Economy depression

The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits dropped to the lowest level in three months last week, according to a government report released Thursday.

There were 434,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended Oct.23, the Labor Department reported.

That was down 21,000 from a revised 455,000 in the previous week and the lowest level since the week of July 9.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast new jobless claims to rise to 458,000.

The four-week moving average of initial claims, calculated to smooth out volatility, totaled 453,250, down 5,500 from the previous week's revised average of 458,750.

Jobless claims have been stuck in a tight range since last November, struggling to break out of the mid- to upper-400,000 range and even topping 500,000 in August.

So a reading in the lower-400,000's is a welcome improvement, said Tim Quinlan, economic analyst at Wells Fargo.

"We've been stuck in this band between 450,000 and 500,000 for most of 2010, so to break through that and get to 434,000 is definitely a step in the right direction," he said. "That said, we're still not yet at a level that would be consistent with private sector growth in employment."

Desperate for a holiday job

Quinlan said a level below 400,000 is typically associated with payroll growth, but that claims are likely to continue inching lower as employment picks up.

"One week does not a trend make, but the 4-week average is continuing to come down as well," he said. "We think we're probably on the verge of turning the corner to experiencing more broad-based job growth, though it's not going to be fast enough to bring us back to pre-recession levels right away."

Continuing claims: The number of people continuing to file unemployment claims for a second week or more fell to 4,356,000 during the week ended Oct. 16, the most recent data available. That's down 122,000 from a revised 4,478,000 the week before.

Economists were expecting continuing claims to edge down to 4,428,000.

The four-week moving average for ongoing claims fell by 38,500 to 4,447,250 from the preceding week's revised 4,485,750.

State by state: Jobless claims in 17 states fell by more than 1,000 in the week ended Oct. 16. Claims in California dropped the most -- by 13,701 -- which the state attributed to fewer layoffs in the service industry. Claims in North Carolina dropped 6,607, and claims in New York fell 6,382.

Source CNNMoney

Is the economy getting better?

Canada's economy rose 0.3 per cent in August following a 0.1 per cent drop in July, helped by oil and gas extraction, wholesale trade and manufacturing.

The figures released by Statistics Canada were in line with analysts' expectations.

The federal agency also said increases were recorded in the finance and insurance sector, construction and retail trade. Utilities and forestry decreased, while public-sector output was unchanged.

Mining and oil and gas extraction rose 0.5 per cent, wholesale trade rose 1.1 per cent and manufacturing grew 0.5 per cent.

The finance and insurance sector advanced 0.6 per cent, construction was up 0.4 per cent and retail trade edged up 0.1 per cent in August.

Sourse CBC

The end of money

This video introduces The End Of Money Kickstarter Project. The project is raising $20K for a video documentary, a book , and artwork for a movement..

Exxon mobil pay

Exxon Mobil has seen its latest quarterly profits jump 55% after it benefited from higher oil prices and increased production.

Exxon is benefiting from higher oil prices, which are also increasing the cost of petrol for drivers

The world's largest oil company made a net profit of $7.35bn (£4.6bn) in the three months to 30 September, up from $4.73bn for the same period in 2009.

Its revenues totalled $95.3bn, up 16% from a year before.

Exxon's results come on the same day that Anglo-Dutch oil group Shell reported profits of $3.5bn, up 17%.

The latest profits from Exxon beat market expectations.

Exxon chairman Rex Tillerson said the firm's oil production levels were 20% higher than a year ago.

He added that the strong results had come despite "continuing economic uncertainty".

Source

Gold vs silver

Moving away from worthless paper in our wallets has proven problematic


Once again I’m indebted to a reader for passing along a superlative concept and essay on a practical means of returning to “good money” (i.e. some sort of precious metals-based currency). While most precious metals commentators (including myself) strongly advocate the return to some sort of “gold standard”, devising a plausible process for moving away from the worthless paper we carry in our wallets today has proven problematic.


