drhewitt

A year ago there were less than 100,000 persons on federally funded UI benefits, the total will reach 3,000,000 by Sep/Oct this year. That is 3,000,000 people who have exhausted their state's 26 week unemployment program. There will be people who will exhaust even the Federal benefits and will drop out of the system altogether.

The number of unemployed do not include those on federally funded extended benefits which rose by almost 100,000. States reported 2,754,391 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending July 18, an increase of 97,512 from the prior week. There were 607,368 claimants in the comparable week in 2008. EUC weekly claims include both first and second tier activity. http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 463,062 in the week ending Aug. 1, a decrease of 48,296 from the previous week. There were 382,792 initial claims in the comparable week in 2008. The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.5 percent during the week ending July 25, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 5,987,728, a decrease of 116,319 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.4 percent and the volume was 3,166,763. Extended benefits were available in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin during the week ending July 18. Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,661 in the week ending July 25, a decrease of 30 from the prior week. There were 1,981 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 80 from the preceding week. There were 19,783 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending July 18, an increase of 1,066 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 30,107, an increase of 175 from the prior week. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending July 18 were in Puerto Rico (8.0 percent), Michigan (6.7), Oregon (6.5), Pennsylvania (6.5), Nevada (6.1), Wisconsin (5.7), Connecticut (5.5), New Jersey (5.5), California (5.4), Rhode Island (5.3), and South Carolina (5.3). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending July 25 were in Ohio (+891), Oklahoma (+644), Mississippi (+222), Louisiana (+154), and Alaska (+129), while the largest decreases were in North Carolina (-9,809), Michigan (-9,085), Florida (-8,714), Georgia (-6,948), and Alabama (-3,822).

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/schultz-p...cture-of-future In its current issue, HSL reports rumors that "Some U.S. embassies worldwide are being advised to purchase massive amounts of local currencies; enough to last them a year. Some embassies are being sent enormous amounts of U.S. cash to purchase currencies from those governments, quietly. But not pound sterling. Inside the State Dept., there is a sense of sadness and foreboding that 'something' is about to happen ... within 180 days, but could be 120-150 days." Yes, yes, it's paranoid. But paranoids have enemies -- and the Crash of 2008 really did happen. HSL's suspicion: "Another FDR-style 'bank holiday' of indefinite length, perhaps soon, to let the insiders sort out the bank mess, which (despite their rosy propaganda campaign) is getting more out of their control every day. Insiders want to impose new bank rules. Widespread nationalization could result, already underway. It could also lead to a formal U.S. dollar devaluation, as FDR did by revaluing gold (and then confiscating it)." HSL is still sticking with its 20-year "V" formation forecast, but emphasizes that within the current 10-year downtrend phase there will be rallies that will "last 1-2 years." It attributes its current success to "successfully trading almost daily, especially in commodity stocks (coal/potash/energy/ fertilizer/gold). Take profits constantly and rebuy on mini pullbacks. Prefer non-U.S. dollar companies; many such companies are listed in U.S. & Canada or Australia." HSL says: "The world is staggering today between stagflation and net deflation right now; it varies widely around globe. Net deflation is a maybe 35% risk, due to toxics and/or deepening depression. Bit more likely, we'll slowly creep up to a dangerous 4.5% inflation on average, medium-term. But the wild card is the currency risk, which has a 50% (?) chance of boiling over and causing literally overnight (i.e. 24 hours) mega inflation in the asset markets."

Unemployment rising Bankrupticies on the increase including corporate bankrupticies Rebound in stock market VI's talking up the housing market Banks paying back their TARP loans Pound strengthening against the dollar It was only a few weeks ago that journalist Daniel Estulin reported on this meeting: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article10903.html Bilderberg investigative journalist Daniel Estulin reported on the main item of the agenda, which was leaked to him by his sources inside. Though such reports cannot be verified, his sources, along with those of veteran Bilderberg tracker, Jim Tucker, have proven to be shockingly accurate in the past. Apparently, the main topic of discussion at this years meeting was to address the economic crisis, in terms of undertaking, “Either a prolonged, agonizing depression that dooms the world to decades of stagnation, decline and poverty ... or an intense-but-shorter depression that paves the way for a new sustainable economic world order, with less sovereignty but more efficiency.†Other items on the agenda included a plan to “continue to deceive millions of savers and investors who believe the hype about the supposed up-turn in the economy. They are about to be set up for massive losses and searing financial pain in the months ahead,†and “There will be a final push for the enactment of Lisbon Treaty, pending on Irish voting YES on the treaty in Sept or October,â€[1] which would give the European Union massive powers over its member nations, essentially making it a supranational regional government, with each country relegated to more of a provincial status.

