"To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy," the queen said in a televised speech at a banquet in Dublin Castle, once the nerve centre of British rule in Ireland.
Dressed in a floor-length white gown with a diamond harp brooch glittering on her shoulder, the queen floored the assembled dignitaries when she began by addressing Ireland's President Mary McAleese and the audience in the Irish language.
"Wow," McAleese exclaimed, and the room burst into a spontaneous round of applause.
In her four-day state visit, the first by a British monarch since Ireland won its independence from London in 1921, the queen has shown a determination to address the bloody past and offer powerful gestures of reconciliation.
Her speech stopped short of an apology for British brutality but its reference to: "being able to bow to the past, but not be bound by it" struck the right note with Irish people, many of whom believe the country needs to leave its troubled relationship with Britain in the past.
The queen, whose cousin was killed by militant Irish nationalists in 1979, also alluded to her own loss in an address which was watched in living rooms across the island.
"These events have touched us all, many of us personally, and are a painful legacy."
HISTORIC STADIUM VISIT
Just hours earlier, the queen undertook one of the most daring diplomatic engagements of her 59-year reign when she stepped out into Ireland's Croke Park stadium, scene of a massacre by British troops.
In a gesture that summed up how far relations between Ireland and its former colonial master have come, the queen was brought into Croke Park through the Hogan Stand, named after a player killed on "Bloody Sunday" nearly a century ago.
She met players, chatted about Irish sport and was entertained by a marching band and traditional dancing, although the seats around the vast stadium were empty -- a reflection of the tight security around the trip.
"It'll put some demons to rest, bring a bit of closure," said Phil Dolwer, 32, a chef working in a cafe around the corner from Croke Park. "The time is right."
A 1998 deal ending Irish nationalists' guerrilla war in Northern Ireland paved the way for the queen's visit but the threat from dissident nationalists has meant security is tighter than on trips to other countries. There are no public walkabouts and streets around venues have been cleared of onlookers.
Before guests at Dublin Castle tucked into a dinner of cured salmon, rib of beef and strawberries and cream, around 500 metres (550 yards) away a crowd of up to 100 people threw rocks and fireworks at police officers.
"It doesn't matter what she says, her army is still in this country," said Sean Keogh, a 21-year-old history student.
SYMBOLIC AND SOMBRE
Guests at the state dinner included political leaders from north and south of the Irish border as well as Brian O'Driscoll, Ireland's rugby captain, Willie Walsh, the Irishman at the helm of British Airways, and Seamus Heaney, a Nobel Prize winner for literature.
Leaders of Sinn Fein, the largest nationalist party in Northern Ireland and an opponent of continuing British involvement in the province, did not attend.
Even a few years ago, the presence of the queen, the commander in chief of British armed forces, in Croke Park would have been too much for many Irish people.
The stadium is an iconic place for nationalists. In 1920, during Ireland's war for independence, British troops opened fire on a crowd there after 14 British intelligence officers were killed in the city the night before.
Fourteen civilians, one aged 10, were killed and "Bloody Sunday," a rallying cry for the nationalist cause, was born.
Peace in Northern Ireland and Prime Minister David Cameron's apology last year for Northern Ireland's "Bloody Sunday" in 1972 when British troops killed 13 protesters, cleared the way for the queen to visit.
Source: Reuters by Carmel Crimmins
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Thursday, May 19, 2011
Japan nuclear crisis still "very serious"-IAEA head
Japan's nuclear crisis remains very serious but there are some signs of progress, the head of the U.N. atomic agency said on Thursday.
Japan this week unveiled new plans to contain the crisis at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant after admitting it faced greater challenges than first disclosed. But it kept to a goal of bringing the reactors under control by January.
"It (the Fukushima nuclear emergency) is a very serious accident and it still continues," said Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"The situation continues to be very serious but we have some signs of recovery, like the recovery of electricity or instrumentation, and the government of Japan has just announced a plan to stabilise the reactors," Amano told reporters.
Earlier on Thursday, operator Tokyo Electric (9501.T) said workers had entered the last of three reactor buildings hit by nuclear fuel meltdowns at Fukushima, which has been leaking radiation for more than two months.
