U.S. hiring seen pointing to economy in need of Fed's help

By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employers likely stepped up hiring only slightly in May, a sign the economy was growing modestly but not strongly enough to convince the Federal Reserve to scale back the amount of cash it is pumping into the banking system.

The United States probably added 170,000 jobs last month, with the unemployment rate holding steady at a lofty 7.5 percent, according to a Reuters survey of economists.

Following a winter in which the economy seemed to be turning a corner, May would be the third straight month that payrolls outside the farm sector increased by less than 200,000.

"The labor market may not be as strong as we thought," said Kevin Cummins, an economist at UBS in Stamford, Connecticut.

The Labor Department will release the May employment report on Friday at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

The report could heighten concerns government austerity enacted this year is sapping vigor from the economy, and might dampen speculation the Fed might soon trim bond purchases aimed at lowering interest rates and boosting employment.

Officials at the U.S. central bank have intimated they could be close to tapering bond purchases despite modest economic growth which is not expected to pick up until late in the year when the sting from government spending cuts begins to fade.

Budget cuts have led to hiring freezes at many government agencies, and attrition could be slowly reducing payrolls. Government payrolls are expected to decline by 10,000 in May.

LASTING DAMAGE

About 4.4 million Americans have been unemployed for more than six months, roughly three million more than pre-recession levels. The longer workers are out of a job, the greater the risk they become essentially unemployable. That could deal lasting damage to the economy and has lent urgency to the Fed's efforts to stimulate growth.

Still, May's expected pace of job growth is right around the average for the 12 months through April. Over that period the jobless rate fell about half a percentage point and the ranks of the long-term unemployed declined by nearly 700,000.

"It's progress that's too slow, but it's progress nonetheless," said Guy Berger, an economist at RBS, also in Stamford.

Fed officials next meet June 18-19 and are widely expected to keep purchasing $85 billion in bonds a month. Many economists don't expect the job market to be strong enough for the Fed to begin scaling back its bond purchases before December.

After barely growing in the last three months of 2012, the U.S. economy expanded at a moderate 2.4 percent annual rate in the first quarter but lost momentum as the quarter drew to a close. Most economists look for growth of around 1.5 percent in the current quarter.

U.S. factories are feeling the pinch from Europe's debt crisis, which has sent a chill over the global economy. The Institute for Supply Management said on Tuesday that U.S. manufacturing activity contracted in May. Manufacturing employment is seen rising by a meager 3,000 jobs last month.

The report is expected to show the length of the average workweek edged higher to 34.5 hours, which could signal demand is strong enough to trigger faster hiring in coming months. Average hourly earnings are seen rising 0.2 percent.

Another indicator of labor market health will come in the share of the population that is either employed or looking for work. Some of the recent drop in the jobless rate has been due to workers leaving the labor force, either because they retired, went back to school or gave up looking for a job.

The labor force participation rate was 63.3 percent in April, holding at a 34-year low for the second straight month. A stabilization of this indicator could point to more healing in the labor market.

(Reporting by Jason Lange Editing by Tim Ahmann and James Dalgleish)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-hiring-seen-pointing-economy-feds-help-050409964.html

whitney houston found dead tony parker bay news 9 henry cavill blackhawks nsa

Was Venezuela's release of US filmmaker Timothy Tracy an olive branch?

Timothy Tracy was expelled from Venezuela today after spending more than a month in government detention for allegedly spying on behalf of the US.

By Andrew Rosati,?Correspondent / June 5, 2013

Plain clothes policemen escort Timothy Hallet Tracy (c.) during his deportation to the US at Simon Bolivar Airport in Caracas in this handout photo provided by Venezuela's Ministry of Justice on June 5.

Ministry of Interior and Justice/Reuters

Enlarge

After more than a decade of tough talk and frigid foreign relations, the Maduro administration may have shown the first sign that Venezuela could be warming up to the United States. Timothy Tracy, an American documentary filmmaker, was released after spending more than a month in government detention for allegedly spying and planning unrest after Venezuela's April 14 presidential election.

Skip to next paragraph

Recent posts

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; // google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres (@MRodriguezTorre)?wrote on Twitter: "The American Timothy Hallet Tracy, who was caught spying in our country, has been expelled from the national territory." Mr. Tracy's lawyers said his film had nothing to do with Venezuela's national security.

