WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employment growth accelerated last month and the jobless rate dropped to a near three-year low of 8.5 percent, the strongest evidence yet the economic recovery is gaining steam.
Nonfarm payrolls increased 200,000 in December, the Labor Department said on Friday. It was the biggest rise in three months and beat economists' expectations for a 150,000 gain.
The unemployment rate fell from a revised 8.7 percent in November to its lowest level since February 2009, a heartening sign for President Barack Obama whose re-election hopes could hinge on the state of the labor market.
"The labor market is healing, but we still have a long way to go to recoup the losses we have endured. We may be close to a tipping point where gains can become more self-feeding," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial in Chicago.
A string of better-than-expected U.S. data in recent weeks has highlighted a contrast between the recovery in the world's biggest economy and Europe, where the economy is widely believed to be contracting.
The jobs data was overshadowed in financial markets by concerns over Europe's debt crisis. U.S. stocks ended mostly down, while Treasury debt prices rose on safe-haven bids.
The dollar rose to a near 16-month high against the euro.
Republican presidential hopefuls have blasted Obama's economic policies as doing more harm than good.
The latest economic signs, however, could offer him some political protection.
The economy added 1.6 million jobs last year, the most since 2006, and the jobless rate, which peaked at 10 percent in October 2009, has dropped 0.6 percentage point in the last four months.
Obama welcomed the news and urged Congress to extend a two-month payroll tax cut through 2012 to help sustain the recovery.
"We're moving in the right direction. When Congress returns they should extend the middle-class tax cut for all of this year, to make sure we keep this recovery going," he said.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Amid tensions, U.S. Navy rescues Iranians from Somali pirates
Just days after Iranian and American military officials traded warnings over a U.S. Navy vessel's departure from the Persian Gulf, the United States Navy has rescued 13 Iranian fishermen and their fishing dhow from Somali pirates in the north Arabian sea, the Pentagon said Friday. And in a side irony that punctuates the rare instance of Iranian-American co-operation, the rescue operation was carried out by a ship belonging to the very U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike group that Iranian army officials had earlier boasted of evicting from Gulf waters.
"A boarding team from the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd--part of the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group--detained 15 suspected pirates aboard the fishing dhow, the Al Molai, according to a statement today from the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs Office," Bloomberg News' Tony Capaccio reported Friday. "The pirates didn't resist and surrendered quickly in the rescue" operation, which occurred on Thursday.
The Iranian fishermen "were held hostage, with limited rations, and we believe were forced against their will to assist the pirates with other piracy operations," Josh Schminky, a Navy Criminal Investigative Service agent aboard the Kidd, explained in the Navy statement, according to the Bloomberg report.
The Navy has posted an unclassified YouTube video of the rescue operation--seemingly eager to play up the good turn the American Navy has done for the Iranian fishermen. (You can watch the video in the clip above.) Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also called the commander of the USS John C. Stennis' Carrier Strike Group, Rear Adm. Craig Fuller, to congratulate him on the "well executed" rescue operation, Pentagon spokesman George Little said Friday.
Secretary Panetta "said, 'When we get a distress signal, we're going to respond,'" Little relayed in a statement sent to Yahoo News. "'That's the nature of what our country is all about.'"
Not to make too much of the opportunity to win Iranian hearts and minds, of course.
Earlier this week, Iran's Army chief Ataolla Salehi asserted that Iranian military exercises had prompted a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier to vacate the Persian Gulf. And he warned the United States about any plans for the carrier's return.
"Iran will not repeat its warning ... the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill," Salehi said on Tuesday, according to a Reuters report. "I advise, recommend and warn them over the return of this carrier to the Persian Gulf because we are not in the habit of warning more than once."
Salehi didn't name the American naval vessel in question, "but the USS John C. Stennis leads a task force in the region, and the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet website pictured it in the Arabian Sea last week," Reuters reported.
Pentagon officials promptly pushed back against the Iranian army chief's warning, stressing that the United States simply wants to ensure open traffic in international waters."We are committed to protecting maritime freedoms that are the basis for global prosperity," the Pentagon's Little said Tuesday. "This is one of the main reasons our military forces operate in the region."
Tensions have been rising between the United States and Iran in recent weeks, with Iranian officials issuing a series of erratic threats about their military capacity to control the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy transport hub. On Sunday January 1, President Obama signed legislation that could penalize any institution that does business with Iran's Central Bank--a chief source of Iran's revenues for oil exports. European diplomats also said this week that they're preparing a ban throughout the EU on the import of Iranian oil that would go into place at the end of the month.
Iranian officials have given numerous statements the past week indicating they would like to return to international nuclear talks. But EU officials have told Yahoo News that Iran has not yet formally responded in writing to a proposal issued by European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton in October to resume negotiations.
