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13 May 2010 11:11

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Biz: Payrolls have increased, but jobless claims are still high; why?

  • People aren’t getting laid off, but jobs aren’t getting created. With a decrease in new jobless claims by less than 4,000 (there were 444,000 new jobless claims this week) against a backdrop of increasing payrolls, many are wondering why job growth isn’t faster. Some are suggesting it’s tied to the high unemployment rate. “There are more jobs being created, but the general trend is that businesses are still reluctant to hire,” said analyst Gary Shilling of A. Gary Shilling & Co. The data show that the issue is more a lack of hiring and not people getting laid off.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 May 2010 10:57

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U.S.: The new housing trend? Walkable neighborhoods, not suburbs

  • Ten years ago, conventional large-lot housing in wealthy suburbs was the highest-priced housing, per square foot, in nearly all metropolitan areas. Today, housing in walkable neighborhoods is typically the most expensive; the lines crossed in the 2000s.
  • The Atlantic writer Christopher B. Leinberger • Noting the evolution in housing from the suburb back to the city. As housing values have gone down significantly, cities have started to come out back on top again. In particular, Leinberger notes the example of the D.C. metro area: The Metro system largely paid for many of its stations by having property owners pay more in taxes for a handful of years, then watched as their neighborhoods flourished. As a result, housing values in those areas have decreased at a much lower rate than that of the suburban areas which used to cost more. This should be a major hint for even mid-sized cities that they should invest in mass transit. (Hat tip to The Awl, which focused on the auto end of this argument.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 May 2010 10:40

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U.S.: Bad sign: Murder is up in many major cities this year

  • 149 murders in New York City so far this year, versus 134 at the same point last year; 13 were kids
  • 120 murders in Chicago
    (111 last year); a major leap in murder last month was a root cause
  • 104 murders in Philadelphia (101 last year); crime is mostly down in Philly this year
  • 103 murders in Los Angeles (100 last year); violent crime is otherwise down this year source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 May 2010 10:24

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World: Right out of the gate, the new British PM’s office cuts its pay

  • 5% across the board cuts for the coalition government source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 May 2010 10:20

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World: In Thailand, a major opposition leader was shot today

Moments after this photo of renegade Gen. Khattiya Sawatdiphol (better known as Seh Daeng) was taken, he was shot in the head. A huge loss for the Red Shirts. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 May 2010 10:12

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Politics: Eric Cantor’s YouCut program: If nothing else, innovative

  • It feels like a Republican take on an Obama campaign tactic. The House Minority Whip has made the YouCut program a participatory way of getting involved in an activity everyone loves: Cutting wasteful spending in the federal government. Concerned citizens vote by text message, and the winner gets put up for a vote in the House. The top line item? Cutting the Presidential Election Fund, which John McCain took advantage of in 2008 but Obama didn’t. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 May 2010 22:02

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Music: One-word album reviews: The National is this year’s Phoenix, guys

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

12 May 2010 21:14

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Biz, U.S.: The federal deficit blew the roof off of April’s record

  • 19 straight months of federal
    deficit increases source
  • » Why it’s alarming this time: It’s relatively rare for deficit increases to happen in the month of April, due to the fact that it’s tax season and lots of revenue is coming in. In fact, there’s been an April surplus 43 of the last 56 years. Even crazier, the increase this April was four times bigger than last April, from $20 billion to $83 billion. That’s also twice the Wall Street estimate of $40 billion.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 8 Comments • Permalink

12 May 2010 20:56

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World: Three things Britain’s new coalition government wants to do

  • More consistent votes Create a more consistent schedule of leadership change by setting elections for parliament for every five years. The legislature can do it sooner if 55 percent of parliament votes to do so.
  • Austerity measures Like much of Europe, the coalition government plans to do something about the large amount of debt it’s built up. It won’t be quite as insane as Greece, but expect some things to get cut out of the budget.
  • Creating jobs 2.5 million Britons are unemployed, a number that might affect the strength of the coalition if they don’t do something about it. Expect Clegg’s people and Cameron’s people to be on it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 May 2010 20:28

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Biz: Mark Cuban sued for sucking at running the Dallas Mavericks

  • $273
    million     amount the Mavericks
    have lost in Cuban’s nine years
    of running the team
  • 76%
    share     amount of the team Cuban owns;
    Ross Perot Jr. owns 5 percent, and
    he’s mad source
  • » Why’s he getting sued? Simply put, Perot (the former presidential candidate’s son) thinks that Cuban is putting an unsustainable amount of debt on the team, and that they’ll become insolvent over time. The famously outspoken Cuban, who bought most of the team from Perot back in 2000, has enough money in his bank account and a diverse enough portfolio of businesses to ensure that doesn’t happen, and suggests that Perot is merely looking to get out of the deal.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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