US firms switching to four-days a week
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
From Fazle Rashid
NEW YORK, Dec 22: The US companies, instead of resorting to more painful options of lay-offs, are switching to four-days a week in their desperate cost-cutting bids. Among other cost-cutting measures are unpaid vacations, voluntary or forced furloughs, wage freezes, shrinking pension benefits and flexible working hours.
In one US university 300 teachers have volunteered to give up one per cent of their pay. This would save at least $100,000 and prevent lay-offs of many employees. As the American economy sinks deeper into one of the more punishing recessions frustration and fear colour the national conversation, the New York Times (NYT) reported today.
Some 533,000 jobs disappeared from the economy in November. The US unemployment, many experts fear, could reach double digit figure in 2009. President-elect Obama put in a very tight spot has revised his proposed economic stimulus with a projection of creating or saving 500,000 jobs. Obama raised his jobs target over the next two years to three million up from 2.5 million set last month after unemployment figure hit its highest level in 15 years, a reputed paper reported.
The new US move came in the wake of a stern warning sounded by International Monetary Fund (IMF) that governments across the globe must act more aggressively to prevent a deeper slump. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF managing director in an interview with BBC radio said, "inadequate stimulus measures risked making the slowdown worse than expected next year." 'I am specially concerned by the fact that our (IMF's) forecast already very dark will be even darker if not enough fiscal stimulus is implemented,' a reputed daily quoted the IMF chief as saying.
The IMF has called for a combined stimulus in 2009 of $1200 billion amid fears of the deepest economic slump since the great depression of the 30s. The US vice-president elect Joe Biden told an American tv network that the economy is in much worse shape that we thought it was. He predicted that the economy is in "danger of absolutely tanking without bold action." No firm figure is being quoted but it would the biggest US intervention in economy.
As new details unfurl about the Bernard Madoff fraud case, the biggest in Wall Street, many heads are likely to roll in the coming days. Big accounting companies which oversaw many of the feeder funds that funneled billions of dollars into largest fraud ever perpetrated will stand to trial. Fairfield Greenwich Group, a hedge fund advisory firm, is the worst victim of the Madoff financial scandal, NYT said.
The gloom of a deepening economic crisis pervades the world without any discrimination.
Workers at Silicon Valley's biggest companies will find themselves spending uncommonly long time with their families this Christmas as the TI industry responds to the downturn with office and factory closures and enforced holidays. The world is waiting and hoping Chinese consumers will help rescue the global economy. But that does not seem to be a possibility and with capital markets seized up, Chinese companies face problem funding growth.
NEW YORK, Dec 22: The US companies, instead of resorting to more painful options of lay-offs, are switching to four-days a week in their desperate cost-cutting bids. Among other cost-cutting measures are unpaid vacations, voluntary or forced furloughs, wage freezes, shrinking pension benefits and flexible working hours.
In one US university 300 teachers have volunteered to give up one per cent of their pay. This would save at least $100,000 and prevent lay-offs of many employees. As the American economy sinks deeper into one of the more punishing recessions frustration and fear colour the national conversation, the New York Times (NYT) reported today.
Some 533,000 jobs disappeared from the economy in November. The US unemployment, many experts fear, could reach double digit figure in 2009. President-elect Obama put in a very tight spot has revised his proposed economic stimulus with a projection of creating or saving 500,000 jobs. Obama raised his jobs target over the next two years to three million up from 2.5 million set last month after unemployment figure hit its highest level in 15 years, a reputed paper reported.
The new US move came in the wake of a stern warning sounded by International Monetary Fund (IMF) that governments across the globe must act more aggressively to prevent a deeper slump. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF managing director in an interview with BBC radio said, "inadequate stimulus measures risked making the slowdown worse than expected next year." 'I am specially concerned by the fact that our (IMF's) forecast already very dark will be even darker if not enough fiscal stimulus is implemented,' a reputed daily quoted the IMF chief as saying.
The IMF has called for a combined stimulus in 2009 of $1200 billion amid fears of the deepest economic slump since the great depression of the 30s. The US vice-president elect Joe Biden told an American tv network that the economy is in much worse shape that we thought it was. He predicted that the economy is in "danger of absolutely tanking without bold action." No firm figure is being quoted but it would the biggest US intervention in economy.
As new details unfurl about the Bernard Madoff fraud case, the biggest in Wall Street, many heads are likely to roll in the coming days. Big accounting companies which oversaw many of the feeder funds that funneled billions of dollars into largest fraud ever perpetrated will stand to trial. Fairfield Greenwich Group, a hedge fund advisory firm, is the worst victim of the Madoff financial scandal, NYT said.
The gloom of a deepening economic crisis pervades the world without any discrimination.
Workers at Silicon Valley's biggest companies will find themselves spending uncommonly long time with their families this Christmas as the TI industry responds to the downturn with office and factory closures and enforced holidays. The world is waiting and hoping Chinese consumers will help rescue the global economy. But that does not seem to be a possibility and with capital markets seized up, Chinese companies face problem funding growth.