Positive US jobs numbers add to rate rise speculation
The US economy added a net 195,000 new jobs in June, official figures show.
The figure was well above economists' expectations of 165,000. Revisions to data for April and May added a further 70,000 jobs to previous estimates.
The jobless rate remained steady at 7.6% of the workforce, according to the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The dollar and US bond yields jumped as markets expectations rose that interest rates will start rising in a year.
The euro fell three quarters of a cent against the dollar to $1.282, while gold fell almost 3% to $1,214.36 an ounce.
The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds rose from 2.5% to 2.68% to their highest level in almost two years.
Treasury bonds - the US government's cost of borrowing - provide an indication of when markets expect the US Federal Reserve to begin raising interest rates, with many analysts now predicting that a move could come as soon as the end of 2014.
The news was initially welcomed on Wall Street, where the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all opened higher.
They turned negative mid-morning but regained the higher ground by afternoon trading.
"US employment data came out on the strong side of expectations," wrote Brown, Brothers, & Harriman in a note to clients.
"The jobs data will strengthen expectations of tapering Fed asset purchases,"
Economists paid close attention to the number this month due to concerns that the US Federal Reserve might begin to wind down - or "taper" - its policy of propping up the US economy by buying up debts with newly-created money.
Comments by chairman Ben Bernanke in June that indicated that positive economic data in the coming months might lead to tapering of the Fed's bond buying had roiled markets.
If the US economy continues to add jobs at this pace, the unemployment rate should fall from its current 7.6% to 6.5% by the end of 2014. This is the number the Fed has said the US jobs market must reach before it will end its programme of suppressing rates.
Leisure and hospitality jobs saw the biggest gains in June, as employers hired workers for the summer season.
The data eased fears that the "sequester" - a package of austerity measures that hit the economy in January - would have a negative impact on the jobs market.
The government shed 7,000 jobs in June, slightly less than expected.
Manufacturing, once a bright spot of the recovery, has continued its recent trend of job losses.
This has prompted some to question President Barack Obama's commitment to the manufacturing sector.
"The president laid out a goal of creating a million new manufacturing jobs in his second term. That effort is off to a terrible start," said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, an industry trade group.
Banks line up to take part in Lloyds share sale
Top banks are putting their submissions to the Treasury to run a potential £20bn sale of the nationalised part of Lloyds Bank.
Banks have until Monday to make their pitch to handle the sell-off of the government's 39% holding in Lloyds, with the sale of RBS, which is 81% owned by the taxpayer, to come later.
The sale method has not been decided.
He said private-equity businesses had also shown interest in buying around 10% of Lloyds, either just before or simultaneous with a more conventional placing of shares with investment institutions,.
The Sunday Times reported that Temasek, the Singapore government's investment arm, is willing to buy 10% of Lloyds' shares for £4.5bn.
Temasek is a shareholder in rival UK-headquartered bank Standard Chartered
While the method of sell-off is being considered, UK Financial Investments (UKFI), which manages the government's shares, will pick a shortlist of banks to handle it.
Later, it will narrow down the field.
UKFI said in a statement that the move was "merely planning formally for as and when a transaction takes place" and was "by no means an indication" that something was imminent.
The Lloyds sale is expected to kick off with up to £5bn of the government's holding for sale, with a classic 1980's-style privatisation - a direct sale of the shares to retail investors - unlikely.
One method may be to offer large blocks of shares to professional, institutional buyers, or even, as our correspondent reports, sovereign wealth or private equity funds.
The Reuters news agency said on Friday that the biggest names in international banking were eager to take part, although the fee income from the sale was likely to be modest when compared with usual commercial terms.
It said banks would be keen to participate for the prestige, and mentioned HSBC, Barclays, UBS and Credit Suisse as likely to be among them.
In June, Chancellor George Osborne said the government was ready to start selling its Lloyds shares, which on Friday were trading at 64p, above the government's breakeven price of just above 61p.
