Business

The International Labor Organization (ILO), a branch of the United Nations concerned with labor and workers' rights issues, issued a report Wednesday explaining how the global economic crisis could create a global employment crisis by the end of the year. "By the end of 2008 working poverty, vulnerable employment and unemployment were beginning to rise as the effects of the slowdown spread," the report states. "If the recession deepens in 2009, as many forecasters expect, the global jobs crisis will worsen sharply." Even for those who keep the

Zimbabwe has decided to abandon its currency, the Zimbabwean dollar, in favour of other currencies. Acting Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa announced today that Zimbabweans will be allowed to make transactions in other currencies along with the local currency. "In line with the prevailing practices by the general public, [the] government is therefore allowing the use of multiple foreign currencies for business transactions alongside the Zimbabwean dollar," he said, adding that the Zimbabwean dollar will not be removed from circulation and wo

The British government has announced a £2.3 billion package of aid to attempt to support the country's car manufacturing industry. Lord Peter Mandelson, the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform announced to the House of Lords that the government planned to obtain £1.3 billion from the European Investment Bank for the industry. A further £1 billion loan is available if the industry agrees to invest it in environmentally friendly vehicles. Mandleson told the Lords that the industry is vital to the British economy, w

Shop Direct group, One of the United Kingdoms home shopping retailers are to cut 1,150 jobs as they shut down a call centre in Merseyside. The closure of the call centre was said to be part of the company’s transformation to an online-led business. 250 of the job loses are to be offered relocation within the company. Currently 56% of Shop Directs business is in the form of online sales. They set for this to rise to 70% of sales within two years. Chief Executive of Shop Direct, Mark Newton Jones, said that Shop Direct is a strong and growing b

The coalition government in Iceland has collapsed following the international banking crisis. Prime Minister Geir Haarde of the conservative Independence Party had begun talks with coalition partner party Social Democratic Alliance in the run-up to an early general election planned for May. It was reported yesterday that these talks had failed and the coalition was dissolved. The centre-left Social Democrats will now try to build a coalition with opposition parties, according to the BBC. The Independence Party currently has 25 of the 63 seats

The United Kingdom's flag carrier airline, British Airways (BA) has warned the markets that it will post a full year loss of up to £150 million. The former state airline, privatised in 1987, saw its shares fall 8.5% on the back of an announcement that "further economic weakness in January and the outlook for February and March combined with the fall in sterling are impacting our outlook for the year", according to The Daily Telegraph. Quarterly revenues are still anticipated to grow by 4%, but a full-year loss is now expected. Costs have risen

France's two largest trade unions have called for a general strike on Thursday. The Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail (French Democratic Confederation of Labour) and the Confédération générale du travail (General Confederation of Labour), along with six other labour groups, have called upon French workers to stop work on January 29 and take to the streets to protest the handling of the economic downturn by President Nicolas Sarkozy. The strike call is aimed at both the private and the public sectors. It would affect public servi

An accident on the set of British television show Heartbeat has taken place, involving five cast and crew members who are yet to be identified. It is believed that a tractor rolled down an embankment while filming near Whitby, North Yorkshire. Police say that none of the injuries is said to be life-threatening. A spokeswoman for the ITV show released a statement saying that a guest actor received chest injuries. One actor was flown to Middlesbrough, one was taken to a hospital in Whitby and the remaining three were taken to Scarborough's dist

As the newly inaugurated Barack Obama administration continues to push for a US$825 billion stimulus package to aid the struggling United States economy, some Republican legislators say they will not vote for such a plan without the inclusion of more tax cuts and less "unnecessary" spending. Arizona Senator John McCain, Obama's general election opponent and a leading voice within the Republican Party, says he would not vote for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan as it currently stands. Appearing on Fox News Sunday yesterday, McCain ec

An investigation by the Sunday Times newspaper has made allegations of bribery against four members of the House of Lords, Britain's unelected upper legislative body. The paper says it has secretly made recordings of Lord Truscott admitting to making a recent energy bill more favourable to a client who markets "smart" electricity meters. The Sunday Times also alleges that Lord Taylor of Blackburn had claimed to have made changes to a bill to help Experian, a credit reference agency. The paper adds that Lords Moonie and Snape had agreed to tak

Timothy F. Geithner, Barack Obama's nominee for Secretary of the Treasury, had his confirmation hearing on Thursday in the United States Senate. If confirmed he will succeed Henry Paulson in this position, which is analogous to the finance minister in other nations. During Geithner's testimony in the Senate, he said that the Obama administration believes China is "manipulating" its currency. The New York Times says this suggests a confrontational stance toward China on trade issues. "President Obama backed by the conclusions of a broad range

The formation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Basketball League this week almost certainly ensures that a professional basketball league will be run across southern Asia. In planning for almost two years a US$5 million backing from Malaysian business tycoons Tony Fernandes of AirAsia and Indonesian media mogul Erick Thoir should see the league commence in September this year. The goal is to boost the mainstream popularity of basketball which, according to organizers of the new league, is already the second most popular te