If we follow the path of “converting” fiat paper-currencies back to precious metals-backed money, we immediately see only two options. Either we get all of the world’s major currencies to simultaneously convert their paper-currencies (an extremely unlikely event), or we must do this in some step-by-step process – which must begin with the world’s “reserve currency” (currently the U.S. dollar).


In my own attempt to reconcile this enormous logistical issue, I previously proposed a two-stage process: first switching from the U.S. dollar to China’s Renminbi as the new reserve-currency, and then backing the Renminbi with gold. My reasoning was that if the two changes were instituted (more or less) simultaneously that there would be an horrific plunge in the U.S. dollar – as a world full of U.S. dollar-holders all sought to rid themselves of their inferior paper in favour of gold-backed Renminbi at the same time.


The only alternative to that approach for converting fiat-paper to gold- or silver-backed money would be to attempt to ‘re-back’ the U.S. dollar with gold. There are even worse problems confronting this idea. To begin with, most people now believe that the U.S. only has a tiny fraction of the gold reserves it pretends to have. This is the only rational conclusion with respect to any person/entity whoclaims to hold much more of something than anyone else in the world – but refuses to ever let anyone see it.


With no official audit of the U.S. “gold reserves” having been conducted for more than fifty years (despite the relentless efforts of groups like GATA, and the indefatigable Ron Paul), the question has now become not “does the U.S. have as much gold as it claims?” but rather “does the U.S. own any gold, at all?” Compound that problem with the near-infinite trillions of dollars of debts and liabilities amassed by the U.S. government, and it is obvious that the only possible way that the U.S. paper-dollar could ever be converted back to good money would be after the inevitable national default of the U.S. government.


With no especially attractive ideas before us, this is what got me so excited when I read the thoughtful proposal of Hugo Salinas Price, the President of the Mexican Civic Association Pro Silver.  Readers may recall that Price spearheaded a drive within Mexico to return their own currency to a silver standard.


That movement eventually fizzled-out – undoubtedly in part due to the enormous pressure which the U.S. government would have applied to prevent this change. With the U.S.’s large population of Mexican migrants, there wouldimmediately have been a massive influx of that silver money into the U.S.


This would be followed by first the U.S.’s Latino population, and soon most Americans ditching their U.S. dollars in favor of Mexican silver-pesos. Not only would such a development be incredibly embarrassing to the U.S. government, but it would have accelerated the paper dollar’s devolution toward zero – through being rejected by the U.S.’s own, domestic population.


Price solves this problem with the innovative concept of having parallel currencies. To be fair, we can’t give Price all of the credit for this idea – since a similar concept has already been implemented in Indonesia. While the official paper-currency remains the “rupiah”, along-side the paper, government-minted gold “dinar” and silver “dirham” now also circulate in that economy.


A clip reporting on this development provided an anecdote from a middle-class Indonesian man, who opened his first bank-account in 2000, got himself a credit card and debit card – and then noticed how as soon as he allowed his wealth to be held by bankers that the purchasing-power of his paper-currency began rapidly declining.


In 2004, the man closed his bank account, and converted all his paper currency to gold and silver money. He reported that Indonesia’s inflation-rate soared to 20% shortly thereafter – and not only did his gold and silver money not lose any of its wealth (i.e. purchasing-power), but he earned a gain on his money (net of inflation) versus the value of the official paper.


It is in looking at how this Indonesian man (and his fellow-citizens) were completely shielded from the ravages of banker-produced inflation that we see the key to Price’s proposal. In order for gold and silver to function as parallel currencies, they must not be assigned some (arbitrary) “legal tender” denomination, but rather must be valued strictly according to the weight of the metal.


In theory, Canada and the U.S. also have “parallel currency systems”: both countries mint their own gold and silver coins. However, the arbitrary denominations of the coins are ridiculously (and deliberately) detached from the real world – with silver coins denominated at about 20% of the current value of the metal, while gold coins are denominated at less than 5% of their actual value. Obviously, the intention here is to greatly punish any Canadians or Americans seeking to emulate the economic liberty which exists in Indonesia.


