in revising data for prior months the data showed net gain of jobs in
november instead of loss of previously reported the first positive
month after months of losses
president barack obama said the report highlights the need for more efforts to
create jobs
the jobs numbers that were released by the labor department this morning are
reminder that the road to recovery is never straight and that we have to
continue to work every single day to get our economy moving again obama said
as he unveiled plans for tax credits for green jobs
still he said the employment picture is better than when he began as president
when the economy was shedding some jobs per month
the overall trend of job loss is still pointing in the right direction he
added
economists said the news was disappointing but consistent with gradually
healing economy
we re getting steady but very slow improvement in the job market said
robert macintosh economist at eaton vance
we are going to have to get used to frustratingly high unemployment rate
on the surface this was disappointing report especially since we did finally
have positive number in november said joel naroff at naroff economic
advisors
but the seasonal adjustments are difficult in this type of cautious environment
and wouldn be surprised if in january there was another job increase
cary leahey senior economist at the research firm decision economics called
the data consistent with still sluggish economy
the labor market is struggling and is stuck in the water he said
you are seeing gains in output and manufacturing because of liquidation of
inventories but we haven seen decisive turn in the labor market
the world biggest economy expanded at percent pace in the third quarter
after four quarters of decline in the worst recession in decades
most analysts expect continued growth for the fourth quarter and but say
recovery could be held back by unemployment which hurts consumer spending and
confidence
it is starting to look like those in the shaped recovery camp are in better
shape than those in the shaped recovery camp said ian pollick economics
strategist at td securities
while the worst of the recession is likely over the fact that the duration of
unemployment remains rigid is concern though silver lining is that we are
likely to see net job creation assisted by census hiring in the first quarter of
the december report showed the goods producing sector shed jobs including
in manufacturing and in construction
the services sector lost modest jobs with loss of in retail
offset by gains in education health care and professional services government
sector employment fell by
average hours worked sometimes seen as proxy for economic activity was
unchanged in december average hourly earnings meanwhile rose percent
the civilian labor force fell by in the month suggesting that more
people are stopping their search for employment
the unchanged unemployment rate of percent understates labor market slack
since labor force participation fell sharply said sophia koropeckyj at moody
economy com
accordingly the broader measure of unemployment increased to percent
she said
jobs data shows road to recovery is never straight obama
washington jan afp
president barack obama said friday that disappointing report showing us
job losses in december showed that the road to recovery is never straight
obama comments came after the labor department reported worse than expected
drop in december payrolls while the unemployment rate held at percent
highlighting slow and painful recovery from recession
the jobs numbers that were released by the labor department this morning are
reminder that the road to recovery is never straight and that we have to
continue to work every single day to get our economy moving again obama said
as he unveiled plans for tax credits for green jobs
still he said the employment picture is better when he began as president when
the economy was shedding some jobs per month
job losses for the last quarter of were one tenth of what we were
experiencing in the first quarter he said
in fact in november we saw the first gain in jobs in nearly two years last
month however we slipped back losing more jobs than we gained though the
overall trend of job loss is still pointing in the right direction
he said the report underscores that we have to continue to explore every avenue
to accelerate the return to hiring
football english clubs concerned for african stars in wake of attack
london jan afp
premier league clubs have expressed concern for the safety of their african
footballers after gunmen killed driver and injured nine when opening fire on
the togo team bus as it travelled to the african cup of nations in angola
manchester city emmanuel adebayor and moustapha salifou of aston villa were
among the players left scurrying for safety as their team bus came under attack
on friday
it was later confirmed driver of team convoy bus was killed and nine of the
delegation were injured
as the african football confederation warded off calls for the tournament to be
scrapped city and villa among others in the english premier league expressed
concern for the safety of their players
togo captain adebayor was unharmed in the attack however city have discussed the
incident with officials from the football association
statement on the club website read manchester city can confirm that
striker emmanuel adebayor is uninjured after this afternoon attack on the togo
team bus in angola
club officials have spoken with adebayor and though shaken by the terrible
events he is unharmed
the club would like to send its condolences to the family of the driver and
sends best wishes for speedy recovery to the injured
we are currently in talks with the football association over what may happen
next
aston villa manager martin neill told the club official website
www avfc co uk am really shocked to hear about this
obviously am pleased and relieved to hear that moustapha is okay and that he
