Showing posts with label Economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Economy. Show all posts
Australia launches massive stimulus package
Australia launched a 42 billion dollar (26 billion US) stimulus package Tuesday and slashed interest rates to a 45-year low in a bid to battle the global economic crisis, which has choked growth.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the massive stimulus package was aimed at nation building and supporting up to 90,000 jobs "in the face of the unfolding national and international economic emergency."
The government faced a "stark choice -- to act or fold its arms and let the free market rip," the centre-left Labor Party leader said. "The government has resolved to act and will continue to act."
The package includes spending of 28.8 billion Australian dollars on schools, housing and roads over four years, tax breaks for small businesses and cash handouts of 12.7 billion dollars to eligible workers, farmers and students.
Up to 950 dollars would be paid to workers earning 100,000 dollars or less, supporting up to 8.7 million individuals, the government said in a statement.
Similar amounts would be paid to single-income families, drought-affected farmers and others in need from March.
The government slashed its economic growth forecast by half, upped its estimate of job losses and warned the budget would plunge 22.5 billion dollars into deficit instead of achieving the 21.7 billion surplus predicted last May.
Gross domestic product growth is now expected to be 1.0 percent in 2008/09 and 0.75 percent the following year, compared with respective forecasts of 2.0 percent and 2.25 percent made just three months ago.
The unemployment rate is expected to surge to 7.0 percent in 2009/10 from 4.5 percent in December, the government said.
The latest stimulus package follows a pump-priming exercise in December which fed 10.4 billion dollars into the economy, targeting pensioners and others in a bid to boost consumer spending.
Adding to the new measures, Australia's central bank slashed interest rates by one percentage point to a 45-year low of 3.25 percent Tuesday, the latest in a series of aggressive cuts.
Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens said the board had taken the stimulus package into account in making its decision.
"The combination of expansionary monetary and fiscal policies now in place will help to cushion the Australian economy from the contractionary forces coming from abroad," he said.
The International Monetary Fund predicted last week that the Australian economy would contract by 0.2 percent in 2009 if no further measures were taken.
Preparing the way for the budget deficit announcement, Rudd on Monday said the global economic crisis and China's slowdown would punch a 115-billion-dollar hole in tax receipts over the next four years.
Demand in China and other Asian countries for Australian resources such as coal and iron ore has underpinned an economic boom for a decade.
Trade unions welcomed the stimulus plan but said more needed to be done to protect jobs.
Some analysts said the government could be too optimistic in forecasting that Australia would avoid a recession.
"They're unrealistic on their growth numbers but politically it's unpalatable to come out and say we're in recession," JP Morgan chief economist Stephen Walters told Dow Jones Newswires.
Katie Dean, a senior economist at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., said the package may help avert a technical recession in the first half of 2009, but the long-term outlook was "still clouded".
See also at yahoo news
Australia launched a 42 billion dollar (26 billion US) stimulus package Tuesday and slashed interest rates to a 45-year low in a bid to battle the global economic crisis, which has choked growth.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the massive stimulus package was aimed at nation building and supporting up to 90,000 jobs "in the face of the unfolding national and international economic emergency."
The government faced a "stark choice -- to act or fold its arms and let the free market rip," the centre-left Labor Party leader said. "The government has resolved to act and will continue to act."
The package includes spending of 28.8 billion Australian dollars on schools, housing and roads over four years, tax breaks for small businesses and cash handouts of 12.7 billion dollars to eligible workers, farmers and students.
Up to 950 dollars would be paid to workers earning 100,000 dollars or less, supporting up to 8.7 million individuals, the government said in a statement.
Similar amounts would be paid to single-income families, drought-affected farmers and others in need from March.
The government slashed its economic growth forecast by half, upped its estimate of job losses and warned the budget would plunge 22.5 billion dollars into deficit instead of achieving the 21.7 billion surplus predicted last May.
Gross domestic product growth is now expected to be 1.0 percent in 2008/09 and 0.75 percent the following year, compared with respective forecasts of 2.0 percent and 2.25 percent made just three months ago.
The unemployment rate is expected to surge to 7.0 percent in 2009/10 from 4.5 percent in December, the government said.
The latest stimulus package follows a pump-priming exercise in December which fed 10.4 billion dollars into the economy, targeting pensioners and others in a bid to boost consumer spending.
Adding to the new measures, Australia's central bank slashed interest rates by one percentage point to a 45-year low of 3.25 percent Tuesday, the latest in a series of aggressive cuts.
Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens said the board had taken the stimulus package into account in making its decision.
"The combination of expansionary monetary and fiscal policies now in place will help to cushion the Australian economy from the contractionary forces coming from abroad," he said.
The International Monetary Fund predicted last week that the Australian economy would contract by 0.2 percent in 2009 if no further measures were taken.
Preparing the way for the budget deficit announcement, Rudd on Monday said the global economic crisis and China's slowdown would punch a 115-billion-dollar hole in tax receipts over the next four years.
Demand in China and other Asian countries for Australian resources such as coal and iron ore has underpinned an economic boom for a decade.
Trade unions welcomed the stimulus plan but said more needed to be done to protect jobs.
Some analysts said the government could be too optimistic in forecasting that Australia would avoid a recession.
