Category: News Desk

Infographic: ‘Tis The Seasonal Worker


While the rest  of us enjoy our holiday season, the retail industry is in overdrive. Additional consumer demands during the period requires extra workers and extra time in order to get through the season. Every year, American retailers will hire anywhere between 480,000 and 500,000 temporary employees just for the holidays.

But finding the right employees takes considerable effort and training. Check out this infographic, which examines the world of seasonal employment, as well providing a best hiring practice for the holidays.

No One Will Be Safe From The Eurozone Crisis, Warns IMF Chief


IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde has called on all the nations around the world to come to the eurozone’s aid, warning that a failure to act collectively could eventually lead to protectionism and isolation reminiscent of the 1930s depression.

FDI In China Falls For The First Time In 28 Months


Foreign direct investment into China shrunk by 9.8 percent year-on-year to $8.8 billion last month, according to data released by the Chinese Commerce Ministry on Thursday.

The figure was the first time in 28 months that FDI growth for China had decreased, with the weakened global economy, particularly in the United States and Europe, seen as the primary cause for downturn.

Democrats Drop Millionaire Tax Proposal


 

Democrats are thrashing plans to impose a tax on millionaires as the Congress attempts to find its way out of a high-profile year-end spending dispute.

According to latest reports by Reuters, Obama discussed abandoning the surtax, which Republicans have been quick to criticise as a levy on job creators.

The Most Valuable Brand In China?


In a survey commissioned by advertising conglomerate WPP, Chinese web and social media companies like Baidu and Sina featured strongly in the valuation of China’s top 50 brands. But it was the China Mobile, the company with the world’s largest amount of cash holdings that took the coveted spot as China’s most valuable brand.

Brands in China never have been more important.

Head of UK Armed Forces: Eurozone Crisis Could Pose Military Threat


The ongoing eurozone debt crisis is the single greatest threat to Britain’s current state of national security, claimed the UK’s Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir David Richards on Wednesday.

“I am clear that the single biggest strategic risk facing the UK today is economic rather than military,” said Richards in his end of year analysis speech in London, as quoted by AFP.

China Slaps “Anti-Dumping And Anti-Subsidy” Duties On US-Made Cars


The Chinese government has unexpectedly imposed new anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on sport utility vehicles and midsize and large cars imported from the US, in what many believe to be a retaliatory move against similar actions by the US towards Chinese-made products.

The new tariffs, which will take effect on Thursday, are largely seen to be a symbolic gesture, considering how many US automakers now primarily make much of what they sell in China domestically through joint ventures with other Chinese auto companies.

Which Country Has The Healthiest Financial System? Hint: It’s in Asia


Hong Kong has edged out the United States and the United Kingdom, for the first time, to come out tops in the World Economic Forum’s Financial Development Index.

According to the Geneva-based non-governmental organisation, Hong Kong is also the first Asian country to top the scoreboard, in the WEF’s annual report released Tuesday.

Facebook Targets Mobile Ads By March 2012


Facebook will launch its mobile advertising unit by March next year, giving the social media giant a new revenue source ahead of its upcoming IPO, said sources close to the company in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday.

Microsoft Co-Founder Plans $200 Million Private Spaceflight Venture


Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has announced plans to build the world’s largest aircraft, which will serve as a mobile mid-air platform to launch satellites and rocket ships into space.

The 58-year old billionaire’s new company, Stratolaunch Systems Inc, will bring “airport-like operations to the launch of commercial and government payloads and, eventually, human missions,” through the creation of a 117-metre wide plane that would need 6 jumbo jet engines to take off, and have a gross weight of more than 544,000 kilograms.