"A boarding team from the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd--part of the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group--detained 15 suspected pirates aboard the fishing dhow, the Al Molai, according to a statement today from the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs Office," Bloomberg News' Tony Capaccio reported Friday. "The pirates didn't resist and surrendered quickly in the rescue" operation, which occurred on Thursday.
The Iranian fishermen "were held hostage, with limited rations, and we believe were forced against their will to assist the pirates with other piracy operations," Josh Schminky, a Navy Criminal Investigative Service agent aboard the Kidd, explained in the Navy statement, according to the Bloomberg report.
The Navy has posted an unclassified YouTube video of the rescue operation--seemingly eager to play up the good turn the American Navy has done for the Iranian fishermen. (You can watch the video in the clip above.) Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also called the commander of the USS John C. Stennis' Carrier Strike Group, Rear Adm. Craig Fuller, to congratulate him on the "well executed" rescue operation, Pentagon spokesman George Little said Friday.
Secretary Panetta "said, 'When we get a distress signal, we're going to respond,'" Little relayed in a statement sent to Yahoo News. "'That's the nature of what our country is all about.'"
Not to make too much of the opportunity to win Iranian hearts and minds, of course.
Earlier this week, Iran's Army chief Ataolla Salehi asserted that Iranian military exercises had prompted a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier to vacate the Persian Gulf. And he warned the United States about any plans for the carrier's return.
"Iran will not repeat its warning ... the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill," Salehi said on Tuesday, according to a Reuters report. "I advise, recommend and warn them over the return of this carrier to the Persian Gulf because we are not in the habit of warning more than once."
Salehi didn't name the American naval vessel in question, "but the USS John C. Stennis leads a task force in the region, and the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet website pictured it in the Arabian Sea last week," Reuters reported.
Pentagon officials promptly pushed back against the Iranian army chief's warning, stressing that the United States simply wants to ensure open traffic in international waters."We are committed to protecting maritime freedoms that are the basis for global prosperity," the Pentagon's Little said Tuesday. "This is one of the main reasons our military forces operate in the region."
Tensions have been rising between the United States and Iran in recent weeks, with Iranian officials issuing a series of erratic threats about their military capacity to control the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy transport hub. On Sunday January 1, President Obama signed legislation that could penalize any institution that does business with Iran's Central Bank--a chief source of Iran's revenues for oil exports. European diplomats also said this week that they're preparing a ban throughout the EU on the import of Iranian oil that would go into place at the end of the month.
Iranian officials have given numerous statements the past week indicating they would like to return to international nuclear talks. But EU officials have told Yahoo News that Iran has not yet formally responded in writing to a proposal issued by European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton in October to resume negotiations.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Outcry in Nigeria as fuel prices more than double
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) -- Irate drivers in Africa's most populous nation paid more than twice the usual price Monday after the government quietly removed a long-cherished consumer subsidy that had kept gas affordable, prompting fears of strikes and unrest.
Gas powers Nigeria's generators because the national electricity supply is sporadic at best, and fuel also keeps engines running in traffic that can snarl for hours. The government's announcement — made over a long holiday weekend — drew outrage.
"This New Year 'gift' by the presidency is callous, insensitive and is intended to cause anarchy in the country," said a joint statement by two unions who said they were planning general strikes and protests in the coming days. "We shall neither surrender nor retreat."
Unrest would only add to Nigeria's security woes: President Goodluck Jonathan already declared a state of emergency over the weekend in parts of the country hit by a growing Islamic insurgency that is fueled in part by widespread poverty.
And the fuel price hike is likely to result in even higher prices in the landlocked and violence-plagued north, as Nigeria's refined oil is mainly imported through ports in the country's south.
Previous attempts to tamper with the subsidy over more than two decades have been met with nationwide protests, compelling even heavy-handed military governments to reduce it instead.
The labor unions also preemptively warned police and security forces "not to accept any order to shoot Nigerians or attack them for publicly resisting these evil hikes in fuel prices."
Tensions already are on the rise in the capital of Abuja, where police officers promptly dispersed a protest using tear gas and arrested five people including a former lawmaker. And at one bus stop in the megacity of Lagos, a conductor pushed a policeman trying to board his bus for free, saying that the hike meant that even uniformed officers would henceforth have to pay.
Many gas stations were shut down altogether on Monday, since gas station owners had only learned about the change at the same time as everyone else.
Signs at a few stations put the cost at $3.50 per gallon (94 cents per liter) — just over double Sunday's morning price of about $1.70 per gallon (45 cents per liter).
While that's cheap by American standards, most Nigerians subsist on just $2 a day and the rising gas prices are expected to force food prices to spiral as well.