"They're unrealistic on their growth numbers but politically it's unpalatable to come out and say we're in recession," JP Morgan chief economist Stephen Walters told Dow Jones Newswires.
Katie Dean, a senior economist at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., said the package may help avert a technical recession in the first half of 2009, but the long-term outlook was "still clouded".
See also at yahoo news
Many of America's ultra-rich continued to give big donations to charity in 2008, despite the worst financial crisis in decades. In the past year, seven philanthropists gave north of $200 million and nine gave more than $100 million to causes ranging from wilderness preservation to fighting malaria. Warren Buffett and Bill Gates remain far and away the biggest givers overall, but two of 12 newcomers to the list pledged to give more than $1 billion away: William Barron Hilton, co-chairman of the Hilton hotel chain who pledged late last year to give away 97% of his wealth -- some $1.7 billion -- to his family's humanitarian foundation and Peter G. Peterson, co-founder of the investment firm Blackstone Group, who gave $1 billion this year to establish a foundation that promotes fiscal responsibility. Read their stories -- and those of the 48 other philanthropists on BusinessWeek's list -- here.
1. Warren Buffett
Berkshire Hathaway CEO
2004-08 Giving* $40,655 million
Buffett's $31 billion commitment to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, announced in June 2006, resonated throughout the philanthropic community. The giving is aimed at funding education and global health initiatives. This year the commitment to the Gates Foundation still resonates, inspiring other donors with a new model of philanthropy. Buffett, the world's second-richest man, also earmarked billions for the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation -- independent family foundations that support causes ranging from reproductive health to worldwide conservation.
For more, visit the Warren Buffett Philanthropy
2. Bill & Melinda Gates
Microsoft co-founder
2004-08 Giving* $2,625 million
Bill and Melinda Gates give through their massive Seattle-based family foundation, which says it is "committed to ensuring all people have the opportunity to lead healthy, productive lives." With an endowment of nearly $36 billion, the foundation works with partners to give people a chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty in developing countries and, in the U.S., to ensure that all people have the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Its endowment is eventually expected to double, thanks to a long-term $31 billion gift from investor Warren Buffett, which pays out in installments. Recent initiatives include $100 million in micro medical-research grants; a $164 million grant to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa; and $125 million to fight global tobacco use as part of a $500 million partnership with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
For more, visit the Gates Foundation.
3. George Kaiser
Oil and gas, banking, investments
2004-08 Giving* $2,377 million
Kaiser's focus remains on early intervention in the cycle of poverty. Giving through his Tulsa-based foundation provides services that include early childhood education, pre-natal health care, public health, in-home parenting, and secondary education, as well as more generalized safety net services that deal with the symptoms of poverty. More recent initiatives have focused on women's incarceration, secondary schools, and reserving land to create an arts and entertainment district in Tulsa. The biggest payout may be yet to come: Kaiser has said he plans to increase his gifts "until I die with one dollar left, assuming I can get the timing just right."
For more, visit the George Kaiser Family Foundation.
4. George Soros
Investor
2004-08 Giving* $2,214 million
Soros distributes $400 million or more each year through his charitable network, which aims to foster open and democratic societies around the world. This year Soros gave some $535 million to dozens of initiatives, including education in Liberia, microfinance in India, and mental health in Moldova. In 2005 he gave an extra $200 million for his Central European University, a graduate school he helped found in Budapest in 1991. An immigrant from Hungary who made his first billion dollars in England, Soros has given nearly $7 billion to support his network of foundations in more than 60 countries.
For more, visit the Open Society Institute.
5. William Barron Hilton
Heir and former CEO of Hilton Hotels
2004-08 Giving* $1,700 million
New to list Following in his father's footsteps, Hilton late last year announced his intention to leave 97% of his wealth to charity after his stakes in Hilton Hotels and Harrah's Entertainment were bought out by private equity groups for billions. Hilton's fortune will go to his family's foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, which works to alleviate the suffering of the world's most disadvantaged, with an emphasis on children and support for the work of Roman Catholic nuns. Grants go to causes such as stopping trachoma, the world's leading cause of preventable blindness in Africa; helping homeless families in the U.S.; and providing clean water in Mexico.
For more, visit the Hilton Foundation.
6. Walton Family
Family of Wal-Mart founder
2004-08 Giving* $1,380 million
The world's richest family is also one of the most united when it comes to philanthropy. The secretive Waltons commit the bulk of their gifts through the Walton Family Foundation, which supports a variety of charitable causes. Their areas of focus: K-12 education reform, quality-of-life initiatives in northwest Arkansas (home to Wal-Mart), economic development initiatives in the Mississippi Delta region of the U.S., and most recently, marine and fresh water fishing sustainability initiatives.
For more, visit the Walton Family Foundation.
7. Herbert & Marion Sandler
Golden West Financial co-founders
2004-08 Giving* $1,329 million
The Sandlers have given away more than $1 billion to the Sandler Foundation, which works to strengthen progressive causes, such as: exposing corruption and abuse of power; advocating for vulnerable and exploited people and environments; and advancing scientific research. Last year, for example, the foundation committed $10 million a year to launch and sustain ProPublica, an independent non-profit newsroom, under the leadership of former Wall Street Journal Managing Editor Paul Steiger, that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. The foundation also helped establish the liberal think-tank Center for American Progress with a $50 million gift in 2004.
