Police say unknown bombers detonated locally made dynamite near an important bridge in Nigeria’s oil-rich southern delta overnight, though no one was injured.
The blast happened Friday night in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa state, the home of President Goodluck Jonathan. Bayelsa state police spokesman Eguavoen Emokpae said the bomb targeted a bridge, but caused little damage.
The blast occurred as Bayelsa state is under increasing political pressure over an upcoming gubernatorial race in the state no teletrack payday loan. The winner of the race will control a state budget that’s larger than some nations surrounding oil-rich Nigeria. Violence remains common in elections in Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people and a top crude oil supplier to the U.S.
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Claims for jobless benefits last week dropped to the lowest level in almost four years, pointing to an improvement in the U.S. job market that may help bolster spending in the new year.
Applications (INJCJC) for unemployment insurance payments plunged by 50,000 to 352,000 in the week ended Jan. 14, less than forecast and the fewest since April 2008, according to data from the Labor Department issued today in Washington. Other reports showed consumer prices were little changed in December for a second month and builders started work on the most single-family houses in more than a year.
Jobless claims, which tend to be volatile week to week around holidays, have trended down over the past month, a sign employment may pick up after payrolls grew by 200,000 in December. Gains in incomes, combined with less inflation, will probably underpin household spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the world
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Thousands of Cyprus government workers held a three-hour strike Tuesday to protest a proposed two-year salary freeze they regard is unfair.
Even limited strikes are rare in the eurozone member of 800,000 people with a bloated public sector that takes up around a third of all government spending.
But trade unions said they were not adequately consulted in talks between the government and opposition parties _ which hold a majority in Parliament _ in hammering out the deal.
The strike closed schools early but did not affect airports, sea ports and hospitals.
In Nicosia, hundreds of protesters booed and mocked lawmakers entering and exiting parliament, and union leaders said they should have targeted tax dodgers and the rich, not public employees.
“We unreservedly say no to these false dilemmas that make workers easy prey, while provocatively leaving businesses, big capital and generally those who have untouched,” said Glafcos Hadjipetrou, boss of the PASYDY union.
Finance Minister Kikis Kazamias told union leaders they were left out of the talks because he needed a quick deal because the island faces sanctions under EU rules if it doesn’t agree on deficit-cutting measures by mid-December.
“This was something that shouldn’t be considered the rule, but rather the exception,” Kazamias said.
Cyprus is trying to slash its fiscal deficit and restore investor confidence following credit rating downgrades _ mainly due to its banks heavy exposure to debt-laden Greece _ that have brought it a step above junk status.
The island, with a euro18 billion ($23.8 billion) economy, has been largely locked out of international markets for loans to pay its bills and refinance its debt, as interest rates on its bonds have shot up as a result of the downgrades.
Cyprus is relying on a euro2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) loan from Russia at an interest rate much lower than what markets are offering to see it through until around middle of next year.
Austerity measures the government is trying to push through parliament include raising a sales tax from 15 to 17 percent, a scale-based levy on private sector salaries above euro2,500 ($3,312), reducing social benefits by euro200 million ($265 million) and reducing public sector positions.
Lawmakers will hold separate votes this week on the budget and additional austerity measures, which aim to shrink the deficit from the current 6.5 percent of gross domestic product to 2.4 percent.
Italian borrowing costs have dropped significantly in the latest market test of confidence in the country’s ability to manage its high debt.
Italy easily sold euro7 billion ($9.4 billion) in 12-month bonds on Monday at an interest rate of 5.92 percent, down from last month’s record of 6.087 percent.
The sale was held on the second “bond day” sponsored by the Italian Banker’s Association, which allowed private buyers to snap up public debt without the usual commission. Analysts said the move _ aimed at engendering confidence in the nation’s debt _ would help retail sales.
Also Monday, union leaders are calling for a three-hour strike to protest austerity measures that Premier Mario Monti hopes will save the country from financial ruin.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
ROME (AP) _ Union leaders in Italy are calling on workers to stage a three-hour strike to protest austerity measures that Premier Mario Monti hopes will save the country from financial ruin.
