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Business/Economy (Bloggers & Personal)

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  • Gallup Good Jobs Rate in U.S. Continues to Rise

    08/04/2017 8:27:02 AM PDT · by 2ndDivisionVet · 2 replies
    Gallup ^ | August 3, 2017
    The Gallup Good Jobs (GGJ) rate rose nearly a percentage point to 47.0% in July, from 46.3% in June. The GGJ rate now ties the highest point for the measure since 2010, 47.1% in July of last year. The July figures are based on Gallup Daily tracking throughout the month, encompassing interviews with 28,383 U.S. adults. The increase in the July GGJ rate is not unexpected, as the measure typically rises between the spring and summer months, peaking in June or July. The measure has risen each year, from the onset of spring in March to July, since Gallup began...
  • 120 manufacturing jobs coming with $80M renovation of Piscataway plant ($75,000 year in New Jersey)

    08/03/2017 10:21:11 PM PDT · by 2ndDivisionVet · 6 replies
    The Jersey Journal ^ | August 3, 2017 | Cindy Capitani
    PISCATAWAY - An $80 million modern manufacturing plant being built in Piscataway will bring 120 jobs to the area and new life to an abandoned chemical factory, officials said Thursday. Cascades, Inc. produces, converts and markets packaging and tissue products that are composed mainly of recycled fibers. The new state-of-the-art, 400,000-square-foot facility will manufacture corrugated packaging products at the new facility, according to a release from the company. Piscataway Mayor Brian C. Wahler said it's an important development for the town. "Not only are we getting an old site back on the tax rolls, but we'll be gaining a tremendous...
  • Donald Trump's merit-based immigration system may benefit Indians

    08/03/2017 7:27:21 PM PDT · by 2ndDivisionVet · 22 replies
    The Times of India ^ | August 3, 2017 | The Press Trust of India
    President Donald Trump announced his support for a legislation that would cut in half the number legal immigrants allowed into the US while moving to a "merit-based" system favouring English-speaking skilled workers for residency cards. If passed by the Congress and signed into law, the legislation titled the Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment (RAISE) Act could benefit highly-educated and technology professionals+ from countries like India. The RAISE Act would scrap the current lottery system to get into the US and instead institute a points-based system for earning a green card. Factors that would be taken into account include English...
  • Mass Immigration Does Not Make America Richer: The RAISE Act Will Not Destroy The Economy

    08/03/2017 2:46:36 PM PDT · by Thalean · 9 replies
    American Greatness ^ | August 3, 2017 | Spencer P Morrison
    A number of comprehensive studies have examined the impact of immigration on economic growth. In America, one of the most thorough was a 642-page study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The study found that immigration held down the wages and undermined employment prospects of American citizens, particularly working-class Americans. This is not surprising, since more workers means more competition for employment, and therefore lower prices (wages). It is basic supply and demand in action. Another comprehensive study by the Fraser Institute found that immigration costs Canadian taxpayers some $24 billion per year—and this was using data...
  • What Would Really Happen If California Seceded?

    08/03/2017 12:41:18 PM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 108 replies
    SHTFPLAN ^ | 08/02/2017 | Daniel Lang
    There are two kinds of people who support the Calexit movement. People living in California who think that their state would be far better off without being hitched to the rest of the union, and people living in every other state who can’t wait to get rid of California.I’d wager that latter of those two know something that most Calexit supporters in California do not. They know that the golden state is a toxic influence on the rest of the country. It’s become a breeding ground for leftists ideologies, and the people who believe those ideologies have run the...
  • Seattle’s Minimum Wage: An Experiment in Democracy Gone Wrong

    08/03/2017 8:23:24 AM PDT · by davikkm · 12 replies
    IWB ^ | Robert Carbery
    Seattle, Washington, with its highest-in-the-nation minimum wage, has discovered how high is too high. In January 2016, Seattle’s minimum wage jumped to $13 an hour from $11 for large companies. New research released in late June by a team of economists at the University of Washington points to the wage hike having come at a significant cost to low wage employees: The increase led to steep declines in employment for low-wage workers and a drop in hours for those who kept their jobs. The slashing of jobs and hours resulted in, on average, $125 less per month because of the...
  • Hundreds of jobs, $139 million investment planned in Morgan County by major companies (Alabama)

    08/02/2017 3:07:00 PM PDT · by 2ndDivisionVet · 4 replies
    WHNT-TV ^ | August 2, 2017 | Staff
    MORGAN COUNTY, Ala. – ULA, Dynetics, and Wolverine Tube are all planning to invest at least $139 million combined in Morgan County, which would create 265 new jobs. The companies presented their proposed investment plans to the Decatur Industrial Development Board on Wednesday, where they received approval for tax abatement to support the plans. Wolverine Tube outlined their plans to build and operate a $16 million dollar aluminum manufacturing facility starting this month. The plant is projected to create 250 jobs within three years. United Launch Alliance’s proposed project requires capital investments for new tech and infrastructure for the new...
  • 7 deadliest jobs in the world: Besides high risk involved, these also feature long hours & low pay

