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Canadian Economy starts to create jobs again http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/print/2/biz-finance-economy-starts-create-jobs Julian Beltrame, The Canadian Press | Fri Sep 4 OTTAWA - The Canadian economy rose from the ashes last month, creating thousands of new jobs in a surprisingly strong result that defied economist expectations and strengthened the Canadian dollar. The economy created 27,100 new jobs in August, with the added bonus that the pivotal private sector finally kicked into gear after 11 months of shedding jobs, adding 49,200 workers in that category. Although most of the new net jobs were part-time positions, economists said any growth so early in the recovery is significant. "It just reinforces the view that the recession has ended and that we're in the early stages of a recovery," said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist with BMO Capital Markets. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff insisted the surprising development does not change his plans to topple the government this fall. Speaking in Vancouver, Ignatieff said he still believes the government has badly mismanaged the economy and deserves to be defeated. "A million and a half Canadians are looking for work, bankruptcies are up 50 per cent and we are staggering along with a $50-billion deficit and the OECD says we're going to have the slowest and most painful recovery of any country," he said. "Our view is this just isn't good enough, that we can do better." His finance critic John McCallum, a former chief economist with the Royal Bank of Canada (TSX: RY.TO), said in an interview the government must take the blame for a relatively sluggish bounce from the slump on not moving quickly enough to inject stimulus into the economy. An election is not certain, since both the New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois must vote with the Liberals in order to topple the minority Conservatives. Speaking in London, where he was attending an international meeting, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told reporters the economy was "stabilizing" and that there was no need for additional stimulus. In another report Friday, the Harris Decima polling firm said consumer confidence in Canada rose to the highest level in two years in August. The jobs report lit a fire under the loonie shortly after the 7 a.m. EST release and it kept rising throughout the day, closing up 1.38 cents at 92.02 cents US. Not all of the news in the jobs report was positive, however. Economists noted that the Statistics Canada monthly jobs survey is notoriously volatile and that the details of the August report are not so impressive as the headline numbers. For instance, the unemployment rate edged up one-tenth of a point to 8.7 per cent - the highest in 11 years-as more Canadians began looking for work. Also, Canada remains a long way from returning to the situation of a year ago, before the global recession took a firm hold last October. -August brought a continued deterioration of full-time work, with 3,500 additional job losses bringing the total since last October to 486,000. -There were almost 50,000 Canadians out looking for work last month, meaning that the number of officially unemployed rose by 21,900. -Most of the pickup was in the lower paying service sectors, while high-paying, high-productivity manufacturing work continued to be scarce, falling by another 17,300. -Hourly wages were 3.3 per cent above last August levels, the lowest growth rate in more than two years. Still, the gains in part-time work, all in the private sector, and the noticeable slowing in the hemorrhaging of full-time employees in the past several months will be seen as welcome signs for the economy going forward. Scotiabank economist Derek Holt said the jobs report - as imperfect as it was - will support the Canadian dollar in the short term, but is unlikely to impress the Bank of Canada from moving off its stimulus policies until there is more concrete and widespread evidence of an economic rebound. The trend line is encouraging, however, Statistics Canada pointed out. Since October, Canada has lost 387,000 jobs, but only 31,000 of those have come in the last five months. "In the five months following the employment peak of October 2008, employment fell in almost all industries, especially manufacturing and construction," the agency noted. "In the past five months, however, while manufacturing has continued its decline, employment in construction has stabilized and it has increased in most service industries." In August, better labour conditions were noticeable across a number of industries, including construction, financial services, retail and wholesale trade, as well as real estate and leasing. Adult women were the most successful in finding jobs. Losses came in business, building and other support services, education services and the battered manufacturing sector. Students continued to experience the worst of summer job markets, however, with the average jobless rate hitting 19.2 per cent, the second highest since 1977. Regionally, Saskatchewan was the only province to experience a sizable deterioration in the job market, losing 3,200 jobs. But the province still boasts Canada's lowest unemployment rate at five per cent.

