LyondellBasell (LBI) is to exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 30 April , 15 months after entering it in January 2009 . The past 15 months have been an expensive lesson for those debt-holders who financed Basell’s purchase of Lyondell in July 2007, at the peak of the market. LBI entered Chapter 11 with $24bn of debt.

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LyondellBasell to exit Chapter 11

The CSO released its latest survey on Earnings and Labour Costs on Thursday. The following summarizes the changes in the main aggregates between Q3 2008 and Q3 2009: Whole economy: Employment: -8.4% Average weekly earnings: -0.8% Average hourly earnings: +1.8% Private sector: Employment: -10.3% Average weekly earnings: -2.7% Average hourly earnings: +0.6% Public sector: Employment: -2.2% Average weekly earnings: +1.9% Average hourly earnings: +2.2% (The earnings figures are gross, and take no account of income taxes or levies.) Hourly earnings in the private sector peaked in Q1 2009 and declined by 4.7% over the following two quarters. In the public sector, hourly earnings continued to rise until Q2 2009 and declined by 1.1% in the following quarter

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Recent Trends in Earnings and Employment

The Venezuelan delegation to the World Peoples’ Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in Cochabamba, Bolivia, called for the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and urged a systemic change from capitalism to socialism in order to stop global warming.

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Venezuela Joins Climate Justice Advocates at Cochabamba People’s Summit

Today’s Daily Angle comes from  Wikinvest Wire member Dividend Growth Investor. You can read  the full article on DividendGrowthInvestor.com

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Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble Deliver Consistent Dividend Increases

In response to the chorus of experts calling for the mega-banks to be broken up, defenders of our current banking system argue that because Canada’s banking system is pretty stable, and Canada has some giant banks, size isn’t the issue. This might be a great argument … except that Canada’s banking system is completely different from America’s banking system.

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No, Canada’s Big Banks Don’t Justify America’s Too Big to Fails

Mark Weisbrot The Guardian Unlimited , April 23, 2010 En español See article on original website Imagine the United States were spending an amount that exceeded 60 percent of its national income on the military and police. (For comparison, the U.S

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Rebellion in U.S. Congress Could Mark the Beginning of the End for Afghan War

Steve Ellner – Latin American Perspectives Now that the presidency of Hugo Chávez is beginning its second decade, the insistence of some critics on holding the government accountable by evaluating its concrete results becomes increasingly compelling. The assessment of gains and shortcomings is particularly important in light of the assertion of Chávez’s adversaries, as well as the concerns of some analysts who are more sympathetic to his government, that rent-seeking continues to underpin the Venezuelan economy and society, which remain completely dependent on petroleum.

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Hugo Chávez’s First Decade in Office: Breakthroughs and Shortcomings

We are very proud to state that VeteranOwnedBusiness.com has now surpassed 4,000 business profiles.  Since going live on Veteran’s Day 2008, VeteranOwnedBusiness.com has now added and approved over 4,000 businesses owned by veterans, active duty military, reservists and service disabled veterans of the United States Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, National Guard and Coast Guard. True from the very first day we launched VeteranOwnedBusiness.com… there is still absolutely no cost to list a business and there is absolutely no cost to search for a business !  We have received numerous phone calls (some days more than 200 calls in a day) and thousands of emails of praise from proud Americans from all over the world thanking us and letting us know they’ve used VeteranOwnedBusiness.com to find a business.  We’ve also received a ton of calls and emails from businesses listed letting us know how much they appreciate their membership and how their free listing has helped them bring in business–and for many–help keep their doors open during these very trying economic times.

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Free Veteran Owned Business Directory Now Surpasses 4000 Members

April 30, 2010 Public and Other Non-Commercial Media in the Digital Era 2:15 pm Federal Communications Commission Commission Meeting Room, Room TW-C305 445 12th St SW Washington, DC 20024 CEPR Co-Director Dean Baker will participate in a panel discussion on noncommercial media entitled ” New Strategies for Supporting Public and Noncommercial Media .” The discussion is part of a larger workshop, being held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., that the FCC is presenting as part of its project on the Future of Media and the Information Needs of Communities.

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EVENT: Public and Other Non-Commercial Media in the Digital Era

The group Stop Too Big To Fail, which is employing a liberal-sounding message to  fight the Wall Street reform legislation, is working with an advertising agency whose past clients include the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and myriad GOP campaigns. Stop Too Big To Fail this week announced a $1.6 million ad buy in Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia. The ads warn of a “bailout fund” and call on senators to “vote against this phony ‘financial reform.’” The agency behind that ad is Mentzer Media, according to Kristen Waskie, a staffer at TeleRep, a Philadelphia firm which represents local TV stations and which has placed the financial reform ads in local markets

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Shady Anti-Financial Reform Group Using Ad Agency That Worked For Swift Boat Vets

The Maryland Green Registry is now accepting applications for the program’s first annual Leadership Awards. “The annual Maryland Green Registry Leadership Awards will highlight innovative environmental practices and successes and inspire others to take similar steps to protect our air and water, while saving money and creating a healthier workplace,” Governor Martin O’Malley said

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Maryland Green Registry Accepting Applications for Leadership Awards

The Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting a review of certain types of exchange traded funds. The SEC’s primary focus is on leveraged and inverse leveraged exchange traded funds and actively managed exchange traded funds, especially derivatives-based exchange traded funds. See John Spence’s Wall Street Journal article, “Leveraged ETF’s Are Under SEC Scrutiny.”