For more, visit the Sandler Foundation.
8. Peter Peterson
Blackstone Group co-founder
2004-08 Giving* $1,168 million
New to list Using his proceeds from Blackstone Group's IPO, Peterson donated $1 billion to establish the Peter G. Peterson Foundation this year. The focus: to encourage greater fiscal responsibility in the U.S. The foundation has already purchased, promoted, and distributed the documentary I.O.U.S.A. to educate Americans about swelling national and personal debt. (The film is likened by many to Al Gore's documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth.) The former Commerce Secretary's timing was uncanny as the financial crisis underscored his urgent message about excessive spending.
For more, visit the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
9. Donald Bren
Real estate developer
2004-08 Giving* $908 million
Using property and wealth from his real estate business, Bren has given more than $1 billion, much of it to support education. Bren's commitment to schooling runs the gamut from students to principals to school districts to university scholars on his Irvine Ranch. This year Bren gave $8.5 million to THINK Together after-school programs, one of the largest private donations to after-school programs in California history. In 2007 gifts included $20 million for a new law school at University of California at Irvine and $3 million in annual grants, teacher recognition, and student scholarships. In 2006 he gave a $20 million gift to fund elementary fine arts, music, and science programs at schools in Irvine, Calif.
For more, visit the Donald Bren Foundation.
10. Michael Bloomberg
Bloomberg founder, NYC Mayor
2004-08 Giving* $903 million
This year, Bloomberg added a $250 million, four-year commitment to his Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, which was established in 2005 and has received more than $375 million from the New York City mayor. The new money is in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Late last year, Bloomberg's Family Foundation gave $9 million to promote global road safety, among others on the mayor's long list of charitable causes each year. Dedicated to making strides in education, he has also committed $100 million to alma mater Johns Hopkins University and purchased a townhouse on the Upper East Side for his future foundation. Bloomberg gave $10 million to the World Trade Center Foundation. Since 1997, Bloomberg has pledged more than $1.5 billion to charities and initiatives.
For more, visit the Bloomberg Philanthropies.
1. Warren Buffett
Berkshire Hathaway CEO
2004-08 Giving* $40,655 million
Buffett's $31 billion commitment to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, announced in June 2006, resonated throughout the philanthropic community. The giving is aimed at funding education and global health initiatives. This year the commitment to the Gates Foundation still resonates, inspiring other donors with a new model of philanthropy. Buffett, the world's second-richest man, also earmarked billions for the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation -- independent family foundations that support causes ranging from reproductive health to worldwide conservation.
For more, visit the Warren Buffett Philanthropy
2. Bill & Melinda Gates
Microsoft co-founder
2004-08 Giving* $2,625 million
Bill and Melinda Gates give through their massive Seattle-based family foundation, which says it is "committed to ensuring all people have the opportunity to lead healthy, productive lives." With an endowment of nearly $36 billion, the foundation works with partners to give people a chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty in developing countries and, in the U.S., to ensure that all people have the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Its endowment is eventually expected to double, thanks to a long-term $31 billion gift from investor Warren Buffett, which pays out in installments. Recent initiatives include $100 million in micro medical-research grants; a $164 million grant to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa; and $125 million to fight global tobacco use as part of a $500 million partnership with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
For more, visit the Gates Foundation.
3. George Kaiser
Oil and gas, banking, investments
2004-08 Giving* $2,377 million
Kaiser's focus remains on early intervention in the cycle of poverty. Giving through his Tulsa-based foundation provides services that include early childhood education, pre-natal health care, public health, in-home parenting, and secondary education, as well as more generalized safety net services that deal with the symptoms of poverty. More recent initiatives have focused on women's incarceration, secondary schools, and reserving land to create an arts and entertainment district in Tulsa. The biggest payout may be yet to come: Kaiser has said he plans to increase his gifts "until I die with one dollar left, assuming I can get the timing just right."
For more, visit the George Kaiser Family Foundation.
4. George Soros
Investor
2004-08 Giving* $2,214 million
Soros distributes $400 million or more each year through his charitable network, which aims to foster open and democratic societies around the world. This year Soros gave some $535 million to dozens of initiatives, including education in Liberia, microfinance in India, and mental health in Moldova. In 2005 he gave an extra $200 million for his Central European University, a graduate school he helped found in Budapest in 1991. An immigrant from Hungary who made his first billion dollars in England, Soros has given nearly $7 billion to support his network of foundations in more than 60 countries.
For more, visit the Open Society Institute.
5. William Barron Hilton
Heir and former CEO of Hilton Hotels
2004-08 Giving* $1,700 million
New to list Following in his father's footsteps, Hilton late last year announced his intention to leave 97% of his wealth to charity after his stakes in Hilton Hotels and Harrah's Entertainment were bought out by private equity groups for billions. Hilton's fortune will go to his family's foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, which works to alleviate the suffering of the world's most disadvantaged, with an emphasis on children and support for the work of Roman Catholic nuns. Grants go to causes such as stopping trachoma, the world's leading cause of preventable blindness in Africa; helping homeless families in the U.S.; and providing clean water in Mexico.
For more, visit the Hilton Foundation.
