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As the U.S. economy continues to gain in job growth with unemployment at 3.8% in May 2018, wage gains remain low. Wage growth over the past year is about 2.7%. Labor participation rate is at 62.7%. Reasons given for low wage growth are the lack of wage increases for people who stay at their current jobs, the digital disruption lowering wages, decline of union bargaining, and low productivity growth. This gives the Federal Reserve more room to increase interest rates gradually.

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This piece by Kanter in the NYT gives an account of Jean Claude Juncker's background as a political leader in Luxembourg. His father worked in the steel industry and was active in the trade union movement at a time when farming and steel making supported the economy of Luxembourg. In two decades under Juncker Luxembourg was transformed into a banking and insurance center with one of the largest per capita incomes in Europe. As a Brussels insider Juncker, according to British public opinion, is an odd choice to head the EU when it is trying to make its administration more democratic and less distant from the average person in the EU. Britain's prime minister Cameron says Juncker "was never on any ballot." The reason for Juncker's candidacy is that he is supported by the centre right parties in Europe, which also lost support in the recent elections. The Socialist and left parties fared worse in the election, but both centre right and left parties lost votes to third parties and nationalist parties such as the Marie Le Pen's nationalist party in France and the Independent party in Britain. Even chancellor Merkel of Germany initially hesitated to support Juncker, but confirmed him as her choice when German public opinion showed it favored the selection based on the largest party in the European parliament making the choice. This puts Britain and Cameron at odds with Germany, with the Swedes and the Dutch calming their doubts about Juncker and going with Germany. Little is mentioned in the media about the other candidate, an SPD leader from Germany representing the socialist and Left parties. ...

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Christian Noyer, the Governor of the Bank of France, says that the supervisory infrastructure and deposit guarantee structure for the eurozone has not kept up with the creation of a single currrency, leaving an obvious gap that has to be fixed. Of particular importance is the link between sovereign and banking risks that is behind dangers in today's eurozone crisis, especially in Spain, which he says should be broken. The creation of a single euroarea supervisory authority is a prerequisite for a deposit guarantee fund that will separate and delink bank and sovereign risks. The other step is to create a banking resolution scheme similiar to what the U.S. has setup, with the FDIC having a resolution plan to come in and unwind a failing bank, include large banks with systemic risk.

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About 90 minutes north from Rome is the eighth century Benedictine monastery Abbazia San Pietro in Valle that was converted into a hotel in 1999.

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For Deere 80% of production of farm tractors is in US and 75% of suppliers in US. It is working on ways to tackle tariffs impact which is about $500 million. Its plan is to raise prices 2-4%. Deere has to tackle the imports from Germany of midsize tractors and its exports to Europe which also face tariffs. Other production is in Mexico and China.

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Ford's earnings were $2.55 billion for the first quarter of 2011, a 22% increase over the prior year.

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Drought and heat wave in California and western states of Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Colorado in the US, even before the peak of summer. Salt Lake City in Utah hits 107 F. Researchers and scientists talk about their experience with the weather.

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Indonesia's Investment Coordinating Board says foreign investment increased by 20% in 2011 over the prior year to 175 trillion rupiah ($19.3 billion). Singapore was the largest foreign investor, followed by Japan, the U.S., the Netherlands and S. Korea. The major industries drawing foreign investment were transportation, mining and utilities. GDP growth is at over 5% for 7 of the last 8 years.

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Japanese people have waited for a long time for this moment. A time to relax viewing the cherry blossom trees that are now in full bloom after two years of the pandemic.  

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Constellation Energy decides to cancel its Chesapeake Bay nuclear project, after failure of negotiations with the US government on the proposed fee for a loan guarantee.

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The Crown Season 4 in the latest series of Netflix The Crown shows Diana, Prince Charles in a different light, and Margaret Thatcher, covering that period, the Falklands war and ending with Thatcher's resignation in 1990. Morgan gives a critical eye to Thatcherism and 1980's unemployment.

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See these black and white pictures including one of snow on a viaduct and bridge in England, that give a serene feeling of winter in the midst of nature, and one of young and old having activities and fun in the snow on a hill in the countryside.