Saturday, December 18, 2010
Payrolls Drop in 28 U.S. States, Joblessness Rises in 21 in Labor Setback - BlackListed News
Source: Bloomberg
Payrolls decreased in 28 U.S. states and the unemployment rate climbed in 21, showing most parts of the world’s largest economy took part in the November labor- market setback.
North Carolina led the nation with 12,500 job cuts last month, followed by Massachusetts with 8,600 dismissals, and Ohio with 7,800, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington. Joblessness increased most in Georgia and Idaho, while workers in Nevada faced the highest rate in the country at 14.3 percent.
The report is consistent with figures on Dec. 3 that showed unemployment increased last month for the first time since August. The Federal Reserve’s pledge to buy an additional $600 billion of Treasuries by June and the $858 billion bill passed by Congress extending all Bush-era tax cuts for two years may help boost growth and cut unemployment.
Revealed: Chamber lobbied against 9/11 health bill to save foreign members on taxes
The US Chamber of Commerce lobbied to kill a bill that would have helped cover medical expenses and compensation for first responders and survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to documents available online.
The Chamber's aim was to keep open a tax loophole benefiting foreign corporations that the $7.4 billion bill would have closed to provide funding for the American emergency workers.
In a letter opposing the 9/11 bill, R. Bruce Josten, the Chamber's executive vice president for Government Affairs, cautioned that closing the tax loophole would harm US trade relationships and financial markets.
"In typical fashion, the Chamber has not revealed which of its foreign members had asked them to kill the 9/11 bill," Lee Fang of Alternet.org wrote.
The Chamber sought to defeat Democrats during this year's election season, fought against comprehensive health reform in 2009, and pulled out all the stops to weaken Democrats' financial reform legislation. They also helped mount corporate-funded campaigns against climate legislation and sought to weaken an anti-bribery law.
Democrats and many liberal blogs alleged that the Chamber had used money donated by foreign corporations to influence US elections, but US election law is such that the Chamber was not forced to disclose its sources.
In recent months, dozens and dozens of local business groups have distanced from or broken ties with the national Chamber in key primary states because of its partisan leanings toward Republican candidates and conservative business interests.
“We didn’t like the fact that the US Chamber was supporting particular candidates,” Greater Hudson Chamber executive VP Jerry Mayotte told The Nashua Telegraph in New Hampshire. “We don’t think it’s good business practice to do so. ... We take stands on particular issues considering business, but not particular candidates."
The Chamber spent over $600 million to influence politics since 1998. It dwarfed even the second-place American Medical Association's $220 million in the same period, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The Senate was unable to overcome a Republican-led filibuster against the 9/11 first responders health care bill, even though all but one Democrat voted for it. Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) voted against the bill, changing from "yes" to "no" at the last minute as a procedural tactic so that the bill could be brought up again later.
With prior reporting by Daniel Tencer and John Byrne. Editing by Stephen C. Webster
North Charleston police postpones gun buyback
The Charlotte-based bank released a statement saying it will no longer process any transactions that it believes are intended for the site, which has released thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables.
"This decision is based upon our reasonable belief that WikiLeaks may be engaged in activities that are, among other things, inconsistent with our internal policies for processing payments," the bank said.
The action comes as WikiLeaks says it plans to release information about banks. The site's founder has previously said it has a trove of documents on Bank of America.
Other financial institutions, including MasterCard Inc. and PayPal Inc., have also stopped handling payments for WikiLeaks, moves which hurt the site's ability to accept donations and support publishing efforts. The websites of some companies that have cut ties with WikiLeaks have come under cyber attack in recent weeks by hackers who support its mission.
Bank of America stops handling WikiLeaks payments
The Charlotte-based bank released a statement saying it will no longer process any transactions that it believes are intended for the site, which has released thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables.
"This decision is based upon our reasonable belief that WikiLeaks may be engaged in activities that are, among other things, inconsistent with our internal policies for processing payments," the bank said.
The action comes as WikiLeaks says it plans to release information about banks. The site's founder has previously said it has a trove of documents on Bank of America.
Other financial institutions, including MasterCard Inc. and PayPal Inc., have also stopped handling payments for WikiLeaks, moves which hurt the site's ability to accept donations and support publishing efforts. The websites of some companies that have cut ties with WikiLeaks have come under cyber attack in recent weeks by hackers who support its mission.
Ivory Coast president orders U.N. troops to leave country - CNN
(CNN) -- Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo on Saturday ordered all U.N. peacekeeping forces out of the country a day after Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called on the disputed re-election winner to step down.
Gbagbo's reaction to Ban's statement coincides with an increase in pressure Western governments are imposing on the Gbagbo government.