Source-BBC
Bahamas PM wants more outside help in crime fight
Amid ongoing worries about the high rate of violent crime in The Bahamas, Prime Minister Perry Christie used his address at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) heads of government meeting in Trinidad to push the United States and other developed countries to do more to help the region fight crime.
In fact, he said the United States and others have a “moral obligation” to give back to The Bahamas and to the countries in the Caribbean region.
“More must be done to help with development; to strengthen the sharing of intelligence and funding resources with respect to deportees coming back to the region; more must be done to help in the education of our populations,” said Christie while acknowledging on Wednesday evening that the United States is already assisting The Bahamas in its fight against crime.
“Indeed, isn’t it a fundamental irony that when we are most challenged for resources, when our traditional partners are cutting back on funding for our countries, our young people who gain their education at public expense in the region are more and more moving to the United States and to Canada?
“So we are paying for the expertise which enriches their societies. It is therefore incumbent upon us to make the case that the developed countries have an obligation, dare I say, a moral obligation in all of the circumstances, to give back to our societies.
“I use this opportunity again to say, that the developed world, the United States and Canada, have a stake in the success of the countries of the region.”
Christie noted that he spoke to US Attorney General Eric Holder while in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in February regarding the challenges that small island nations continue to face.
He pointed to the challenges surrounding human and gun trafficking.
Christie said during his conversation with Holder, he petitioned the United States to dedicate more resources to enable the region to more effectively meet the disastrous consequences of crime.
“Since that time, a delegation of American officials has visited our country and we are now working very closely on several initiatives to fight crime and to enhance security," Christie said.
However, he added that the work cannot stop there.
We must do more to impress upon our friends and neighbors that stability of our democracies and the stability of our countries are directly connected to the extent to which there can be a greater sharing in the strategies employed to address these challenges,” he said.
“Our security agenda and the fight against crime are unremitting, and we are engaged actively in seeking solutions pan Caribbean wide to these thorny problems.”
This is not the first time that Christie publicly called on the United States for assistance. He said last month that The Bahamas needed help to effectively deal with criminal deportees from that country.
Between 2002 and 2011, 957 Bahamians convicted of criminal offences were deported from The United States to The Bahamas, according to the Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2011 report.
Courtesy of the Nassau Guardian
CARICOM Summit in Port of Spain ends
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders ended their four-day summit in Port of Spain on Saturday agreeing to the immediate adoption of a stabilisation and growth agenda which emphasises the removal of constraints on competitive production as well as proactive facilitation and support for the private sector aimed at catalysing growth in critical economic sectors.
CARICOM chair and host Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar, speaking at the end of summit news conference, told reporters that the regional leaders addressed the issue of the future of CARICOM economies and agreed to deepen “the regional framework for growth and development through the pursuit of a development path which engenders inclusiveness of all stakeholders”.
She told reporters that in accordance with this strategic approach, the regional leaders agreed to the immediate “design and execution of a resource mobilisation strategy to facilitate targeted interventions by governments to catalyse and ignite growth in CARICOM states”.
In addition, the regional leaders also agreed that the Bureau of the Conference would be charged with the responsibility of advancing the decision and in this regard, the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat would circulate a comprehensive programme within one month for the consideration of the leaders.
Prior to the summit, CARICOM leaders had indicated that the meeting would focus on the issue of transportation, and Prime Minister Persad Bissessar said that the leaders had agreed to the re-introduction of a single domestic space “in the interest of hassle-free travel in the region”.
US Coast Guard sends cocaine smugglers to Guantanamo Bay
The United States Coast Guard says crew from the Cutter Northland and Coast Guard Station Miami Beach have offloaded over 1,000 pounds of cocaine and transferred the alleged smugglers to US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officials in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
On Saturday, the Coast Guard reported that the estimated street value of the drugs was US$19 million.
According to Coast Guard officials, while on routine patrol on May 29, 2013, the crew of the Cutter Bertholf received a report from a US Customs and Border Protection aircraft crew of a go-fast vessel about 305 miles southwest of Cocos Island, Costa Rica.
The crew of the Bertholf was diverted and eventually launched a helicopter and small boat crew.