is not among the injured people
the club have been in contact with him and he has reassured us that he is okay
but he is extremely shocked and upset which he would be in these
circumstances
portsmouth who have several stars at the event have also contacted the fa
asking them to demand assurances from fifa that the players safety will be
guaranteed and calling for them to be sent home if it cannot
spokesman for portsmouth said we will be asking the fa to talk to fifa to
ensure the players safety that is paramount and if the players safety can
be ensured then the players should be sent home
two players goalkeeper kodjovi obilale and defender serge akakpo were among the
wounded squad member thomas dossevi who plays for french second division side
nantes told afp
dossevi said they had been fired on like dogs
one of them akakpo took bullet in the back and the other obilale was hit
in the kidneys dossevi said the assailants were hooded and armed to the
teeth we stayed under the seats for minutes it was horrible
organisers of the tournament were to meet in luanda after the shooting however
already there have been calls for the tournament to be scrapped
if it is possible there should be boycott of the tournament why not cancel
all the matches we just want to go back home togo player alaixys romao who
plays for the french top flight side grenoble told french channel infosport
henri stambouli who coached the togo side in told infosport he also
believed the event should be called off noting the seriousness of the
situation believe it should not go ahead said the frenchman
togo one of africa top sides and who appeared in the last world cup in
germany were scheduled to start their campaign against ghana on monday in
cabinda
jobs data shows road to recovery is never straight obama
washington jan afp
president barack obama said friday that disappointing report showing us
job losses in december showed that the road to recovery is never straight
obama comments came after the labor department reported worse than expected
drop in december payrolls while the unemployment rate held at percent
highlighting slow and painful recovery from recession
the jobs numbers that were released by the labor department this morning are
reminder that the road to recovery is never straight and that we have to
continue to work every single day to get our economy moving again obama said
as he unveiled plans for tax credits for green jobs
still he said the employment picture is better when he began as president when
the economy was shedding some jobs per month
job losses for the last quarter of were one tenth of what we were
experiencing in the first quarter he said
in fact in november we saw the first gain in jobs in nearly two years last
month however we slipped back losing more jobs than we gained though the
overall trend of job loss is still pointing in the right direction
he said the report underscores that we have to continue to explore every avenue
to accelerate the return to hiring
canada largest newspaper chain for sale
ottawa jan afp
media titan canwest global filed for bankruptcy protection on friday for its
canadian publishing group as it tries to sell its websites dailies and
community newspapers
the winnipeg based company television operations and its flagship national
post newspaper were put under court protection several months ago after
advertising revenues fell in dour economy
however canwest newspaper division and dozens of its websites had been
operating outside of this creditor protection
in statement the company said its main secured creditors had agreed to take
over the newspaper group unless buyer comes forward with better offer
certain creditors which include canada five biggest banks will also provide
up to million canadian dollars million us to canwest to meet
obligations to current employees and suppliers going forward
rbc capital markets has been asked to oversee the sale and search for
potential buyer starting next week
canwest and its newspaper subsidiaries believe that this is the best course of
action because it will address the newspaper group current debt level
preserve jobs and protect newspaper publishing brands that canadians have come
to know and trust over the past years canwest said in statement
the newspapers which include the vancouver sun the calgary herald the ottawa
citizen and montreal the gazette employ staff
canwest also once owned television and radio stations in britain australia
indonesia new zealand turkey singapore and the united states
but it borrowed heavily to pay billion us dollars to buy stable of daily
and community papers from disgraced media mogul conrad black expanding too fast
in the past decade
much of its international holdings have now been sold to pay down its nearly
billion us dollars in debt including us opinion magazine the new republic
and australian ten television network
analysts suggested canwest bankruptcy filings in october for its television
group and this latest one were inevitable after the company missed debt
interest payment in march
black who once headed the world third largest media empire is now serving
six and half year sentence in florida prison for stealing millions of
dollars from the sale of newspapers to canwest
canwest also partnered with goldman sachs affiliate in to purchase
specialty television group alliance atlantis communications for billion us
dollars
it was go go period in canada media sector when everyone wanted into the
game media analyst carmi levy of ar communications told afp
but canwest was so heavily leveraged by the time the recession hit that when
advertising revenues inevitably dropped they were no longer in position to
maintain its debt payments he said
canwest debt service plan was based on continued economic prosperity and the
advertising revenues that went with it levy explained
now they ve fallen furthest and hardest and canwest lenders appear to have