In Unemployment Report, Signs of a Jobless Recovery http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/05/business/economy/05jobs.html?_r=1&pagewanted By PETER S. GOODMAN And JACK HEALY | September 5, 2009 John Ryding and Conrad DeQuadros, economists, RDQ Economics note: “This is a mixed report that, while consistent with the view that the recession has ended, suggests that the slightly smaller-than-expected decline in payrolls exaggerates the improvement in the labor market.” For more on DeQuadros click here The unemployment rate surged to 9.7 percent in August, signaling that joblessness and financial anxiety were likely to endure in millions of American homes for many months. The Labor Department’s latest employment report, released Friday, added weight to a growing belief that, at least technically, the economy had already escaped the grip of recession. Though 216,000 net jobs vanished in August, the losses continued to moderate from their worst numbers of the year. Yet the report also lent credence to a deepening consensus that, even as the economy resumes expansion, the recovery was likely to be weak, prompting most companies to hold back from aggressive hiring. “In the context of a full-blooded recovery, this report is disappointing,” said Alan Ruskin, an economist with the Royal Bank of Scotland in Stamford, Conn. “We’re still clawing our way back.” Many experts envision a jobless recovery, in which the economy grows but job losses persist. That would reprise the end of the last recession in 2001, when payrolls continued to decline for nearly two years afterward. Such an outcome would confront the Obama administration with a potentially nettlesome political problem heading into next year’s midterm elections. After the government unleashed $787 billion to stimulate economic growth, and after it bailed out out financial institutions and the auto industry, the unemployment rate exceeds worst-case projections envisioned by the administration early this year. On Friday, Jared Bernstein, the top economic adviser to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., said the picture would look far worse were it not for the stimulus spending. He added that more help was on the way as the government distributed the remaining two-thirds of the package. “Our interventions have contributed to significant cuts in the rate of job loss,” Mr. Bernstein said. “We’re headed in the right direction, but we’re far from out of the woods. There are simply too many Americans seeking work.” If the jobless rate continues to climb, as is widely expected, that could generate pressure for another stimulus spending package. But given intensifying concern about the size of federal budget deficits — now projected to exceed $9 trillion within a decade — any new spending could be politically perilous. The latest snapshot of the nation’s labor situation testified to the drastic improvement since early this year, when nearly 700,000 jobs a month were disappearing. Yet it also underscored the continued bleakness of the economic landscape. “It’s a good picture compared to where we were, which was just a free fall,” said Dean Baker, a director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. “But compared to anything else, this is just a horrible report. The rate of decline is slowing, but it’s not going to stop. We’re likely on a path toward more than 10 percent unemployment.” Most economists see recent improvements as the result of pulling away from the disaster of last fall — when the investment giant Lehman Brothers collapsed, spreading fear throughout the financial system — and not a sign of vigorous growth ahead. After years of borrowing against soaring home values, tapping credit cards and harvesting stock market winnings to spend in excess of their incomes, millions of households are being forced to conserve. That limits consumer spending, which makes up 70 percent of the nation’s economy. And that makes businesses that might otherwise hire and expand more inclined to hunker down. “Household balance sheets are shot,” Mr. Ruskin said. From here, spending “has to come from income, and income has to come from employment, and at this juncture it looks like employment will only improve very slowly.” The unemployment rate is up from 9.4 percent in July, when the economy lost 276,000 jobs. The