The utility's efforts to stabilise the plant suffered a further setback this week when it learned of leaks in the three reactors' pressure vessels.
Source: Reuters(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; editing by Michel Rose)
Japan this week unveiled new plans to contain the crisis at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant after admitting it faced greater challenges than first disclosed. But it kept to a goal of bringing the reactors under control by January.
"It (the Fukushima nuclear emergency) is a very serious accident and it still continues," said Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"The situation continues to be very serious but we have some signs of recovery, like the recovery of electricity or instrumentation, and the government of Japan has just announced a plan to stabilise the reactors," Amano told reporters.
Earlier on Thursday, operator Tokyo Electric (9501.T) said workers had entered the last of three reactor buildings hit by nuclear fuel meltdowns at Fukushima, which has been leaking radiation for more than two months.
The utility's efforts to stabilise the plant suffered a further setback this week when it learned of leaks in the three reactors' pressure vessels.
Source: Reuters(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; editing by Michel Rose)
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
SEC to propose new regulations for credit-raters
Credit-rating agencies will have to disclose more details about their ratings process and better manage conflicts of interest under rules unveiled on Wednesday that are expected to lightly touch industry practices.
The 500-plus pages of proposals by the Securities and Exchange Commission aim to ensure credit-raters don't rubber-stamp complex financial products and would seek to manage conflicts that could arise if analysts leave their jobs to work for the firms issuing the products they rate.
The proposals are all required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street overhaul law in an effort to hold the firms such as Moody's Corp (MCO.N), McGraw Hill's (MHP.N) Standard and Poor's and Fimalac SA's (LBCP.PA) Fitch Ratings more accountable for their performance after they slapped inflated ratings on complex mortgage securities during the financial crisis.
However, none of Wednesday's proposals strike directly at the heart of what many say is an inherent conflict of interest at the big three credit-rating agencies which all get paid by issuers.
The measures being considered on Wednesday include requiring raters to provide the SEC with an annual report that assesses the effectiveness of each firm's internal controls, and establishing training and testing protocols for credit analysts to ensure they are well versed on rating methods.
Raters would also be subject to more robust disclosure rules about their initial ratings and any subsequent changes so the investing public can better gauge their accuracy and quality.
In order to make sure that rating methodologies are solid, each firm's board of directors will have to sign off on them. If any material errors are uncovered, the firm will have to publish a notice about the changes.
For addressing conflicts of interest, the proposal would create a firewall of sorts between the sales and marketing division and the division that establishes and monitors ratings. Any firm that violates this provision could be subject to penalties, and smaller companies with fewer resources could seek an exemption from this requirement.
In addition, the proposals would implement a "look back" provision by which credit-raters would need to establish procedures to monitor when employees leave the company to work for an issuer that received a rating within a one-year time frame.
The firms would be responsible for determining if any conflicts exist and whether they need to re-issue the rating.
In addition to rules targeting credit-raters, the SEC on Wednesday will also consider a plan that requires third-party firms conducting due diligence reviews of asset-backed securities to certify the information provided to the credit-raters.
Some of the proposals put forth on Wednesday build upon prior regulations previously adopted by the SEC. Some of the plans, such as the "look back" provisions and separations between commercial and analyst sides of the business, are already in place at the big firms.
A bipartisan report issued last month by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations blamed Moody's and S&P for helping trigger the crisis after they were forced to downgrade inflated ratings en masse. The report highlighted the conflicts posed by the so-called "issuer-paid" model as well as other factors that led to inflated ratings.
In internal e-mails obtained by the committee, employees at both companies appeared to have a solid grasp of the deteriorating housing market well before the bubble burst, with one S&P employee describing it like "watching a hurricane from FL (Florida) moving up the coast."
Even with the findings of this latest report, the major credit-raters have not faced any civil or criminal charges in connection with their behavior in the crisis, and their earnings have not greatly suffered, either.
Dodd-Frank requires the SEC to address the inherent conflict discussed in the Senate report, but delays any immediate action on the matter.
