Global Economic Crisis

20,000 Indians return having lost jobs abroad

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:26:00 +0000

February 26, 2009 14:14 IST

About 20,000 Indians have returned home after losing their jobs overseas due to the global economic crisis, the government said on Thursday.

Though the exact number of people who have returned is not available, there are reports which indicate that between 16,000 to 20,000 Indians have come back here after the economic slowdown, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vyalar Ravi told the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour.

Rediff

Layoffs in India - search at Jobeehive.com

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:42:00 +0000

source: http://www.jobeehive.com/company/layoffs

Layoffs at App Labs in February 2009

Hyderabad, India Posted on: February 07, 2009 14:10
Number of Employees: 120+
Percentage of Employees: 20%
Level: All
Department: Development and Testing
Notice Period Offered: No
Severance Package Offered: No
Source: Company employee

Layoffs at Wipro Technologies in January 2009

Banglore, Chennai, Hyderabad, India Posted on: February 07, 2009 13:32
Number of Employees: More than 200 - Highly Paid employees
Percentage of Employees: 40% in March 2009
Level: Band C1, Band C2, Band D1
Department: All
Notice Period Offered: No
Severance Package Offered: No
Source: Secret
Comments: WIPRO starting firing its employees (Jan 2009). It is planning to give pink slips for around 5000 employees by end of March 2009. WIPRO did not get any new projects for the current year and still looking for 33% operational margin, which is difficult to get new projects. No job security for the employees.

source: http://www.jobeehive.com/company/layoffs

Indian IT industry facing unprecedent crisis: Nilekani

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:17:00 +0000

Tuesday, 17 February , 2009

IT industry was facing an unprecedented crisis and it's difficult to forecast as to how long the current global economic downturn would last, Infosys Technologies Co-Chairman Nandan M Nilekani said here.

"Certainly, we have been facing unprecedented crisis. It's difficult to predict how long the economic downturn will continue", he said delivering a lecture on "India at the crossroads: The choices before us" at the Institute of Social and Economic Change (ISEC) here. He Said Indian IT sector was not seeing job buoyancy now compared to previous years due to global economic downturn.

"The Indian IT industry has grown from $50 million in 1991 to $40 billion today and the last three-four years... the compounded growth rate was 30 per cent and more and now it is reduced to 20 per cent due to economic slowdown", he said.

http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14857264

Satyam's saga a setback to Industry: Nilekani

H1-B visa bar could hit over 1 lakh Indians

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 03:52:00 +0000

February 14, 2009
Nearly 100,000 skilled Indian workers' prospects of living the American dream may turn sour with the Congress barring firms that received bailout money from hiring foreigners through HI-B visa program if they replace the US citizens.

Estimates suggest that there are 100,000 Indian nationals among the 163,000 from across the world that had applied for the skilled worker visa in FY2009.

Restricting hiring of H1-B visa holders forms part of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, widely known as the stimulus bill, which was passed by the Congress on Saturday.

The government data for 2008 shows that about 5.7 lakh Indians were issued H1-B and other non-immigrant visas.

US unemployment climbs to a 32-year high

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 04:18:00 +0000

12 Feb 2009
The number of Americans drawing unemployment benefit has risen to a 32-year high, underlining the need for President Barack Obama's $789bn (£554bn) fiscal stimulus package.

The dismal employment news – coupled with questions about whether the stimulus and the $2,000bn banking bail-out will actually be enough to resuscitate the ailing US economy – pushed US equity markets lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 144.16 points to 7,795.37 in afternoon trading. Other indices also lost ground, with the S&P500 down 1.7pc, and the Nasdaq 0.9pc lower, despite better-than expected retail sale data.

GM cutting 10,000 jobs

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:27:00 +0000

Last Updated: February 10, 2009
Troubled automaker reducing worldwide salaried staff by 14%, with a third of layoffs coming in U.S.; remaining workers to have their pay cut for 2009. The troubled automaker also said it will cut the pay for its remaining U.S. salaried staff.

GM (GM, Fortune 500), which is preparing to present a long-term viability plan to the Treasury Department next week, said the cutbacks are part of the restructuring plan it submitted to Congress on Dec. 2 when it was first asking Washington for federal assistance. The company said at that time it intended to cut its U.S. staff by between 22% and 33% by 2012.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/10/news/companies/gm_staffing/index.htm?postversion=2009021008

Recession jolts Gulf, 20,000 Indians head home

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 05:55:00 +0000

5 Feb 2009 Times
It’s not quite the end of the petro-dollar dream yet, but hundreds of Indians employed in the Gulf are forced to return home as the global recession hits the region. If the steady trickle of Gulf returnees turns into a tide, India could face a major crisis.