Tracy made his way to Miami International Airport today, hours before a meeting between Venezuela's foreign minister, Elias Jaua, and US Secretary of State John Kerry was scheduled to take place. The countries have been without ambassadors for three years. And while the Venezuelan government continues to insist the "gringo" filmmaker was "conspiring to start a civil war," analysts say the sudden release is meant as a show of good faith.

"It's a sign of rapprochement," says Elsa Cardozo, a professor of international relations at the Central University of Venezuela.

Ms. Cardozo says that given the country's current economic crisis, the move comes as no surprise.?Venezuela's toilet paper troubles have been making headlines for weeks now, but consumers are struggling to find many staples, like milk, butter, and sugar as the inflation rate here remains one of world's highest, at about 30 percent.

Many believe the OPEC nation may now start looking abroad to solve its economic woes; recently appointed Finance Minister Nelson Merentes announced just last week he would soon travel to the US and Europe to speak with creditors and court additional foreign investment.

Even during times of strained relations under Hugo Ch?vez's administration, Venezuela could always depend on the oil-thirsty US to be one of its biggest buyers.

Will sending Tracy back to the US be enough to smooth over rocky US-Venezuelan relations? Perhaps not. But at the very least, Cardozo argues, the government may be realizing that ?it's very hard to bring in new business when your investors are worried about being taken captive."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/UlzbaNI530k/Was-Venezuela-s-release-of-US-filmmaker-Timothy-Tracy-an-olive-branch

kevin youkilis Tropical Storm Debby legend of korra magic mike trailer Alan Turing brave Stephanie Rice

Fake Ryan Gosling Prank From Mojo In The Morning Confuses Fans All Over Detroit (VIDEO, PHOTO)

"OMG, it's Ryan Gosling!"

Or so thought scores of dreamy-eyed fans who stumbled upon the scruffily handsome, blonde man followed by body guards and a video crew in Detroit Thursday.

Only problem: it was a fake. Ryan Gosling is in Detroit filming his directorial debut, "How to Catch a Monster." But the man who caused swooning, sighing and copious picture taking? That's just your average guy in Gosling's de facto uniform of a hoodie and sunglasses who happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to the Hollywood star.

So who is "Lyin' Ryan?" He's a local tax accountant named Doug ... but given the resemblance, we won't be surprised if he tries to make "Lyin' Ryan" the start to a new career as a body double in a sequel to "The Notebook."

While Doug says he's mistaken for Gosling every single day, he said he's never incited the pandemonium that happened during the "Lyin' Ryan" prank. People were FREAKING OUT:

To be fair, he had a pretty legit looking crew with him.

(Sorry ladies, Doug says he's engaged to a "very beautiful girl.")

Watch the Lyin' Gosling prank above from 95.5 FM's "Mojo in the Morning" show and check out even more photos of fooled fans losing their cool. And, be honest: Would you be fooled?

Quick Poll

Would you be fooled by the fake Ryan Gosling?

Share your vote on Facebook so your friends can take this poll

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/06/fake-ryan-gosling-prank-mojo-in-the-morning_n_3398209.html

Jerry Lawler andy murray Samsung Galaxy S3 bachelor pad bachelor pad Green Coffee Bean Extract september 11

Google Glass Updated With HDR Photography And Voice-Powered Photo Captions

Are you part of the lucky bunch that got offered a pair of Google Glass and had $1,500 bucks to kick down? Good news! The camera on your set just got a whole lot better. Following up on their promise to update Google Glass every month, Google has just released a patch that brings two important photo-centric features to their robo-eyewear: HDR photography and on-the-fly photo captions.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/x-M4O5UUQKs/

CMT Awards 2013 Tropical Storm Andrea Leslie Van Houten Esther Williams d day paris jackson paris jackson

IFC Partners with Everbright International to Boost China's Water Development and Efficiency

WEBWIRE ? Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Beijing - IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a $70 million loan to China Everbright International Limited, a leading investor and operator in environmental friendly businesses, to build three water plants in China. The project will further develop China?s water sector and promote water efficiency in the country.

China is facing a severe water shortage caused by its fast-growing economy, large population, and rapid urbanization. The Chinese government has adopted a multifaceted approach that combines economic and environmental regulations at the national and provincial levels to reduce water pollution and improve efficiency over the years. These measures have resulted in improved wastewater treatment and led to the emergence of several internationally competitive Chinese water companies that have started expanding overseas.

Everbright International will use IFC?s financing to expand environmental water business by building a wastewater treatment plant, a pioneering wastewater reuse plant and a ground water plant. Upon completion, the first plant can treat 150,000 cubic meter of wastewater every day, while the second plant can recycle 20,000 cubic meter of water a day.