The Coast Guard said a helicopter crew located the go fast vessel and informed a small boat crew which intercepted the vessel and located a package with about 1,250 pounds of cocaine.
Six suspected smugglers were detained; the security officials also sank the vessel “as a hazard to navigation.”
The cocaine was later transferred to crew-members on the Cutter Northland and passed on to DEA agents at Coast Guard Base Miami Beach.
The Coast Guard said it is constantly surveying the Caribbean Sea for the increased trans-shipment of illegal drugs and alleged drug traffickers.
Source-CMC
Popocatepetl volcano causes more Mexico flight chaos
US airlines have cancelled flights into and out of Mexico City for a second day over fears that ash from a rumbling volcano could affect their planes.
Delta and United Airlines were among the companies that stopped at least a dozen flights on Friday.
On Thursday, more than 40 flights were cancelled, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.
Popocatepetl volcano has been rumbling all year, and began spewing ash and steam earlier in the week.
Airport authorities insisted there was no danger.
An unnamed airport official told the AFP news agency: "There is a very thin presence of ash, which does not harm operations or affect equipment."
But Jorge Andres Gomez, a spokesman for the airport, said any change in the wind or intensity of the volcano would complicate the situation.
US Airways, Delta, United, American and Alaska Airlines all cancelled flights on Thursday.
The routes affected by the cancellations were flights to Houston, Dallas, Denver, Phoenix, Chicago and Los Angeles.
American said in a statement that it had taken the action as a precaution.
"We are closely monitoring the situation in Mexico City as volcanic ash continues to be emitted from Popocatepetl," said American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller.
Mexican airlines continued to fly into the airport as scheduled.
Most operations were getting back to normal later on Friday, officials said.
The authorities established an 11-km (seven-mile) no-go zone around the volcano, which lies 70km (40 miles) south-east of the airport.
Popocatepetl, which is 5,452m (17,900ft) high, has intensified in activity since May, and the alert level is currently set one notch below evacuation level.
Mexico's National Disaster Prevention Centre reported tremors and columns of ash and vapour at Popocatepetl on Friday.
It advised people living around the volcano to take precautions such as using masks, covering water supplies and staying indoors.
CARICOM Free Movement Bill tabled
A Bill to amend the Caribbean Community (Free Movement of Skilled Persons) Act, to broaden the categories of skilled nationals able to access jobs in regional countries has been tabled in the House of Representatives, by Minister of Labour and Social Security, Derrick Kellier.
The Bill provides for the introduction of a single certificate system, and it also seeks to implement fees to provide financing for administrative services for the processing and issue of qualifying certificates as well as increase penalties to deter non-compliance with the Act.
The Bill’s “Memorandum of Objects and Reasons” explains that the Caribbean Community (Free Movement of Skilled Persons) Act established the legislative framework for the phased implementation of Jamaica’s Treaty obligations under Articles 45 and 46 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, establishing the Caribbean Community, which was signed in the Bahamas on July 5, 2001.
The revised Treaty was itself implemented into domestic law by the Caribbean Community Act, and Article 45 of the Revised Treaty commits member states to the goal of the free movement of nationals within the community.
Articles 46 of the Revised Treaty obliges Jamaica and other member states to accord categories of community nationals the right to seek employment in their respective jurisdictions, and to establish appropriate legislative, administrative and procedural arrangements to facilitate movement of nationals into and within member state jurisdictions.
The Free Movement of Skilled Persons arises from an agreed CARICOM policy that was originally separate but related to the original Protocol II of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
The agreed policy, called The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Free Movement of Persons Act, is now enacted legislation in all the CSME Member States. It provides for the free movement of certain categories of skilled labour. Under this legislation, persons within these categories can qualify for Skills Certificates (which allow for the free movement across the region).
Eight categories of CARICOM nationals have been eligible for free movement throughout the CSME, without the need for work permits. They are: University Graduates, Media Workers, Artistes, Musicians, Sportspersons, Managers, Technical and Supervisory Staff attached to a company and Self-Employed Persons/Service Providers.