There are no hard numbers on the extent of the crisis. The Indian embassy in UAE says 20,000 Indians have returned from that country alone in the past four months.

Link

Beijing rocked by 26 million lost jobs

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 05:22:00 +0000

An estimated 26 million poor rural Chinese are now without jobs after pinning their hopes on the once-booming manufacturing sector, where work has dried up due to the global economic slowdown, a government advisory body said.

Pink-slipped techies run tiffin centre

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 04:08:00 +0000

HYDERABAD 30 Jan 2009
A month ago, they pocketed hefty pay cheques as software professionals with multi-national companies (MNCs), but with recession and a
quirk of fate they run a tiffin centre at Sanatnagar. Pink slips have forced them to trade keyboards for cups and saucers.

When TOI visited the tiffin centre, the four techies, aged between 25 and 30, were busy dishing out piping idlis, dosas and other dishes.

They have not lost hope, but are toiling hard to survive on a day-to-day basis. Also, they have not abandoned their quest for better-paying jobs.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Hyderabad/Pink-slipped_techies_run_tiffin_centre/articleshow/4049555.cms

Over 50 mn to lose jobs in 2009: ILO

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 06:35:00 +0000

Jan 28: The global economic crisis is expected to lead to a "dramatic increase" in the number of people joining the ranks of the unemployed and working poor and those in vulnerable employment, says the ILO.

Global unemployment in 2009 could increase over 2007 by a range of 18 million to 30 million workers, and more than 50 million with the situation likely to deteriorate, the International Labour Office (ILO) said in its annual Global Employment Trends report released on Wednesday.

Based on new developments in the labour market, the report said some 200 million workers, mostly in developing economies, could be pushed into extreme poverty if the situation worsened.

Read More : http://www.zeenews.com/business/world/2009-01-28/502563news.html

Infy puts over 5K jobs under scanner

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 06:32:00 +0000

28 Jan, 2009 Times
The economic crisis seems to be deepening and with it the layoff count. The latest round of bad news comes from India's second largest IT services provider, Infosys, who till now claimed to have stayed away from layoffs.

According to reports, the company has put at least 5,000 employees or 5 per cent of its total global workforce under the performance scanner. Media reports also suggest that the company has asked senior managers (project managers, senior and group project managers, delivery managers) to give lowest performance rating (4 on a scale of 1-4) to the 'underperforming' 5 per cent as a part of its consolidated relative ranking (CRR).

Day the banks were just 3 hours from collapse

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:54:00 +0000

Last updated at 11:21 PM on 24th January 2009

Britain was just three hours away from going bust last year after a secret run on the banks, one of Gordon Brown's Ministers has revealed.

City Minister Paul Myners disclosed that on Friday, October 10, the country was 'very close' to a complete banking collapse after 'major depositors' attempted to withdraw their money en masse.

The Mail on Sunday has been told that the Treasury was preparing for the banks to shut their doors to all customers, terminate electronic transfers and even block hole-in-the-wall cash withdrawals.

What is GDP, Inflation & Recession ?

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:11:00 +0000

Gross Domestic Product or GDP is the monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period, though GDP is usually calculated on an annual basis. It includes all of private and public consumption, government outlays, investments and exports less imports that occur within a defined territory.

GDP = C + G + I + NX

"C" is equal to all private consumption, or consumer spending, in a nation's economy
"G" is the sum of government spending
"I" is the sum of all the country's businesses spending on capital
"NX" is the nation's total net exports, calculated as total exports minus total imports. (NX = Exports - Imports).

What is Inflation ?

Inflation is an increase in the price of a basket of goods and services that is representative of the economy as a whole.

How India calculates Inflation ?

India uses the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) to calculate and then decide the inflation rate in the economy.so next question that would arise is

what is Wholesale Price Index ?

WPI is the index that is used to measure the change in the average price level of goods traded in wholesale market. In India, a total of 435 commodities data on price level is tracked through WPI which is an indicator of movement in prices of commodities in all trade and transactions.

What causes Inflation on a whole ?

1) The supply of money goes up. 2) The supply of other goods goes down. 3) Demand for money goes down. 4) Demand for other goods goes up.

Recession?A recession is a decrease of less than 10% in a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The decrease must last for more than one consecutive quarter of a year. The GDP is defined as the sum of private spending and government spending on goods, services, labor and investment.

Over 70,000 job cuts announced in a single day

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:01:00 +0000

Tue, Jan 27 01:13 PM

The deepening global economic recession claimed over 70,000 jobs in a single day, with six companies, ranging from manufacturing to telecom across the US and Europe, announcing job cuts as part of a cost cutting measures to grapple with the slump in consumer spending.

With the bloodbath in the job market on Monday, the tally of total jobs lost in January so far crossed two million.