little choice but to accept the restructuring plan he said
they can simply call in their loans because so much of the company is under
court protection and if it wasn there would be no way for canwest to make good
on that debt he said
canwest creditors said they hoped to acquire or sell off the whole of the
newspaper division rather than auction off each newspaper individually given
the operating synergies that can be realized from national chain of newspapers
and online businesses
the newspapers must remain canadian majority owned however in accordance with
local media ownership rules
the plan must also be approved by majority of senior secured lenders owed at
least two thirds of canwest debt
so far only percent of them are onboard canwest spokesman john douglas told
afp the company is confident it will obtain the required votes
roving bear haunts polish town
warsaw jan afp
roving brown bear put police on alert friday in the southeastern polish town
of przemysl as residents went after it with their cameras an official said
the bear didn attack anyone it didn appear to be aggressive but we must
take precautions so that gawkers won get too close to it as it could become
dangerous local police spokesman pawel miedlar told afp
as soon as they heard bear was in the area many local residents unaware of
the potential danger went in search of it along with their cameras he added
an attempt by veterinarians to tranquilize the animal failed
mieldar said the bear escaped from wild animal sanctuary in the western
ukrainian town of sambir about kilometres miles from przemysl
oil prices mixed after weak us jobs report
new york jan afp
oil prices closed mixed friday with the new york futures contract lifted by
weaker dollar after news that the us economy lost more jobs than expected last
month
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for february delivery rose
nine cents to close at dollars barrel
the benchmark contract had topped dollars wednesday for the first time in
months before snapping session winning streak thursday
london brent north sea crude for february delivery fell cents to settle at
dollars
the world biggest economy lost jobs in december while the unemployment
rate held unchanged at percent the us labor department said friday in
report highlighting slow and painful recovery from recession
the report on nonfarm payrolls was disappointment to those hoping for growth
in jobs which is critical to recovery from recession
the figure was far worse than the consensus expectation for no change in overall
employment levels and came amid wide array of predictions ranging from steep
losses to modest gains
the unemployment rate meanwhile was in line with expectations remaining near
its highest level since the
obviously the numbers were little bit disappointing said phil flynn at pfg
best
the market is trying to decide what it means for the price of oil the job
market is getting little bit better even though not as good as expected he
said
oil prices were supported by weakening dollar which drives investors into
dollar priced commodities
traders continued to watch the bitter cold weather gripping large swathes of the
northern hemisphere
the cold weather is priced in to great extent flynn said any sign of
warm ups or cold snaps could affect the market
mike fitzpatrick at mf global said the market recent uptrend was on slippery
ice
the labor department employment report has done nothing to dispel our
skepticism about sustainable recovery being underway he said
the only thing then that is holding oil prices at higher levels is the short
term heating demand generated by the last two weeks cold
us envoy says afghanistan more than karzai
washington jan afp
the us pointman on afghanistan on friday played down tensions with president
hamid karzai saying that the problems in the war torn nation involved more than
one man
richard holbrooke the special envoy for afghanistan and pakistan said he
wanted to get us away from the idea that there this one stop solution for an
immensely complicated country
let not expect one man to solve the problems for the country historically
afghanistan even in peacetime conditions was not governed centrally
holbrooke told luncheon in washington
holbrooke and other members of president barack obama administration have had
tense relations with karzai and pressed him when he won disputed election last
year to crack down on what us officials saw as rampant corruption
holbrooke said karzai pledged to do better but added that the leader could not
personally end corruption in afghanistan
what other leader in the world is held to the standard including our own of
eliminating corruption because you re the head of the government corruption is
huge problem in afghanistan holbrooke said
understand why all of us focus on hamid karzai he speaks excellent
english he charismatic he been in full american view now for eight years
he said but the government is lot more than hamid karzai
holbrooke insisted he had solid working relationship with karzai saying he
had great respect for him and believed he was the legitimately elected
president of afghanistan
but holbrooke acknowledged the relationship was soured by opinion articles the
veteran us diplomat wrote before obama election criticizing karzai record
karzai and holbrooke had widely recounted altercation during last year
election over us concerns about ballot stuffing
argentine judge orders bank chief reinstated
buenos aires jan afp
an argentine judge friday ordered that the sacked head of the central bank
should be reinstated amid spiraling crisis over the country national debt
payments
the judge decided to temporarily suspend the emergency decree which had led to
the dismissal of this official the justice department legal information
center said
president christina kirchner on thursday triggered an institutional and
political crisis by sacking bank chief martin redrado by decree saying he had
