1 UK unemployment falls below 2m (BBC) The UK
unemployment total has fallen below two million for the first time in almost
six years, official figures show. The number of jobless people fell by 154,000
to 1.97 million in the three months to the end of August, the Office for
National Statistics said. The drop, which is bigger than analysts expected,
took the unemployment rate to 6%, its lowest level since late 2008.
But wage growth remained stubbornly below the
current 1.2% inflation rate. In total, there are now 30.76 million people in
work. Chancellor George Osborne said the fall in unemployment was
"evidence that our long-term economic plan is working".
The proportion of people aged between 16 and 64 in
work is now 73%, close to its all-time high of 73.2%. Over the year to the end
of August, the number of unemployed people fell by 538,000, the largest annual
fall since records began. But the number of people choosing not to seek work
increased.
"Real pay continues to drop, carrying on the
trend that began six years ago. Weak pay is bad news for household budgets, but
also for the levels of income tax receipts and the UK's fiscal position,"
said Martin Beck, senior economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club.
2 The ground shakes for the AAA-club (Angela
Monaghan in The Guardian) Finland has become the latest country to be stripped
of its coveted AAA credit rating, after Standard & Poor’s downgraded it one
notch to AA+. The Finnish prime minister, Alexander Stubb, described it as a
“wake-up call”.
Countries including the UK and US were among those
to be dealt the humiliating blow of losing the top rating after the financial
crisis. Germany and Luxembourg are the only two eurozone members still worthy
of AAA status, according to Standard & Poor’s.
While the three main ratings agencies – Standard
& Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch – are divided on the credit worthiness of
numerous countries, they are unanimous that the following are AAA rated: Australia,
Canada, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland.
The world’s largest economy suffered credit rating
humiliation in 2011 when Standard & Poor’s stripped it of its AAA rating.
The US had been AAA rated by S&P since 1941, but the political stalemate
that took the economy to the brink of default brought an end to that. Moody’s
and Fitch have kept the faith however, and maintain their AAA ratings.
3 Vatican and the mystery of gay welcome (San
Francisco Chronicle) It's one of the great mysteries of the meeting on family
life taking place behind closed doors at the Vatican this week: Just where did
the authors of a draft report come up with such ground-breaking language that
gays had gifts to offer the church and that even homosexual partnerships had
merit?
Officially speaking, the draft report was a
synthesis of the interventions from more than 200 bishops. But conservative
cardinals have said their views were not reflected in the draft, they blasted
the report as "unacceptable" and said it was in sore need of an
overhaul.
The most contentious passage is contained in three
paragraphs of the 58-paragraph report under the heading "Welcoming
homosexuals." It starts off by saying gays "have gifts and qualities
to offer the Christian community." There was no reference to Catholic
doctrine that gay sex is "intrinsically disordered," sinful or that
homosexual orientation was "objectively disordered."
There is no real way to know which bishop or bishops
had proposed such ground-breaking language. The controversy over the document
has crystalized the deepening divisions in the church over Francis'
revolutionary agenda to make it a more welcoming place.
What remains to be seen is if Francis can ensure
that the final report continues to reflect that view after all the amendments
are in. None of Francis' appointees are Africans, who are among the most
conservative on family issues.
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