    08/01/2017 6:38:38 PM PDT · by 2ndDivisionVet · 49 replies
    Gulf News ^ | August 1, 2017 | Dona Cherian, Guides Writer
    Dubai: The deadliest jobs also tend to be ones with low pay and crazy hours, in addition to the high risk. These jobs are common to almost every country in the world, as they are professions we cannot really do without for a functioning economy. Many of these occupations, however, do not apply to the UAE except for construction workers, truck drivers and sanitation workers. In an online poll conducted a few years ago, voters rated firefighters and high-rise window cleaners as being in the deadliest jobs in the UAE. Lumberjacks Workers dealing in the initial harvesting and transportation of...
  • Simmons Foods facility creating new jobs in Siloam Springs (78 jobs in Arkansas)

    08/01/2017 6:14:13 PM PDT · by 2ndDivisionVet · 4 replies
    KATV-TV ^ | July 31, 2017 | Kristen Wilson|
    SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. (KATV) — Simmons Feed Ingredients, an affiliate of Simmons Foods Inc., is opening a 72,000-square-foot ingredient facility in Siloam Springs, a move that represents a $30 million company investment. The site is expected to create 78 new jobs at the facility, where they will produce fresh and frozen meat ingredients for pet food manufacturers. “This wet ingredient facility is a model for the future of high-quality ingredient production for pet food manufacturers,” said Todd Simmons, CEO at Simmons Foods. “This new facility enables our team here to safely and reliably produce the highest quality, customizable ingredients for...
  • 100 New Jobs Coming to Dade City (Florida)

    08/01/2017 5:56:29 PM PDT · by 2ndDivisionVet · 2 replies
    Florida Trend ^ | August 1, 2017
    PASCO COUNTY -- Superior Precast is a new FDOT project supplier, manufacturing precast concrete products for The Reinforced Earth Company to be used in the construction of major road projects in Florida. After working closely with the Pasco EDC, Berkshire Hathaway Commercial Division, Pasco County, and Dade City, Superior decided to locate into 62,777 square feet of industrial space in the Dade City Business Center. “Big things are happening here in Dade City,” exclaimed Dade City Mayor, Camille Hernandez. “We’re happy to have them here, and to add that many jobs to our local economy is truly amazing.” Pasco County...
  • Atlanta Journal Constitution Blames Trump for Not Helping the Gun Industry Enough

    08/01/2017 2:02:18 PM PDT · by marktwain · 21 replies
    Gun Watch ^ | 29 July, 2017 | Dean Weingarten
    June sales chart not yet released. May shows industry growth since 2000 A staff writer for the Atlanta Journal Constitution blog has stretched the truth a considerable amount in saying that President Trump has been detrimental to the gun industry. From myajc.com: President Donald Trump may yet rejuvenate coal mining or bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. But his election already seems to have been detrimental to at least one economic sector: the gun industry. With the new president firmly aligned with gun-rights advocates, the FBI performed 9 percent fewer firearms background checks in the first half...
  • Is The Mafia Helping ISIS Smuggle Oil Into Italy?

    08/01/2017 9:34:22 AM PDT · by bananaman22 · 4 replies
    Oilprice.com ^ | 01-08-2017 | Irina
    The Italian mafia may have teamed up with the Islamic State to smuggle crude oil from the Middle East into Italy, an ongoing police investigation has suggested, according to The Times who cited a report by La Repubblica. The Italian daily noted that the police had found substantial amounts of Libyan and Syrian crude that were greater than some local refineries’ inventories, with sources connected with the investigation saying that crude, “should not have been there.” Yet the police have no evidence that the oil came from IS, or whether it came from another non-extremist group of traffickers, because the...
  • Gun Glut: It's a buyer's market right now.

    08/01/2017 9:19:57 AM PDT · by rktman · 39 replies
    On this day last year, I was on my Facebook timeline touting a new de-contented Colt entry-level AR carbine with an MSRP in the low $700 range. Today, CDNN is selling brand new Colt LE6920's, pretty much the benchmark AR-pattern carbine, for $799.99 and throwing in a 30-round Pmag and some other stuff to sweeten the deal. Walther is offering hundred dollar rebates on the PPQ and HK is throwing in bundles of magazines with new pistol purchases, meaning that in real terms you're getting a Walther or Heckler & Koch for the price of a base model G-lock. Smith...
  • Building data centers creates jobs