The union leaders say the measures hit too hard at pensioners and workers and not hard enough at the wealthy. Besides Monday’s strike, an afternoon rally is to be held outside Parliament, which is expected to pass the measures by Christmas.
Labor Minister Elsa Fornero said Sunday that some pension reforms might be softened, but that overall spending cuts must remain for the country to regain credibility on financial markets. An auction of 12-month bonds will test that credibility.
The strike forced Milan’s La Scala opera house to cancel a performance. Metalworkers were among those expected to strike.
In its 26-year history, Gateway Greening has helped transform the city’s landscape, building nearly 200 community and youth gardens, beautifying street medians and venturing into urban farming.
Now the organization has a new leader in Michael Sorth, who is trading his “old” life as an investment banker with Stifel Nicolaus & Co. for a new one in community gardening.
The transition, he says, will be drastic in some ways. Instead of millions, he’ll be dealing in smaller sums: Gateway Greening’s budget is about $800,000. But he views the position as a prime chance to make the city more self-sufficient, more sustainable, and a greener, more farm-friendly place to live
Yemen’s embattled president must speed up reforms and begin a transfer of power according to a plan backed by the international community, said a U.N. envoy on Monday.
Jamal Benomar visited Yemen for a week to promote a Gulf-backed proposal that calls for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to transfer power to his vice president in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
Saleh told a TV interviewer that he will sign, but he did not say when.
Saleh has resisted the proposal despite nearly nine months of protests against his 30-year rule. Several times he said he would sign, only to back away at the last minute. Months of international diplomacy has failed to resolve the crisis.
Benomar held meetings with opposition figures on Monday, including Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who leads a military unit of defectors siding with the opposition and protecting protesters.
Earlier in his trip, Benomar met with Saleh and his deputy.
In a rare interview with foreign media, Saleh told the TV channel France 24 that he would sign the Gulf-backed package, but he would not say when that would happen or what was preventing him from doing so, vaguely noting that there was no time mechanism in the accord online payday loan lenders. The interview was broadcast late Monday.
“Definitely, definitely,” Saleh replied when asked if he intended to leave power. “I believe that anyone who grips on to power is crazy.” He said he would step down 90 days after the agreement goes into effect, but he did not say when that would be.
Mediators and opposition figures have become exasperated with what they see as Saleh’s stalling tactics.
He said that the media was lying when reporting he refused to sign the agreement. He accused armed militias of infiltrating peaceful demonstrations in Yemeni cities.
Pro-Saleh forces regularly engage in deadly clashes with armed tribesmen and military defectors who support the protesters in Yemen’s largest cities, and al-Qaida-linked militants have taken control of entire towns in the country’s restive south.
Security has collapsed across the Arab world’s poorest nation during the nine-month popular uprising.
DETROIT
The Bank of Italy has warned that the government’s revamped austerity plan must not cut back on the proposed euro45.5 billion ($65.9 billion) in new taxes and spending cuts needed to meet European Central Bank demands for a balanced budget.
Premier Silvio Berlusconi and his allies late Monday revised the planned austerity measures after widespread public anger, deciding to scrap a special tax on high earners and spare small town governments from consolidation and cuts.
The new measures tinker with retirement age and call for a reduction in the number of lawmakers, among other things fast cash loans.
The Bank of Italy’s vice chief Ignazio Visco told parliament committees Tuesday that he hoped the market’s response to the fiscal retreat “isn’t too penalizing.” He said the overall austerity plan “cannot be reduced.”
TD Bank (TSX: TD) is boosting its stake in Canadian consumer debt.
The bank says it has agreed to purchase the Canadian credit card business of Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), which has about $8.5 billion in receivables.
While TD did not disclose the value of the transaction, it said the price was a “modest premium.”
The assets are part of the MBNA credit card portfolio, which was acquired by Bank of America in 2006.
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