Should we try to substitute gold and silver for the bankers’ worthless paper, not only are we instantly robbed of 80% (or more) of our wealth if we try to spend it as money, but our governments have instituted absurd and hypocritical “capital gains” tax rules. Our governments pretend that simply by choosing to preserve our wealth (in gold and silver) rather than to allow the bankers to steal roughly 10% of our wealth per year through their currency-dilution (i.e. inflation) that we have made a “capital gain” – simply from not losing any of our wealth.


This would be identical to going to all of our churches and charities and telling them that while they are exempt from “income taxation”, that because theirwealth wasn’t reduced by 20% per year (through taxation) like everyone else that this “windfall” represents a “capital gain” on all donations they receive. Obviously, the mere fact that we prevent ourselves from being robbed (by bankers) cannot constitute a “capital gain” in any fair and rational taxation system. For those interested in these taxation issues, I go into them in much greater detail in a previous commentary.


By valuing the gold/silver coins strictly by their weight, this allows gold and silver to exert their inherent characteristic as perfect vessels for preserving wealth. Here Price acknowledges the primary practical difficulty: with banker-inflation spiraling out of control, how do we maintain a fair-yet-flexible mechanism for exchanging and valuing gold and silver money?


When we previously had small-denomination coins made (partially) of silver, as soon as the value of the silver exceeded the “official” value of the coin as money, there was not only a problem with coins being melted-down for profit, but with our governments absorbing large losses from minting these coins.


Price’s solution to this problem is to have the value of these coins (i.e. their “price” in paper) be slightly higher than the current “spot” prices for the metals. Simultaneously, this eliminates the problem of coins disappearing from the system from being melted-down and allows the government to net a modest profit (or “seigniorage”).


Obviously this official price would have to be “pegged” at least on a monthly basis (and more often if/when the bankers’ currency-debasing accelerateseven further). Price acknowledges that this leaves one, remaining, unresolved issue: how do we handle the inevitable downward “hiccups” in price for gold and/or silver?


He is unequivocal: the “official” value of gold and/or silver money must neverbe reduced. Price observes that when a short-term decline in the price of gold creates a gap between the official price of bullion-money and the spot-price of the metals, themselves, all this means is a temporary increase in profits (for cash-strapped Western governments) and it means the people’s money actually becomes better than bullion itself.


Obviously, many readers not familiar with precious metals (and the monetary depravity of bankers) will be asking themselves “what happens if there is a large, permanent decline in the price of gold and/or silver?”


These readers must understand the fundamental equation here.


When the price of gold and silver rises, the vast majority of that increase is not an absolute increase in value, but only a relative increase in price – versus the paper currencies which are being so rapidly diluted. Indeed, “inflation” is nothing more than the speed with which the bankers are diluting their paper currencies.


Thus, asking what would happen if there was a large/permanent decrease in the price of gold or silver is an identical question to asking what would happen if there was a large/permanent decrease in banker money-printing? In other words, this is akin to asking “what if the Sun doesn’t rise tomorrow?” I’ll give regular readers a moment to recover from their laughter.


To illustrate my point, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is about toannounce another $1 trillion (or so) in new money-printing for the sole purpose of creating inflation. Creating inflation through excessive money-printing is the primary means by which bankers have been stealing from the general population for centuries. They take full-value dollars from us (as “deposits”) and always give us back dollars which are worth much less (evenincluding the pitiful “interest” they pay us) – because every time we give the banks a dollar, they are allowed to print ten new “dollars”, lend that money to us, and charge us interest on it.


This also deals with the last possible objection to such a concept: what if governments deliberately set the official price of gold/silver money much too high – so that they could reap excessive profits?


Understand that artificially pegging the price of gold/silver too high equates to artificially creating deflation in our economies. Given that all of the bankers, and all of our governments who serve the bankers have already demonstrated that they are absolutely phobic toward deflation, this possibility also ranks right up there with “what if the Sun doesn’t rise tomorrow?”