    07/31/2017 6:45:51 PM PDT · by 2ndDivisionVet · 12 replies
    The Birmingham News ^ | July 31, 2017 | Tim Day
    It's no secret that the economy is changing. As technology plays a greater role in our personal and professional lives, our economy too increasingly relies on technology to create jobs and encourage growth. Technology is the foundation of our digital economy, and its modern infrastructure is data. However, in order to use data, we need a place to process and store it - in other words, data centers. Data centers are facilities that house the computers that process data. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, there are three million data centers across the country - including here in Alabama....
  • Maine Employers Coax Former Residents Home to Fill Jobs

    07/31/2017 6:14:06 PM PDT · by 2ndDivisionVet · 18 replies
    Fox Business News ^ | July 31, 2017 | Jon Kamp
    Employers and recruiters looking to fill positions in Maine are scouring the U.S. for people who once lived in the northern New England state in hopes work will coax them back. With the state's unemployment rate hovering at 3.5%, near record lows, the labor market is tight, particularly in the southern part of the state near Portland, Maine's largest city with 67,000 residents. Though the state known as "Vacationland" draws tourists to its coastal hamlets and rugged wilderness, it can be harder to convince outsiders to actually live there, recruiters say. Maine doesn't have a deep roster of major companies,...
  • Want to Revive U.S. Manufacturing? Walmart has Some Suggestions

    07/31/2017 2:00:01 PM PDT · by 2ndDivisionVet · 21 replies
    Engineering ^ | July 28, 2017 | Ian Wright
    Revitalizing American manufacturing has been a hot topic for some time, gaining prominence as a talking point in last year’s election. Donald Trump’s victory led many to speculate about the future of manufacturing in the U.S., particularly whether it’s possible to bring manufacturing back to America. The latest piece of advice on this topic comes from a rather surprising source: Walmart. The retail giant recently convened a meeting of representatives from governments, businesses and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to present a Policy Roadmap to Renew U.S. Manufacturing. “As we’ve worked over the last four years alongside our suppliers toward our goal...
  • Jobs are being outsourced again — back to the U.S.

    07/31/2017 1:40:12 PM PDT · by 2ndDivisionVet · 3 replies
    The Seattle Times ^ | July 30, 2017 | Steve Lohr, The New York Times
    Salaries have risen in places like South Asia, making outsourcing there less of a bargain. In addition, as brands pour energy and money into their websites and mobile apps, more of them are deciding that there is value in having developers in the same time zone. For years, U.S. companies have been saving money by “offshoring” jobs — hiring people in India and other distant cubicle farms. Today, some of those jobs are being outsourced again — in the United States. Nexient, a software outsourcing company, reflects the evolving geography of technology work. It holds daily video meetings with one...
  • Walmart Markets Jacket Designed for Concealed Carry

    07/31/2017 1:04:27 PM PDT · by marktwain · 23 replies
    Gun Watch ^ | 28 July, 2017 | Dean Weingarten
    WalMart is carrying a jacket specifically designed for concealed carry. Clothing designed for concealed carry has been available commercially for decades. But most of the shops marketing it were specialty oriented. WalMart may have seen the latest CPRC report. It shows the presence of 16.2 million concealed carry permit holders in the United States. The 16.2 million does not include the populations of the 14 states that do not require a permit to carry concealed pistols. Second Amendment supporters are winning the culture war. From WalMart.com: Rothco's Lightweight Concealed Carry Jacket has 2 inner pockets for concealed carry, one...
  • How on Earth Can Profits Grow at 10% in a 2% Economy?

    07/31/2017 8:56:30 AM PDT · by Lorianne · 42 replies
    Fortune ^ | 27 July 2017 | Shawn Tully
    Can profits really grow in double-digits in an economy bumping along at 2%? That's the question that investors should be asking, and instead ignore at their peril. We've all heard the Wall Street bulls' mantra, endlessly advanced by analysts and market strategists, that a renewed surge in profits will keep equity prices waxing. The current consensus among analysts forecasts that reported S&P earnings-per-share will jump from $100.29 in Q1 of 2017 (based on the past four quarters) to $133 by the end of 2018, an annualized increase of over 18%. Of course, those consensus forecasts are always inflated. But even...
  • U.S. coal exports soar, in boost to Trump energy agenda, data shows

    07/30/2017 10:03:19 PM PDT · by 2ndDivisionVet · 12 replies
    Reuters ^ | July 27, 2017 | Timothy Gardner and Nina Chestney
    U.S. coal exports have jumped more than 60 percent this year due to soaring demand from Europe and Asia, according to a Reuters review of government data, allowing President Donald Trump's administration to claim that efforts to revive the battered industry are working. The increased shipments came as the European Union and other U.S. allies heaped criticism on the Trump administration for its rejection of the Paris Climate Accord, a deal agreed by nearly 200 countries to cut carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels like coal. The previously unpublished figures provided to Reuters by the U.S. Energy Information...