Author: dangtuanthien

President Obama held a White House conference in March to discuss ways to prevent bullying in school. But bullying is a problem not just among young people. Workplace bullying can involve threats, baseless criticism, discrimination and favoring some employees unfairly over others. Thirty-five percent of Americans in a survey said they had been bullied at …

Unrest in North Africa and the Middle East pushed oil prices back into the news. Prices rose at their fastest level since two thousand eight.Libya is not among the ten largest oil exporters. But the rebellion against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi reduced production, affecting the global market.In March, oil prices rose above one hundred dollars …

State and local governments across the United States are facing big budget deficits. Many of these shortfalls include promises of future retirement payments for public employees. Several states have had to borrow money for pension plans that have fallen below required funding levels. Pay and benefits for public workers have been a target as state …

Americans have been watching the protests in the Middle East and North Africa — and closer to home. Workers in Wisconsin, and now some other states, have been protesting efforts to limit the negotiating power of government employees. Wisconsin’s newly elected governor, Scott Walker, says limits on labor unions are needed to help cut a …

A ten-billion-dollar deal aims to create the world’s largest exchange company. The plan would combine the operators of the New York Stock Exchange and Germany’s Frankfurt Stock Exchange.The two companies, NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Borse, announced the agreement in February. Deutsche Borse shareholders would own about sixty percent of the combined group. One thing it …

Food prices are at their highest level since the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization began keeping records in nineteen ninety. The causes include bad weather and growing demand. Some experts also blame the use of food crops to make fuel. But higher food prices are not always the result of limited supplies. Coffee prices …

Egypt is the biggest of the nations hit by recent protests in North Africa and the Middle East. One of the causes of this spreading wave of popular dissatisfaction is a lack of economic progress.Egypt is not a major oil exporter. Its economy is not big enough to affect world economic growth. But important pipelines …

Changes are taking place in Silicon Valley in California. Larry Page will replace Eric Schmidt as chief executive at Google. And Apple’s chief, Steve Jobs, is taking another medical leave. Two years ago Mr. Jobs received a new liver. In two thousand four he had pancreatic cancer. The latest announcement did not say how long …

Business is the most popular subject for international students in the United States. At last count, twenty-one percent of foreign students at American colleges and universities were studying business and management. The Institute of International Education in New York says engineering is the second most popular field, in case you were wondering.Thomas Cosse is a …

Big stock exchanges in the United States are linked in what is known as the national market system plan. The idea is to process deals and report the best available prices to the public as quickly as possible. But there are other ways of investing that operate outside the national market system. In the late …

Facebook is the world’s biggest social network — and the subject of the movie “The Social Network.”The real Mark Zuckerberg and his friends at Harvard University launched the site in two thousand four. Facebook says it reached five hundred million users last July.Now, the American bank Goldman Sachs and the Russian company Digital Sky Technologies …

Here are some of the top economic stories of two thousand ten. The world continued to struggle with a slow recovery from the financial crisis two years earlier. Greece admitted to bigger-than-expected budget deficits. Investors punished Greece with much higher borrowing costs. The sixteen countries that use the euro joined the International Monetary Fund in …

At the end of December, publisher Merriam-Webster released its list of top ten words of the year for two thousand ten. “Austerity” was at the top. The company made its list based on how often people looked up definitions using its online dictionary. Merriam-Webster defines “austerity” as “enforced or extreme economy.” Greece and Ireland face …

The season for buying Christmas gifts was the busiest time for most stores and online retailers in the United States. Final numbers for the holiday season including after-Christmas sales will not be known for a while. But a report on retail sales in November suggested that economic growth may be gaining speed. The Commerce Department …

President Obama announced an agreement with congressional Republicans in December. It would extend for two years the tax cuts put in place by former president George W. Bush. The tax cuts were to end in January. The compromise extends current income tax rates for all Americans for two years. That includes rates for the richest …

Commodities are basic materials that are used and traded worldwide. The price of commodities helps determine how much a business can charge for a product and the profit it can make. Commodity prices have reached a two-year high since falling sharply during the world financial crisis. Hard commodities are materials like iron ore, oil and …

On December first, Ireland’s Prime Minister Brian Cowen announced measures to cut the biggest budget deficit in Europe. He said: “Today we’ve come to announce a four-year plan, between now and two thousand fourteen. It’s to bring certainty for our people. It’s to ensure they have hope for the future.” The plan aims to cut …

Continuing debt problems in Greece and Portugal. The banking crisis in Ireland. A trillion-dollar deficit in the United States. These are all reasons why high levels of public debt are a big worry around the world. Countries that keep spending a lot more than they earn may not be able to repay their debts. That …

Microfinance is a fast-growing part of the financial industry in many developing countries. Micro lenders give small loans to poor people to start or expand businesses. Microcredit offers a chance to improve lives and reduce poverty. But officials in Andhra Pradesh, in southern India, are investigating whether debt collections are linked to a series of …

When we print something, a flat page comes to mind. For example, you might use a photocopier.Photocopiers print in two dimensions.Now, imagine how this would work for three dimensions. A machine prints layers of material — usually plastic — one on top of the other. The layers are very thin — usually one-fifth or one-tenth …