EveryJoe » global economic slowdown

British Airways Adjusts Business Plan

Stephen Kersey — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:55:07 +0000

British Airways, like its counterparts in the United States, is having a difficult time thriving during the current global economic slowdown. In an attempt to adjust to the current financial climate, the airline is making a number of different business alterations.

The changes British Airways is making include cutting down the number of seats available on each flight, postponing the 12 new Airbus planes it had planned to add to its fleet and grounding planes to compensate for the lack of capacity.

In June, the year-over-year comparisons showed a significant drop in capacity. Industry experts are blaming the drop of business travelers all around the world. Reports indicate that a drop in business travelers from Asians cities to London has specifically been troubling.

Currently, British Airways has approximately 40,000 eomployees. However, due to these economic troubles, the company will reportedly look to cut around 10% of its workforce.

British Airways (Image: Flickr)

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British Airways Adjusts Business Plan

Australia Sees Unemployment Rate Jump

Stephen Kersey — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 03:57:51 +0000

Literally no country can hide from the global economic slowdown. Australia is yet another example. The unemployment rate in May jumped to 5.7%. That percentage is the highest in Australia since 2002.

Compared to the United States, Australia’s unemployment rate is actually pretty good considering that Americans are quickly gaining towards a 10% unemployment rate. That said, Australia’s government has already predicted that an 8.5% unemployment rate could be a reality within the next few years.

Australians are out of jobs for the same reasons why people in the United States are unemployed: a slumping economy. With less exports, there’s less work.

Despite the rising jobless rate, Australia citizens reported an increase in optimism about their country’s economy. Many economic experts believe that Australia will be able to avoid any huge financial meltdowns due to a strong banking system and outstanding business laws.

Kangaroos are Concerned (Image: Flickr)

Post from: EveryJoe

Australia Sees Unemployment Rate Jump

Wal-Mart Posts Minimal Growth

Stephen Kersey — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:30:48 +0000

Wal-Mart is one of the richest companies in the world, but even Wal-Mart isn’t impervious to the global economic slowdown. As evidence, Wal-Mart’s first quarter profit was flat when compared to last year.

In the first quarter of 2009, Wal-Mart had a profit of a little bit more than $3 billion. Revenue for the same quarter was slightly down by less than one percent and finished at $93.5 billion.

Wal-Mart is blaming their stagnation on the strong dollar. Considering that about one in every four dollars that the company makes is outside of the United States, the strength of the dollar hurts Wal-Mart when it comes to the exchange rate.

Following the release of these numbers on Thursday, Wal-Mart’s stock was down almost one dollar to finish the day at around $49.

Wal-Mart (Image: Flickr)

Post from: EveryJoe

Wal-Mart Posts Minimal Growth