Earlier this month, the SEC began the process by soliciting public comments for a study on the feasibility of establishing a system where a public or private utility would assign a credit-rater to determine ratings for structured products
Source: Reuters(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, editing by Dave Zimmerman)
The 500-plus pages of proposals by the Securities and Exchange Commission aim to ensure credit-raters don't rubber-stamp complex financial products and would seek to manage conflicts that could arise if analysts leave their jobs to work for the firms issuing the products they rate.
The proposals are all required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street overhaul law in an effort to hold the firms such as Moody's Corp (MCO.N), McGraw Hill's (MHP.N) Standard and Poor's and Fimalac SA's (LBCP.PA) Fitch Ratings more accountable for their performance after they slapped inflated ratings on complex mortgage securities during the financial crisis.
However, none of Wednesday's proposals strike directly at the heart of what many say is an inherent conflict of interest at the big three credit-rating agencies which all get paid by issuers.
The measures being considered on Wednesday include requiring raters to provide the SEC with an annual report that assesses the effectiveness of each firm's internal controls, and establishing training and testing protocols for credit analysts to ensure they are well versed on rating methods.
Raters would also be subject to more robust disclosure rules about their initial ratings and any subsequent changes so the investing public can better gauge their accuracy and quality.
In order to make sure that rating methodologies are solid, each firm's board of directors will have to sign off on them. If any material errors are uncovered, the firm will have to publish a notice about the changes.
For addressing conflicts of interest, the proposal would create a firewall of sorts between the sales and marketing division and the division that establishes and monitors ratings. Any firm that violates this provision could be subject to penalties, and smaller companies with fewer resources could seek an exemption from this requirement.
In addition, the proposals would implement a "look back" provision by which credit-raters would need to establish procedures to monitor when employees leave the company to work for an issuer that received a rating within a one-year time frame.
The firms would be responsible for determining if any conflicts exist and whether they need to re-issue the rating.
In addition to rules targeting credit-raters, the SEC on Wednesday will also consider a plan that requires third-party firms conducting due diligence reviews of asset-backed securities to certify the information provided to the credit-raters.
Some of the proposals put forth on Wednesday build upon prior regulations previously adopted by the SEC. Some of the plans, such as the "look back" provisions and separations between commercial and analyst sides of the business, are already in place at the big firms.
A bipartisan report issued last month by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations blamed Moody's and S&P for helping trigger the crisis after they were forced to downgrade inflated ratings en masse. The report highlighted the conflicts posed by the so-called "issuer-paid" model as well as other factors that led to inflated ratings.
In internal e-mails obtained by the committee, employees at both companies appeared to have a solid grasp of the deteriorating housing market well before the bubble burst, with one S&P employee describing it like "watching a hurricane from FL (Florida) moving up the coast."
Even with the findings of this latest report, the major credit-raters have not faced any civil or criminal charges in connection with their behavior in the crisis, and their earnings have not greatly suffered, either.
Dodd-Frank requires the SEC to address the inherent conflict discussed in the Senate report, but delays any immediate action on the matter.
Earlier this month, the SEC began the process by soliciting public comments for a study on the feasibility of establishing a system where a public or private utility would assign a credit-rater to determine ratings for structured products
Source: Reuters(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, editing by Dave Zimmerman)
Financial sector 'looking to hire' in the UK
The public sector is facing its worst jobs outlook since the early 1990s when the UK was deep in recession, a new report warns.
Research among 2,100 employers found that the gloomy news from the public sector was offset by brighter hiring intentions in private firms.
Recruitment firm Manpower said its study found that finance, banking and business services had emerged from two years of "horrendous" cuts to be predicting new jobs.
But public sector employers had the lowest hiring intentions since the early 1990s, said Manpower.
Managing director Mark Cahill said: "We've heard a lot over the last few years about how the economy needs rebalancing. However, it seems that the sector that has been accused of getting us into the mess in the first place - finance, banking and business services - is the very sector that is leading the way into recovery.
"Some of our clients - including a number of the big high street banks - are asking Manpower to fill twice the number of positions that they were last year.