Price stipulates that because of the relatively moderate price of silver, that it must be the first form of good money re-introduced into our monetary systems – as it is economically accessible to all of the people. This further reduces the possibility of our money “losing its value”, since everyone familiar with the silver sector is already aware that global inventories of silver have been nearly totally depleted – due to roughly fifty years of price-suppression. There is less refined silver in the world today (relative to the amount of gold) than at any other time in the nearly 5,000 years in which we have used these metals as money.


I can’t end this piece without taking a moment to note the “intimate relationship” between bankers and precious metals. One might even call it a “love/hate relationship”: they “love” to hold gold and silver themselves – but “hate” to see anyone other than bankers possess any of it.


Astute readers will have already deduced that even a parallel precious-metals monetary system would affect our beloved bankers adversely. Price has some thoughts on this, including one wickedly devious suggestion, and I have a “few” thoughts of my own on that subject. I’ll deal with those topics in a sequel: “Good Money and the Fall of Bankers”.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Jeff Nielson


Jeff Nielson is writer and editor for Bullion Bulls Canada. He obtained his law degree from the University of British Columbia, after "majoring" in economics. His investment portfolio is focused on gold and silver bullion, and Canadian mining companies.

Source  

Bucks Furniture

We have great pleasure in announcing this year's honorary awardees of Bucks New University UK

Former local headteacher receives honorary award 
Former local headteacher, Pam Holtom, who introduced the Parents as First Teachers (PAFT) programme into the UK, has received an honorary master’s from Bucks New University in recognition of her significant involvement in developing and delivering the scheme locally and elsewhere in the country.

University Council member recognised for dedicated service

Rupert Wheeler has received an honorary fellowship from Buckinghamshire New University in recognition of his strong commitment and support to the University Council. Rupert became involved with Bucks New University 20 years ago, first joining the Advisory Committee of the Faculty of Technology and introducing the Merlin Information Systems Prize. Eight years ago, he joined the University Council as an independent member, serving on the Audit, Governance, and Capital Projects Committees, and as a director of CRDM, the manufacturing subsidiary of the University, until its sale last year.

Lord Laming rewarded for a lifetime's achievements
The Lord Laming CBE DL has received an honorary degree from Buckinghamshire New University in recognition of his lifetime dedication and achievements in the field of social services and his patronage to numerous voluntary organisations. In recent years, Lord Laming has been heavily involved with a number of charities both at home and abroad, and has been invited to several countries to advise on social care policy and practice. He has chaired various reviews and independent inquiries, and in 2009 he conducted a government review entitled The Protection of Children in England.

Thames Valley Police Chief Constable receives honorary award

Sara Thornton, Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, has received an honorary degree from Bucks New University in recognition of her work to develop a strong working relationship between the University and Thames Valley Police, and her commendable career within the police force over the past 25 years.

Edwyn Collins has never received an award like this before
Edwyn Collins, who has enjoyed a career of more than 30 years in the music industry,  received an honorary degree from Buckinghamshire New University in recognition of his strong influences and contribution to the national and international music industry during the last three decades.

Olympic hero Adrian strikes gold at Bucks
Olympic gold medalist, Adrian Moorhouse MBE, has received an honorary degree from Bucks New University in recognition of his strong sporting and business success and links with the University and the region.

Naomi strikes it Rich with honorary award
Paralymic rowing bronze medalist and Bucks graduate, Naomi Riches, has received an honorary master’s from Bucks New University. She received the honorary award in recognition of her inspirational example to Bucks students with her success in the Beijing Paralympic Games and her commitment to training for the 2012 Paralympic Games.

The Smart money is on Tony
Anthony Smart MBE, a dedicated advocate of lifelong learning and the promotion of furniture skills for young people, received an honorary degree for his voluntary commitments to the Bucks Furniture Design Summer Schools, his other involvements with the University and its students, and his impressive local community fund-raising efforts.

