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Obama hails ‘clear’ jobs growth

Barack Obama

“Our mission has to be to accelerate hiring, and accelerate growth,” says Barack Obama

President Obama has cautiously hailed a “clear” trend of job growth, and called on businesses to boost investment.

His remarks at a window manufacturer came as the US unemployment rate dropped 0.4 points to 9.4% in December, the largest one-month drop since 1998.

Some 103,000 jobs were created last month, the Labor Department said, although this was fewer than forecast.

But Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned employment could remain depressed for four to five more years.

The lower unemployment rate, while cheering, came not only because more people found jobs, but also because 260,000 had given up looking and ceased being counted as unemployed.

Touring an energy-efficient window manufacturer in Maryland, Mr Obama said the jobs report showed a clear trend towards economic growth.

He predicted a package of tax cuts forged with Republicans last month would continue to boost hiring, and urged businesses who were thinking about creating jobs to press ahead.

“If you are planning on making investments in the future, make them now and that will help us grow the economy,” he said.

US unemployment

“We want businesses to grow, we want this economy to grow and we want to put people back to work.”

At the US Senate, meanwhile, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warned the job market might not return to normal levels for another four or five years.

He said the economy had entered a “self-sustaining recovery” powered by growing consumer spending and robust business investment.

But, he added a warning: “Notwithstanding these hopeful signs… [with] employers reportedly still reluctant to add to payrolls, considerable time likely will be required before the unemployment rate has returned to a more normal level.

“Persistently high unemployment, by damping household income and confidence, could threaten the strength and sustainability of the recovery.”

Analysis

The new figures show that a recovery in the labour market is continuing. But it is still not strong.

The number with jobs rose by more than 100,000 but the working age population grew by more than that.

It has been a persistent pattern over the last year. There are nearly 2 million more adults in the US than a year ago, but only 1.1 million more jobs.

The fact that unemployment nonetheless declined reflects a fall in the numbers who want to work. Those who don’t want to are not counted among the unemployed.

According to official Department of Labor figures, seasonally adjusted non-farm payroll employment increased by 103,000, with the number of unemployed people dropping by 556,000 to 14.5 million.

Overall employment for October and November was revised to show 70,000 more job gains than earlier reported, and the unemployment rate is now at its lowest since May 2009.

Private hiring increased in December by 113,000, while government employment fell by 10,000.

Employment rose by 47,000 in the leisure and hospitality sector and by 36,000 in healthcare, but was little changed in other major industries, the Labor Department said.

Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke also sounded a cautiously upbeat note in remarks on Friday.

“Overall, the recovery in economic activity to date has been uneven and has not been sufficient to reduce unemployment noticeably,” she said. “But I am encouraged by signs that the recovery may have gained traction recently.”

The falling unemployment rate appeared to counter concerns over fewer-than expected jobs being created, with shares on Wall Street relatively unchanged in early trading.

Meanwhile, the euro rose into positive territory against the dollar after the report, but then relinquished those gains.

“The headline miss [on jobs created] is pretty bad, but the drop in the unemployment rate is the one reason why the dollar has not collapsed completely,” said Brian Dolan, chief strategist from Forex.com.

“Overall, a very disappointing number that reinforces the idea that we’re in for a long, slow jobless recovery.”

Moody’s Analytics economist Ryan Sweet said while the job market was likely to improve, the lower unemployment rate was unlikely to be sustained.

And economist Peter Morici, professor at the Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, agreed that this was a disappointing set of data.

He said that while there had been a string of stimulus measures taken in the US, the country’s huge trade deficit was holding back job creation because the country was importing far more than it produced.

“The growing trade deficit is a tax on domestic demand that offsets much of the benefits of stimulus spending and tax cuts,” he said.

Meanwhile, a US business group, the Conference Board, said that while the job market had more momentum than it did going into 2010, the report “won’t help the continuing weakness in consumer confidence”.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Jo murder police quiz motorists

Jo YeatesThe body of Jo Yeates was found near Bristol on Christmas Day

Police investigating the murder of Jo Yeates are questioning customers at the pub she visited on the night she vanished.

Miss Yeates, 25, had been to the Ram pub on Park Street on 17 December before walking back to her flat in the Clifton area of the Bristol.

It is known the landscape architect visited three shops on the way home.

Earlier a national newspaper said it is offering a £50,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.

Detectives from Avon and Somerset Police hope by speaking to customers this may yield further clues into the investigation.

Miss Yeates had been in the pub with work colleagues before she returned to her home in Canynge Road – a walk of about one mile.

