Over 45,000 Verizon workers are now on strike touting Verizons refusal to bargain and  to bring a  stop  to the Corporate GREED and Verizon’s attack on the middle class.  The Strike which took effect on August 9, 2011, continues to heat up as workers fed up with not being heard and having to give up benefits that hurt pay and healthcare benefits. Union 1036 – the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and IBEW are on strike from New York,  New England to Virginia to protest the company’s attacks on middle-class workers and retirees.  Union workers are walking picket lines all around New York – in front of jobs sites, wireless stores and central offices –  bringing the fight to Verizon’s doorstep and citing SCABS to people not honoring the strike and crossing the picket lines.

The disgruntal workers reference that in the last four years aloneVerizon made more than $19 billion in profits and compensated their top five executives more than a quarter of a billion dollars.  And on June 22 Verizon pushed proposals that would let them outsource more jobs, including sending jobs overseas, slash sick days, eliminate benefits for workers who get hurt on the job and cut the healthcare benefits they promised retirees. And striking workers said that Verizon corporate haven’t budged. Creating masses labor concerns and questioning the value Verizon President Lowell McAdam is placing on Verizon’s union workers. Some of the CWA workers complaints is that Verizon’s CEO, Ivan Seidenberg, takes home $55,000 PER DAY. But Verizon put over 100 bargaining demands on the table for a new contract that hits the average Verizon worker for a $12,000 pay cut over the life of the contract. OUCH, as workers are struggling just to keep a roof over their heads and food on the Family Table. How can Corporate Executives continue to ignore their employees needs and the economy,while pocketing enormous annual salaries and bonuses?  Even Warren Buffet stated that each Corporate Executive and our Congressman should for several years live on an annual amount of $21,000.00 per year for themselves & their families. Buffet shared his thoughts on  the Charlie Rose TV Show live at the studio in New York yesterday.

Even Paris Hilton loves Manila, and I agree, 

just returning from my trip to the Philippines,

  I am back in New York for the 

New York City International Film Festival (NYCIFF).

But I so enjoyed a my trip to Manila

and the full weekend of shopping at

 the SM Megamall in Manila the other week, 

and seeing nothing but

endless shopping and endless discoveries.

 SM Megamall is the 

seventh largest shopping mall in the world.

I think it is a great choice for

 Paris to launch her Handbag Store.

 The SM Megamall has over 

750 up-scale boutiques & shops and

 250 different variety of choices in dining. 

It is owned by Henry Sy, who is on the top of

Forbes 2011 list as the 

richest man in Philippines.

 Paris Hilton is brillant in 

recognizing the potential

 & the Hot New Market that the 

Philippines is about to explode with success.

And shopping and fashion is just one of the sectors

that are on the rise for the Philippines. 

And talk about HOT I predict that

 Paris and Imelda Marco's

 could probably make a great team

 and design some of the

 most beautifuls exclusive 

shoes the world would ever see

 and hot ladies enjoy.

During Paris's visit to the Philippines,

the Hollywood celebrity

has partnered up with the creative/design

 team of Century Properties.

has been asked to help design the beach club

 of the company's

 Azure Urban Resort Residences.

 Rumors have it that Paris will help to

 design a posh chic look

 for the central amenity of one of its

 landmark projects

 in the southern part of the metropolis of Paranaque City. 

Paris continues to build & created 

her International Empire,

 not only through her Hollywood success

 and ith her TV show

 “The World According to Paris,”

 she also runs a 

fashion design empire with 17 product

 lines under her own brand.  

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody.  On Friday, we learned that the United States received a downgrade by one of the credit rating agencies — not so much because they doubt our ability to pay our debt if we make good decisions, but because after witnessing a month of wrangling over raising the debt ceiling, they doubted our political system’s ability to act.  The markets, on the other hand, continue to believe our credit status is AAA.  In fact, Warren Buffett, who knows a thing or two about good investments, said, “If there were a quadruple-A rating, I’d give the United States that.”  I, and most of the world’s investors, agree.

That doesn’t mean we don’t have a problem.  The fact is, we didn’t need a rating agency to tell us that we need a balanced, long-term approach to deficit reduction.  That was true last week.  That was true last year.  That was true the day I took office.  And we didn’t need a rating agency to tell us that the gridlock in Washington over the last several months has not been constructive, to say the least.  We knew from the outset that a prolonged debate over the debt ceiling — a debate where the threat of default was used as a bargaining chip — could do enormous damage to our economy and the world’s.  That threat, coming after a string of economic disruptions in Europe, Japan and the Middle East, has now roiled the markets and dampened consumer confidence and slowed the pace of recovery.