Construction machinery manufacturer Caterpillar, pharma major Pfizer, telecom firm Sprint Nextel Corp, home improvement retailer Home Depot were among the six major firms that announced massive job cuts.

A total of 207,120 jobs have been lost so far this year. Nearly 2.6 million people were rendered unemployed through 2008, the highest yearly job-loss total since 1945.

Caterpillar said it would cut 20,000 jobs amid a "very challenging global business environment".

Great Depression

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:07:00 +0000

The Great Depression was a worldwide economic downturn starting in most places in 1929 and ending at different times in the 1930s or early 1940s for different countries. It was the largest and most important economic depression in modern history, and is used in the 21st century as an example of how far the world's economy can fall.[1] The Great Depression originated in the United States; historians most often use as a starting date the stock market crash on October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday. The end of the depression in the U.S is associated with the onset of the war economy of World War II, beginning around 1939.[2]

Read more: http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/depression/about.htm

Is Feb. 10 financial doomsday for thousands?

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:31:00 +0000

A new government regulation scheduled to take effect next month has thousands of retailers, thrift stores and small businesses worried they will be forced to permanently close their doors – and destroy their merchandise.

The law is expected to have such a devastating impact that Feb. 10 is now unofficially known as "National Bankruptcy Day."

Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, or HR 4040, a retroactive rule mandating that all items sold for use by children under 12 must be tested by an independent party for lead and phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics more pliable.

All untested items, regardless of lead content, are to be declared "banned hazardous products.'' The CPSC has already determined the law applies to every children's item on shelves, not just to items made beginning Feb. 10.

The regulations could force thousands of businesses – especially smaller ones that cannot afford the cost of lead testing – to throw away truckloads of children's clothing, books, toys, furniture and other children's items and even force them to close their doors.

China 100 cities ..

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:42:00 +0000

China's developing so fast in recent years that many people don't wanna believe. This video shows its 100 major cities

Recession, Recession .....

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:27:00 +0000

Australia May Cut Interest Rate Below 2% Amid Deep Recession, Fraser Says Australia’s central bank may more than halve its benchmark interest rate as the nation enters a long and deep recession, former Governor Bernie Fraser said.

China's Slowdown to Deepen as Recession Pummels Exports, Asian Suppliers China’s economic slowdown, already the deepest in seven years, is set to worsen as the global recession pummels its exports, darkening the outlook for suppliers from Australia to Taiwan.

Geithner Warning on Yuan May Trigger Renewed U.S.-China Economic Tensions Timothy Geithner’s warning that President Barack Obama believes China is “manipulating” its currency may trigger renewed tensions between two of the world’s three biggest economies.

Taiwan's Export Orders, Production Decline by Records as Recession Nears Taiwan’s export orders and factory production dropped by records in December, making it likely the island’s economy will follow Japan, Europe and the U.S. into a recession.

French January Manufacturers' Confidence Remains at Record Low, Insee Says French manufacturers’ confidence remained at a record low in January as the global financial crisis threatens to push Europe’s third-largest economy into its worst recession since World War II.

Spanish Unemployment Rate Rises to Eight-Year High, Double The EU Average Spain’s unemployment rate rose to the highest in more than eight years in the fourth quarter, almost double the European Union level, as the first recession in 15 years pushed more than a million people out of work.

JPMorgan Forecasts Larger Australian Rate Cut Next Month Amid Global Slump JPMorgan Chase & Co. forecasts the Australian central bank will cut its benchmark interest rate by 1 percentage point next month, double its previous prediction, amid a deepening slump in the nation’s major export markets.

Roubini Says China Is in Recession Despite `Massaged' Economic Growth Data China is in a recession despite government statistics today showing the world’s third-largest economy expanded in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, according to Nouriel Roubini, the New York University professor who predicted last year’s economic crisis.

Vietnam Cuts Key Rate to 7% to Bolster Slowing Economy Amid Global Crisis Vietnam’s central bank cut the benchmark interest rate as the Southeast Asian nation struggles to buoy an economy which expanded at the slowest pace in almost a decade last year amid the global financial crisis.

U.S. December Housing Starts Fall 16% to Record Low: Table of the Day Following is a summary of the Dec. housing starts report from the Commerce Department.

Tent Cities rise across United States

noreply@blogger.com (Trilok Chand S) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 07:49:00 +0000

In the wake of the housing crash, "tent cities" have been springing up in several places in California. The story is not that new. However, it has not received much mainstream press. Therefore, many are unaware this is even happening.

Nearly 61 percent of local and state homeless coalitions say they've experienced a rise in homelessness since the foreclosure crisis began in 2007, according to a report by the National Coalition for the Homeless. The group says the problem has worsened since the report's release in April, with foreclosures mounting, gas and food prices rising and the job market tightening.

More news on http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26776283/