In addition the spouses and immediate dependent family members of these nationals will also be exempt from work permit requirements. At the July 2006 CARICOM Summit, it was agreed to allow for free movement of two more categories of skilled persons; tertiary-trained Teachers and Nurses.
It was also agreed that higglers, artisans, domestic workers and hospitality workers are to be added to the categories of labour allowed free movement at a later date, pending the agreement of an appropriate certification.
Source-jamaicaobserver
Murray wins Wimbledon
From the lawns of Wimbledon to the lochs of Scotland, all of Britain can celebrate.
Andy Murray made it possible Sunday, winning his country's hallowed tennis tournament to become the first British man in 77 years to raise the trophy at the All England Club.
Yes, this was history, and Murray's 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory over top-seeded Novak Djokovic was a fitting close to nearly eight decades of British frustration in its own backyard: A straight-setter, yes, but a hard-fought, 3-hour, 9-minute affair filled with long, punishing rallies and a final game that may have felt like another 77 years, with Murray squandering three match points before finally putting it away after four deuces.
Certainly, the endgame must have felt like torture to the 15,000 watching on Centre Court, the thousands more watching on a big-screen TV on the grounds and, of course, the millions of British watching on TV.
"Imagine playing it," Murray said in his on-court interview.
But he closed it out on this cloudless, 80-degree day on Centre Court. He put his name beside that of Fred Perry, the last British man to win Wimbledon, back in 1936.
Those words don't have to be written again.
"He's someone that I've obviously never met, but is quite relevant in my career really," Murray said.
The second-seeded Murray beat the best in Djokovic - top-ranked and a six-time Grand Slam winner known for both a mental and physical fitness built to handle what he faced Sunday: A crowd full of overheated partisans rooting against him, to say nothing of Murray himself.
"The atmosphere was incredible for him. For me, not so much, but this is what I expected," Djokovic said.
Since falling to Roger Federer in the final last year, Murray had shed some baggage by winning the Olympic gold medal on Centre Court, then following that with his first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open.
Shaq says Houston is a 'safe move' for Dwight
Shaquille O'Neal says the Los Angeles spotlight was too bright for Dwight Howard.
Speaking at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Shaq hammered his former colleague as if they were battling in the post.
O'Neal opened his mouth agape when asked about Howard, who chose to leave the Lakers for the Houston Rockets late Friday, and joked about cheering on Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Danica Patrick in Saturday night's race.
A few seconds later, he threw an elbow Howard's way.
"It was expected," Shaq said. "We've all been in L.A., and not a whole lot of people can handle being under the bright lights. Everybody wants to do it, but when you get there, there are certain pressures. I think it was a safe move for him to go to a little town like Houston. That's right, little town. I said it."
Former Lakers coach Phil Jackson, meanwhile, shared his thoughts on Howard's decision through his Twitter account Sunday morning, writing that he believes the Lakers will be fine.
Bravo Banned, Simmons In
Lendl Simmons has been named in the West Indies squad for today's match against Sri Lanka in the CELKON Mobile Cup at Queen's Park Oval.
The 28-year-old batsman, who can also bowl medium-pace, is a replacement for captain Dwayne Bravo.
The selection panel of the West Indies Cricket Board called up Simmons following a one-match suspension handed down to Bravo after the West Indies were fined for a second minor over-rate offence within 12 months during Friday's match against India. Kieron Pollard will be stand-in captain for today's match.
Simmons made his ODI debut back in 2006 and has so far played 42 matches. He has scored 1,152 runs at 30.31 per innings including a top score of 122 against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Dhaka two years ago.
West Indies lead the table in the CELKON Mobile Cup tournament with nine points from three matches. They beat Sri Lanka by six wickets to earn a bonus point, and had a one-wicket win in a thriller over India. They lost on Friday against India. Sri Lanka have five points from two matches while India have five points from three matches.
Squad: Kieron Pollard (captain), Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Darren Sammy, Lendl Simmons, Devon Smith.
Source-CMC