6. Walton Family
Family of Wal-Mart founder
2004-08 Giving* $1,380 million
The world's richest family is also one of the most united when it comes to philanthropy. The secretive Waltons commit the bulk of their gifts through the Walton Family Foundation, which supports a variety of charitable causes. Their areas of focus: K-12 education reform, quality-of-life initiatives in northwest Arkansas (home to Wal-Mart), economic development initiatives in the Mississippi Delta region of the U.S., and most recently, marine and fresh water fishing sustainability initiatives.
For more, visit the Walton Family Foundation.
7. Herbert & Marion Sandler
Golden West Financial co-founders
2004-08 Giving* $1,329 million
The Sandlers have given away more than $1 billion to the Sandler Foundation, which works to strengthen progressive causes, such as: exposing corruption and abuse of power; advocating for vulnerable and exploited people and environments; and advancing scientific research. Last year, for example, the foundation committed $10 million a year to launch and sustain ProPublica, an independent non-profit newsroom, under the leadership of former Wall Street Journal Managing Editor Paul Steiger, that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. The foundation also helped establish the liberal think-tank Center for American Progress with a $50 million gift in 2004.
For more, visit the Sandler Foundation.
8. Peter Peterson
Blackstone Group co-founder
2004-08 Giving* $1,168 million
New to list Using his proceeds from Blackstone Group's IPO, Peterson donated $1 billion to establish the Peter G. Peterson Foundation this year. The focus: to encourage greater fiscal responsibility in the U.S. The foundation has already purchased, promoted, and distributed the documentary I.O.U.S.A. to educate Americans about swelling national and personal debt. (The film is likened by many to Al Gore's documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth.) The former Commerce Secretary's timing was uncanny as the financial crisis underscored his urgent message about excessive spending.
For more, visit the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
9. Donald Bren
Real estate developer
2004-08 Giving* $908 million
Using property and wealth from his real estate business, Bren has given more than $1 billion, much of it to support education. Bren's commitment to schooling runs the gamut from students to principals to school districts to university scholars on his Irvine Ranch. This year Bren gave $8.5 million to THINK Together after-school programs, one of the largest private donations to after-school programs in California history. In 2007 gifts included $20 million for a new law school at University of California at Irvine and $3 million in annual grants, teacher recognition, and student scholarships. In 2006 he gave a $20 million gift to fund elementary fine arts, music, and science programs at schools in Irvine, Calif.
For more, visit the Donald Bren Foundation.
10. Michael Bloomberg
Bloomberg founder, NYC Mayor
2004-08 Giving* $903 million
This year, Bloomberg added a $250 million, four-year commitment to his Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, which was established in 2005 and has received more than $375 million from the New York City mayor. The new money is in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Late last year, Bloomberg's Family Foundation gave $9 million to promote global road safety, among others on the mayor's long list of charitable causes each year. Dedicated to making strides in education, he has also committed $100 million to alma mater Johns Hopkins University and purchased a townhouse on the Upper East Side for his future foundation. Bloomberg gave $10 million to the World Trade Center Foundation. Since 1997, Bloomberg has pledged more than $1.5 billion to charities and initiatives.
For more, visit the Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Microsoft Corp. is no longer interested in buying all of Yahoo Inc.
Microsoft Corp. is no longer interested in buying all of Yahoo Inc., CEO Steve Ballmer said Wednesday, though he told shareholders that the company would still be "very open" to a collaboration on Internet search. His comments sent Yahoo shares diving more than 20 percent.
Let me be clear," Ballmer said at Microsoft's annual shareholder meeting. "We are done with all acquisition discussions with Yahoo."
Yahoo spurned a $47.5 billion takeover offer from Microsoft in May, and later rejected Microsoft's bid to buy only its search engine. Ballmer has said repeatedly of late that the buyout remains off the table, though a search-related deal is possible.
But Wednesday marked the first time he had renewed that stance since the resignation announced this week by Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, who had resisted Microsoft's overtures. Yahoo shares rose when Yang said he would step aside, because investors hoped it meant a deal with Microsoft would now be more likely.
Ballmer said the companies are not currently talking about a search deal.
Yahoo shares plummeted $2.41, or 20.9 percent, to close at $9.14, its lowest level since early 2003, on a split-adjusted basis, and well below the $33 per share Microsoft offered in May. Microsoft shares tumbled $1.33 cents, 6.8 percent, to end the session at $18.29, a 10-year low.
Michael McDonald, a shareholder who flew from Atlanta to attend the meeting, blames Microsoft's run at Yahoo for depressing its share price and hopes the software maker doesn't try again.
McDonald, a retired advertising executive, called the race to win in Web search and advertising "the dot-com bubble all over again. The economic period we're in now is going to prove the questionable value of search."
Instead, he'd rather see Microsoft cut employees and expenses, or spend cash to buy business software companies.
"We don't need three Googles," he said.
Some analysts have interpreted Ballmer's public comments about a Yahoo buyout as negotiating posturing, and suspect Microsoft might still want to grab Yahoo at a low price, in hopes of improving their joint position in online search and advertising. However, analysts have also said Microsoft is likely to wait until next year before deciding, giving it time to watch Yahoo's performance and study the antitrust regulatory climate in a new administration in Washington.
In his remarks, Ballmer attempted to reassure shareholders that Microsoft can thrive despite the economic downturn, citing the software maker's long-term research and development spending and new products that mix desktop software and over-the-Internet computing.
