressed some of those needs," Benzel said.

Historically, rural health care jobs have been more difficult to fill, and that continues today, said Kristin Juliar of the Montana Office of Rural Health and the Montana Area Health Education Center.

"A lot of communities are having success in growing their own, providing opportunities for people who already live in those communities to pursue education in health care fields," she said.

For example, there are new distance education programs in nursing in Hamilton through the Montana College of Technology.

"We have a nurse in Circle who is working to get her nurse practitioners' degree because that community will need a midlevel practitioner when their physician's assistant retires in a couple of years," Juliar said.

he Montana Department of Labor is working on a project funded by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration to gather data on Montana's health care work force to gain a clear understanding of what the state's needs are for workers in that industry.

"There are also opportunities in nonclinical careers in health care," Juliar said. "As we continue to shift to electronic records, we need more health information technology professionals. Montana Tech of the University of Montana and MSU-Great Falls (Montana State University-Great Falls College of Technology) are working on a distance-learning program now so that workers already employed in that field can get training in-house."

There also are newer avenues available to people seeking to enter the education field on nontraditional tracks.

"Today there are internship endorsements that make it easier for teachers who are already employed to obtain licenses in areas such as special education," said Eric Feaver, president of MEA-MFT, an advocacy organization for teachers.

The state also has a Class 4 Career and Technical License for teachers.

"It is a way for people in a profession, who want to get into teaching that skill to take some education classes on how to teach, to step into the classroom," Juneau said. "The Career Center in Billings is a technical high school with several Class 4 licensed teachers for subjects such as graphic design."

Montana also has a Quality Educator Loan Assistance Program that provides student loan repayment for teachers working in critical shortage areas in the education field, such as math. Last year, 163 teachers participated in the program.

How the Earth will look in the year 3000

MetroBy Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press | Metro – Sun, 9 Jan 12:02 PM EST

CALGARY - A study predicts there will be havoc akin to a big-budget Hollywood disaster movie in the next 1,000 years even if people stop emitting all carbon dioxide into the atmosphere now.

Researchers from the University of Calgary and Environment Canada's climate centre at the University of Victoria say coastal areas will flood and the Earth's land mass will shrink as global sea levels rise by at least four metres.

They also believe parts of North Africa will dry out by up to 30 per cent and ocean warming is likely to trigger widespread collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet, a region the size of the Canadian Prairies.

"It's probably slower playing than some of the disaster movies," said Shawn Marshall, a geography professor at the University of Calgary who holds the Canada Research Chair in Climate Change.

"We were kind of surprised by the result, actually. Even if we change behaviour and totally change society, we're still in store for a lot of bad scenarios. I feel a bit defeatist from it."

The team used computer modelling to speculate how the world would change by the year 3000 in a "zero emissions" scenario. The results are published in Sunday's advanced online publication of the journal Nature Geoscience.
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The Northern Hemisphere fares better than the south in the model with patterns of climate change eventually reversing within the 1,000-year time frame in places such as Canada.

"Canada and Russia would fare the best," Marshall said. "I don't think you'll find many people really complaining about a five-degree warming. Canada is in a good position globally — there's no question about that."

The continued heat in Africa will create food shortages, however.

"In Africa, it just gets worse, but then other countries like Russia and Canada could get better. It's just a matter of whether we can reach some kind of model of global co-operation."

Since zero emissions is not going to happen in the foreseeable future, the researchers also plotted out what will happen if the world keeps a "business as usual" approach.

"If we drop dead with emissions right now, the Arctic sea ice gets worse for another 10 or 20 years but then it comes back — so by 2100 it's back to what we're used to.

"If we keep business as usual, the sea ice in the Arctic is mostly gone."

Marshall said the most realistic scenario probably falls somewhere in the middle.

He hopes people will take away from the study that serious efforts to cut greenhouse gases need to be made now to mitigate the damage.

"There's a lot of legacy in the choices we make this century. We're seeing a lot of the early signs of climate change. If you're looking at a risk analysis, just realize that these changes we're making to the atmosphere do have a long-term effect."

The secret of Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa finally decoded

'Mysterious, hidden literary references' found in the Mona Lisa
By ANI
Fri, 7 Jan 2011 1:20 AM EST
Washington, Jan 7 (ANI): A professor from the Queen's University has stumbled upon literary references in Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.

He believes that the work of art incorporates images inspired by the literary works of Roman poet Horace and Florentine poet Petrarch, a technique called 'invention'.

"The composition of the Mona Lisa is striking. Why does Leonardo have an attractive woman sitting on a balcony, while in the background there is an entirely different world that is vast and barren?" asks Ross Kilpatrick.
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According to Kilpatrick, the painting alludes to Horace's Ode 1. 22 and two sonnets by Petrarch, all of which celebrate a devotion to a smiling young woman, with vows to love and follow the woman anywhere in the world, from damp mountains to arid deserts - the regions portrayed in the background of Mona Lisa.