She was reported missing by her boyfriend Greg Reardon on 19 December after he returned home from a weekend away.

Her snow-covered body was discovered on Christmas Day in Longwood Lane, near Bristol.

A post-mortem examination revealed she had been strangled.

Detectives still do not know where or when Miss Yeates died and forensic examinations are continuing at the flat.

Last week, Crimestoppers offered a £10,000 reward for information.

Miss Yeates’ body was clothed but she was not wearing her jacket or her boots and she was only wearing one sock.

Her jacket and boots were found at her home but the sock remains missing.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Fresh rioting in Algerian capital

Protesters clash with police in Bab el-Oued, 6 January 2011Riots in the capital have intensified since Wednesday
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Algerian youths have rioted for a second night across the capital, Algiers, and in several other cities.

The riots have been linked to rising food prices, housing shortages, and wider social and political grievances.

A BBC correspondent says Algiers has emptied out in the late afternoon over the last two days, before rioters take to the streets, clashing with police.

The riots follow a period of rare unrest in neighbouring Tunisia, which has led to at least three deaths.

The BBC’s Mohamed Arezki Himeur reports from Algiers that there has been sporadic rioting in Algeria since the new year, when the price of many food products increased sharply.

But the protests have intensified since Wednesday, our correspondent says.

They also spread to Bab el-Oued, a working class neighbourhood of symbolic importance. It was at the centre of the protest movement in 1988, at the beginning of a period of unrest that led to an Islamist insurgency in the 1990s.

The riots are widely seen as drawing on deep frustrations with the ruling elite and a lack of political freedom, as well as more immediate concerns about the cost of living, housing, and jobs.

During the riots this week, youths have ransacked shops, lit tyres in the street, and hurled stones at police.

Security forces responded with tear gas and high-pressure hoses.

Rioting has also been reported in cities including Constantine, Oran, and Bejaia.

The demonstrations in Tunisia began after a man set fire to himself on 17 December in the Sidi Bouzid region to protest against the police confiscating fruit and vegetables that he was selling without a permit.

Protests are rare in Tunisia, where there are tight controls aimed at preventing dissent.

As in Algeria, the unrest has been linked to frustrations with the president and the ruling elite, as well as to concerns over jobs and living costs.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

‘Kidney sisters’ leave US prison

Jaime and Gladys ScottJamie (left) and Gladys Scott (right) were jailed in 1993 for taking part in an armed robbery
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Two imprisoned sisters whose sentences were dropped on the condition that one donate her kidney to the other have been released from jail in Mississippi.

The pair, who had been in jail for 16 years, are moving to the US state of Florida, where their family lives.

Jamie Scott requires daily dialysis, which costs the state roughly $200,000 (£129,000) per year, officials said.

She and her sister Gladys Scott were convicted in 1994 of taking part in a robbery that netted a mere $11 (£7).

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour agreed to release the sisters, who were serving life sentences for leading two men into an ambush in Mississippi in 1993, on the condition that Gladys, 36, donates a kidney to her sister within one year.

The two walked out of the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in the town of Pearl at just after 0800 local time (1400GMT) on Friday morning and were greeted by their mother and grown children.

Mr Barbour has said prison officials no longer think the sisters, who are eligible for parole in 2014, are a threat to society.

Rights activists have previously called for the release of the women, criticising their sentences as harsh.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Bernanke fears slow US recovery

Federal Reserve chairman Ben BernankeMr Bernanke defended the Fed’s quantitative easing programme

The US economy is showing signs of a “self-sustaining recovery”, but is not growing fast enough to reduce high jobless levels, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has said.

Mr Bernanke told the Senate Budget Committee it could take four to five years for the job market to normalise.

As well as unemployment, he said low inflation was also a concern.

“Very low inflation increases the risk that new adverse shocks could push the economy into deflation,” he said.

Mr Bernanke was speaking shortly after the release of Labor Department figures showing that the US unemployment rate dropped to 9.4% in December from 9.8% in November, the biggest one-month drop since April 1998.

However, the lower rate came not only because more people found jobs, but also because 260,000 had given up looking and had therefore disappeared from the jobless total.

“We have seen increased evidence that a self-sustaining recovery in consumer and business spending may be taking hold,” Mr Bernanke told the committee.

However, the labour market had improved “only modestly at best”, he added.

“Persistently high unemployment, by damping household income and confidence, could threaten the strength and sustainability of the recovery,” he continued.

At the same time, inflation was likely to remain “subdued” for some time.

Mr Bernanke said continuing high unemployment and low inflation had prompted the Fed’s decision to purchase another $600bn (£385bn) of US government debt in a bid to stimulate the US economy.