"These new jobs are not the high-rolling stereotypical bankers. They are overwhelmingly back office and support positions, which are the engine room of any large organisation.
"With the latest Government statistics showing youth unemployment running at a shocking one in five, those in the 16-25 age bracket should note that there are real opportunities within finance, banking and business services."
Source: www.check4jobs.com
Research among 2,100 employers found that the gloomy news from the public sector was offset by brighter hiring intentions in private firms.
Recruitment firm Manpower said its study found that finance, banking and business services had emerged from two years of "horrendous" cuts to be predicting new jobs.
But public sector employers had the lowest hiring intentions since the early 1990s, said Manpower.
Managing director Mark Cahill said: "We've heard a lot over the last few years about how the economy needs rebalancing. However, it seems that the sector that has been accused of getting us into the mess in the first place - finance, banking and business services - is the very sector that is leading the way into recovery.
"Some of our clients - including a number of the big high street banks - are asking Manpower to fill twice the number of positions that they were last year.
"These new jobs are not the high-rolling stereotypical bankers. They are overwhelmingly back office and support positions, which are the engine room of any large organisation.
"With the latest Government statistics showing youth unemployment running at a shocking one in five, those in the 16-25 age bracket should note that there are real opportunities within finance, banking and business services."
Source: www.check4jobs.com
Monday, May 16, 2011
Why Older Workers Create Their Own Jobs
Deborah Ramsey went to work straight out of high school in the 1970s, working her way through the now-familiar rounds of layoffs, promotions and job changes at a series of banking, insurance and consulting companies in Philadelphia, her hometown. “I did my bit,” she recalls.
In 2005, she was working as an administrator for a technology consulting firm that was undergoing restructuring. “A lot of people were being laid off or leaving. I had been through two big layoffs before, I knew what they smelled like.” Ramsey decided to leave voluntarily, spurred by the changing work environment and caregiving responsibilities at home, where she looks after a mentally disabled daughter, an aging mother and mother-in-law, and her husband, a disabled veteran.
At age 52, she was ready for a change. Over the years, she had developed a strong interest in herbal remedies and massage therapy to help her daughter, who also suffers from asthma.
“I figured I had 20 good years left of life. I knew I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing, and I needed to do something for myself. And I had been getting massages myself and really enjoyed it. It seemed to me women my age needed to start relaxing and enjoying life more, so I started Googling massage schools and wound up going back to school to get trained as a professional massage therapist.”
While she trained, Ramsey remodeled her basement and installed a massage table; and her first “clients” were friends who agreed to let Ramsey practice her new skills on them. Her practice flourished, and she moved out of the basement in 2009 to open her own inner city storefront natural wellness and spa, with help of the Women’s Opportunity Resource Center, a nonprofit that helped Ramsey with training and a $35,000 loan.
Ramsey’s transition underscores an important trend among workers over age 50 who find themselves bounced out of the workforce. Many are choosing to become self-employed entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs age 55 to 64 represent a rising share of start-up activity, according to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, accounting for 23 percent of new entrepreneurs in 2010, up from 14.5 percent in 1996.
The shift comes against a backdrop of continued tough times for older workers, as reflected in last week’s report on April unemployment. The jobless rate for workers over age 55 stood at 6.5 percent in April — considerably lower than its peak of 7.3 percent last August, and much lower than the overall nine percent rate.
But older unemployed workers are having a much more difficult time finding new work. Last month, job searches required 44.6 weeks for workers age 55-64, much higher than for younger workers.
“Things may be getting a bit better in general, but for workers over 55, not much,” says Richard Johnson, senior fellow and director of The Urban Institute’s program on retirement policy. “For older people who lose jobs it’s really hard to get a new one.”
The tough jobs climate fuels an instinct many baby boomers harbored before the recession to strike out on their own, says Jeff Williams, CEO of Bizstarters, a company that provides coaching and training to older entrepreneurs.
“For five years before the recession, boomers were jumping into entrepreneurship like crazy,” he says. “They wanted to to keep working, even if it wasn’t in a corporate environment — very few were saying they wanted to play golf five days a week. But now they also are saying they don’t have enough money. They’re much worse off than they were two years ago.”
