Another Crisis Obama Ignored

The prize highlights one aspect of a policy-making problem which has bedevilled governments of advanced countries since the oil shocks of the 1970s: high unemployment which has risen even higher because of the global economic crisis

The jury lauded the trio “for their analysis of markets with search frictions,” which helps explain how unemployment, job vacancies, and wages are affected by regulation and economic policy.

Half of flights to and from Paris Orly airport and one in three at Charles de Gaulle will be cancelled because of walk-outs by airport workers in what is seen as a crunch week for pension reform, officials said.

Intercity trains and the Paris metro were also to be badly hit, and teachers, truckers and postal workers planned to join the protests against a plan that is central to President Nicolas Sarkozy’s reform programme.

The euro reached 1.40 dollars, while the US unit hit a fresh 15-year low against the yen amid growing expectation that the Federal Reserve will pump more money to bolster the struggling US economy, they added.

“The euro was given a boost after the IMF meeting, which failed to resolve the so-called currency war,” said Kathleen Brooks, an analyst for online trading company Forex.com.

The International Monetary Fund steering committee, which has been struggling to address friction among key economies including China and the United States, said Saturday the organization should continue its study.

“While the international monetary system has proved resilient, tensions and vulnerabilities remain as a result of widening global imbalances, continued volatile capital flows, exchange rate movements and issues related to the supply and accumulation of official reserves,” the IMF panel said in a statement after its meeting.

The subject dominated annual International Monetary Fund talks in Washington at the weekend, but there was no consensus as the United States and China wage an acrimonious dispute over Beijing’s currency policies.

“I strongly hope that this will not escalate into an all-out war,” said Cyn Young Park, a senior economist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), voicing fears any conflict could derail the world’s fragile recovery from recession.

Sales of smaller-screen and cheaper netbook laptops may appear to be sloping off in a mature market like the United States, but analysts in Asia believe this is not the end of the road for the laptop itself.

“The tablet is a secondary device, meant for people who already have a PC and want a device for portable usage,” said Tracy Tsai, a Taipei-based analyst with technology research company Gartner.

Premier Wen Jiabao told European leaders last week that the 20-40 percent appreciation demanded by critics would destroy Chinese firms and lead to social upheaval by triggering widespread unemployment.

The premier’s claims have merit, experts say, warning that any dramatic shift in the value of the yuan would be harmful not only to export-driven China but also to a global economy struggling to recover from the financial crisis.

The Fox International division was created in 2008 to “make local films all over the world, and to focus on markets that were growing, or that already have big established local products,” said its head Sanford Panitch.

“And China being the fastest-growing market in the world, and 50 percent of the product in China being local, it was a great opportunity for us to be able to participate in making Chinese film,” he told AFP.

The Aussie is rocketing on the back of an unprecedented mining boom, a strong local economy and exposure to China’s growth, zooming up against the US dollar last week to hit a record of 99.18 US cents on Thursday.

The record — the Australian currency’s highest level since it was floated in December 1983 — prompted suggestions that the local dollar would tip past parity with the greenback by the end of the year.

The International Monetary Fund steering committee, which has been struggling to address friction among key economies including China and the United States, said the organization should continue its study.

“While the international monetary system has proved resilient, tensions and vulnerabilities remain as a result of widening global imbalances, continued volatile capital flows, exchange rate movements and issues related to the supply and accumulation of official reserves,” the IMF panel said in a statement after its meeting Saturday.

The report could have implications on voter sentiment in the run-up to the November 2 polls. High unemployment is a crucial issue as millions of Americans feel the recession that ended more than a year ago has not ended for them.

President Barack Obama and his Democratic Party needed a strong report to crow about the economic recovery ahead of the vote, in which opposition Republicans are expected to make strong gains and possibly recapture a majority in one or both chambers of Congress.

CNOOC shares hit a three-year high on news of the deal with Chesapeake Energy Corp (CHK.N), which could be the start of more outbound acquisitions as the Chinese company races to meet its aggressive production growth forecasts to feed the country’s fast-growing economy, analysts and bankers said.

“We expect them to expand their footprint in the Canadian oil-sands and also in Brazil’s deepwater. That’s the last frontier where you can extract big oil volumes,” said Gordon Kwan, head of Asian energy research for Mirae Asset Securities, adding that Nigeria and Angola could also be attractive.

Bernstein analyst Paul Galloway said getting the financial clout needed to improve on the terms of the biggest takeover bid this year required either aligning a diverse consortium or relying on the politically contentious backing of China.