He said the asset purchase scheme was “not comparable to ordinary government spending” and warned that the federal government’s huge budget deficit put it on “an unsustainable fiscal path”.

He called on Congress to address “this critical threat to our economy”.

“Doing nothing will not be an option indefinitely,” he said. “The longer we wait to act, the greater the risks and the more wrenching the inevitable changes to the budget will be.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Fuel duty cut urged as bills rise

Rural service station

Rural drivers feel impact of fuel price rise

The price of petrol has hit another record high, prompting a small business organisation to urge the government to consider cutting fuel duty.

The average price of unleaded has hit 127.7p per litre, according to Experian Catalist.

The government confirmed it was looking at a fuel price stabiliser, which would cut duty when the price of oil went up.

But the Forum of Private Business has urged the government to just cut duty if this was too difficult to introduce.

Prime Minister David Cameron said he was talking to the Treasury about the possibility of introducing a Fair Fuel Stabiliser, but warned that it was “not simple”.

It was hoped that such a scheme, mentioned in the party’s manifesto, would reduce the volatility of the price of petrol and diesel at the pumps.

Duty would be cut when oil prices rose, and increased when prices fell.

The Forum of Private Business criticised the Conservatives for not following through on their stabiliser pledge, when it was urgently needed.

Fuel pump nozzles

Haulier: “I don’t know how much more we can take”

“Instead, it has actually increased duty on fuel by going ahead with two rises inherited from the previous administration, and effectively implemented a further price hike this month with the 2.5% increase in VAT,” it said.

“If the fuel price stabiliser is again deemed to be unworkable, a significant reduction in duty – or perhaps a reclassification of the VAT rate on fuel – is desperately needed to help keep businesses moving,” the business body added.

The price of fuel has risen steadily over the past month due to recent increases in the price of oil, as well as a 0.76p fuel duty increase on New Year’s Day, and the VAT rise in the first week of the year.

The AA estimated that the two government measures increases added around 3.5p to the cost of a litre of both petrol and diesel.

The average price of unleaded petrol is at a record, but the average price of diesel, currently 132.08p, is still marginally below its all-time high.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Expenses cheat MP to be sentenced

David ChaytorEx-MP David Chaytor faces a maximum of seven years in prison
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Former Labour MP David Chaytor will be sentenced later over £20,000 in fraudulent expenses claims.

Chaytor, 61, the former MP for Bury North, last month admitted three charges of false accounting.

He faces a maximum of seven years in jail, although his guilty plea will be taken into account by the sentencing judge.

He was to have been the first MP to stand trial over his expenses, before he changed his plea.

Two other former MPs, one current MP and two members of the House of Lords are due to face separate trials over their expenses claims.

Chaytor, who stood down as an MP at the general election having been barred by Labour from standing for them again, is due to be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court.

Chaytor had claimed £12,925 between 2005 and 2006 for renting a flat in Regency Street, near Westminster, which he owned – producing a fake tenancy agreement which said he was paying £1,175 a month rent.

He also falsely claimed £5,425 between 2007 and 2008 for renting a home in Castle Street, Bury, which was owned by his mother. He admitted he had not paid his mother, who had moved into a home because of illness. Under Commons rules he was not allowed to rent from a family member.

A third charge related to falsely charging £1,950 for IT support services in May 2006. The charge said that he supplied two invoices from a man named Paul France for his professional services “when in fact the services had not been provided or charged for”. However in that case, Chaytor had not received the money claimed.

He had denied the charges but appeared at the Old Bailey in December to change his plea, having failed in a court bid to argue that expenses cases should be heard by Parliament, not the courts.

Chaytor’s QC James Sturman told the judge, Mr Justice Saunders that £13,000 had already been repaid – and there were “many misconceptions” about the case which he aimed to “put right” at the sentencing hearing.

Chaytor, who was elected during Labour’s 1997 landslide victory, had spent his 13 years in the Commons on the back benches.

He was suspended by the Labour Party and barred from standing for them again after stories about his expenses claims emerged when the Daily Telegraph published hundreds of claims made by MPs over several years.

At the time he apologised for what he called accounting errors and referred himself to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner for investigation.

But after a lengthy police inquiry the Crown Prosecution Service announced in February he would face criminal charges.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Boxer Mason killed in bike crash

Gary MasonMason fought between 1984 and 1994, with 37 wins

Former British boxing champion Gary Mason has died in a cycling crash in south London.

Mason, 48, was on his bicycle in Sandy Lane South, Wallington, on Thursday morning when he was involved in a collision with a van.