Williams, who also does workforce training in suburban Chicago, says he finds that about 35 percent of the 50-plus jobless workers he helps are finding new positions. But for many, the new positions last less than 18 months. “They’re really getting hired to do projects,” he says. “The companies don’t describe it that way, but 18 months later they’re being told that the project they were hired for is going away, and so are you. People are starting to understand that we’re all independent contractors now.”
Re-employed workers also typically take a pay cut of about 25 percent, Williams says. That’s confirmed by Johnson’s research, which shows that displaced workers age 50 to 61 typically see median hourly wages fall 20 percent below previous pay.
Ramsey’s story was featured recently at Over 50 and Out of Work, a web project by independent journalist Susan Sipprelle that has set its sights on showcasing the plight of 100 out-of-work boomers, alongside interviews with experts on economic policy and employment.
Ramsey’s business model has evolved since she started in the basement. “We’ve moved from a focus on pampering and relaxation to a medical orientation. We’re doing natural treatments for things like fibromyalgia and arthritis, and weight reduction for older women. That’s where the money is.”
She employs two other therapists now, and three friends have started related businesses through their association with Ramsey’s work. “I’m doing more now than I could have ever imagined,” she says. “I don’t know why I didn’t do this sooner.”
Information provided from Reuters May 2011
In 2005, she was working as an administrator for a technology consulting firm that was undergoing restructuring. “A lot of people were being laid off or leaving. I had been through two big layoffs before, I knew what they smelled like.” Ramsey decided to leave voluntarily, spurred by the changing work environment and caregiving responsibilities at home, where she looks after a mentally disabled daughter, an aging mother and mother-in-law, and her husband, a disabled veteran.
At age 52, she was ready for a change. Over the years, she had developed a strong interest in herbal remedies and massage therapy to help her daughter, who also suffers from asthma.
“I figured I had 20 good years left of life. I knew I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing, and I needed to do something for myself. And I had been getting massages myself and really enjoyed it. It seemed to me women my age needed to start relaxing and enjoying life more, so I started Googling massage schools and wound up going back to school to get trained as a professional massage therapist.”
While she trained, Ramsey remodeled her basement and installed a massage table; and her first “clients” were friends who agreed to let Ramsey practice her new skills on them. Her practice flourished, and she moved out of the basement in 2009 to open her own inner city storefront natural wellness and spa, with help of the Women’s Opportunity Resource Center, a nonprofit that helped Ramsey with training and a $35,000 loan.
Ramsey’s transition underscores an important trend among workers over age 50 who find themselves bounced out of the workforce. Many are choosing to become self-employed entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs age 55 to 64 represent a rising share of start-up activity, according to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, accounting for 23 percent of new entrepreneurs in 2010, up from 14.5 percent in 1996.
The shift comes against a backdrop of continued tough times for older workers, as reflected in last week’s report on April unemployment. The jobless rate for workers over age 55 stood at 6.5 percent in April — considerably lower than its peak of 7.3 percent last August, and much lower than the overall nine percent rate.
But older unemployed workers are having a much more difficult time finding new work. Last month, job searches required 44.6 weeks for workers age 55-64, much higher than for younger workers.
“Things may be getting a bit better in general, but for workers over 55, not much,” says Richard Johnson, senior fellow and director of The Urban Institute’s program on retirement policy. “For older people who lose jobs it’s really hard to get a new one.”
The tough jobs climate fuels an instinct many baby boomers harbored before the recession to strike out on their own, says Jeff Williams, CEO of Bizstarters, a company that provides coaching and training to older entrepreneurs.
“For five years before the recession, boomers were jumping into entrepreneurship like crazy,” he says. “They wanted to to keep working, even if it wasn’t in a corporate environment — very few were saying they wanted to play golf five days a week. But now they also are saying they don’t have enough money. They’re much worse off than they were two years ago.”
