1 Young, educated and jobless in Europe (Liz Alderman in The New York Times) Five years after the economic crisis struck Europe, youth unemployment has climbed to staggering levels in many countries: in September, 56 percent in Spain for those 24 and younger, 57 percent in Greece, 40 percent in Italy, 37 percent in Portugal and 28 percent in Ireland. For people 25 to 30, the rates are half to two-thirds as high and rising. Those are Great Depression-like rates of unemployment, and there is no sign that European economies, still barely emerging from recession, are about to generate the jobs necessary to bring them into the work force soon, perhaps in their lifetimes.
Dozens of interviews with young people around the
Continent reveal a creeping realization that the European dream their parents
enjoyed is out of reach. It is not that Europe will never recover, but that the
era of recession and austerity has persisted for so long that new growth, when
it comes, will be enjoyed by the next generation, leaving this one out. Many in
the troubled south are carving out a simple existence for themselves in a new
European reality. They must decide whether to stay home, with the protection of
family but a dearth of jobs. Or they can travel to Europe’s north, places where
work is possible to find but where they are likely to be treated as outsiders.
Young people caught in that cycle are at the edge of a growing category that economists call NEETs: those who are not in employment, education or training. According to Eurofound, as many as 14 million young Europeans are out of work and disengaged, costing European Union member states an estimated €153 billion (about $206 billion) a year in welfare benefits and lost production.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/16/world/europe/youth-unemployement-in-europe.html?src=rechp&_r=0
2 China rethinks one-child policy (Gillian Wong in San Francisco Chronicle) China's leaders announced Friday the first significant easing of its one-child policy in nearly 30 years and moved to abolish its labour camp system — addressing deeply unpopular programs at a time when the Communist Party feels increasingly alienated from the public. Beijing also pledged to open state-dominated industries wider to private competition and ease limits on foreign investment in e-commerce and other businesses in a sweeping reform plan aimed at rejuvenating a slowing economy.
The extent of the long-debated changes to the family planning rules and the labour camp system surprised some analysts. Far from sweeping away all family planning rules, the party is now providing a new, limited exemption: It said families in which at least one parent was an only child would be allowed to have a second child. Previously, both parents had to be an only child to qualify for this exemption. Rural couples also are allowed two children if their first-born child is a girl, an exemption allowed in 1984 as part of the last substantive changes to the policy.
Beijing says the policy, which was introduced in 1980 and is widely disliked, has helped China by slowing population growth and easing the strain on water and other limited resources. But the abrupt fall in the birth rate is pushing up average age of the population of 1.3 billion people. Last year, a government think tank urged China's leaders to start phasing out the policy and allow two children for every family by 2015, saying the country had paid a "huge political and social cost." Earlier this year, state broadcaster CCTV said China has 310 labour camps holding about 310,000 prisoners and employing 100,000 staff, although some estimates range higher.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/China-to-ease-1-child-policy-abolish-labor-camps-4984900.php
Supporters
of the initiative have suggested a minimum basic income of $2,800 be given to
any adult citizen who needs the money, irrespective of whether he or she is
working, looking for a job, or just lazing around. The proponents of this
social welfare policy claim that it would ensure “a dignified existence and
participation in the public life of the whole population”. If enough voters in
the affluent nation back the proposal, every citizen would be entitled to
receive a monthly cheque of $2,800 from the government, irrespective of one’s
personal wealth and income.
The move
is expected to eradicate poverty, bring solace to the unemployed, especially
the young, and help the aged and other disadvantaged sections of society to
lead a decent life. The basic income movement is catching up in Europe and the
US. Surprisingly, it has found favour with both conservatives and left liberals
in the US.
The idea
of a guaranteed minimum income was first conceived by English-American thinker,
political activist and writer Thomas Paine in the late 18th century. The US
Census Bureau recently revealed that 15 per cent of Americans (adding up to
46.5 million) live below the poverty line of $11,945. Doing away with all the
existing welfare programmes and replacing them with a basic income, it is
argued, would be a more effective way of tackling poverty.
4 Forbes is for sale (Christine Haughney in The New York Times) Forbes Media, which publishes Forbes magazine and has been making an extensive push into digital media and native advertising, is up for sale, the company confirmed in an email to the staff Friday morning. In the email, Michael S. Perlis, the chief executive of Forbes Media and the first nonfamily member to run the 96-year-old business magazine, wrote, “We have received more than a few ‘over the transom’ indications of interest to buy Forbes Media.The frequency and serious nature of these overtures have brought us to a decision point. We’re organizing a process to test the waters regarding a sale of Forbes Media.”
One person with knowledge of the process said Forbes
Media expected to generate at least $400 million in the sale. Forbes, which
used to be one of the most powerful news brands in business journalism, hired
Mr. Perlis in December 2010 to help restructure the company after Steve
Forbes’s two presidential campaigns and the industry-wide shift to digital
media wiped out much of the family’s fortune.
Even as Forbes has gained traction with its digital
efforts, it appears to have declined in value. While Mr. Perlis is said to be
seeking $400 million, Elevation Partners, the Silicon Valley private equity
fund run by Roger McNamee, paid $240 million for 45 percent of the company in
2006. That suggests Forbes Media was valued at more than $530 million seven
years ago.
A sale of Forbes Media would be another recent example
of legacy print publications changing hands. This year, The New York Times
Company sold its New England Media Group holdings, including The Boston Globe,
to a local businessman, John W. Henry, for $70 million, and The Washington Post
Company sold its flagship newspaper to Amazon.com’s founder, Jeffrey P. Bezos,
for $250 million. Among magazines, two transactions occurred this summer:
Newsweek was sold to IBT Media by IAC, and Maxim, the men’s magazine, was sold
to the Darden Media Group.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/16/business/media/forbes-says-it-is-for-sale.html
5 Stunning debut for Freelancer.com (BBC) Shares in the
Australian online jobs site, Freelancer.com, have soared by as much as 400% in
the company's stock market debut. Its shares launched on the Australian Stock
Exchange at A$2.50 ($2.33) each, up from the A$0.50 they were offered at. The
site matches freelancers with small businesses around the world and claims more
than nine million users. It raised about A$15m by offering some 30 million
shares.
Freelancer.com
is the world's largest freelancing and outsourcing site by number of users and
specialises in copywriting and graphic design jobs, among others. Market
watchers say high demand for the firm's shares was caused in part by its
previous rejection of a A$427m takeover offer from a Japanese recruitment firm.
Nick
Motteram, managing director of On-Market BookBuilds, an Australian market
listings specialist, said there had been a lot of positive talk about the
upcoming initial public offering (IPO). But he said a 400% surge on a trade
debut might indicate the company had been mispriced. Mr Motteram said the
Australian revival was largely due to "pent-up investor demand and the
lack of good IPO opportunities over the last 12 to 24 months".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24951922
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