The retired fighter was pronounced dead at the scene.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving and bailed until March pending further inquiries.

The 43-year-old, who was driving a white Vauxhall “combi” van, had stopped at the scene.

Mason fought 38 times as a professional between 1984 and 1994, with 37 wins.

His only defeat was against future world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Officers were alerted at about 6.15am yesterday to a van in collision with a bicycle on Sandy Lane South, near the junction with Woodcote Road, Wallington.

“The cyclist, aged 48 years, was pronounced dead at the scene.”

A post-mortem examination will be held at St Helier Hospital mortuary and an inquest will be opened at Croydon Coroner’s Court.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Security level raised at airports

Armed police at HeathrowThe security threat level to the UK as a whole was raised to “severe” a year ago
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The terrorist threat level specific to major UK transport hubs has been raised from substantial to severe, the BBC understands.

The move includes airports and London railway terminals, although there is no suggestion of any intelligence of an imminent attack.

The threat to the UK overall remains where it has been for the past year at the second-highest level, “severe”.

Security officials are stressing the change is precautionary.

The overall national threat level at severe means a terrorist attack is highly likely.

Beneath this are a series of threat levels for specific sectors of the national infrastructure which are not normally made public.

But it is understood the threat level for major transport hubs, including airline terminals and major railway stations in London, has been increased from substantial to severe.

Officials say if there was any intelligence of an imminent threat or a plot under way the threat level would be raised to its highest level, “critical”.

There have been concerns in recent months over the possibility of Mumbai-style gun attacks in Europe and the intelligence that led to this change is believed to cover Europe as a whole.

In practice, the move means more police are likely to be visible at airports and railway stations from Friday.

BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera said: “Officials are stressing that there is no intelligence of an imminent attack. This is more precautionary than anything else.

UK terror threat levelsCritical – attack expected imminentlySevere – attack highly likelySubstantial – attack a strong possibilityModerate – attack possible but not likelyLow – an attack unlikely

Source: Home Office

“If there was some kind of intelligence of a plot under way, or that there was a threat to these locations tomorrow, then the threat level would go up to the highest level which is ‘critical’. That’s not happening.

“These sector threat levels do change quite often. Normally the changes happen out of the public eye and officials don’t comment on them.

“But what we can expect to see is a greater police presence, particularly at airports and large railway stations.”

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “The threat level to the UK is at severe, which means that an attack is highly likely, and has been since January 2010.

“We will police accordingly and use a range of covert and overt tactics which remain under constant review.”

The Home Office said there was a “continuing need for everyone to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to the police”.

A spokesman for airports operator BAA said: “Security at our airports remains at a high level and we remain vigilant at all times.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Water advice ‘was not acted on’

Man filling water containerThousands of people were left without water during the crisis
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The head of an independent review into Northern Ireland’s water services has said the team’s two reports were not acted on.

The review was set up by the assembly in 2007 after direct rule ministers advised that water services should be privatised.

Among its recommendations were that water charges should come in.

“We prepared the reports and they’re still sitting on somebody’s shelf somewhere,” Prof Paddy Hillyard said.

About 40,000 homes and businesses in Northern Ireland were cut off from the mains water supply during the Christmas period and the government-owned NI Water was severely criticised for its response to those in need.

Professor Hillyard said he “was very fearful it will happen again” because the water system “just cannot cope with heavy frost”.

On Thursday, it was announced that an investigation into the crisis had been widened.

The Executive has agreed to appoint two people to scrutinise the role of the Department of Regional Development, while the utility regulator will investigate NI Water’s performance.

Professor Hillyard said as the regulator has a role in approving or disapproving investment in the water infrastructure, the investigation was not independent.

Conor MurphyConor Murphy said measures were in place to avoid a repeat of the water crisis

“To ask the regulator to carry out a review when he is in fact part of the government’s arrangements will mean that it won’t be totally independent

“What the people of Northern Ireland need is a totally independent review,” he said.

“What worries me is that with the (assembly) elections coming up these reports are going to yet again be sitting on somebody’s shelf gathering dust and nothing will de done until after the election.

“We have so little time to prepare for another possible crisis like this winter and we have to move very fast to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

Assurances

Earlier, Northern Ireland’s regional development minister said he had been assured that measures are in place to ensure there is no repeat of the water crisis.

Conor Murphy said NI Water had told the Executive and his department about “the immediate lessons they have put in place”.

“We also received a report from the Civil Contingencies Group – who span across all departments in terms of a response to an emergency situation – to tell us what suggestions they had put in place to allow other agencies and government departments to assist NI Water should any issue like this arise again.