When a shareholder, alluding to Microsoft's languishing stock price, asked Ballmer when Microsoft's best years would arrive, the CEO countered that every year is Microsoft's best year.
Then he jokingly added, "If we could get this economic thing headed in the right direction ... I'm not going to pretend we have control over that. You'd better call D.C."
Microsoft Corp. is no longer interested in buying all of Yahoo Inc., CEO Steve Ballmer said Wednesday, though he told shareholders that the company would still be "very open" to a collaboration on Internet search. His comments sent Yahoo shares diving more than 20 percent.
Let me be clear," Ballmer said at Microsoft's annual shareholder meeting. "We are done with all acquisition discussions with Yahoo."
Yahoo spurned a $47.5 billion takeover offer from Microsoft in May, and later rejected Microsoft's bid to buy only its search engine. Ballmer has said repeatedly of late that the buyout remains off the table, though a search-related deal is possible.
But Wednesday marked the first time he had renewed that stance since the resignation announced this week by Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, who had resisted Microsoft's overtures. Yahoo shares rose when Yang said he would step aside, because investors hoped it meant a deal with Microsoft would now be more likely.
Ballmer said the companies are not currently talking about a search deal.
Yahoo shares plummeted $2.41, or 20.9 percent, to close at $9.14, its lowest level since early 2003, on a split-adjusted basis, and well below the $33 per share Microsoft offered in May. Microsoft shares tumbled $1.33 cents, 6.8 percent, to end the session at $18.29, a 10-year low.
Michael McDonald, a shareholder who flew from Atlanta to attend the meeting, blames Microsoft's run at Yahoo for depressing its share price and hopes the software maker doesn't try again.
McDonald, a retired advertising executive, called the race to win in Web search and advertising "the dot-com bubble all over again. The economic period we're in now is going to prove the questionable value of search."
Instead, he'd rather see Microsoft cut employees and expenses, or spend cash to buy business software companies.
"We don't need three Googles," he said.
Some analysts have interpreted Ballmer's public comments about a Yahoo buyout as negotiating posturing, and suspect Microsoft might still want to grab Yahoo at a low price, in hopes of improving their joint position in online search and advertising. However, analysts have also said Microsoft is likely to wait until next year before deciding, giving it time to watch Yahoo's performance and study the antitrust regulatory climate in a new administration in Washington.
In his remarks, Ballmer attempted to reassure shareholders that Microsoft can thrive despite the economic downturn, citing the software maker's long-term research and development spending and new products that mix desktop software and over-the-Internet computing.
When a shareholder, alluding to Microsoft's languishing stock price, asked Ballmer when Microsoft's best years would arrive, the CEO countered that every year is Microsoft's best year.
Then he jokingly added, "If we could get this economic thing headed in the right direction ... I'm not going to pretend we have control over that. You'd better call D.C."
NEW YORK – Citigroup Inc. is cutting approximately 53,000 more jobs in the coming quarters as the banking giant struggles to steady itself after suffering massive losses from deteriorating debt.
The plans, posted on the company's Web site, are being discussed by CEO Vikram Pandit at the company's town hall meeting in New York Monday with employees.
The company said total headcount is being reduced by 20 percent from its peak of 375,000 at the end of 2007; the company had already announced in October that it was eliminating about 22,000 jobs from those levels. The total workforce reductions include thousands of jobs that will be lost when Citigroup completes the sale of Citi Global Services and its German retail banking business.
The New York-based bank has posted four straight quarterly losses, including a loss of $2.8 billion during the third quarter. The company said that in addition to job cuts, it plans to lower expenses by about 20 percent, and that is has reduced its assets by more than 20 percent since the first quarter of the year.
Citi shares fell 42 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $9.10 in morning trading. The company's shares have been trading at 13-year lows.
Shortly before the town hall meeting in New York, Citigroup Chairman Win Bischoff said at a business forum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that it would be irresponsible for Citi and other companies not to look at staffing in the event of a prolonged economic downturn.
"What all of us have done — and perhaps injudiciously — we've added a lot of people over ... this very benign period," Bischoff said.
"If there is a reversion to the mean ... those job losses will obviously fall particularly heavily on the financial sector," he added. "Certainly they will fall particularly heavily on London and New York."
A Citigroup spokesman said that while certain regions and businesses might have higher concentrations of job cuts, they would generally be across the entire company and around the world.
In his comments to the Associated Press, Bischoff did not rule out the likelihood that Citi's leaders would go without bonuses this year — a move that would effectively amount to a substantial pay cut for the company's executives.
"Watch this space," he said when asked about lost bonuses.
On Sunday, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said seven top executives, including Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, opted out of receiving cash or stock bonuses for 2008 amid the ongoing credit crisis.
Sources: Yahoo News
The plans, posted on the company's Web site, are being discussed by CEO Vikram Pandit at the company's town hall meeting in New York Monday with employees.
The company said total headcount is being reduced by 20 percent from its peak of 375,000 at the end of 2007; the company had already announced in October that it was eliminating about 22,000 jobs from those levels. The total workforce reductions include thousands of jobs that will be lost when Citigroup completes the sale of Citi Global Services and its German retail banking business.