The latest in weeks of speculation about ways BHP could be stymied saw reports that Canadian and Singaporean funds were talking about a possible deal, that China’s preferred counterbidder was canvassing an Indian partner, and that Potash itself was examining a huge payout.

Beijing realizes it must raise the value of its currency, but the strength of the yuan depends on carefully gauging economic fundamentals like inflation, growth and employment, said Zhou, the head of the People’s Bank of China.

“China would like to use more gradual ways to realize a balance between domestic and external demand,” he said, repeating the message he drove home at the weekend’s International Monetary Fund meetings.

Amid mounting currency tensions and talk of new surcharges on the industry, some of the world’s top bankers appealed for a gradual approach to implementing the Basel III accord on capital and other banking reforms.

The bankers expressed fears that individual governments will go beyond the Basel III deal struck last month between finance ministers from 27 countries that will force tougher capital and liquidity requirements on banks by 2019 so they can better withstand economic downturns and financial shocks.

Minutes due on Tuesday from the Fed’s most recent policy-setting meeting may reflect some divisions among officials over whether to launch another round of asset purchases, known as quantitative easing.

Investors, however, assume the Fed will pull the trigger, likely at its next policy-setting meeting in November.

Normally when the likes of JPMorgan or Intel –also reporting next week — tell investors how much they earned in the previous quarter, the stock market hangs on every word.

But after Friday’s surprisingly anemic payrolls report, the increased likelihood the Fed will buy more assets like Treasury bonds to stimulate the economy has investors ignoring the usual benchmarks.

Sales at U.S. Wal-Mart stores open at least a year have fallen in five straight quarters, hurt by competition from lower-priced dollar stores and an economy that has allowed some shoppers to move up to rivals such as Target Corp (TGT.N).

Bill Simon became CEO of the U.S. unit in June and is expected to outline how he and his revamped management team can spur sales.

Federal Reserve board nominee Peter Diamond was honored along with Dale Mortensen and Christopher Pissarides with the 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.5 million) prize for their analysis of the obstacles that prevent buyers and sellers from efficiently pairing up in markets.

Diamond – a former mentor to current Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke – analyzed the foundations of so-called search markets, while Mortensen and Pissarides expanded the theory and applied it to the labor market.

It would mark only the second year without an increase since automatic adjustments for inflation were adopted in 1975. The first year was this year.

“If you’re the ruling party, this is not the sort of thing you want to have happening two weeks before an election,” said Andrew Biggs, a former deputy commissioner at the Social Security Administration and now a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

A surging tide of foreign cash has helped drive stocks in Indonesia and the Philippines to record highs, while India’s market has been flirting with a lifetime peak, but as Udani – whose company Kaytee Corp. sells to Wal-Mart and Macy’s – knows there can be danger in plenty.

That rush of money – replicated across emerging Asia as investors seek a haven of high-growth amid miserably low returns in the developed world_ has pushed the Indian rupee up 5.5 percent since Sept. 1 to its highest in more than two years. That, plus surging cotton prices, is wiping out his profit margin, which usually hovers under 5 percent.

They’re running into a trend that took root during the recession. Companies became more productive by doing more with fewer workers. Some asked staffers to take on a broader array of duties – duties that used to be spread among multiple jobs. Now, someone who hopes to get those jobs must meet the new requirements.

As a result, some database administrators now have to manage network security.

“I’m a 60-40 optimist,” he said at the time.

Today, Case’s mood is far more subdued. In scarcely two weeks, he and other housing analysts have watched as the once-staid world of back-office bank procedures has spawned a scandal that threatens to further unhinge the housing market.

Now there’s an estimate of what it costs taxpayers. And it runs in the billions.

States appropriated almost $6.2 billion for four-year colleges and universities between 2003 and 2008 to help pay for the education of students who did not return for year two, a report released Monday says.

The City of Beverly Hills is launching its own line of perfumes this week as the first products in a long-term quest to turn the city’s trademarked shield logo into a brand. You could call it, ahem, 9021-Eau.

“This is a center of fashion, sophistication, energy,” said Mayor Jimmy Delshad. “We decided this was the right product for us.”

It’s a matter of simple science: Grapes become sweeter as they develop but they need sun and heat to do so. When the grapes are crushed and loaded into barrels, the sugar turns into alcohol during fermentation.

With less exposure to sun and heat, the grapes will have less sugar and produce wines with less alcohol. But, vintners say, the wines should be beautifully balanced and full-flavored.