The Canadian economy added a surprising 61,000 jobs in September, virtually all in full-time employment and half of them in B.C., Statistics Canada reported Friday.The job growth helped push the country’s unemployment rate down to 7.1 per cent, the lowest since December 2008.Economists had been expecting 15,000 jobs to be added, and for the unemployment rate to remain steady at 7.3 per cent.The country added 63,800 full-time jobs, but part-time employment slipped by 2,900.

This news has given hope to the falling economy of Canada. People who have been unemployed should now have motivation to go seek new jobs as opportunities are out there waiting for them.  As more people are employed, then economy might be started to reach a better state.

Women who work night shifts might be at a higher risk for developing cardiovascular disease, new Canadian research suggested. Joan Tranmer, a nurse for 30 years who is now a full-time researcher and teacher, and a team of researchers from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., found that approximately one in five middle-aged women who do shift work has at least three of the risk indicators for heart disease.

The research looked at 227 women between the ages of 22 and 66 from two hospitals in south-eastern Ontario. The women were nurses, administrative employees and lab and equipment technicians who all worked a range of shift rotations. Within the group, 17 per cent had metabolic syndrome with three of the identified risk factors. High blood pressure was found in 38 per cent and most notable was that 60 per cent of participants had a high waist circumference.

I think maintaining a healthy body and diet is very essential to life. Nothing goes before health. Shift workers should exercise regularly and eat healthily in order to maintain a balance between working and health. We need to be fit in order to stay motivated in the work place.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/10/21/health-shift-workers-heart-risk.html

One of the more concerning problems to the ongoing crisis in Europe is that the demographics of much of Europe will only get worse in the coming future. It does not seem sustainable to expect the increasingly small cohorts of European young people to pay for the retirements of their elders. This is particularly troublesome in a continent with free movement of labour. It has become the worst fear of politicians in America and Europe: after the immediate crisis passes, the developed world will settle into a lost decade of low growth and deflation, just like Japan.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who revolutionized technology through his design, marketing and creation of personal computers and mobile devices, has died at 56. The man who forged Apple into a powerhouse and shaped how people listen to music and how they use computers died peacefully surrounded by his family. Noticeably fragile, he had stepped down from Apple in late August to deal with the effects of an unspecified illness. Jobs had been treated earlier for pancreatic cancer after first being diagnosed in 2004.
What is apple going to do without Steve Jobs? Can it operate normally?

There is already a sharp drop in Apple’s shares. His death will lead to the loss of future customers. Customers might choose other brands since Jobs had passed away and they might lost confidence in Apple’s products as Jobs was the initiator.

https://blogs.ubc.ca/chophilip21/

Hong Kong has introduced a minimum wage that is expected to benefit 270,000 low-paid workers, or around 10% of the working population. Workers will now earn a minimum of HK$28 per hour. Business leaders say small businesses will be forced to lay off staff. Some employers have re-hired workers on new contracts with unpaid meal breaks and rest days to avoid paying a higher wage bill. Establishing minimum wage might seem to benefit many workers but actually not. Many employers have decided to lay off some employees in order to decrease the companies’ expenses. This leads to more unemployment. Doing this eventually increases the remaining workers’ workload as they’re also working on extra duties in order to replace those who got fired.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13248027

In 1980 the richest 10% Americans received 33% of the national income. Today in 2011, the same 10% takes up 46% of national income.  Some studies find that the larger the return that rich people or investors are able to take home, the more they will invest, leading to greater economic growth. But actually this is not correct all the time. Problems regarding inequality are worsened. Wealth flows into the pockets of those that are rich as the rest of people struggle desperately to stay above water. It is not an ideal thing for the majority of the wealth to be concentrated in the hands of a very small portion of the population but this is exactly what happens when we allow economic power to be monopolized by a small number of powerful global banks, corporations and governments. Those at the top of the economy will continue to enjoy our wealth as it flows up to them, and the rest of us at the bottom will continue to have to scramble just to survive.

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=7104