Honorary awards for influential rugby figures

Owner of London Wasps Rugby Club, Steve Hayes, and RFU Rugby Development Officer, Tim Holmes, have received honorary awards. Steve received an honorary degree in recognition of his significant contribution to the local community through sport and business and for his national and international profile in relation to football and rugby clubs, which have together combined to support the University in its community relationships and strategic brand development. Tim was awarded an honorary master’s for his significant and ongoing work relating to sports courses within the University’s Faculty of Design, Media & Management and dedication to helping students find employment within the rugby and wider sport industries 

Source Bucks New University UK

Slang terms for money

What is another word for the word money?

Buck, buckaroo, dollar,and coin.

What is another word for losing money?  Going bankrupt; In the hole; Pay through the nose and money down the drain. What is another word for not making money?  Broke What is another word for money or cash? Jing dough What is another word for money?  Currency Another word or phrase for word by word? Verbatim. Especially in speech

Invest in Australia

Microsoft Ramps Up Investment in Australian Software Economy

In the past, the name Microsoft has been strongly linked to large enterprises and was probably not a name that was commonly associated with Australian Startups and Entrepreneurship – but things are changing.

A couple of weekends ago, Microsoft was a key sponsor of the Community driven Startup Camp Sydney 4 and featured Developer Evangelist Catherine Eibner sitting on the final judging panel.

This is not the first supporting role Microsoft has played in the Startup community lately. Their BizSpark program, which is targeted at early growth-stage Startups has been gaining momentum, both overseas and here in Australia. In the last few months they’ve run 2 free technology focused start up events – one based on Microsoft’s Azure Platform, the other around Windows Phone 7. In traditional startup camp/weekend style both of these events gave participants an opportunity to build applications over a weekend, hear from technical and business experts as well as pitch their business and idea to Investors. There were also prizes offered on the day.

Outside of the usual benefits of focusing for a weekend on developing a startup, meting other startup community members and practicing your pitching skills, the fact that Microsoft is running these camps as part of their worldwide BizSpark program means participants can get widespread visibility. For instance BizSpark member Buzz Numbers was runner up at the Sydney based Azure Cloud Camp and went on to win the 2010 AIIA Startup of the year.

For those who missed the last 2 camps,  and for those outside of Sydney and Melbourne, the good news is that there are more events coming up all around Australia. First up, there’s a Brisbane event focused on Windows Phone 7 on the 12-14^th of November followed by an Azure cloud-focused event 3 weeks later in Perth on the 3 – 5^th of December.

You can find out more about the upcoming BizSpark Australia events here.

As we said at the start, while Microsoft has been a non-participant in the local tech startup scene in the past, it’s great to see them starting to be more present and doing it in a way that is startup focused.

Source TNW 

Inside the sexy new $100 bill

Carrying around some big bills? The new C-note has some high-tech features, but the paper is made by Crane & Co., a Dalton, Mass., company that's more than 200 years old.

High tech currency paper

Crane & Co. manufactures currency paper with a number of high-tech features to deter counterfeiters

Crane & Co. is the sole provider of currency paper to the U.S. Treasury, and many other governments around the world. In April the U.S. Treasury announced the new design for the $100 bill. It will include security features like a 3-D ribbon and an image of an inkwell that changes to reveal a Liberty Bell in certain light.

Color-changing security strips

A worker at Crane & Co. points out the security strip on a new $100 bill

Of course, glitches like that can happen when trying innovative techniques. To keep ahead of counterfeiters, Crane & Co. uses a mix of new and old paper-making technology.

Security strips have been in use in U.S. paper currency since 1990. Originally the strips were created to prevent counterfeiters from bleaching lower denomination bills to reprint them with a higher value. The new $100 bill will feature a strip that changes from blue to red in ultraviolet light.

Watermarks, an ancient craft

A roll of currency paper moves between paper making machines at Crane & Co.

The latest techniques used to defend against counterfeiting are rooted in very old craftsmanship.