What a tragedy. For many people in Britain, they are born crying, live miserably and die disappointed.

Adam Applegarth a star? Are bankers the new celebrities? They do sod all for society, they're just parasites, they produce nothing, they screw the system over and bring down economies.

Not quite Detroit - but hopefully getting there I must say I was surprised by the quality - I had expected a Victorian terrace with boarded up windows and door.

The problem with atheists is that they try so hard to convince themselves and others that God or the supernatural doesn't exist that it almost becomes a, dare I say it, belief system. Logic and reason itself is not enough to convince me - give me evidence. Deism isn't such a bad choice: "The belief, based solely on reason, in a God who created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural revelation."

RB, Atheism, IMHO, is not a religion. Religion is defined as "a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs." Atheism is the antithesis of faith - there are no core beliefs in the supernatural, no ritual, no form of worship - it is a belief without merit or valid argument. The Church of England has a lot to answer for, heck, they don't even accept the Bible as God's Word, and as for Rowan Williams he makes a mockery of the church he claims to represent. However, I am glad the bishops have spoken out against Gordon Clown's policies. The NuLabour government is not just financially bankrupt they are morally bankrupt. They are so liberal they put the devil to shame. Churches are supposed to remain independent of the state as Jesus said, "My Kingdom is no part of this world", however, I think the time has come for them to be more vocal about the society they claim to represent.

Ahh - life's little pleasures, "having a smoke" - more tax payer money wasted giving these smokers a new set of lungs when their own don't function anymore.

Having carefully read this story (admittedly with preconceived ideas) I am still left with some of my preconceived ideas. This woman is paying for her mistakes later in life. Having wasted her youth, she is now in a situation where she is at risk from employment discrimination having never held any type of gainful employment, but it is never too late to start again and there are opportunities even at her age to gain a qualification or useful skill. You have to some measure of sympathy, having lost both her parents and her exhusband in a brutal way, as well as her son being attacked. The best thing for this family is to move far away from that council estate and start over, with realistic goals. Employment would enable her to be a productive person and have a sense of purpose and accomplishment. At least one of her lads joined the army and did something useful. The younger daughter is at least looking for work.

"reminds me of the other baptism of adolescence, nicking from Woolies, first place most of us robbing scousers lost our *nicking virginity*" Way back in '91, we went on a school field trip - in Bognor!!! One of the students decided he would go into Woolies and nick some CDs causing great upset to his Geography teacher. Pick'n'Mix is the only part of Woolies I liked. When I last visited the UK ('06) I went into Woolies and every other toy seemed to be Dora the Explorer - she definitely gets around. To the dude who asked what Taco Bell was - it is a cheap Mexican fast food outlet - enchiladas - not bad if you've never had Mexican cuisine but nothing like home cooked Mexican food.

I have been keeping up to date with news events concerning Citi. What perfect timing to receive this email on a Monday morning. People think the FDIC has an unlimited pot of money - they don't have enough to cover everyone's account and after that runs out they have to apply to the Treasury for a line of credit.

I received an email this morning from Citibank. I'm saying nothing else, but this speaks volumes... Dear xxxxxxxxxx, Good news! Citibank is participating in the FDIC's Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program. Through December 31, 2009, all of your non-interest and interest bearing checking deposit account balances are fully guaranteed by the FDIC for the entire amount in your account. * And as a reminder, in October the FDIC increased the amount of insurance on eligible savings accounts -- such as savings, market rate, money market accounts, club and holiday accounts, and certificates of deposits -- from $100,000 to $250,000 through December 31, 2009.** To learn more about FDIC insurance, visit the agency's web site at www.fdic.gov or call a Citibank representative at 1-800-374-9700. You may also call the FDIC at 877-ASKFDIC (877-275-3342) or TDD 800-925-4618. * Coverage under the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program is in addition to and separate from the coverage available under the FDIC's general deposit insurance rules. ** The deposit insurance coverage limits refer to the total of all deposits that an account holder (or account holders) has at each FDIC-insured bank.

My dad used to work for British Rail. I accompanied him to work sometimes and saw a lot of these Red Star parcels everywere and a huge weighing machine which I used to jump on to see how high the needle could go.

Hey Cogs, that was interesting. I grew up in sunny Bognor - I remember during Year 9 watching a Butlins job commercial as part of our career lesson - what a load of rubbish. There wasn't the push to go to college or university then as there is now - you either did a 2 year NVQ if you weren't academically gifted or took your A levels.

I'm 32 - don't remember much, if any of the 90s recession - I was too busy studying for my GCSE's.

