As the clip says: “climate campaigners are concerned the scheme permits construction of coal-power stations which have the technology on only part of the plant, while the rest will continue to pollute.” Ed Miliband unveils strategy to encourage growth of unproven technology for next generation of coal-fired power stations |
The Black Pump power plant in Germany which captures the greenhouse gases produced when fossil fuels are combusted. Photograph: Michael Urban/AFP/Getty Images |
But climate campaigners are concerned the scheme permits construction of coal-power stations which have the technology on only part of the plant, while the rest will continue to pollute. Read more at www.guardian.co.uk |
• Claimant count falls to 1.59m people
• Wider jobless measure falls 33,000 to 2.45m people
• But ‘economically inactive’ people rises to record 8.16m
• … and employment level hits lowest since 2006 |
Gordon Brown was given a helping hand in the run-up to the general election today after it was revealed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell by the biggest amount since Labour came to power 13 years ago. Although the City and ministers had been braced for a rise, official figures showed that Britain’s claimant count fell unexpectedly by 32,300 in the month to February to 1.59 million. |
Unemployment on the wider Labour Force Survey (LFS) measure, which includes people who are out of work but not claiming benefits, also witnessed a big drop. The LFS fell by 33,000 to 2.45 million between November and January, taking the unemployment rate to 7.8% – a drop of 0.1% on the previous quarter. Read more at www.guardian.co.uk |
Report reckons that in 2008 piracy cost the sector £10bn in lost revenues |
A quarter of a million British jobs in the music, film, TV, software and other creative industries could be lost over the next five years if online piracy continues at its current rate, according to a study backed by European unions and the TUC. |
Across the EU, as many as 1.2 million jobs are in jeopardy as piracy looks set to strip more than €240bn (£218bn) in revenues from the creative industries by 2015, unless regulators can stem the flow. In 2008, the creative industries contributed €860bn to the EU’s GDP – almost 7% – and they employ 6.5% of the EU workforce, or 14 million people. |
| A shorter working week is set to become the new norm, according to a report out this week from nef (the new economics foundation), the UK’s leading independent think tank. |
| the study, 21
hours, forecasts a
major shift in the length of the formal working week as a consequence of dealing
with key economic, social and environmental problems. And this can be seen as a
positive opportunity, say the researchers, rather than a threat.
|
According to nef, there are several forces pushing us
towards a shorter working week: lasting damage to the economy caused by the
banking crisis, an increasingly divided society with too much over-work
alongside too much unemployment, and an urgent need for deep cuts in
environmentally damaging over-consumption. These combine with a growing interest
in people spending more time producing and delivering a share of their own goods
and services – from co-produced care and neighbourhood-based activities, to
food, clothing and other necessities. Read more at neweconomics.org |
If prices are perceived as falling, more people will want to sell now to get top prices, while fewer people will want to buy as the expect a cheaper deal in the future. Classic deflation.
Prices are up a measly 0.1pc compared to February, the smallest margin ever
recorded at this time of the year, when prices have never fallen month on
month, according to property website Rightmove.
|
The near standstill in prices has fuelled concerns that a decline in the housing
market could lead to a slowdown in the wider economy as
unemployment, public sector spending cuts and potentially higher interest
rates hit the consumer.
|
“We expect house prices to fall further,” economists at Capital
Economics said.
|
It remains unclear whether February’s data was a blip caused by the severe
weather conditions in the UK or a more long term trend, but commentators are
warning that the outlook is far from bright.
Read more at www.telegraph.co.uk |
“Addressing homelessness (in all its forms) should be the number one priority of any compassionate society.”
– EdmundBurke | Although people 50 and older are traditionally a small part of the homeless population, their numbers have grown as the economy has stagnated. |
A snapshot of the Sacramento area’s graying homeless population shows a group that came to the streets as a result of midlife job loss and health problems, not chronic addiction and mental health issues. |
And at the Gathering Inn, which feeds and shelters Placer County’s homeless, 27 percent of people seeking services each night are age 50 to 62 – up from 10 percent in 2004. |
1. Both consumer confidence and sentiment have fallen unexpectedly.
2. After-tax personal incomes adjusted for inflation have flattened.
3. Sales of both new and existing homes took a surprising stumble.
4. Orders for most durable goods are down.
5. Manufacturing has slowed.
6. Jobless claims are up.
7. Fourth-quarter GDP growth came largely from a slower pace of inventory liquidation, not from an increase in consumer spending.
8. And, as a matter of fact, consumer spending weakened last quarter. |
Kellner also points out that consumer confidence has dropped to a nearly 30-year low, new home sales hit record lows, existing home sales are at a seven-month low, and even unemployment claims rose six of the past eight weeks. Read more at dailyreckoning.com |
The pace of job losses in the US economy continued to ease last month, with
private sector employers axing 20,000 jobs in February, compared to 60,000
in January.
|
The figures from the payrolls firm ADP raised hopes ahead of official job
market statistics from the US Labour Department, which are due at the end of
this week. Worried by the severity of recent snow storms in the north east
of the country, analysts currently expect the report to show that the
world’s largest economy lost 50,000 non-farm jobs last month, compared to
20,000 in January.
Read more at www.independent.co.uk |
Where will “the markets” look next to hedge against? Reuters is looking at Spain. Why can’t governments see that all the speculation makes a very bad situation much worse? Of course, they are pretty good at it themselves. | Spain’s shrinking gross domestic product, down 3.6 percent in 2009, has put the country into its “deepest and longest recession in half a century.” Other problems, including “an unemployment rate of 19%, a deflating housing bubble, big debts and a gaping budget deficit,” threaten the continent and the euro, which launched in 1999. |
| “Spain can’t devalue its currency,” “slash interest rates or print money.” The European Central Bank has control over those decisions. With a budget deficit of 11.4 percent of GDP, Spain also can’t pass tax cuts or spending increases.Read more at www.reuters.com |
The number of US workers making new claims for jobless benefits recorded a surprising increase last week, offering more evidence that the labour market’s recovery will be rocky. |
The less volatile, four-week average of claims rose, climbing by 6,000 to 473,750 while those continuing to claim unemployment benefits also rose by 6,000 to 4.61m. |
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Carbon capture storage will ‘generate 100,000 jobs and £6.5bn a year’