“So there were very firm reassurances given to the Executive and the regional development committee that there have been a lot of immediate lessons learned and measures put in place to ensure we don’t have a reoccurrence of this this winter,” Mr Murphy said.

On Thursday, the Executive agreed to a twin track review of the crisis after hours of talks.

Mr Murphy said the investigation had been widened “to ensure that there was some confidence that there is a proper investigation into all of this”.

Frozen pipesA thaw following an unprecedented spell of cold weather led to thousands of burst pipes

The Executive meeting came after senior officials from Northern Ireland Water were grilled by members of Stormont’s Regional Development Committee earlier on Thursday.

The chief executive of NI Water during the crisis, Laurence MacKenzie, was absent after he agreed to step down from his role in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The company’s director of customer services, Liam Mulholland, told the committee that it had received more than 1m contacts from the public over the Christmas period and that its systems had “simply been overwhelmed”.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Four uni courses facing cutbacks

UWIC Llandaff campusUwic says course closures and student and staff reductions are the result of funding cuts
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Courses, staff and students are set to be reduced at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, (Uwic) as higher education funding cuts and changes take effect.

The university will decide whether to close four courses at a meeting on Friday.

It is also proposed to cut 35 jobs and “significantly reduce” student numbers at the university’s school of art.

Uwic said the institution would try to “protect academic posts”.

The courses under threat include the university’s BA in interior architecture, BA sociology & criminology/popular culture, the BSc in music technology and design/sonic arts, and BA in media studies with visual cultures.

The university said they were responding to funding cuts and the assembly government’s desire to eliminate regional competition between universities.

They said the quality of learning and teaching for current students would not be affected.

Applications to the university’s interior architecture course have been suspended leading to an outcry amongst Uwic graduates and design professionals.

Interior Educators, an organisation established by academics to represent interior design/architecture courses in the UK, sent a letter signed by representatives from 37 universities and colleges to the university urging a re-think.

“In the industry, if you say you’re from the Uwic interior architecture course it’s highly regarded”

Kimberley Johnson Uwic interior architecture graduate 2010

Graham Brooker, director of Interior Educators, said it was a “poor idea to remove such a highly regarded course”.

“Interior Educators represents the best interior design courses across the UK,” he said.

“In that group the Uwic course is regarded as one of the best so to close it is a real shock, we’re quite upset.”

Kimberley Johnson, who graduated from the course in 2010 and now works at a contemporary furniture supplier in Cardiff, said it has had great success in finding meaningful employment for students.

“I’m horrified that other people won’t get what I’ve got now,” she said.

“In the industry, if you say you’re from this course it’s highly regarded.”

Recruitment at Welsh universities will be capped this year for the first time as the assembly government seeks to control the number of students it supports.

An internal Uwic document, seen by BBC Wales, reveals that the number of students at the university’s school of art will be “significantly reduced” as a result of the new cap, with 25% fewer places available in future.

Graduation ceremonyStudent numbers at Uwic’s school of art will be ‘significantly reduced’ according to an internal document

The document also outlines proposals to reduce staffing at the school of art by over a third, meaning 35 jobs will be lost.

Russell Smith, who is the University and College Union (UCU) chief negotiating officer at Uwic, said he hopes the plans can be stopped.

“We don’t want any redundancies,” he said.

“We think they can make reductions through natural wastage and by offering voluntary severance.”

A spokepserson for the university said it realised that “changes of this nature will affect a number of current staff”.

“Previous restructures have shown that the university will do everything possible to protect academic posts and that all staff are supported throughout.

“Any changes reflect the desire of the Welsh Assembly Government for universities to plan their provision on a regional basis eliminating competition.”

Education Minister Leighton Andrews, has repeatedly called for mergers between universities and in December the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) published proposals to reduce the number of universities in Wales from 10 to six, with just two universities in south east Wales.

A Welsh Assembly Government spokesperson said: “Higher education institutions in Wales are autonomous bodies with sole responsibility for their own academic and administrative affairs.

“This includes course provision and staffing matters.

“It would not, therefore, be appropriate for us to intervene in matters which are for Uwic to determine.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Dioxin farm eggs exported to UK

Breaking news

Eggs from German farms where animal feed has been contaminated by dioxins have found their way into processed products destined for British food.

The EU executive said 14 tonnes of the liquid food had been exported to the UK but stressed there was a very low risk to human health.

The UK’s Food Standards Agency also said there was not thought to be a risk to human health.

This was because the eggs would have been diluted with other products.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.