"I don't want to lose customers by doubling my rates, so I'll have to bear some of this cost myself," said Yomi Esan, 31, a driver for a taxi chain. "My biggest worry is losing my customers because this is how I feed my family."
Nigeria, an OPEC member nation producing about 2.4 million barrels of crude oil a day, is a top supplier to the United States, but virtually all of its petroleum products are imported after years of graft, mismanagement and violence at its refineries.
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency announced Sunday it was stopping to pay the subsidy on fuel to petroleum importers effective immediately.
The government has said the move will save the country some $8 billion, some of which will be dedicated to much-needed infrastructure projects. Previous attempts to lift the subsidies have been met with nationwide strike actions.
An executive with a top gas station owner, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the move would push companies to be more efficient so they can cut costs and sell at more competitive prices.
But in a country where few people see any wealth from the country's staggering oil revenues, the subsidy was a rare government benefit and one Nigerians don't want to lose.
Esan, the taxi driver who is afraid to raise his prices, is despondent about his financial future if he stays in Nigeria. He's already started immigration procedures for three other countries.
"I had been saving to buy my own car, but with this, I just want to leave this country," he said.
Gas powers Nigeria's generators because the national electricity supply is sporadic at best, and fuel also keeps engines running in traffic that can snarl for hours. The government's announcement — made over a long holiday weekend — drew outrage.
"This New Year 'gift' by the presidency is callous, insensitive and is intended to cause anarchy in the country," said a joint statement by two unions who said they were planning general strikes and protests in the coming days. "We shall neither surrender nor retreat."
Unrest would only add to Nigeria's security woes: President Goodluck Jonathan already declared a state of emergency over the weekend in parts of the country hit by a growing Islamic insurgency that is fueled in part by widespread poverty.
And the fuel price hike is likely to result in even higher prices in the landlocked and violence-plagued north, as Nigeria's refined oil is mainly imported through ports in the country's south.
Previous attempts to tamper with the subsidy over more than two decades have been met with nationwide protests, compelling even heavy-handed military governments to reduce it instead.
The labor unions also preemptively warned police and security forces "not to accept any order to shoot Nigerians or attack them for publicly resisting these evil hikes in fuel prices."
Tensions already are on the rise in the capital of Abuja, where police officers promptly dispersed a protest using tear gas and arrested five people including a former lawmaker. And at one bus stop in the megacity of Lagos, a conductor pushed a policeman trying to board his bus for free, saying that the hike meant that even uniformed officers would henceforth have to pay.
Many gas stations were shut down altogether on Monday, since gas station owners had only learned about the change at the same time as everyone else.
Signs at a few stations put the cost at $3.50 per gallon (94 cents per liter) — just over double Sunday's morning price of about $1.70 per gallon (45 cents per liter).
While that's cheap by American standards, most Nigerians subsist on just $2 a day and the rising gas prices are expected to force food prices to spiral as well.
"I don't want to lose customers by doubling my rates, so I'll have to bear some of this cost myself," said Yomi Esan, 31, a driver for a taxi chain. "My biggest worry is losing my customers because this is how I feed my family."
Nigeria, an OPEC member nation producing about 2.4 million barrels of crude oil a day, is a top supplier to the United States, but virtually all of its petroleum products are imported after years of graft, mismanagement and violence at its refineries.
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency announced Sunday it was stopping to pay the subsidy on fuel to petroleum importers effective immediately.
The government has said the move will save the country some $8 billion, some of which will be dedicated to much-needed infrastructure projects. Previous attempts to lift the subsidies have been met with nationwide strike actions.
An executive with a top gas station owner, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the move would push companies to be more efficient so they can cut costs and sell at more competitive prices.
But in a country where few people see any wealth from the country's staggering oil revenues, the subsidy was a rare government benefit and one Nigerians don't want to lose.
Esan, the taxi driver who is afraid to raise his prices, is despondent about his financial future if he stays in Nigeria. He's already started immigration procedures for three other countries.
"I had been saving to buy my own car, but with this, I just want to leave this country," he said.
Hundreds of thousands protest in Syria
Demonstrators protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad after Friday prayers in Binsh near Adlb
Hundreds of thousands of Syrians poured into the streets across the nation in the largest protests in months, shouting for the downfall of the regime in a defiant display invigorated by the presence of Arab observers, activists said.
Iran reports nuclear progress
A new medium-range missile is fired from a naval ship during Velayat-90 war game on Sea of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran January 1, 2012. Iran test-fired a new medium-range missile, designed to evade radars, on Sunday during the last days of its naval drill in the Gulf, the official IRNA news agency quoted a military official as saying.
Iran announced a nuclear fuel breakthrough and test-fired a new radar-evading medium-range missile in the Gulf on Sunday, moves that could further antagonize the West at a time when Tehran is trying to avert harsh new sanctions on its oil industry.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)