The New York-based bank has posted four straight quarterly losses, including a loss of $2.8 billion during the third quarter. The company said that in addition to job cuts, it plans to lower expenses by about 20 percent, and that is has reduced its assets by more than 20 percent since the first quarter of the year.
Citi shares fell 42 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $9.10 in morning trading. The company's shares have been trading at 13-year lows.
Shortly before the town hall meeting in New York, Citigroup Chairman Win Bischoff said at a business forum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that it would be irresponsible for Citi and other companies not to look at staffing in the event of a prolonged economic downturn.
"What all of us have done — and perhaps injudiciously — we've added a lot of people over ... this very benign period," Bischoff said.
"If there is a reversion to the mean ... those job losses will obviously fall particularly heavily on the financial sector," he added. "Certainly they will fall particularly heavily on London and New York."
A Citigroup spokesman said that while certain regions and businesses might have higher concentrations of job cuts, they would generally be across the entire company and around the world.
In his comments to the Associated Press, Bischoff did not rule out the likelihood that Citi's leaders would go without bonuses this year — a move that would effectively amount to a substantial pay cut for the company's executives.
"Watch this space," he said when asked about lost bonuses.
On Sunday, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said seven top executives, including Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, opted out of receiving cash or stock bonuses for 2008 amid the ongoing credit crisis.
Sources: Yahoo News
Worldwide spending on information technology (IT) is expected to slow significantly next year because of the financial crisis, according to a report published on Wednesday.
Market intelligence firm IDC said worldwide IT spending will grow just 2.6 percent in 2009 compared with the previous year, down from the IDC's pre-crisis forecast of 5.9 percent growth.
The Framingham, Massachusetts-based company said IT spending in the United States is expected to grow by just 0.9 percent in 2009, much lower than the 4.2 percent growth forecast in August.
It said IT spending growth in Japan and Western Europe was also expected to hover around one percent in 2009.
"The emerging economies of Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America will continue to experience healthy growth, but at levels notably lower than the double-digit gains previously forecast," the IDC said.
"Although all the economic forecasts went from up slightly to down drastically in a matter of days, the good news is that IT is in a better position than ever to resist the downward pull of a slowing economy," John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC, said in a statement.
"Technology is already deeply embedded in many mission-critical operations and remains critical to achieving further efficiency and productivity gains," he said. "As a result, IDC expects worldwide IT spending will continue to grow in 2009, albeit at a slower pace."
The IDC said that on a sector basis, computer software and services were expected to enjoy solid growth next year while hardware spending, with the exception of storage, is expected to decline in 2009.
The IDC said it expects IT spending to return to growth rates approaching 6.0 percent in 2012 but estimates more than 300 billion dollars in industry revenues will have been lost due to slower spending over the next four years.
The firm said it had also developed a "downside scenario" in the event the impact of the financial crisis is more pronounced.
"In this scenario, IDC lowered the forecast for worldwide GDP growth in 2009 to 0.3 percent, which is 1.5 percent lower than the current forecast and worse than any year since World War II," it said.
"This produced a forecast of 0.1 percent growth in worldwide IT spending in 2009 with negative growth in the United States, Western Europe, and Japan."
Market intelligence firm IDC said worldwide IT spending will grow just 2.6 percent in 2009 compared with the previous year, down from the IDC's pre-crisis forecast of 5.9 percent growth.
The Framingham, Massachusetts-based company said IT spending in the United States is expected to grow by just 0.9 percent in 2009, much lower than the 4.2 percent growth forecast in August.
It said IT spending growth in Japan and Western Europe was also expected to hover around one percent in 2009.
"The emerging economies of Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America will continue to experience healthy growth, but at levels notably lower than the double-digit gains previously forecast," the IDC said.
"Although all the economic forecasts went from up slightly to down drastically in a matter of days, the good news is that IT is in a better position than ever to resist the downward pull of a slowing economy," John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC, said in a statement.
"Technology is already deeply embedded in many mission-critical operations and remains critical to achieving further efficiency and productivity gains," he said. "As a result, IDC expects worldwide IT spending will continue to grow in 2009, albeit at a slower pace."
The IDC said that on a sector basis, computer software and services were expected to enjoy solid growth next year while hardware spending, with the exception of storage, is expected to decline in 2009.
The IDC said it expects IT spending to return to growth rates approaching 6.0 percent in 2012 but estimates more than 300 billion dollars in industry revenues will have been lost due to slower spending over the next four years.
The firm said it had also developed a "downside scenario" in the event the impact of the financial crisis is more pronounced.
"In this scenario, IDC lowered the forecast for worldwide GDP growth in 2009 to 0.3 percent, which is 1.5 percent lower than the current forecast and worse than any year since World War II," it said.
"This produced a forecast of 0.1 percent growth in worldwide IT spending in 2009 with negative growth in the United States, Western Europe, and Japan."
Wired.com, the Internet arm of stalwart tech pub Wired magazine, has cut its staff by 10 percent and an unknown number of employees outside of editorial also were laid off, according to sources close to the company.
Out of 28 editorial positions, 3 employees were laid off, according to the sources. In an interview with CNET News, Evan Hansen, Wired.com's editor in chief, said the company downsized to prepare for the economic downturn.
