LET'S MAKE IT WORK PLAN GETS LIFT OFF - A ten point plan to boost national employment is being handed to Enterprise Minister Batt O'Keeffe this morning. The Let's Make in Work initiative was drawn up by business leaders who believe economic recovery begins with employment, and companies like Elan, Microsoft and Glanbia want to get people off the live register.
Robert Mac Giolla Phadraig of recruitment firm Sigmar is involved too. He says employers were asked what would work for that around job creation and the initiative is the result of their constructive, practical recommendations. He says one of the points of the plan urges the setting up of a job creation tzar, who would have a cental point in cor-ordinating all moving parts to job creation. He says this person should be in a position of influence, who understands how the jobs markets works.
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MORNING BRIEFS - The US Federal Reserve said last night that US economic activity is picking up, and that it will hold interest rates steady for an extended period of time. The Fed said 'subdued inflation trends' and other factors 'are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate'.The Fed also said that the jobs market is beginning to improve.
*** European markets dropped sharply yesterday after Spain's downgrade by ratings agency S&P. Spain's IBEX dropped 3%t, the DAX in Frankfurt fell by 1.2% and shares in Portugal were almost 2% lower. Dublin's ISEQ was 2.5% lower, after the head of the International Monetary Fund warned that the crisis in Greece could spread throughout Europe. Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that every day lost in resolving Greece's problems risks spreading the impact 'far away'. He also said though that rating agencies should not be 'believed too much', after Greece, Portugal and Spain's credit ratings were cut. He said agencies like Standard & Poor's 'are reflecting what they are collecting in the market. 'One should not believe too much what they say, even if they are useful,' he said
*** As the Employee Action Committee of Quinn Insurance gets ready to appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment today to discuss the threat to jobs at the firm, reports suggest that administrators are looking for up to 800 redundancies. Quinn Insurance staff will be updated tomorrow, and its thought most of the jobs will be in the Republic.
*** Republicans in the US Senate have dropped their objection to a debate on the most significant reforms to financial regulations since the 1930s. They had blocked action on the bill for three consecutive days. US President Barack Obama said he was very pleased the proposals would be debated, and that Americans must never again allow the financial practices that triggered the global economic crisis. But he warned that he would oppose any legislation that he felt was too heavily influenced by lobbyists trying to protect Wall Street.
*** On the currency markets, the euro is trading at $1.3202 cents and 87.02 pence sterling.