?IFC?s financing and global network in the water industry will help us better integrate our businesses across the supply chain,? said Everbright International Chief Executive Officer Chen Xiaoping. ?With IFC?s help, we will adopt global best practices that are important for making our company more international.?

Listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, Everbright International invests, builds and operates 24 water-related projects, 22 waste-to-energy plants, six hazardous solid waste landfill projects, and 18 alternative energy projects in China.

?In a world where almost 800 million people don?t have access to clean water, IFC is helping China and other countries improve water security,? said IFC Executive Vice President and CEO Jin-Yong Cai. ?This investment will support the establishment of state-of-the-art water facilities, help make the China?s water sector more efficient, and promote global best practices

In China, IFC has financed four water projects, with two on wastewater treatment, one on water supply, and the remaining one on seawater desalination.

About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world?s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

Stay Connected
www.ifc.org/eastasia
www.twitter.com/IFC_EAP
www.facebook.com/IFCindonesia
www.facebook.com/IFCwbg
www.youtube.com/IFCvideocasts
www.ifc.org/SocialMediaIndex

Related Links

Source

WebWireID175542

This news content was configured by WebWire editorial staff. Linking is permitted.

News Release Distribution and Press Release Distribution Services Provided by WebWire.

Source: http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=175542

oscar winners anne hathaway Castel Gandolfo Silver Linings Playbook daniel day lewis Life of Pi Christoph Waltz

Where trash accumulates in the deep sea

June 5, 2013 ? Surprisingly large amounts of discarded trash end up in the ocean. Plastic bags, aluminum cans, and fishing debris not only clutter our beaches, but accumulate in open-ocean areas such as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch." Now, a paper by researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) shows that trash is also accumulating in the deep sea, particularly in Monterey Canyon.

Kyra Schlining, lead author on this study, said, "We were inspired by a fisheries study off Southern California that looked at seafloor trash down to 365 meters. We were able to continue this search in deeper water -- down to 4,000 meters. Our study also covered a longer time period, and included more in-situ observations of deep-sea debris than any previous study I'm aware of."

To complete this extensive study, Schlining and her coauthors combed through 18,000 hours of underwater video collected by MBARI's remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). Over the past 22 years, technicians in MBARI's video lab recorded virtually every object and animal that appeared in these videos. These annotations are compiled in MBARI's Video Annotation and Reference System (VARS).

For this study, video technicians searched the VARS database to find every video clip that showed debris on the seafloor. They then compiled data on all the different types of debris they saw, as well as when and where this debris was observed.

In total, the researchers counted over 1,500 observations of deep-sea debris, at dive sites from Vancouver Island to the Gulf of California, and as far west as the Hawaiian Islands. In the recent paper, the researchers focused on seafloor debris in and around Monterey Bay -- an area in which MBARI conducts over 200 research dives a year. In this region alone, the researchers noted over 1,150 pieces of debris on the seafloor.

The largest proportion of the debris -- about one third of the total -- consisted of objects made of plastic. Of these objects, more than half were plastic bags. Plastic bags are potentially dangerous to marine life because they can smother attached organisms or choke animals that consume them.

Metal objects were the second most common type of debris seen in this study. About two thirds of these objects were aluminum, steel, or tin cans. Other common debris included rope, fishing equipment, glass bottles, paper, and cloth items.

The researchers found that trash was not randomly distributed on the seafloor. Instead, it collected on steep, rocky slopes, such as the edges of Monterey Canyon, as well as in a few spots in the canyon axis. The researchers speculate that debris accumulates where ocean currents flow past rocky outcrops or other obstacles.

The researchers also discovered that debris was more common in the deeper parts of the canyon, below 2,000 meters (6,500 feet). Schlining commented, "I was surprised that we saw so much trash in deeper water. We don't usually think of our daily activities as affecting life two miles deep in the ocean." Schlining added, "I'm sure that there's a lot more debris in the canyon that we're not seeing. A lot of it gets buried by underwater landslides and sediment movement. Some of it may also be carried into deeper water, farther down the canyon."

In the same areas where they saw trash on the seafloor, the researchers also saw kelp, wood, and natural debris that originated on land. This led them to conclude that much of the trash in Monterey Canyon comes from land-based sources, rather than from boats and ships.

Although the MBARI study also showed a smaller proportion of lost fishing gear than did some previous studies, fishing gear accounted for the most obvious negative impacts on marine life. The researchers observed several cases of animals trapped in old fishing gear.