Watermarks have been in common use since the late 13th century when they were used to mark important documents and stationery. They are created by varying the paper's density during the manufacturing process. The image of Benjamin Franklin is embedded in the new $100 bill.

Source  CNN Money.com

Gas boom catches community off guard

Traffic in downtown Towanda is one example of how a drilling boom taxes a town

TOWANDA, Pa. (CNNMoney.com) -- Downtown Towanda is literally choking in traffic.

The town, some 60 miles northwest of Scranton, is ground zero in Pennsylvania's development of natural gas found in shale rock, a boom that's spreading to many parts of the nation.

But this shale gas, too costly to develop just a few years ago, requires vast amounts of water to tap -- water that must be trucked in.

It's estimated that each well requires 1,300 truck trips. Statewide, 2,000 such wells have been drilled in the last five years. Another 3,000 are slated.

In Towanda, that means it's nearly impossible to cross the once-sleepy main street without waiting on a parade of tractor trailers.

"You used to be able to go out in the middle of the road and take a nap," said Joe Snell, a local welding supply salesman. "Not anymore."

The wells also require thousands of workers. Some are hired locally, but many come in from out of state.

Living amid an energy boom

Managing a boom. The boom is providing a serious jolt to the local economy, but it's also causing serious problems.

Traffic is described as out of hand and there are concerns environmental regulations are not up to snuff. And with the big influx of workers to the area, government services are strained.

"It's stimulated the economy," said Mike Holt, owner of the Red Rose, a downtown diner. "But it seems like the concerns of the community have been ignored in the process."

Some lawmakers in the region have been fighting hard for a special tax on natural gas to help alleviate some of the problems. Such severance taxes are common in other energy-producing regions.

Mark Smith, a commissioner in Bradford County, where Towanda sits, said calls to the local 911 line have risen 30% in the last year -- mostly traffic related issues with the out-of towners.

The transplants also use the local courts, so much so that an extra janitor had to be hired to keep the bathrooms clean. Ten percent of the jail population is now non-local.

And while hundreds of millions of dollars are flowing into the county, two local economic development officials struggle to guide that cash and help local businesses get a slice of the money.

"The services we provide are strained," said Smith. "I don't think Pennsylvania was prepared for this, environmentally or financially."

The state House of Representatives recently passed a severance tax, but it faces opposition in the other chamber and from locals in Bradford County who fear such a tax will crimp gas development.

"The size and the scope of how fast this is occurring concerns me," said Doug McLinko, another Bradford country commissioner. "But I don't want to hurt this through taxation and regulation. I see the good it's doing for families."

McLinko says the school districts and local governments are benefiting from the increases in property and income taxes the boom is bringing.

As for other concerns, like skyrocketing rents, he doesn't want the government to get involved.

"Let the free market work," he said. "If there's demand, there will be supply. I'm not going to muck it up with people's tax dollars."

Protecting the water. The other major concern among locals is the water.

To extract the gas, thousands of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are injected into the ground at high pressure -- a process known as fracking.

As this boom has taken off, many people have found their well water contaminated.

State environmental officials stress that the problems are the result of fracking spills at the surface, or in improperly cased wells. It's not the actual fracking process itself, they say, which takes place thousands of feet underground.

The state recently tightened its requirements for well casings and the treatment of frack fluids and other contiminated water that come out of the well, as well as how much water gas companies can take from rivers.

But there's still a sense that the state was late to the game, and didn't go far enough. That's true not just of Pennsylvania, but most states where this is occurring, which is why many are calling for federal oversight.

"The states are absolutely unprepared to deal with this kind of onslaught," said Dave Hamilton, director of global warming and energy projects at the Sierra Club. "There needs to be some kind of backstop."

Many outside analysts say the development of shale gas can withstand additional regulations, although the industry say more regulation would slow development and cost jobs.

To that, many say tough.

Kate Sinding, an attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said Pennsylvania should require companies to undertake more stringent precautions.

"These are not cheap," she said. "But they should pay for this stuff."

Source CNN Money.com