jobs report underscored the broad reach of the labor crisis, which has imposed austerity even on those still employed. In the last year, average weekly earnings have increased by only 0.8 percent — a decline, after factoring in the rising cost of goods. So many companies have trimmed working hours that paychecks have shrunk. The so-called underemployment rate — which counts the jobless along with those working part time because their hours have been cut or they cannot find full-time jobs — reached 16.8 percent in August. In recent months, the economy has benefited from a slowdown in the pace at which businesses have slashed inventories, prompting factories to expand production. Auto sales have been aided by the cash-for-clunkers program, which gave buyers incentives to trade in cars. Home sales have been stimulated by a tax credit for first-time homebuyers, an inducement that expires in November. After those programs wear off, the nation may again confront a fundamentally weak economy. “Everybody is looking around saying, ‘Where is a robust recovery going to come from?’ and not finding it,” said Heidi Shierholz, an economist at the labor-oriented Economic Policy Institute in Washington. “We’re going to have elevated unemployment for four years to come.” In Williamsburg, Va., Ginny Hoover, 49, has remained unemployed since she lost her job at a pharmaceutical company in November 2007. She has maxed out her credit cards and borrowed money from friends. She broke her apartment lease and moved in with her boyfriend. But other than an offer to sell insurance door-to-door for commissions only, she has found no work. “I thought maybe a month or two and I’d have another job,” Ms. Hoover said. “I never would have guessed that it would be as brutal as it was out there.” Despite increased factory production, manufacturing shed 63,000 jobs in August. Construction lost 65,000 jobs. Health care remained a rare bright spot, adding nearly 28,000 jobs. “I don’t think businesses will hire back anytime soon,” said Allen Sinai, chief global economist at Decision Economics. “Companies are rewarded by the stock markets for not hiring and keeping their costs down. We will see another jobless recovery.” In Delray Beach, Fla., Donna Angelillo lost her job as a property manager in May and quickly exhausted her savings. Her $1,000 monthly unemployment check does not cover her $1,030 monthly rent. Jobs are scarce, she said. Past-due bills are abundant. “I don’t have September rent, but right now I’m more concerned about the electricity,” she said. “Either today or tomorrow, they’re going to shut it off. I’m getting desperate.”

Help Wanted: Student Unemployment Still Rising OTTAWA, Sept. 4 /CNW Telbec/ - The unemployment rate for students aged 15-24 reached 16.4% in August, up 5.0 percentage points compared with the same month last year, according to a report released today by Statistics Canada. "The reality is more students will be in need of student financial assistance this fall," said Arati Sharma, National Director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. "The government must recognize that changes to the student financial aid system are essential at this time." Currently, when a student applies for financial assistance from the government, it is assumed they will contribute a portion of their summer employment income toward their education. This "pre-study income contribution" is then deducted from the total amount of loans a student receives. With such low student employment rates this year, and many more students having to settle for part-time as opposed to full time hours, there are a lot of students who will have either no pre-study income, or their earnings will have been drastically reduced. "The problem is that all students are required to make this contribution whether they earned any money during the summer or not, and regardless of how much they earned," said Sharma. "One step that will ensure students have the necessary resources for the upcoming school year is to remove the required summer income contribution. This will put up to $2,500 back into a student's pocket." The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) is a non-partisan, not-for-profit national student organization composed of 24 student associations, representing 400,000 students from coast to coast.