failed in his duties
kirchner has strongly backed the use of dollar reserves to cover the
billion dollars of debt that is due to mature soon in bid to return argentina
to international credit markets
but redrado has refused to transfer the cash to government coffers
more egypt clashes arrests over copt christmas killings
nagaa hammadi egypt jan afp
coptic christians pelted muslim shops with stones on friday in southern
egyptian town where muslim gunmen killed six copts after christmas eve mass
security official said
the town of nagaa hammadi has been on edge since wednesday night shooting the
country deadliest sectarian attack in years in which policeman was also
killed
security official said police moved in to contain the violence and restore
calm and witnesses said access roads to nagaa hammadi were sealed off
residents in the nearby village of bahgura said muslims had set fire to coptic
homes and stores but police official denied this
earlier in the day police said that the three gunmen who took part in the
christmas attack had surrendered after being surrounded on nearby farm
but tensions remained high in nagaa hammadi which also saw protests on thursday
during the funerals for the christians killed in the attack when copts clashed
with police and pelted police cars with stones before being dispersed
muslims who attended the main weekly prayers in the town on friday left swiftly
afterwards and few people were on the streets which were patrolled by
plainclothes police
of course we are scared muslims and christians are scared our businesses will
close it will be disaster for all of us ashraf mohammed muslim butcher
told afp
the interior ministry said the three suspects including town resident
mohammed el kamuni whom the interior ministry earlier identified as el kawmi
surrendered on friday morning after being encircled on the farm
the suspects all have previous convictions the ministry added
police believe wednesday night attack was related to the alleged rape of
muslim girl by coptic man in the nearby village of farshut in november
muslim villagers responded to that incident by burning coptic owned stores in
farshut and surrounding police station where the coptic suspect was held
nagaa hammadi bishop kirilos said that for the past week some of his
parishioners had received threatening phone calls
the callers said muslims will avenge the rape of the girl during the christmas
celebrations kirilos said
he told afp he had cut the christmas eve mass short because he feared something
might happen and asked priests not to attend because he did not want large
crowd in one place
senior vatican official told the head of the coptic church on friday that
christians must stick together against oppression
all christians must remain united in the face of oppression and seek together
the peace that only christ can give cardinal walter kasper told pope shenuda
iii in letter released by the vatican
wednesday attack in which six people were also wounded further stoked
feelings of alienation among copts and was the deadliest since of their
number were killed in sectarian clashes in also in southern egypt
copts who account for nearly percent of egypt population of million
are the middle east largest christian community but complain of routine
discrimination and harassment
they have two ministers in government and several members of parliament but
face restrictions on building churches which must be approved by presidential
decree and need security and provincial clearance to refurbish existing
churches
india eyes military transport planes boeing
new york jan afp
the boeing company said friday that india has contacted the us government about
potential purchase of military transport aircraft
the us government has received letter of request from india ministry of
defence mod and the indian air force regarding the potential acquisition of
globemaster iii advanced airlifters the company said in statement
boeing is very pleased that the indian government has expressed interest in
acquiring the to modernize its airlift capabilities and we look forward to
working closely with them said vivek lall vice president and india country
head of boeing defense space amp security
lall said that the can fulfill india needs for military and humanitarian
airlift to help it meet its growing domestic and international
responsibilities
the globemaster iii advanced airlifter can carry large combat equipment and
troops or humanitarian aid across international distances to small airfields
anywhere in the world according to the chicago headquartered company
the indian air force wants to replace and augment its fleet of russian made
an and il airlifters it said
on wednesday boeing announced it had won contract from the united arab
emirates for six military aircraft making the uae the second middle east
nation to order the airlifter after qatar
the financial details of the uae order were not disclosed boeing does not
publish the cost of which can vary according to specifications
according to the us air force website however each unit costs million
dollars
there are currently in service around the world including owned
by the us air force boeing said the planes have international
customers including the british canadian and australian air forces
football african nations cup to go ahead caf
luanda jan afp
the african nations cup will go ahead as planned despite friday deadly attack
on the togo team bus which killed the driver and injured nine the confederation
of african football caf confirmed to afp
our great concern is for the players but the championship goes ahead
souleymane habuba caf communications director said
tragedy struck the build up to the nations cup which starts here on sunday when
gunmen fired on the togo team as they crossed the border from congo brazzaville
to the troubled province of cabinda
the head of the togolese football federation reported the driver had been killed
