Friday, January 7, 2011
The European Crisis
While many people feel that America's financial situation worsens by the day, America is not the only nation facing economical turmoil. American jobs may be few in number and American car manufacturers may have faced fiscal destruction, but the European Union is facing similar issues. Recently, Ireland was provided with an economical bailout package totaling somewhere between 80 and 90 billion Euros. Many skeptics believed that this would end a long and brutal financial war between Ireland's real estate and banking sectors. It seems that this was just the beginning of what would become the European financial crisis.
Currently, Europe is struggling to reassure investors that they have the liquidity and financial assets to combat and solve these monetary issues. However, European debt continues to rise, which only places stress on their governments and banks. The Euro is also decreasing in value compared to the dollar. These past three months showed a constant decrease is the value of the Euro, which has taken a tole on European trade. This drastic economic downturn has resulted in the European Commission proposing a possible resolution that entails holders of senior bank debt taking the hit if a bank was to fail.
The European debt crisis has reached a point where Ireland and Greece are using 80% of their export revenue to cover their external debt. America is not alone but something needs to be done. It has been said that these issues have progressed to their current state because nations have failed to solve these issues when they were first addressed.
What do you think should be done? Should the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund intervene and help developed powers?
For further discussion, please read the following article from the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/08/business/global/08euro.html?ref=business
Currently, Europe is struggling to reassure investors that they have the liquidity and financial assets to combat and solve these monetary issues. However, European debt continues to rise, which only places stress on their governments and banks. The Euro is also decreasing in value compared to the dollar. These past three months showed a constant decrease is the value of the Euro, which has taken a tole on European trade. This drastic economic downturn has resulted in the European Commission proposing a possible resolution that entails holders of senior bank debt taking the hit if a bank was to fail.
The European debt crisis has reached a point where Ireland and Greece are using 80% of their export revenue to cover their external debt. America is not alone but something needs to be done. It has been said that these issues have progressed to their current state because nations have failed to solve these issues when they were first addressed.
What do you think should be done? Should the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund intervene and help developed powers?
For further discussion, please read the following article from the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/08/business/global/08euro.html?ref=business
Our Economy and Jobs
As a college senior, one of my worst fears, besides my outrageous amount of student loans, is the reality that I may not have a job after graduation. This fear is not only on my mind, but it is on the minds of my fellow seniors. The educated youth and recent graduates are not only competing against fellow grads but more experienced individuals who have felt the economic crisis first hand. I have attended several interviews for jobs after graduation, with two reoccurring results. Besides "not being qualified enough," the other applicants are those who have 20+ years of experience. I have worked extremely hard, maintained a major GPA of 3.8, have interned at prestigious corporations such as Nordstrom, created a LinkedIn profile, and have held leadership positions in a wide array of clubs and organizations. This is not enough. What can we do?
Recently, the New York Times posted an article on the astonishing employment results of 2010. This past December only produced 103,000 jobs. According to Reuters, there was 1.6 million seniors graduating in 2009. This isn't even accounting for all the experienced workers that have been laid off. It has been said that the American unemployment rate will remain above 8% through President Obama's term. We currently sit at 9.4%. A more astonishing statistic is that 44.7% of those who are unemployed having been looking for a position for over 27 weeks. The average college debt is around $22,000. What about us who attended private schools under the misconception that we would be bettered and have an upper-hand? My student loans are nearly 4 times the national average. This not only causes fear in that my monthly payments will exceed $800 a month for 15 years, but it also instills the idea that was my private education worth it.
As graduation nears, my fears of my student loans and the lack of job offers become a greater reality. What can i do? No one knows what tomorrow holds, we can only hope for the best.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/08/business/economy/08jobs.html?_r=1&ref=business
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE53Q00G20090427
Recently, the New York Times posted an article on the astonishing employment results of 2010. This past December only produced 103,000 jobs. According to Reuters, there was 1.6 million seniors graduating in 2009. This isn't even accounting for all the experienced workers that have been laid off. It has been said that the American unemployment rate will remain above 8% through President Obama's term. We currently sit at 9.4%. A more astonishing statistic is that 44.7% of those who are unemployed having been looking for a position for over 27 weeks. The average college debt is around $22,000. What about us who attended private schools under the misconception that we would be bettered and have an upper-hand? My student loans are nearly 4 times the national average. This not only causes fear in that my monthly payments will exceed $800 a month for 15 years, but it also instills the idea that was my private education worth it.
As graduation nears, my fears of my student loans and the lack of job offers become a greater reality. What can i do? No one knows what tomorrow holds, we can only hope for the best.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/08/business/economy/08jobs.html?_r=1&ref=business
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE53Q00G20090427
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