Darn, I always wanted a spectrum and had to putup with my ZX81. I remember them being 50 quid in Boots one time! That was my first computer back in '83.

This must either be mistake or a foreclosure http://www.findaproperty.com/displayprop.a...p;agentid=25662 3 bed house for sale: Dahomey Road, Streatham, London SW16 Very nice house in Streatham

A change is as good as a rest. I love travelling with my family and broadening my horizons, but I also like time spent at home as well. A holiday does not have to be an expensive trip abroad. It can be a road trip, day trip or something. I live in the US and have visited many states, seen different cultures, historic sites etc. At the same time we have kids, so we visit amsuement parks, Disneyland etc. Next year we're moving back (shock horror) to the UK and then I can visit all the interesting places I didn't get to see before. It does give us a break from routine. I never book packaged holidays as I can't stand having my whole vacation planned; I like to do it independently, hence the tour operators probably hate people like me

Very worrying indeed.... http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e728bc36-7206-11...00779fd18c.html Leap in inquiries on how to sack staff By Andrew Taylor, Employment Correspondent Published: August 25 2008 02:57 | Last updated: August 25 2008 02:57 Employment lawyers and legal helplines are reporting a sharp rise in businesses seeking advice on how to sack staff, suggesting a further surge in redundancies may be on the way. Allianz, the insurance group, says its legal helpline Lawphone last month received a record number of calls seeking advice on redundancy issues. More than a third of calls received by the helpline were about employment issues, compared with just 2.4 per cent in the same month last year, it said. Employment lawyers have also reported a rise in businesses seeking advice on redundancies as trading conditions have deteriorated over the summer. Travers Smith is one of many legal firms reporting a “surge in inquiries from employers asking us about the implications of redundancies recently, following the spate of job losses announced over the last few weeks”. Financial institutions and construction companies have announced more than 10,000 job losses since the end of June. But there is growing concern that redundancies will spread to other sectors as faltering consumer confidence affects other areas of the economy. The disclosure last week that Marks and Spencer wants to reduce redundancy benefits for staff has sparked union fears that the retail group is preparing the way for large-scale job cuts. Ian George, senior solicitor at Allianz Legal Protection, says: “We are seeing an unprecedented number of redundancy-related calls. It started off in the transport and logistics sectors and has seen rapid growth across the UK, and clearly reflects the current economic environment.” Lawyers warn that managers, particularly of small and medium-sized businesses, may have little experience of coping with a downturn and could fall foul of employment laws if they fail to follow proper procedures. “The law has moved on since the last economic slowdown in the UK. Employees have greater rights and are entitled to procedural fairness in relation to a dismissal,” says Mr George. “It is important that businesses follow proper processes or else run the risk of tribunals, which can be both costly and damaging. Many employers don’t realise that you must have a period of consultation before making redundancies.” Mace & Jones, a law firm, says: “Employers planning redundancies should be on ‘red alert’ for falling foul of employment law.” Phil Allen, employment law partner, says: “Employers can walk into a minefield of costly and time-consuming problems if they mismanage the redundancy process. “The process needs to be properly planned ... a series of meetings needs to be held. Consideration should be given to full staff meetings and consulting with elected staff representatives, which is legally required for larger exercises. There must always be one-to-one meetings before written notice.” Staff must be given the opportunity to respond to being placed at risk of redundancy and alternative ways in which they could keep their job should be discussed with them, Mr Allen says. “Ultimately this is a highly sensitive process where it is easy to fall foul of the legislation.” Managers trying to cherry-pick which staff they want to get rid of could also run into trouble, warns Allianz. It says that it has received “a number of the calls ... from firms who have admitted that they want to try to use redundancy as a way of getting rid of unpopular or difficult employees”. This could lead to “an unprecedented level of disputes heard by employment tribunals if companies follow this route and fail to carry out the necessary legal redundancy procedures”, it warns. Dorothy Henderson, a partner at Travers Smith, says: “It’s clear the economic climate looks more and more gloomy, with increasing threats of job cuts.” But “dismissing employees for a sound financial reason will not be enough to avoid legal claims. Under UK employment law, employers must also show that they have acted reasonably and followed a proper process.” About 126,000 redundancies were recorded during the three months to the end of June – 13 per cent higher than in the previous three months and 5 per cent higher than in the second quarter of last year. The total is still small by historical standards but seems likely to rise further.

I have to agree with you RB - I'm moving back to the UK next Fall and worried about losing half my money, now I'm worried about losing a quarter of my money. Roll on $1.50

This certainly bucks the trend

My contribution

Seriously, It's time to start growing your own stuff, that's what my parents do. If you have a garden, get a greenhouse, seed and fertilizer.