and nine other passengers injured in the attack claimed by the armed wing of the
front for the liberation of the enclave of cabinda flec
habuba reported that caf vice president had set off from the angolan capital
of luanda to cabinda to find out at first hand what had occurred
we need to know all the facts we haven got them all yet we can give
full reaction from reports that we have got from the media
habuba did however question why togo in contrast to the other teams making
their way to angola for the biennial competition had elected to travel by road
rather than flying
caf regulations are clear teams are required to fly rather than travel by
bus
meanwhile the african division of the player union fifpro called on organisers
to leave no stone unturned assuming the cup can go ahead to ensure the
security of players and those accompanying them
football is an instrument of peace festival said fifpro it should not be
used as vehicle for mindless violence whatever the claims of those who seek
to take it hostage for their own ends
urgent jobs data shows road to recovery is never straight obama
washington jan afp
president barack obama said friday that disappointing report showing us
job losses in december shows that the road to recovery is never straight
obama speech won bump lost premiere white house
washington jan afp
us fans of the show lost can breathe sigh of relief friday after the white
house pledged key speech by president barack obama won displace the premiere
episode of the show final season
don foresee scenario in which the millions of people that hope to finally
get some conclusion in lost are preempted by the president white house
spokesman robert gibbs reassured the viewing public at white house press
briefing
us television station abc has set aside three hour block on the evening of
february to show the first episode of the wildly popular show last season
but fans feared that president barack obama might choose to give his first state
of the union address which is traditionally delivered on the last tuesday of
january on the same day
most us television stations agree to set aside their previously scheduled
programming to give the president national platform for his speech to joint
session of congress
gibbs sought to allay those fears friday in response to question from
journalist from abc news program
since it began in the suspense filled lost has introduced millions of
viewers to group of travellers stranded on mysterious island after plane
crash
the show is the brainchild of abrams who was also behind the series
alias and the most recent star trek movie
gibbs comments came after lost fans took to the internet creating facebook
pages and sending twitter messages to plead with the white house not to create
the scheduling conflict
the white house declined to say when obama will deliver the speech which he
will likely use to push for his domestic priority of healthcare reform
football african nations cup to go ahead caf
luanda jan afp
the african nations cup will go ahead as planned despite friday deadly attack
on the togo team bus which killed the driver and injured nine the confederation
of african football caf confirmed to afp
our great concern is for the players but the championship goes ahead
souleymane habuba caf communications director said
tragedy struck the build up to the nations cup which starts here on sunday when
gunmen fired on the togo team as they crossed the border from congo brazzaville
to the troubled province of cabinda
the head of the togolese football federation reported the driver had been killed
and nine other passengers injured in the attack claimed by the armed wing of the
front for the liberation of the enclave of cabinda flec
habuba reported that caf vice president had set off from the angolan capital
of luanda to cabinda to find out at first hand what had occurred
we need to know all the facts we haven got them all yet we can give
full reaction from reports that we have got from the media
habuba did however question why togo in contrast to the other teams making
their way to angola for the biennial competition had elected to travel by road
rather than flying
caf regulations are clear teams are required to fly rather than travel by
bus
alert
obama says jobs data shows road to recovery is never straight
urgent argentine judge orders bank chief reinstated
buenos aires jan afp
an argentine judge friday ordered that the sacked head of the central bank
should be reinstated amid spiraling crisis over paying the country national
debt
portugal mps approve gay marriage
lisbon jan afp
portugal parliament friday approved plans to legalise gay marriage less than
three decades after revoking the country ban on homosexuality but rejected
proposals to allow same sex couples to adopt
the bill passed with limited public controversy in what has traditionally been
one of europe most socially conservative countries
after less than three hours debate friday parliamentary vote went mainly
along party lines with the left wing majority backing the measure proposed by
prime minister jose socrates and the right wing opposition voting against
it will now be reviewed in committee before coming back for final vote in
parliament and could gain final approval before visit by pope benedict xvi to
portugal in may
socrates said the aim of the legislation was to remedy decades of injustice
towards gays recalling that as recently as homosexuality was crime in
portugal
am of generation as we all are which is not proud of the way it
treated homosexuals the prime minister said before lawmakers in parliament
this is step that will seem completely natural in the near future in the
same way that gender equality abortion rights and unmarried couples living
together are normal now
gay marriage has been approved by numerous countries and will be approved by
many more have no doubt about that
in contrast to spain where the run up to the legalisation of gay marriage in
