Some News from the World

Social Justice Ireland which says that 700,000 people are living in poverty in Ireland. This represents one sixth of the population

The number of Russians with incomes below the minimum cost of living increased to 18.1 million people, the Federal State Statistics Service (Rostat) reported.

In Pakistan, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Yasir Sakhi Butt said 60 percent people in the country were still experiencing food insecurity as food is unaffordable to them due to all-time high food inflation.

More than one million jobs have been created in the United States within the past six months. More than half of these new jobs, or nearly 668,000, were created in the restaurant, retail, temporary service, social assistance and hospitality sectors. Food services and accommodation employment is projected to be the sixth biggest job generator through 2020, creating 1 million new jobs.In other words, low-wage jobs, most without health benefits or paid sick leave.

The Asian Development Bank said that if inequality in the region had remained stable over the past 20 years, growth over the period would have lifted 240-million more people out of poverty, the equivalent of 6,5% of developing Asia’s population in 2010. But instead, inequality widened even as Asia’s economic growth took off. The Gini coefficient, a key measure of inequality, has risen sharply since the early 1990s in the three drivers of the region’s rapid growth — China, India and Indonesia. The share of income going to the richest households has increased in the past decade, with close to 20% of total income cornered by the wealthiest 5% in most countries in the region, the bank said. Primary drivers of the region’s rapid growth — technological progress, globalisation, and market-oriented reform — were the same factors that create a wedge between the rich and poor, with the highly skilled, capital rich, and urban centres favoured under this growth model, leaving out those without access to resources.

Google has $44.6 billion sitting in cash, ($21.2 billion held by its foreign subsidiaries). IBM, the world’s largest computer-services provider, had $11.9 billion in cash. Chipmaker Intel said it had $14.8 billion. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), the biggest software maker, had $51.7 billion in cash and equivalents at year’s end, and Oracle Corp. had about $30 billion as of its most recent quarter. Apple had amassed $97.6 billion in cash before its recent dividend pay-out and share buy-back
"...we used to be worried about companies taking on too much debt,” said Ryan Jacob, manager of Jacob Internet Fund, which includes Google shares. “Now, we’re worried about companies taking on too much cash.”