Other effects on marine life were more subtle. For example, debris in muddy-bottom areas was often used as shelter by seafloor animals, or as a hard surface on which animals anchored themselves. Although such associations seem to benefit the individual animals involved, they also reflect the fact that marine debris is creating changes in the existing natural biological communities.

To make matters worse, the impacts of deep-sea trash may last for years. Near-freezing water, lack of sunlight, and low oxygen concentrations discourage the growth of bacteria and other organisms that can break down debris. Under these conditions, a plastic bag or soda can might persist for decades.

MBARI researchers hope to do additional research to understand the long-term biological impacts of trash in the deep sea. Working with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, they are currently finishing up a detailed study of the effects of a particularly large piece of marine debris -- a shipping container that fell off a ship in 2004.

During research expeditions, researchers occasionally retrieve trash from the deep sea. However, removing such debris on a large scale is prohibitively expensive, and can sometimes do more damage than simply leaving it in place.

Schlining noted, "The most frustrating thing for me is that most of the material we saw -- glass, metal, paper, plastic -- could be recycled." She and her coauthors hope that their findings will inspire coastal residents and ocean users to recycle their trash instead of allowing it to end up in the ocean. In the conclusion of their article, they wrote, "Ultimately, preventing the introduction of litter into the marine environment through increased public awareness remains the most efficient and cost-effective solution to this dilemma."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/nkLeWFuIWuw/130605144328.htm

George Jones tim tebow Farrah Abraham Tape farrah abraham amber heard act Google Now

Alzheimer's disease drugs linked to reduced risk of heart attacks

June 5, 2013 ? Drugs that are used for treating Alzheimer's disease in its early stages are linked to a reduced risk of heart attacks and death, according to a large study of over 7,000 people with Alzheimer's disease in Sweden.

The research, which is published online June 5 in the European Heart Journal, looked at cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs), such as donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine, which are used for treating mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease [1]. Side-effects of ChEIs include a beneficial effect on the vagus nerve, which controls the rate at which the heart beats, and some experimental studies have suggested that ChEIs could also have anti-inflammatory properties.

Professor Peter Nordstr?m, of Ume? University, Ume?, Sweden, and colleagues followed 7073 people with Alzheimer's disease, who were on the Swedish Dementia Registry from May 2007 to December 2010. They found that those who were on ChEIs had a 36% reduced risk of death from any cause, a 38% reduced risk of a myocardial infarction (heart attack) and a 26% reduced risk of death from cardiovascular causes such as stroke compared to people not taking ChEIs. These results included adjustments for various confounding factors such as age, sex, whether the diagnosis was for Alzheimer's dementia or Alzheimer's mixed dementia (where more than one type of dementia occur simultaneously), level of care, and medical history including medications for other conditions.

Prof Nordstr?m said: "If you translate these reductions in risk into absolute figures, it means that for every 100,000 people with Alzheimer's disease, there would be 180 fewer heart attacks -- 295 as opposed to 475 -- and 1125 fewer deaths from all causes -- 2000 versus 3125 -- every year among those taking ChEIs compared to those not using them."

Patients taking the highest recommended doses of ChEIs had the lowest risk of heart attack or death: 65% and 46% lower respectively compared with those who had never used ChEIs.

The researchers also checked whether the reduction in risk applied only to the use of ChEIs or was seen in other drug treatments for dementia. Memantine is a drug indicated for use in moderate to advanced Alzheimer's disease and works in a different way to ChEIs [2]. The researchers found it made no difference to the risk of heart attack or death from any cause.

Prof Nordstr?m said: "As far as we know, this is the first time that the use of ChEIs has been linked to a reduced risk of heart attacks and deaths from cardiovascular disease in general or from any cause. As this is an observational study, we cannot say that ChEI use is causing the reduction in risk, only that it is associated with a reduction. However, the strengths of the associations make them very interesting from the clinical point of view, although no clinical recommendations should be made on the basis of the results from our study. It would be of great value if a meta-analysis of previous, randomised controlled trials could be performed, as this might produce answers on which clinical recommendations could be based."

As the study was based on a nationwide group of patients, Prof Nordstr?m said it should be possible to extrapolate the findings to other countries.

[1] Donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine are also known by the trade names Aricept, Exelon and Reminyl respectively.

[2] Memantine is known by the trade name Ebixa.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/heart_disease/~3/slTtcSI-UK0/130605090257.htm

accenture match play george washington carver king cake fun. hepatitis c symptoms david bradley david foster wallace