Thousands of recently highly paid workers have been laid off after the oil price plummeted 50 percent in 2014. At least four American oil-producing states are already facing budget problems due to decreasing oil revenues. The price plunge has affected petroleum production in all oil-extracting countries, including the US. Currently cheap fuel is still believed to be providing an overall boost to the... 

Howard Marks believes the plunge in oil prices may usher in a new era for investing in distressed debt. For more than three years, the billionaire investor and Oaktree Capital Group LLC (OAK) co-founder urged his deal makers to be cautious, warning of loose credit standards and high prices for distressed assets. That may change as the price of oil plummets, Marks said in a letter to clients yesterday. “With... 

Demonstrators hold a banner that reads “No to the austerity, yes to the social Europe” during a rally in Paris on September 30, 2012. Angry people have taken to the streets of French capital Paris in protest to the government’s economic policies, Press TV reports. “Economic policies across Europe are clearly meant to serve high finance and to create tax breaks for businesses. But... 

Workers laid off by an American auto parts company in Argentina have burnt US flags during a protest march on Washington’s embassy in the country’s capital, Buenos Aires. The Wednesday evening protest rally was triggered by job losses at a manufacturing plant run by US auto parts maker Lear as the Argentine automotive industry reels from an ailing economy. Hundreds of Argentinean workers, many... 

The US software giant Microsoft has announced plans to slash 18,000 jobs from its global workforce in 2015, the largest cuts in the company’s 39-year history. In a statement on Thursday, the company described the shakeup as part of its strategy to streamline business under new CEO Satya Nadella. Layoffs represent about 14 percent of the company’s workforce and will be completed by next June. Nadella,... 

The Internet Mana campaign has kicked off in New Zealand, with the new political party founded by the Megaupload owner promising 100,000 new jobs, free higher education, and 100 percent renewable energy by 2015. Kim Dotcom was named the nation’s “newest super hero” and he expressed high hopes for the party. “I can tell you right now we will get over 5 percent in this election,”... 

The US software giant Microsoft has announced plans to slash 18,000 jobs from its global workforce in 2015, the largest cuts in the company’s 39-year history. In a statement on Thursday, the company described the shakeup as part of its strategy to streamline business under new CEO Satya Nadella. Layoffs represent about 14 percent of the company’s workforce and will be completed by next June. Nadella,... 

Microsoft will cut a record 18,000 jobs next year, as the company’s new CEO Satya Nadella seeks to boost efficiency, according to a company memo on Thursday. “The first step to building the right organization for our ambitions is to realign our workforce. With this in mind, we will begin to reduce the size of our overall workforce by up to 18,000 jobs in the next year,” Satya Nadella said in... 

Canada’s unemployment rate has edged up to 7.1 percent as government data showed the economy unexpectedly shed thousands of jobs in June. Canada’s jobless rate increased to 7.1 percent from 7.0 percent in May, marking the highest record in six months, Statistics Canada reported on Friday. Economic growth also fell below expectations as the country shed some 9,400 jobs in June. The total number... 

Mainstream financial pundits are falling over themselves today following a report from the Labor Department indicating that the national unemployment rate has fallen yet again, this time to just 6.3%. The Associated Press, whose report on the new rate is being distributed to news services around the country, says this is “the strongest evidence to date that the economy is picking up.” They cite... 

The Australian government, has surprised few people by continuing to fight on behalf of business against working Australians. So far, it’s been rather victorious, overseeing many Australians being put out of work, or should that be, ‘liberated’ from employment. The Liberals latest booting to the Aussie worker is to expand the 457 visa scheme via loopholes. A loophole existed, which allowed employers... 

​The local government of Gothenburg, Sweden, is to begin a yearlong experiment to see if cutting the working week to 30 hours will be more efficient. It is hoped working less hours will cut down on sick leave, and save money. Under the plan, the employees will remain on the same pay. “We think it’s time to give this a real shot in Sweden,” as deputy mayor Mats Pilhem told the Swedish... 

Official figures show that unemployment in the European Union (EU) has increased during the 12-month period ending in January 2014, with around 26 million people jobless in both the EU and the eurozone, Press TV reports. The EU statistical agency, Eurostat, said in its latest report that unemployment in the EU rose by 17,000 over the one-year time span. More than 26 million people of working age were... 

An Italian man reads job offers outside a recruitment agency in the city of Milan. Southern Italy has lost 600,000 jobs over the past six years and the area has lost some 43.7 billion euros of its gross domestic product (GDP) during the economic crisis, a report shows. The data was released on Friday by the country’s industrial employers’ association Confindustria. The association also said that... 

Spaniards wait in line at a government employment office in the Madrid suburb of Santa Eugenia. Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) says the country’s population is shrinking at an accelerating pace amid soaring unemployment. The INE said on Tuesday that nearly 260,000 people moved from the crisis-hit country in the first half of 2013, while only 134,312 migrated to the country. This left...