So all of this is a legitimate source of concern.  But here’s the good news:  Our problems are eminently solvable.*  And we know what we have to do to solve them.  With respect to debt, our problem is not confidence in our credit — the markets continue to reaffirm our credit as among the world’s safest.  Our challenge is the need to tackle our deficits over the long term.

Last week, we reached an agreement that will make historic cuts to defense and domestic spending.  But there’s not much further we can cut in either of those categories.  What we need to do now is combine those spending cuts with two additional steps:  tax reform that will ask those who can afford it to pay their fair share and modest adjustments to health care programs like Medicare.

Making these reforms doesn’t require any radical steps.  What it does require is common sense and compromise.  There are plenty of good ideas about how to achieve long-term deficit reduction that doesn’t hamper economic growth right now.  Republicans and Democrats on the bipartisan fiscal commission that I set up put forth good proposals.  Republicans and Democrats in the Senate’s Gang of Six came up with some good proposals.  John Boehner and I came up with some good proposals when we came close to agreeing on a grand bargain.

So it’s not a lack of plans or policies that’s the problem here.  It’s a lack of political will in Washington.  It’s the insistence on drawing lines in the sand, a refusal to put what’s best for the country ahead of self-interest or party or ideology.  And that’s what we need to change.

I realize that after what we just went through, there’s some skepticism that Republicans and Democrats on the so-called super committee, this joint committee that’s been set up, will be able to reach a compromise, but my hope is that Friday’s news will give us a renewed sense of urgency.  I intend to present my own recommendations over the coming weeks on how we should proceed.  And that committee will have this administration’s full cooperation.  And I assure you, we will stay on it until we get the job done.

Of course, as worrisome as the issues of debt and deficits may be, the most immediate concern of most Americans, and of concern to the marketplace as well, is the issue of jobs and the slow pace of recovery coming out of the worst recession in our lifetimes.

And the good news here is that by coming together to deal with the long-term debt challenge, we would have more room to implement key proposals that can get the economy to grow faster.  Specifically, we should extend the payroll tax cut as soon as possible, so that workers have more money in their paychecks next year and businesses have more customers next year.

We should continue to make sure that if you’re one of the millions of Americans who’s out there looking for a job, you can get the unemployment insurance that your tax dollars contributed to.  That will also put money in people’s pockets and more customers in stores.

In fact, if Congress fails to extend the payroll tax cut and the unemployment insurance benefits that I’ve called for, it could mean 1 million fewer jobs and half a percent less growth.  This is something we can do immediately, something we can do as soon as Congress gets back.

We should also help companies that want to repair our roads and bridges and airports, so that thousands of construction workers who’ve been without a job for the last few years can get a paycheck again.  That will also help to spur economic growth.

These aren’t Democratic proposals.  These aren’t big government proposals.  These are all ideas that traditionally Republicans have agreed to, have agreed to countless times in the past.  There’s no reason we shouldn’t act on them now.  None.

I know we’re going through a tough time right now.  We’ve been going through a tough time for the last two and a half years.  And I know a lot of people are worried about the future.  But here’s what I also know:  There will always be economic factors that we can’t control –- earthquakes, spikes in oil prices, slowdowns in other parts of the world.  But how we respond to those tests — that’s entirely up to us.

Markets will rise and fall, but this is the United States of America.  No matter what some agency may say, we’ve always been and always will be a AAA country.  For all of the challenges we face, we continue to have the best universities, some of the most productive workers, the most innovative companies, the most adventurous entrepreneurs on Earth.  What sets us apart is that we’ve always not just had the capacity, but also the will to act — the determination to shape our future; the willingness in our democracy to work out our differences in a sensible way and to move forward, not just for this generation but for the next generation.

And we’re going to need to summon that spirit today.  The American people have been through so much over the last few years, dealing with the worst recession, the biggest financial crisis since the 1930s, and they’ve done it with grace.  And they’re working so hard to raise their families, and all they ask is that we work just as hard, here in this town, to make their lives a little easier.  That’s not too much to ask.  And ultimately, the reason I am so hopeful about our future — the reason I have faith in these United States of America — is because of the American people.  It’s because of their perseverance, and their courage, and their willingness to shoulder the burdens we face -– together, as one nation.

One last thing.  There is no one who embodies the qualities I mentioned more than the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.  And this weekend, we lost 30 of them when their helicopter crashed during a mission in Afghanistan.  And their loss is a stark reminder of the risks that our men and women in uniform take every single day on behalf of their county.  Day after day, night after night, they carry out missions like this in the face of enemy fire and grave danger.  And in this mission –- as in so many others -– they were also joined by Afghan troops, seven of whom lost their lives as well.

So I’ve spoken to our generals in the field, as well as President Karzai.  And I know that our troops will continue the hard work of transitioning to a stronger Afghan government and ensuring that Afghanistan is not a safe haven for terrorists.  We will press on.  And we will succeed.

But now is also a time to reflect on those we lost, and the sacrifices of all who serve, as well as their families.  These men and women put their lives on the line for the values that bind us together as a nation.  They come from different places, and their backgrounds and beliefs reflect the rich diversity of America.

But no matter what differences they might have as individuals, they serve this nation as a team.  They meet their responsibilities together.  And some of them — like the 30 Americans who were lost this weekend –- give their lives for their country.  Our responsibility is to ensure that their legacy is an America that reflects their courage, their commitment, and their sense of common purpose.

Thank you very much…President Barack Obama

Link to President Barack Obama’s statement on video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmMMHjD7yEs

"Out on Holiday" come back after the crisis

“OUT ON HOLIDAY” come back after the crisis. .. As the World Global Markets are in the worst slump in decades, and fears of a recession mount you have to ask, who’s in charge, with United Kingdom’s Prime Minister David Cameron is on a family vacation in Italy, French President Nicolas Sarkozy busy at his wife vacation home in the French Mediterranean. And  German Chancellor Angela Merkel on holiday and only reached by phone, even though her opposition parties requested that she cut her “walk about” vacation in South Tyrol short and return to Berlin to deal with the global financal crisis.  Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was very visable, and Olli Rehn, delayed a vacation in Finland to publicly urge the euro zone’s 17 countries to focus on stablizing a plan to help balance concerns.

Even Nouriel Roubini did not feel the urgency to leave Maine on a fishing trip, while the rest of the world continued to brace and watch  the markets confidence shaken, as stocks across the Asia Pacific continued today to drop,  extending the global declines that have wiped $5.4 trillion off equity markets since July 26, 2011.

Clearly investor jitters continue escalating with the debt crisis, but many of the global leaders and the G-7 financial ministers that the world looks up to for leadership, to set the examples, to have Government & Coporate Social Responsiblity, ethical practices and intergrity, were doing what the wealthy do best, taking a holiday.

What’s wrong with this picture.  It is reflective of Dorothy finding the Wizard behind the curtain in the Wizard of OZ movie. That not everything is what it seems, and if we could only peek behind the curtain to see the circus acts, instead of guessing if there is an elephant and the magician pulling the rabbit out of the hat, in the middle of the three ring circus. While many are unemployed, losing their homes, barley feeding their families, while more and more retirement funds and benefits are being lost on the global markets instability. Just read the sign..”OUT ON HOLIDAY” come back after the crisis.

The Labor Department showed a second month in a row of virtually no improvement job-wise generating only 18000 jobs in June, a clear fallout from 25000 in May. The data shows 14.1 million Americans are still jobless even two years after the recession.

The new development is a bad news for the government of Barack Obama as Republican opponents challenge his economic reforms in the way to next year’s presidential election.

President Obama told that the report showed the US still had a long way to go. In a statement at the White House he told, “We have added two million new private sector jobs over the last 16 months, but the recession cost us 8 million. That means we still have a big hole to fill.”

The release of the news sent global markets low. The US market opened lower and dollar fell a cent against the euro. The main European markets also closed more than 1% down after the release of the figure.

Mohammed El Erian, the investment head at US fund manager Pimco told, “Every aspect of this disappointing report points to the US facing an unemployment crisis.”

The total unemployment in the US is largely unchanged at 14.1 million. Long term unemployment at 6.3 million was also similarly stagnant as 8.6 million people are working part time because they could not find full time jobs.

The European Central Bank that sets financial policy for seventeen eurozone countries is widely expected to increase its benchmark rate by quarter point to 1.5% from the current rate of 1.25% at its meeting in Frankfurt. The meeting will be presided over by ECB president Jean Claude Trichet.

Eurozone inflation has jumped up to 2.7% above ECB’s target of 2%. Therefore, ECB’s primary focus at this time will be to keep inflation low by setting interest rates for the seventeen eurozone countries.

But any such rise will increase the borrowing cost and will add pressure on countries like Greece and Portugal which are under the threat of default.

Meanwhile, ECB’s stand is in quite contrast to the stance adopted by its counterpart in London. The Bank of England’s MPC has chosen to ignore the high inflation rate and argued for the need of keeping it as low as 0.5% to support the faltering economy.

The ECB has supported banks with unlimited cash through the crisis and now it focuses to normalize the eurozone money market. Trichet has already urged the European leaders to reduce their budget deficits.

The chief economist at Royal Bank of Scotland in London Mr. Jacques Cailloux told reporters, “Trichet has drawn a line in the sand on Greece and he’s now focusing on the day job. The ECB has done more than governments have to prop up the euro area and it really is losing patience with political leaders. It’s up to them to fix the problem.”