"Revenues are expected to be up year over year but not as much as we expected," Hansen said. "We're concerned about 2009 because visibility is murky. We're taking steps to make sure we're in good position."
Hansen declined to discuss who was let go, but sources familiar with the situation said none of the publication's staff writers was cut. This is only the latest reduction of editorial staffing for Wired.com's publisher, Conde Nast.
Last month, The New York Times reported that Conde Nast was preparing to reduce company-wide budgets by 5 percent. The plan called for reducing the number of issues for magazines such as Portfolio and Men's Vogue and folding some of Portfolio's divisions into Wired magazine. The Times story said that most of the job cuts would come at Portfolio and Men's Vogue.
Sources: Greg Sandoval
Out of 28 editorial positions, 3 employees were laid off, according to the sources. In an interview with CNET News, Evan Hansen, Wired.com's editor in chief, said the company downsized to prepare for the economic downturn.
"Revenues are expected to be up year over year but not as much as we expected," Hansen said. "We're concerned about 2009 because visibility is murky. We're taking steps to make sure we're in good position."
Hansen declined to discuss who was let go, but sources familiar with the situation said none of the publication's staff writers was cut. This is only the latest reduction of editorial staffing for Wired.com's publisher, Conde Nast.
Last month, The New York Times reported that Conde Nast was preparing to reduce company-wide budgets by 5 percent. The plan called for reducing the number of issues for magazines such as Portfolio and Men's Vogue and folding some of Portfolio's divisions into Wired magazine. The Times story said that most of the job cuts would come at Portfolio and Men's Vogue.
Sources: Greg Sandoval
The state's hard-hit economy has been the focus of both candidates during the campaign.
Obama wins the battleground state of Ohio and its 20 electoral votes (AP). Heading into the election, Obama led McCain by 7 points. Ohio was considered a must-win state for McCain. However, the Obama campaign flooded the state with volunteers in March, specifically rural and suburban regions. Obama had 82 offices in Ohio, more than double the number McCain had. Ohio has voted for the winning presidential candidate in every election since 1964. According to NBC, Obama has a considerable lead in electoral votes: 200 to McCain's 90.
McCain has won North Dakota and Louisiana, totaling 12 more electoral votes (AP). ABC and CBS project McCain will win the big state of Texas and its 34 electoral votes.
NBC and Fox are also projecting Obama will win New Mexico's 5 electoral votes. Historically, the state has had close races: In 2004, George Bush beat John Kerry by fewer than 6,000 votes. In 2000, Al Gore squeaked by George W. Bush with less than 400 votes. Gov. Bill Richardson was a rumored vice-presidential candidate earlier this year and is expected to be a front-runner for a Cabinet position, should Obama win the election.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_pl130
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch says the ongoing metamorphosis of China and India from historic backwaters into economic powers will help reshape the world in the next few decades.
The News Corp. chief gave an upbeat assessment of the future and made a vigorous case for free markets despite troubled economic times and what he called "naked, heartless aggression" in the world.
In the first of a series of speeches in his birth country of Australia, Murdoch spoke Sunday of "the great transformation we've seen in the past few decades, the unleashing of human talent and ability across our world, and the golden age for humankind that I see just around the corner."
He said China and India are great countries whose people are only recently emerging from long histories of being "incarcerated by communism or caste." The rise of their economies is creating a new middle class that would be three billion strong within 30 years and that is setting a new benchmark for global competitiveness.
"The world has never seen this kind of advance before," Murdoch said. "These are people who have known deprivation. These are people who are intent on developing their skills, improving their lives and showing the world what they can do."
Murdoch, whose New York-based conglomerate includes Twentieth Century Fox, Fox News Channel, Dow Jones & Co. as well as newspaper stables in Australia and Britain and the online networking site MySpace, described the global financial crisis as one of many challenges facing Australia.
He urged Australia to embrace internationalism and touched on a range of global issues, from international security to the commercial opportunities offered by the world's need for cleaner energy.
Murdoch's remarks came in the first of six lectures to be sent out on radio nationally by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. -- this year's edition of an annual series of talks by prominent Australians.
Murdoch said that in another speech he would give his opinions on the future of newspapers, which are suffering a severe downturn, especially in the United States, as advertising revenue is lost to the Internet.
He made a strong pitch for freer trade between countries, taking agriculture as an example and saying that reducing artificial barriers is a moral and strategic issue.
"So we must continue to leverage our connections and continue to push when others have left the conference table," he said. "The global trade dialogue should echo with Australian accents."
Touching on security, he chided Europe for appearing to have "lost the will to confront aggression" and said NATO should be reformed into a group based on common values, not geography, and include countries like Australia as members.
"In this promising new century, we are still seeing naked, heartless aggression -- whether it comes from a terrorist bombing in Islamabad or a Russian invasion of Georgia," Murdoch said.
"We can lament these developments, but we cannot hide from them," he said, noting Australia's contribution of troops to Afghanistan and Iraq.
In an interview published in The Weekend Australian on Saturday, Murdoch said governments have only limited power to fix the financial crisis, though they could make it worse.
Murdoch warned that a rise in protectionism in the United States "could add to all sorts of tensions in the world financial system and the world trading system and eventually all the way down to employment."
Read also in http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081102/as_australia_murdoch.html
The News Corp. chief gave an upbeat assessment of the future and made a vigorous case for free markets despite troubled economic times and what he called "naked, heartless aggression" in the world.