Government of Canada to prevent immigration fraud through international cooperation http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2009/2009-08-21.asp Ottawa, August 21, 2009 — A new international initiative puts Canada at the forefront of worldwide efforts to identify and combat immigration fraud, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney and Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan announced today. Under this landmark initiative, Canada, the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Australia will be able to share the fingerprint information of asylum seekers and foreign nationals facing deportation, including dangerous criminals. This will improve our ability to identify foreign nationals who are seeking to enter Canada and who are trying to hide their past from authorities. Under the partnership, Canada will be able to securely and confidentially check fingerprints with those stored in Australian and U.K. databases. The initiative was developed under the Five Country Conference (FCC) – a forum for immigration and border security – between Canada, Australia, the U.K., the United States and New Zealand. The United States will be joining the initiative shortly, and New Zealand is considering legislation to join in the near future. “Canada has had a long-standing collaborative relationship with the FCC countries and I am pleased that we are building on this partnership,” said Minister Kenney. “Through this initiative, we are tackling identity fraud and abuse of our immigration and refugee programs, while at the same time ensuring that Canada continues to welcome genuine refugees.” “Along with our international partners, we are making a commitment to ensure the safety and security of our respective countries,” said Minister Van Loan. “This is one way that we are balancing Canada’s priority of economic prosperity while using innovative ways to enhance border security.” Information sharing among FCC countries will allow Canada to: Better identify fraudulent claimants, ensuring that we are more successful in confirming the identities of genuine refugee claimants; Improve our ability to detect people who misrepresent themselves; Protect public safety by removing those who are found to be inadmissible to Canada; and Protect Canadians from violent foreign criminals. The benefits of information sharing have already been demonstrated by partner countries in previous trials. In one case, an asylum claimant in the U.K. was found to have previously been fingerprinted on arrival in the United States while travelling on an Australian passport. Australia subsequently confirmed that the individual was an Australian citizen wanted on criminal charges. This resulted in his deportation to Australia, where he is now in jail. Each country involved in this initiative has employed a number of safeguards to protect privacy and has completed a comprehensive privacy impact assessment. To view Canada’s privacy impact assessment summary, visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) website at www.cic.gc.ca.

US Criticizes Kenyan President Over Anti-Graft Chief Reappointment http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-09-03-voa24.cfm By VOA News | 03 September 2009 The United States has joined critics condemning Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki's reappointment of the head of the country's anti-corruption agency without seeking parliamentary approval. U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger said Thursday that Mr. Kibaki's decision raises "profoundly troubling questions," given the agency's poor record over the past five years. President Kibaki on Monday reappointed Justice Aaron Ringera as the director of Kenya's Anti-Corruption Commission for another five-year term, without consulting lawmakers or the organization's advisory board. Kenya's lawmakers have called the reappointment illegal and have announced steps to pressure the government into revoking the reappointment. On Wednesday, deputies voted to dismiss a procedural motion by the government to send the House on a six-week recess. Critics say Ringera has failed to change the culture of corruption in the country. No senior officials have been convicted of corruption since the agency was formed in 2003. Ringera has defended the lack of convictions by saying he does not have the powers to prosecute those accused of corruption. The chairman of the parliamentary legal committee, Abdikadir Mohammed, said he plans to introduce an amendment to the appropriation bill, which would withhold the Anti-Corruption Commission's budgetary allocations for the next fiscal year. Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

Goan shot dead in US robbery http://oheraldo.in/printerfriendlypage.asp?nid=27018&cid=2 PANJIM, SEPT 7: It was the first day of work for 54-year-old Joe Fernandes at The Siesta Food Mart in North Houston, USA. He came face-to-face with three gunmen who robbed him and then murdered him. The entire incident was caught on the surveillance video, but the three gunmen were masked and covered from head to toe to avoid recognition. They jumped behind the counter and harassed Fernandes for money before shooting him dead. He was a family man, the father of a daughter and, tragically, a son – John Fernandes – who was murdered a year prior by his roommate in Joe Fernandes was born in Candolim. He married Agnes and they had two children, the late John and Tina. The family first lived in Kuwait, and then moved to the US in 2000. Murdered in a convenience store in north Houston just after 10 pm on last Monday night, he had only been on the job just a couple of hours. Police believe one of the killers cased out the store before the murder and the clerk spoke to one of his killers just an hour before his death. Houston police believe Joe was shot because he didn’t act fast enough for the masked gunmen. But they’re looking for a customer who bought cookies and water about an hour earlier. The video shows a gold or tan sedan driving slowly. A man enters the store, grabs some snacks and pays Fernandes, who’s behind the counter. An hour later, three armed men sneak in and, within 45 seconds, Fernandes is dead. Houston Police believe the men were professionals, knew what they were doing and were fully intent on completing the task at hand. Detectives say the three men got away in an older model gold or tan four-door vehicle. Fernandes’ 23-year-old son John was also brutally murdered a year ago; shot and set on fire allegedly by his roommate at their Missouri City apartment.