Williams, who also does workforce training in suburban Chicago, says he finds that about 35 percent of the 50-plus jobless workers he helps are finding new positions. But for many, the new positions last less than 18 months. “They’re really getting hired to do projects,” he says. “The companies don’t describe it that way, but 18 months later they’re being told that the project they were hired for is going away, and so are you. People are starting to understand that we’re all independent contractors now.”
Re-employed workers also typically take a pay cut of about 25 percent, Williams says. That’s confirmed by Johnson’s research, which shows that displaced workers age 50 to 61 typically see median hourly wages fall 20 percent below previous pay.
Ramsey’s story was featured recently at Over 50 and Out of Work, a web project by independent journalist Susan Sipprelle that has set its sights on showcasing the plight of 100 out-of-work boomers, alongside interviews with experts on economic policy and employment.
Ramsey’s business model has evolved since she started in the basement. “We’ve moved from a focus on pampering and relaxation to a medical orientation. We’re doing natural treatments for things like fibromyalgia and arthritis, and weight reduction for older women. That’s where the money is.”
She employs two other therapists now, and three friends have started related businesses through their association with Ramsey’s work. “I’m doing more now than I could have ever imagined,” she says. “I don’t know why I didn’t do this sooner.”
Information provided from Reuters May 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
Language skills ‘prevent Brits getting EU jobs’
EU Parliament holds first careers fair in London
A lack of foreign language skills means Britons are under-represented in the workforce of European Union (EU) institutions, according to a senior official.
UK workers are taking only 5 per cent of jobs available in the European Parliament and Commission – although the UK contains 12 per cent of the EU’s population.
Today the European Parliament is holding its first dedicated careers fair in London, in a bid to tackle the problem.
Michael Shackleton, head of the European Parliament Information Office in the UK, said: “People like me are coming to retirement and it’s very clear there are not enough people to take our places.
“I think it matters at all levels of the institutions not just at the highest levels. Having people from British backgrounds adds to the mix – it's really important if you want to influence what is going on."
He added: “The balance of the use of language has been in favour of English, but to understand what people are thinking about you also have to get a sense of them and how they see the world.”
Today’s careers event, What it's really like working for the EU, is designed to give school leavers, graduates and those seeking a career change the opportunity to speak to EU civil servants in a range of jobs, from interpreters and scientists, to policy-makers and secretarial support.
Since the last government made learning foreign languages optional in England from the age of 14, there has been a decline in the numbers of students studying them to GCSE level.
The proportion of students taking language GCSEs has fallen from 61 per cent in 2005 to 44 per cent in 2010.
However, the coalition government has introduced the English Baccalaureate, which will be awarded to students gaining good GCSE passes in English, maths, two science qualifications, a foreign or ancient language, and history or geography.
Source: PM Newdesk
A lack of foreign language skills means Britons are under-represented in the workforce of European Union (EU) institutions, according to a senior official.
UK workers are taking only 5 per cent of jobs available in the European Parliament and Commission – although the UK contains 12 per cent of the EU’s population.
Today the European Parliament is holding its first dedicated careers fair in London, in a bid to tackle the problem.
Michael Shackleton, head of the European Parliament Information Office in the UK, said: “People like me are coming to retirement and it’s very clear there are not enough people to take our places.
“I think it matters at all levels of the institutions not just at the highest levels. Having people from British backgrounds adds to the mix – it's really important if you want to influence what is going on."
He added: “The balance of the use of language has been in favour of English, but to understand what people are thinking about you also have to get a sense of them and how they see the world.”
Today’s careers event, What it's really like working for the EU, is designed to give school leavers, graduates and those seeking a career change the opportunity to speak to EU civil servants in a range of jobs, from interpreters and scientists, to policy-makers and secretarial support.
Since the last government made learning foreign languages optional in England from the age of 14, there has been a decline in the numbers of students studying them to GCSE level.
The proportion of students taking language GCSEs has fallen from 61 per cent in 2005 to 44 per cent in 2010.
However, the coalition government has introduced the English Baccalaureate, which will be awarded to students gaining good GCSE passes in English, maths, two science qualifications, a foreign or ancient language, and history or geography.
Source: PM Newdesk
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