In the first of a series of speeches in his birth country of Australia, Murdoch spoke Sunday of "the great transformation we've seen in the past few decades, the unleashing of human talent and ability across our world, and the golden age for humankind that I see just around the corner."
He said China and India are great countries whose people are only recently emerging from long histories of being "incarcerated by communism or caste." The rise of their economies is creating a new middle class that would be three billion strong within 30 years and that is setting a new benchmark for global competitiveness.
"The world has never seen this kind of advance before," Murdoch said. "These are people who have known deprivation. These are people who are intent on developing their skills, improving their lives and showing the world what they can do."
Murdoch, whose New York-based conglomerate includes Twentieth Century Fox, Fox News Channel, Dow Jones & Co. as well as newspaper stables in Australia and Britain and the online networking site MySpace, described the global financial crisis as one of many challenges facing Australia.
He urged Australia to embrace internationalism and touched on a range of global issues, from international security to the commercial opportunities offered by the world's need for cleaner energy.
Murdoch's remarks came in the first of six lectures to be sent out on radio nationally by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. -- this year's edition of an annual series of talks by prominent Australians.
Murdoch said that in another speech he would give his opinions on the future of newspapers, which are suffering a severe downturn, especially in the United States, as advertising revenue is lost to the Internet.
He made a strong pitch for freer trade between countries, taking agriculture as an example and saying that reducing artificial barriers is a moral and strategic issue.
"So we must continue to leverage our connections and continue to push when others have left the conference table," he said. "The global trade dialogue should echo with Australian accents."
Touching on security, he chided Europe for appearing to have "lost the will to confront aggression" and said NATO should be reformed into a group based on common values, not geography, and include countries like Australia as members.
"In this promising new century, we are still seeing naked, heartless aggression -- whether it comes from a terrorist bombing in Islamabad or a Russian invasion of Georgia," Murdoch said.
"We can lament these developments, but we cannot hide from them," he said, noting Australia's contribution of troops to Afghanistan and Iraq.
In an interview published in The Weekend Australian on Saturday, Murdoch said governments have only limited power to fix the financial crisis, though they could make it worse.
Murdoch warned that a rise in protectionism in the United States "could add to all sorts of tensions in the world financial system and the world trading system and eventually all the way down to employment."
Read also in http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081102/as_australia_murdoch.html
NORFOLK, Virginia (Reuters) – Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama launches an unprecedented television blitz on Wednesday to push his economic message on U.S. networks ranging from CBS and NBC to Comedy Central.Obama's television broadside may also force a 15-minute delay in the Fox network's broadcast of the fifth game of the World Series -- the fiercely-followed championship of Major League Baseball -- coincidentally between teams from Pennsylvania and Florida, both major battlegrounds in the November 4 election.
His Republican rival John McCain plans to appear on CNN's "Larry King Live," hoping to woo viewers with his own vision of the country's future.
Campaign officials said Obama would use the 30 minutes of prime-time air time his campaign has purchased on several networks to focus on his message on the economy, which has taken center stage in his campaign.
"We want to make sure every voter heading into the voting booth knows exactly what Barack Obama would do to bring about fundamental change as president," campaign spokesman Bill Burton said.
A campaign official said the ad would include a video montage, footage of ordinary Americans telling their stories and some live portions of Obama, who is scheduled to be at a rally in Florida that evening.
Obama, already blanketing the airwaves with political advertisements in many battleground states, has purchased the 1/2-hour slot on CBS, NBC and Fox.
The ad, which airs at 8 p.m. EDT, coincides with the anniversary of the October 29, 1929, "Black Tuesday" stock market crash that ushered in the Great Depression.
The cost has been estimated at close to $1 million for each major network slot and reflects the huge cash advantage the Democratic candidate has over McCain.
FIRST SINCE PEROT
The "infomercial" is a throwback to a political advertising strategy common in the 1950s and 1960s. And it marks the first such paid national political telecast since Ross Perot ran a series during his independent bid for president in 1992.
Perot's paid programs, remembered for his use of charts and graphs, drew an average audience of 11.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Obama, who has shattered all fundraising records, hauled in $150 million for his campaign in September alone. Unlike McCain, Obama chose not to accept public funding for his White House race, freeing him to raise millions privately.
In addition to the major broadcast networks, Wednesday's ad will also air on Spanish-language network Univision, and cable channels including Black Entertainment Television and TV One.
Obama will also appear on the Comedy Central network's popular "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" on Wednesday, reaching out to younger voters for whom the topical humor show has become a major source of news and ironic commentary.
Rounding out his media campaign, the Democratic candidate is also likely to get coverage for an evening rally in Orlando, Florida, with former President Bill Clinton, the first time the two will campaign together.
The appearances are due to continue. Both NBC and ABC news announced plans to interview the Democratic candidate in coming days.
Obama leads McCain in national polls and in many of the battleground states -- those not considered safely Democratic or Republican -- that will determine the election.
Voters have given Obama higher marks than McCain for his handling of the economy, although the Arizona Republican senator lately has been hammering the Illinois senator over taxes, saying his plan to boost taxes on higher-income Americans would hurt small businesses.
Read on: http://news.yahoo.com/elections
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