He also reveals that da Vinci was aware of the poets and their works and the bridge seen in the background of the Mona Lisa has been identified as the same one from Petrarch's hometown of Arezzo.

"The Mona Lisa was made at a time when great literature was well known. It was quoted, referenced and celebrated," Kilpatrick added.

His findings have now been published in the Italian journal MEDICEA. (ANI)

Rutgers University's Job Fair

Keywords: Rutger's job fair

Source: nj.com

Jostling for jobs: new and old grads mix at Rutgers fair

Published: Sunday, January 09, 2011

By Eliot Caroom/The Star-Ledger

Students in line Thursday at the annual collegiate job fair at Rutgers had disconcerting company: recent graduates from colleges across the state who are still in the hunt and older job seekers jolted out of work by the recession.

“Everybody’s hiring, but not for full-time entry-level positions,” said Jorge Alfonso, 22, of Nutley, who graduated from Ramapo College in May and is currently working part time. “Part time, internships, temporary, seasonal, stuff like that.”

At least Alfonso has some work. Although the recession officially ended in 2009, unemployment in the state and nation still topped 9 percent at the end of last year, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The number of employers at the twice-yearly job fair has ebbed and flowed with the unemployment rate over the years, and this January’s fair saw 135 employers, down by about 30 from a year ago.

“More recent graduates are coming year after year,” said Richard White, director of career services for Rutgers. “Particularly the last two years have been tough years to graduate. (Both) 2009 and 2010 were particularly difficult years where a number of students didn’t get a full-time job or got a full-time job way out of their interest area.”

The number of students reporting job offers at the time of graduation dropped from about 40 percent in good times to about 25 percent over the past several years, White said.

“There’s a deep bench of qualified people stacking up there waiting for those jobs,” said Carl Van Horn, director of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. “The young people that are graduating this spring, they’re up against people who still didn’t get a job who graduated in 2010 and 2009, plus they’re competing against older people who have been laid off.”

Some of those older job seekers were at the fair, like Ray Snyder, a Randolph man who preferred not to give his age, but graduated from Ursinus College near Philadelphia in 1982.

Snyder, a marketing manager, became unemployed in August 2007 and was surprised by the brutal job market.

“I find a lot of times I’m seeing entry-level positions, and that’s just not acceptable to me,” Snyder said. “It’s not been pleasant to try to find full-time employment.”

The bleak market has forced some recent college graduates to change their career paths before even landing a first job.

Jean Cineas, 26, of Summit graduated from Kean University in 2008 with a degree in criminal justice but couldn’t find work.

“There was pretty much nothing out there, really,” Cineas said.

So he went back to Kean and will graduate this May with a degree in accounting.

“Everybody needs an accountant,” Cineas said.

Many of the companies that were at Rutgers said they intend to hire in the coming year.

“We’re looking for two specific positions,” said Ryan Laughlin, who was recruiting for Horiba Scientific, an Edison-based spectroscope manufacturer. “The first person who walked up seems perfect for one of the positions.”

Both computer programming and marketing jobs were available at the booth for SaaShr.com, a Branchburg payroll and human resources software company.

Mark Fortin, a project manager, said the small company has tripled in size since he was hired in 2007.

He invited Lamar Murray, 21, a senior at Rutgers double-majoring in computer science and information technology, to Branchburg for a technical evaluation, which Fortin said could lead to an interview and maybe a job.

“In the computer science field, the development field, it’s always growing,” Murray said after he talked to Fortin.

While technical skills like programming and accounting were sought after by many employers at the fair, jobs are harder to come by for traditional liberal arts majors, according to college officials and recent graduates.

“It’s a little insane,” said Nicole Chapla, 24, a senior majoring in communications at Rosemont College in Pennsylvania who has attended three job fairs in recent months. “Definitely if you’re a graduate with a bachelor’s of arts, it’s a lot more difficult to find a job.”

A crowd of mostly liberal arts majors swarmed the table for the Peace Corps at the fair.

“I’m exhausted,” said Peace Corps staffer Ciara Johnson. “The line went around the corner.”

Among those at her table was Katie Marinello, 22, of Montville, an English major who said she didn’t regret her major.

“I think you can do anything with an English major,” said Marinello, who attends at Trinity College in Connecticut. “It’s what I wanted to do. Honestly, I’m supposed to be scared, but I’m not that nervous yet.”

Even with intense competition for jobs, many at the Rutgers fair still had hope ­— or at least their game faces on.

That included Valentina Petrenko, 22, of Fair Lawn, who graduated from Rutgers in May 2010 with a degree in public health.

After her first six months of job hunting, she remains optimistic.

“When you look, eventually you find something,” Petrenko said. “I’m not disheartened.”

Eliot Caroom: (973) 392-7919 or ecaroom@starledger.com