She was being selected by the 24 member board of IMF last week. She won the coveted seat over Mexico’s Agustin Carstens by receiving support from the US, Europe and emerging economies like Brazil, India and China.

The position became vacant after the resignation of Mr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn following his arrest over allegations of sexual assault in New York. He denied the accusations and a weak prosecution now stands at close of the case sooner.

Ms. Lagarde takes the helm of International Monetary Fund at a time of global financial crisis. The body is involved in lending crisis hit European countries like Greece, Portugal and Irish Republic.

Her first task in the helm is expected to deal with the efforts of IMF and European Union to help out Greece in its debt crisis. She had earlier in interview after her election to the post urged Greece to push quickly through unpopular austerity measures that IMF and EU put forward as prerequisites for further aid.

However, there are other worries too with global economy seemingly off balance. China faces high inflation, US and Europe faces sluggish economic growth and a risk of overheating threatens some of the developing economies.

Although Ms. Lagarde is the first woman to head the international monetary fund, she maintains the tradition of holding the position reservedly by European national since the conception of the international body in 1944.

The PMI is a key indicator of conditions in the sector that is a big contributor to the world’s second largest economy. Though the figure remained above the threshold level of 50, the drop indicates slowing of growth.

The latest figures show Beijing’s effort to slow down its credit-fuelled growth to prevent asset prices from overheating has found its fruit. However, analysts said the government’s policy is to hurt the manufacturing sector.

Sitao Xu of the Economist Intelligence Unit in Beijing said, “I think the primary reason is monetary tightening and a reduction of credit. Both central bank and the government are taking a hawkish stance to prohibit high credit growth.”

Analysts are of opinion that external factors are also playing key role in curbing the growth along with internal policies. Mr. Sitao told that the other reason was the synchronized slowdown in developed nations.

Since the US recover has not been in the pace of expected, the demand from there has been slow, he commented. Besides, the crisis in Europe also affected the demand for Chinese products in that region.

However, he said that the overall health of Chinese economy looks to remain strong despite the slowdown in manufacturing sector. He said, “I don’t think it’s the end of the world, we are not seeing a hard landing or a recession. What the government is trying to do is prevent the economy from overheating.”

News Corporation paid a huge amount of $580m for MySpace in 2005. it was a leading social networking site at that time, but the users and advertisers left the site for rival Facebook and Twitter triggering losses that the company termed as unsustainable.

Though the sale terms are not disclosed yet, unconfirmed sources suggest the deal is as low as $35m.

Reacting to the news of its new buy Specific Media said, “We look forward to combining our platforms to drive the next generation of digital innovation.” It also confirmed that pop star and actor Justin Timberlake would take a stake in the business.

According to company he is to play a major role in developing the creative direction and strategy in its forward growth plan. The California based Specific Media was found in 1999 by three brothers Tim, Chris and Russel Vanderhook.

Mr. Timberlake told reporters, “There’s a need for a place where fans can go to interact with their favourite entertainers. I’m excited to help
revitalise Myspace by using its social media platform to bring artists and fans together.”

As per analysts the failure to innovate at the pace required and the resulting confusion over its strategy had paved way for heavy market fall of
MySpace. Its users peaked to 73.6m in 2008 and thereafter it has shrunk to 35m, according to the latest figures from market tracks.

However the analysts said the decision of Timberlake and Specific Media to focus on music is a sensible one as there is a lot of brand equity in MySpace.

She fought the Mexican Central Bank chief Mr. Agustin Carsten for the top IMF job. An IMF statement later told that both the candidates were “well qualified.”

Ms Lagarde got her way easy as she received backing from the US and key emerging economies like India, Brazil and China along with Europe.

Soon after the announcement of result Ms Lagarde wrote in Ttwitter, “The results are in: I am honoured and delighted that the board has entrusted me with the position of MD of the IMF.”

A statement issued by IMF told its 24-member board regarded both the candidates highly suitable for the post, but named Ms. Lagarde by consensus.

The post became vacant after the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn following his arrest over sexual assault charges in New York.

Mr. Carsten told he had sent Ms. Lagarde best wishes and full of support. He added that he hoped she would “make meaningful progress in strengthening the governance of the institution.”

Messages of support and congratulation poured from every corner of the world. The US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner told, “Minister Lagarde’s exceptional talent and broad experience will provide invaluable leadership for this indispensable institution at a critical time for the global economy.”

Although Ms. Lagarde is the first woman to head the international finance body since its creation in 1944, her victory seals the tradition of maintaining the post reserved for European nationals.