40 Years after Thatcher: The Future of Work - BBC Newsnight

Forty years after week Margaret Thatcher came to power, is the UK once again on the brink of a sea change?

Tom Steyer: Why Tax Cuts for the Rich Are So Stupid

Rich Americans know they don't need a tax cut.

Economist Joseph Stiglitz: Capitalism Hasn’t Been Working for Most People for the Last 40 Years

We look at staggering inequality and the state of the U.S. economy with Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, who served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Clinton. Joseph Stiglitz is a professor at Columbia University and chief economist for the Roosevelt Institute. His latest book, out this week, is “People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent.”

Is Disney CEO Bob Iger's Salary Insane?

Over the past decade, Bob Iger has become one of the biggest names in Hollywood, with an annual salary to match. One member of the Disney family, however, has taken up a recent issue with the executive's pay scale. Earlier today, filmmaker Abigail Disney — the great niece of Walt Disney — shared a tweet in which she voiced displeasure with Iger's current salary ratio to that of the average employee of the Walt Disney Company.

Robert Reich in Los Angeles on Income Inequality (2018)

Robert Reich, Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and former Secretary of Labor, discussed the state of income inequality, the Trump presidency, the new steel and aluminum tariffs and the promising future of today's high school and college students.

Americans Drowning in Debt, Unable to Save

New numbers paint a troubling picture of middle-income Americans’ financial preparedness. 78 percent of households in the US live paycheck to paycheck and 40 percent don’t have enough money to cover emergency bills. There is also a growing problem of overspending and ballooning household credit card debt. RT America’s John Huddy joins News.Views.Hughes with the details.

Mega Yachts: The Latest Craze for Billionaires

Billionaire businessmen throughout the world are fighting to possess the most original, flamboyant and magnificent yachts ever built, by their length, tonnage, design and technology. It is this exceptional world that we will reveal, filming ship-owners, shipyard managers and billionaires. Discover legendary ships, from Dubai to Monaco and Miami, but also in Groenland.

The Great Depression 1 – A Job at Ford's

Just before the advent of the Great Depression, Henry Ford controlled the most important company in the most important industry in the booming American economy. His offer of high wages in exchange for hard work attracted workers to Detroit, but it began to come apart when Ford hired a private police force to speed up production and spy on employees. After the depression hit in 1929, these workers faced a new, grim reality as unemployment skyrocketed.

The Great Depression 2 – The Road to Rock Bottom

As the Great Depression progressed economic collapse took its toll on rural America.Crops went unsold, farm mortgages were called in by banks, hungry farmers protested, and robberies increased dramatically. The U.S. Army was called in to defend the nation's capital from veterans who were demanding that President Hoover and Congress pay a bonus for their services in World War I. The film ends with Franklin Roosevelt's landslide election to the presidency.

The Great Depression 3 – New Deal, New York

In his first one hundred days in office, in a effort to stem the effects of the Great Depression, President Roosevelt created many new federal agencies giving jobs and relief to people and transforming the American landscape with public works projects. Nowhere was this transformation more apparent than in Mayor Fiorello La Guardia's New York City. Together Roosevelt and La Guardia expanded and redefined the role of government in the lives of the American people.

The Great Depression 4 – We Have a Plan

By 1934 challenges to the New Deal came from both sides of the political spectrum. In California Socialist Upton Sinclair ran for Governor promising to turn idle land and factories into self-governing cooperatives. Sinclair's campaign ended in defeat, but one year later President Roosevelt's signing of the Social Security Act signaled America's emergence as a modern welfare state.

Interview: «Trump wird alles tun, um den Boom an der Börse zu verlängern»

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Die Weltwirtschaft sei schwächer, als die Anleger an den Finanzmärkten annähmen, denkt der frühere Hedge-Fund-Manager Raoul Pal. In seinen Augen deutet die Zinsstrukturkurve unmissverständlich auf eine Rezession in den nächsten Monaten hin. Was man am besten daraus macht, verrät er im Gespräch.

An den Märkten ist die Stimmung nach der fulminanten Erholung von den Turbulenzen des vergangenen Jahres gut wie lange nicht mehr. Wo stehen wir?

In meinen Augen ist die Weltwirtschaft schwächer, als die Märkte es anzunehmen scheinen. Die Exportzahlen schwächeln, sei es in Asien oder in Europa. Dort deutet einiges auf rezessive Tendenzen hin, während sich in den USA die Effekte der fiskalpolitischen Stimulierungsmassnahmen verflüchtigen. Die Anleger scheinen auf die Wiederholung dessen zu setzen, was im Jahr 2016 passiert ist. Damals hat die Wirtschaft eine Schwächephase schnell verdaut und hat wieder angezogen. Ich habe gewisse Zweifel daran, dass es dieses Mal erneut so sein wird. » | Christof Leisinger | Sonntag, 21. April 2019

Half of England Is Owned by Less Than 1% of the Population

THE GUARDIAN: Research by author reveals corporations and aristocrats are the biggest landowners

Half of England is owned by less than 1% of its population, according to new data shared with the Guardian that seeks to penetrate the secrecy that has traditionally surrounded land ownership.

The findings, described as “astonishingly unequal”, suggest that about 25,000 landowners – typically members of the aristocracy and corporations – have control of half of the country.

The figures show that if the land were distributed evenly across the entire population, each person would have almost an acre – an area roughly the size of Parliament Square in central London.

Major owners include the Duke of Buccleuch, the Queen, several large grouse moor estates, and the entrepreneur James Dyson. » | Rob Evans | Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Robert Reich: Socialism for the Rich, Capitalism for the Rest

Robert Reich explain how the wealthy and corporations receive billions in corporate welfare.

Trump Threatens Tariffs on $11bn of EU Imports Such as Food and Wine

THE GUARDIAN: White House says levies are response to Airbus subsidies it claims harm US interests

Donald Trump has threatened to impose US tariffs on $11bn (£8.4bn) of goods from the EU, raising the stakes in the transatlantic trade dispute between the world’s two largest economic superpowers.

The Trump administration announced the additional levies on EU goods – including roquefort and stilton cheese, wine and aircraft parts – as a response to subsidies for Airbus, the European aerospace and defence group, which it said were harmful to the US.

The latest threat by the White House to slap higher import tariffs on a major trading partner comes after a long-running dispute between the US and the EU over their state subsidy support for Airbus and Boeing, the world’s two biggest civil aerospace firms. » | Richard Partington, Economics correspondent | Tuesday, April 9, 2019

IMF Says No-deal Brexit Risks Two-year Recession for UK

THE GUARDIAN: World Economic Outlook refers to ‘large, long-lasting negative impacts’ on Britain and EU Britain’s already struggling economy would be pushed into a two-year recession by a no-deal Brexit, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

Ahead of Theresa May’s plea to EU leaders for a further delay to Britain’s departure, the IMF used a downbeat half-yearly assessment of the global economy to predict that the UK economy could be 3.5% smaller than expected by 2021 if trade barriers were swiftly erected.

The World Economic Outlook – completed in March before the latest developments in Brexit – predicted UK growth of 1.2% in 2019 on the assumption that a Brexit deal is done.

Growth in 2020 has also been revised down – by 0.1 points to 1.4% – since the fund’s last WEO in October, but the IMF said its projections were surrounded by uncertainty. » | Larry Elliott in Washington | Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Trump Says the U.S. Is ‘Full.’ Much of the Nation Has the Opposite Problem.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: An aging population and a declining birthrate among the native-born population mean a shrinking work force in many areas.

President Trump has adopted a blunt new message in recent days for migrants seeking refuge in the United States: “Our country is full.”

To the degree the president is addressing something broader than the recent strains on the asylum-seeking process, the line suggests the nation can’t accommodate higher immigration levels because it is already bursting at the seams. But it runs counter to the consensus among demographers and economists.

They see ample evidence of a country that is not remotely “full” — but one where an aging population and declining birthrates among the native-born population are creating underpopulated cities and towns, vacant housing and troubled public finances.

Local officials in many of those places view a shrinking population and work force as an existential problem with few obvious solutions. » | Neil Irwin and Emily Badger | Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Saudis Threaten to Ditch Dollar: Call Their Bluff?

Rick Sanchez explains how the importance of oil is what made the US the internationally recognized world reserve currency. But now the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is threatening to sell its oil in alternative currency if Washington passes the “NOPEC” bill, aimed at applying economic pressure to oil-exporting countries. RT America’s John Huddy joins Rick Sanchez to discuss.

Trump’s Economy: Job Layoffs Surge To Highest Level In A Decade

We keep hearing all this great news about job creation and see those monthly reports of a few hundred thousand jobs being created, but what we don’t hear about is the other side of that coin – Layoffs in this country have hit a ten-year high, meaning more people are losing their jobs today than at the height of the recession. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains what’s happening and why the administration keeps trying to paint a picture that isn’t based in reality.

Trump Says Fed Should Cut Rates and Lift Economy

THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Trump on Friday called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates and take additional steps to stimulate economic growth, his latest attempt to put the traditionally independent central bank under his thumb.

Speaking to reporters before traveling to the southern border, Mr. Trump once again criticized the Fed’s interest rate increases in 2018, saying “they really slowed us down.” The president, who is presiding over one of the longest sustained economic expansions in United States history, also said the Fed should do more to give the economy a lift.

Mr. Trump’s comments coincide with his efforts to install allies at the Fed as he heads into a re-election campaign that will largely be a referendum on the state of the economy. While the economy is still strong, the effects of Mr. Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax cut are waning and his trade war has begun to hurt some American industries, as well as contributing to slower growth in China. » | Jim Tankersley | Friday, April 5, 2019

Billionaire JP Morgan Chief Attacks Socialism as 'a Disaster'

THE GUARDIAN: Jamie Dimon: socialism leads to ‘corruption and favouritism’ / America’s top banker, paid $31m last year, defends capitalism

The world’s most powerful banker has attacked socialism, saying it produces “stagnation, corruption and often worse”.

JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon took aim at socialism in his annual letter to shareholders, and warned it would be “a disaster for our country”.

Dimon, who was paid $31m last year as the head of America’s largest bank and who is estimated by Forbes to be worth $1.3bn, took his swipe as a new wave of left politics has emerged in the US.

Democratic socialism has been embraced by a new generation of politicians, including New York congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and supporters of Bernie Sanders, a longtime socialist now making a second bid for the presidency.

Dimon’s attack also comes as many leftwing Democrats, including Sanders and senator Elizabeth Warren, have called for the breakup of big businesses and greater regulation of banking in particular.

In his letter, Dimon wrote: “When governments control companies, economic assets (companies, lenders and so on) over time are used to further political interests – leading to inefficient companies and markets, enormous favoritism and corruption.” » | Dominic Rushe in New York | Thursday, April 4, 2019

Is Global Recession Looming?

According to Heiner Flassbeck, former head of UNCTAD, there are many factors pointing to a convergence in a normal cyclical downturn deepening recession in Europe, complicated by potential hard Brexit--With host Paul Jay

Trump Dumps Nearly 1M People From Food Stamps

Trump administration toughens work requirements for people struggling the most—and 48% are white men. Chuck Collins from IPS discusses the implications

Saudi Oil Company Named World's Most Profitable Business

THE GUARDIAN: State-owned Saudi Aramco makes profits of £84.7bn last year, beating Apple and Exxon

Saudi Arabia’s state oil company has emerged as the most profitable business in the world, racking up profits of $111.1bn (£84.7bn) in 2018 to overtake Apple.

According to a rare glimpse into its finances contained in a bond-offering document, Saudi Aramco made the profit on revenues of $355.9bn last year, as it produced 10.3m barrels per day of crude oil.

The snapshot, published on Monday by the credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Services, places the company in a league above Apple, which made a profit of $59.5bn in 2018. » | Richard Partington | Monday, April 1, 2019

Opinion: Should We Worry About the Slowing Economy?

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Across the world, economists have had to downgrade growth forecasts. Get used to it.

Last year looked like the time when President Trump had delivered on his promises to strengthen the economy. His tax cuts appeared to juice growth above 3 percent, a pace the United States had not topped since 2005. But on Thursday the Commerce Department revised 2018 growth downward to below 3 percent, even as forecasts for 2019 were also trending lower, toward 2 percent. It all has triggered another wave of disappointed commentary about doggedly “slow” growth in the United States.

But it is not just an American story, and it’s not just Mr. Trump who won’t deliver on promises of 3, 4 or even 5 percent growth. Across the world, economists have had to downgrade growth forecasts in most years since the global financial crisis of 2008. » | Ruchir Sharma | Mr. Sharma is a contributing opinion writer. | Monday, April 1, 2019