The Nak’azdli are one of many First Nations that make up the indigenous population of Canada. Throughout several years, they have been trying to achieve a status in which they can have legal rights and authority over their land. The people living in the Nak’azdli territory, located in northern British Columbia, have already been clear: “There will be no pipeline.” This statement is referring to Enbridge Incorporation’s idea of constructing an oil pipeline that would extend nearly 1,177 kilometers on the coast of B.C., thus overstepping Nak’azdli territory. The Nak’azdli are one of many First Nations that make up the indigenous population of Canada. Throughout several years, they have been trying to achieve a status in which they can have legal rights and authority over their land. Can the indigenous people living in the Nak’azdli territory and Enbridge come up with some sort of agreement on the issue? Can a balance be established?

As a matter of fact, an example of a country that has demonstrated that such balance can occur is Norway. Known to be one of the world’s largest exporter of unprocessed oil, Norway strictly enforces safety measures that must be met by oil companies. Because of that, the risks of oil spills are highly minimized, and subsequently, waterways are preserved and kept mostly clean.

References:

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/07/26/northern-gateway-christy-clark_n_1707434.html

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/There+will+pipeline/10122968/story.html

http://img.src.ca/2012/08/01/635×357/120801_ne0gp_pipeline_northern_gateway_sn635.jpg

Hewlett-Packard Company, more commonly known as HP, is a multinational technology corporation that provides software and hardware services for its customers. Due to HP’s struggle to compete in the new market of mobile and online computing, It has been announced that the company plans to split into two sections: computer business and services operations. According to a Wall Street Journal, the split is being enforced in order for the company to allocate more of its focus towards corporate services.

In present-day, HP has over 300,000 employees, so this separation would significantly reshape the company’s structure. HP will need to innovate its products in order to compete against companies selling smartphones and tablets like Apple and Blackberry. The low demand for products like personal computers and printers has highly affect Hewlett-Packard’s sales. By splitting into two different sections, it will be able to specialize and target one specific market. Furthermore, the company announced that it will release between 11,000 to 16,000 employees before separation. HP’s inconsistency has been illustrated through their CEO’s, which have all either been fired or resigned since 2011.

In my opinion, this is a bold, and rather risky move. HP may end up shutting off one of their sections due to lack of customer interest. This might just be another example of IBM, when the multinational company inexplicably shut off their PC operations. On the other hand, targeting one specific market might help HP re-focus on certain products that customers are growing exceedingly interested in.

References:

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_26668203/report-hewlett-packard-break-into-two-companies

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/us-business/silicon-valley-giant-hewlett-packard-to-split-in-two-report/article20938032/

http://blogs-images.forbes.com/ericsavitz/files/2012/12/hp-logo-divided.jpg

The unemployment rate in the United States of America has fallen considerably. Due to the opening of nearly 248,000 new job spots, the unemployment rate dropped to 5.9% by the end of September, the best since 2008. In addition, the U6 unemployment rate, which takes into account “marginally attached workers” and workers seeking part-time jobs for economic reasons, has also significantly decreased. It’s the first time since October 2008 that the U6 unemployment rate reaches anything below 12%. Because of that, the number of people looking for jobs has fallen to 62.8%, the lowest since 1978. However, there is much more to these numbers. Part of the reason why the unemployment rate decreased is the fact that many workers actually left the labor force, and are thus unaccounted for. On top of that, the Federal Reserve Bank has mentioned that it is worried about the relatively low inflation rate, which means that the economic market is still idle and inactive.

As an international student, I applied to several universities in the United States. One of the reasons that persuaded me to move away from the U.S. was the on-going economic recession that limits the amount of jobs being offered. The weak economy in the U.S. has been going on for a while, and it is evident that even though the elderly retire and thus create more job openings, the population is unmotivated to look for work. Although the minimum wage has increased by 2% in comparison to September 2013, it is rather insufficient to encourage workers to seek for jobs.

References:

http://g1.globo.com/economia/noticia/2014/10/desemprego-nos-eua-cai-59-menor-taxa-desde-2008.html

http://portalseven.com/employment/unemployment_rate_u6.jsp

http://mahoneygps.com/unemployment-rate-affect-market/