Category: VOA Economics Report

The “Arab Spring” in the Middle East and North Africa has raised hopes and dreams. But can it raise money to invest in a better future? How to respond to the Arab uprisings was a major question for world leaders at the Group of 8 meeting in France in late May. Earlier, the head of …

On May eighteenth, Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned as managing director of the International Monetary Fund. Mr. Strauss-Kahn was charged with a sexual attack on a cleaning woman at a New York hotel. He said in a resignation letter that he denies the charges “with the greatest possible firmness.” His fall has especially shocked Europe. The IMF …

Today we share some ideas for job hunters about presenting yourself online. Ben Kirshner is chief executive of a New York company he started in two thousand four. Elite SEM, or search engine marketing, has about twenty-five employees. Many companies use headhunters — recruiting services that find workers for high-paying positions. But Mr. Kirshner says …

The job market is more competitive than ever for millions of workers around the world. In America, one reason for that right now is high unemployment after the worst recession since the nineteen thirties. But other reasons involve changes in the needs of the American and global economies. In big developing economies like India and …

Central bankers have to choose their words carefully. So they often say little in public — or little that makes sense. But the United States central bank says it is trying to be more clear and timely in communicating its policies. The latest example: a press conference by Chairman Ben Bernanke. The April twenty-seventh event …

Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance. The purpose is to let children learn from experience at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly. The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family. Timing is another consideration. …

The best example of something is often called the “gold standard.” It sets the standard against which other things are measured. In economics, the term describes how major trading nations once used gold to set currency values and exchange rates. Many nations continued to use the gold standard until the last century. In the United …

In early April, President Obama announced his plans to seek re-election in November of next year. In an e-mail to supporters, Mr. Obama said “the race may not reach full speed for a year or more.” But he said the work of building the campaign “must start today.”Some of that work will depend on how …

Microsoft has fought legal battles with officials in Europe and the United States over competition in the personal computer market. But at the end of March, Microsoft accused Google of being anti-competitive. A complaint to the European Commission accused Google of unfairly controlling the Internet search market in Europe. Google was already talking to the …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …