By Satur C. Ocampo At Ground Level | The Philippine Star Under the presidency of Luis Inacio “Lula” da Silva of the Workers Party, Brazil’s economy grew phenomenally, with vast well-developed agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors topping all South American countries. (Brazil is one of the world’s leading “emerging markets,” known as the BRICS:…
Tags: global financial crisis
Joseph Stiglitz: Bankers Made Reckless Bets on the Economy, Knowing Taxpayers Were Going to Pick up the Tab
By ZACH CARTER Alternet International Posted by Bulatlat.com The Nobel Prize-winning economist argues the banking industry “failed in their core societal function,” helping lead to the great economic crash of ’08. Zach Carter: How did we get here? Joseph Stiglitz: Well, there are so many pieces that contributed to our getting here that it’s hard…
News in Pictures: ‘Defend Job Philippines’
Workers hold a picket on Wednesday to call attention to the growing number of those who lost their jobs and livelihood due to the global financial crisis. The workers, who marched to the labor department in Intramuros and later to Mendiola, are members of a movement called “Defend Job Philippines,” an alliance that promises to…
For Triumph’s Workers, a Bleak Future Made Worse by DOLE’s Complicity
The employees at Triumph International who are about to lose their jobs are wringing their hands over what awaits them in these difficult times. They are likewise upset that the labor department, instead of helping them, has been assisting the German company in its machinations to get rid of its workers.
US$50-T Losses in World Finances Reflect Capitalism’s Decay – Economist
The US$50-trillion loss of financial assets of the world’s economies is but a reflection of the decaying state of capitalism, economist Jose Enrique Africa of the independent think-tank IBON Foundation, Inc. said in reaction to a March 2009 study released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). BY NOEL SALES BARCELONA Correspondent Bulatlat The US$50-trillion loss…
Going Through the Eye of a Needle: Availing of the P50K Loan for OFWs
Through the reintegration program of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), a National Livelihood Support Fund was launched to “assist” overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were retrenched due to the global financial crisis. But retrenched OFWs have to comply with the stiff requirements and be prepared for the long haul before they would be able…
Speaking of Toxic Assets… Meltdown in the Drug Industry
Once upon a time you could rely on pharma when all else failed for a decent starting job — even if you did have to live in New Jersey. Not anymore. Pharma is melting down like Wall Street–and for the same reasons. BY MARTHA ROSENBERG Counterpunch INTERNATIONAL Posted by Bulatlat Think you’ve got problems? Imagine…
‘Resiliency Plan for OFWs a Grand Hoax’ – Migrant Group
A global alliance of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) branded the Arroyo administration’s economic resiliency plan for OFWs as a grand hoax. BY ANGIE DE LARA AND RONALYN OLEA MIGRANT WATCH Bulatlat Evanessa Valmadrid is one of the retrenched OFWs from Taiwan who trooped to the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NCRO), February 27, hoping to…
Retrenched Workers, Contractuals Launch Own Association
BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO Bulatlat Retrenched workers and those in danger of being retrenched, as well as long-time contractual workers gathered today at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City to launch an association that, they say, would defend their rights. The association is called the Samahan Laban sa Tanggalan at Kontraktwalisasyon (STK or…
Women Workers Stage Protest vs Retrenchments
BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO Bulatlat Members of the groups Kilusan ng Manggagawang Kababaihan (KMK or Movement of Women Workers and GABRIELA staged a protest action against retrenchments this afternoon at the Boy Scouts’ Circle along Tomas Morato Avenue in Quezon City. Some 15,000 workers in the Philippines have lost their jobs from November 2008 to…
Bailouts & Sellouts
It is amazing to see sums now running into the trillions being allocated almost entirely to substantial market players, many of whom were heavily involved in producing the financial debacle we are now suffering. The priorities of the U.S. establishment, including both the leading Democrats as well as the Republicans and mainstream media, are clear—at…