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SEC Scrutinizes Use of Derivatives by Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)

Importantly, the Indian economy (say observers) is getting strangled by “the increasing politician-industrialist nexus … beginning to resemble Russia, with the same characteristics of crony capitalism and huge wealth transfer from state …

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Indian economy – Complacency? « Quick Take – As It Happens

Derivatives are the world’s largest market, dwarfing the size of the bond market and world’s real economy. The derivatives market is currently at around $600 trillion or so (in gross notional value). In contrast, the size of the worldwide bond market (total debt outstanding) as of 2009 was an estimated $82.2 trillion

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Are Interest Rate Derivatives a Ticking Time Bomb?

USA Today points out : Banks that received federal assistance during the financial crisis reduced lending more aggressively and gave bigger pay raises to employees than institutions that didn’t get aid, a USA TODAY/American University review found. *** • Lending fell

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Mega-Banks Which Received Bailouts Slashed Lending More, Gave Higher Bonuses, and Reduced Costs Less Than Banks Which Didn’t Get Bailed Out

Kyrgyzstan’s self-named Interim Government of People’s Trust set the dates for the Constitutional Referendum and the Election only 2 weeks after taking power. The Interim Government’s Chairman Omurbek Tekebaev, who is also Chairman of the political party “Atameken,” and a likely presidential contender, scheduled the referendum on the new Constitution for June 27, 2010 and parliamentary elections for October 10, 2010

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Kyrgyzstan’s Window of Opportunity

Like most, my thoughts today, this 40 th anniversary of Earth Day, turn to the state of the planet and our environment. We in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry share a responsibility to not only develop products in environmentally responsible ways, but also to innovate and create solutions that will enable other industries to do the same

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Earth Day and the Next-Generation Network

I’m a great believer in social media as an avenue through which small businesses can build a customer base and engage with influencers within their specific sector. Entrepreneur, Shama Kabani (formerly Hyder) also believes in social media marketing. Seen as an expert in her field she has released a book entitled “The Zen of Social Media Marketing”.

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The Zen of Social Media Marketing

University of Texas economics professor James K. Galbraith previously said that fraud caused the financial crisis: You had fraud in the origination of the mortgages, fraud in the underwriting, fraud in the ratings agencies. Senator Kaufman said last month: Fraud and potential criminal conduct were at the heart of the financial crisis

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Economist James Galbraith: Economists Should Move into the Background, and "Criminologists to the Forefront"

It’s the Networking Event Of The Season : L.A.’s Largest Mixer® XII Unites Local Businesses, City Chambers, Business Groups July 22, 2010 at Shrine Auditorium Expo Center Los Angeles’ most heralded business mixer/expo of the year, L.A.’s Largest Mixer® XII returns to set the standard for all other networking events to follow. “This event is a very valuable business tool and networking opportunity,” said Pat Clark, Membership Manager, Los Angeles Area Chamber. “Some groups have begun to plan for it well in advance because it allows them the opportunity to meet new contacts, businesses and members from neighboring communities such as Long Beach, the San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica.” L.A.’s Largest Mixer® will be held July 22, 2010 at the Shrine Auditorium Expo Center in Los Angeles.

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Chambers of Commerce / Business Organizations Announced for Annual LA Mixer

Is your company a great place to work? The Baltimore Business Journal is accepting nominations for their annual “Best Places to Work” competition. Winners will be chosen in four categories: 10-24 employees; 25-100 employees; 101-499 employees; and 500-plus employees

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Baltimore Business Journal Accepting Nominations for Annual ‘Best Places to Work’ Award

Solar Energy World, a Washington DC/Baltimore area provider and installer of solar panel systems, is extending the celebration of the 40 th anniversary of Earth Day from one day to 40 with their 40 Day Earth Day Video Contest. Solar Energy World is asking participants to create video that address either “What Earth Day means to you?” or “What are you doing to celebrate and share your knowledge with others? Participants should upload their videos to the 40 Day Earth Day YouTube group before May 23 rd .

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Video Contest Extends Earth Day Celebration

The Chamber conducted a short member survey on April 21 asking the following two questions: 1. Are you aware of the proposed Amendment 4 (sometimes referred to as the Hometown Democracy amendment) that will be on the ballot this fall as an amendment to the Florida Constitution? Yes – 69%            No – 31% 2.

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Amendment 4 – Business Community Says No!

Anticorruption mural in Jakarta. Translation: “If we are like this, how can we fight corruption?” (Photo: Eric Hontz/CIPE) At the Sixth biennial assembly of the World Movement for Democracy , this year held in Jakarta, Indonesia, I heard a recurring theme in many of the workshops and conversations in between sessions – corruption is a large and growing problem for democracies around the world. Corruption effects established and emerging democracies in strikingly similar ways; it decreases the legitimacy of existing institutions and creates a high level of cynicism among voters.  Perhaps the issue was always there, but advances in information technology and greater access to a multitude of channels of communication has brought the issue out of the shadows.

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World Movement for Democracy: Dealing with Corruption

As the world celebrates the annual Earth Day for the 40th time today, there are many achievements to point to with greater environmental awareness among citizens and businesses alike, and new technologies that make economic growth much more environmentally friendly. When we look closer at how this progress has happened, though, it takes more than good will and technological advances to ensure responsible environmental stewardship

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40th Anniversary of Earth Day