New Normal, Bernanke Terrified

Bernanke Is Terrified Of Higher Mortgage Rates And The Debt Ceiling Debate - Forbes: "In his post-FOMC press conference, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke made it clear that he had lost control of the market, causing a tightening of financial conditions that directly hit the highly supported housing market through higher mortgage rates.  Trouble is also brewing in Washington, with possible fights over a government shutdown as Speaker Boehner puts pressure on President Obama, and the specter of another debt ceiling fight, which also spooks Bernanke and the FOMC.  The Chairman appears to have boxed himself in, as the market roars higher on any indication of monetary stimulus, and could tank if the training wheels come off."

The Age of Amerisclerosis: Are jobless recoveries here to stay? | AEIdeas: "It’s not just Obamanomics. The US is stuck in its third-straight “jobless recovery,” just like after the 1990 and 2001 recessions. And new research suggests this “persistence of unemployment” could mean future US recessions and recoveries will continue to resemble Europe’s 1980s downturn. Even after growth recovered, hiring didn’t. That’s when “Eurosclerosis” was coined. . . ."

Class Is Seen Dividing Harvard Business School - NYTimes.com: "Many of the school’s top donors and alumni are members of the same ultramoneyed culture that some students criticize. And because many students attend business school in the specific hope of building a network of influential contacts, they tend to fear offending anyone, especially wealthy classmates who might one day provide connections and financing."

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New Normal, Change, The Lawyer

The new normal | Analysis | The Lawyer: "Change can come in many forms, from largescale changes to our working environment – such as a merger or acquisition, an expansion into a new market or even a restructuring – to smaller changes such as new team members, new processes or even new management. All of these can bring opportunities for a firm to reassess how it goes about its day-to-day business. Both internal and external change can have a huge impact on how we operate as individuals and as a firm. It can be proactive and owned, directed by strategic thought. Or it can be forced on us through having to react to events. For most people, this is the worst sort of change to deal with."

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Unprotected Sex, the New Normal

Dick Keiser Jr., Ph.D.: Is Unprotected Sex the New Normal?: "In a way, I share Mark S. King's opinion that gay men are over condoms. Unfortunately, the potential consequences of unprotected sex are not mentioned, and they are huge. I am surprised that he does not direct his energy in a more productive way. Why not press for release of those microbicides that he mentions? Meanwhile, the gay health organizations remain totally complacent in the midst of this epidemic. There is presently no economic incentive for anyone in the HIV field to reduce HIV infections. Are 50,000 new inflections per year accepted as the new normal?"

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Flexible Freelancers, New Normal

Flexible freelancers now considered the ‘new normal’: Comment by UK umbrella company, Tarpon | allmediascotland…Your key to the media: "CONTRACTORS and flexible working in the UK has recently been branded as the ‘new normal’ within the labour market. The recent statement carries weight as it was cited during the launch of a new guide created by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). The newly published APSCO Guide to the Flexible Workforce 2013 offers practical help and advice on the hiring and deployment of contract workers, including the legal and operational aspects that will differ between permanent and flexible workers. But most importantly Tarpon believe the guide’s best feature is the tips provided that demonstrate the value contractors can provide to a business...."

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American Cities, Tragic New Normal

The Tragic New Normal in American Cities » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names: " . . . . What is the plan for our nation’s cities? Are they simply to simmer with a growing divide between the affluent financial district and the impoverished slums? Will another generation be lost while we wait for the inevitable explosions? The gulf between the realities of our cities and the foolishness of our politics has seldom been wider. Consider gun violence. Over the Fourth of July weekend, Chicago surpassed 200 homicide deaths for the year. On that weekend alone, 10 people were killed and several dozen wounded in gun violence, including 5- and 7-year-old boys. The only grim salvation in the savage toll is that the city’s year-to-date homicide rate is rising at a somewhat slower rate than last year. . . " (by Jesse Jackson --read more at link above)

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New Normal, Private Equity

A 'New Normal' for Private Equity - Forbes: "Some $200 billion of new capital went to private equity and venture capital management partnerships (collectively referred to here as PE) throughout the world in 2012. For the first time, 20% of that total, some $40 billion, went to fund managers in emerging market countries. Surprisingly, of that $40 billion, only $15 billion went to the subset of emerging economies known as the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China). That leaves $25 billion that went into the non-BRIC emerging markets. So where did the rest of it go? Countries like Columbia, Chile, Peru and Mexico have seen remarkable growth. Several African countries, such as South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria — indeed, the whole of sub-Saharan Africa — have witnessed growth in the number of fund managers and the capital under management. Turkey also has emerged as a destination, as have Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and now Indonesia."

Download the the complete 2013 Wharton Private Equity Review here.

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New Normal, Rape Culture

Is ‘Rape Culture’ the New Normal? | The Hartford Guardian: "...I would say that in high school, the concept of rape culture has become normal. If a girl is intoxicated, it’s almost expected for a boy to take advantage of her. It would be weird if he didn’t take advantage of her. To me, that kind of thinking is sick. Human beings have to be able to respect other human beings or the whole world will fall apart. Rape culture exists in America, in California, and right here in Merced. What is frightening is that most people don’t know what it is, and don’t know they contribute to it. We need to face this because it directly affects people in our community, and the battle starts with raising awareness...."

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New normal, State Department, Benghazi-phobia

Doyle McManus commentary: New normal is tough on U.S. diplomats | The Columbus Dispatch: "But for U.S. diplomats in embassies overseas, the new normal is a serious problem — as much for their ability to do their work as for their safety. “There’s a serious case of Benghazi-phobia going on,” one government official told me. After terrorists attacked the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, killing Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, Congress demanded tougher security measures. (Last) month’s closure of embassies for more than a week was, in part, a response. The State Department said the action was taken “out of an abundance of caution.” But working diplomats worry that if embassies close in response to every threat, their work will be impossible. “Washington makes decisions on a zero-risk basis, (but) there has been a level of risk for years,” noted Ronald E. Neumann, a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan. Put more bluntly: If a bomb maker in Yemen can close U.S. embassies just by making plans for his next attempt, doesn’t that mean the terrorists have won?"

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Bradley Manning, New Normal for Whistleblowers

Bradley Manning Verdict Shows the New Normal For Whistleblowers
PolicyMic
Bradley Manning Verdict Shows the New Normal For Whistleblowers. . . . . Army Private First Class Bradley Manning was convicted on 19 of 22 counts ... (read more at link above)

PolicyMic

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Free Markets, Government Interference, New Normal

Opinion: Blatant interference is the new normal
Asharq Alawsat English
Opinion: Blatant interference is the new normal. Industrialized countries often show pride in their free markets, and the non-interference of the governments in ...

Asharq Alawsat English

Is extreme weather really becoming the new normal?
Yahoo! News Canada (blog)
There's a temptation to brush off such claims as 'overblown' or 'sensational' — it's hard to take something called "Snowmageddon" seriously, after all. However ...

Yahoo! News Canada (blog)

Business cycle or new era? How are you approaching today's ...
Washington Technology (blog)
Many call it the new normal, and one person I spoke with recently described it as a “lasting dynamic.” The elements and signs of this lasting dynamic revolve ...

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New Normal, healthcare, part-time work, wildfires, rudeness

The new normal?
ModernHealthcare.com
Three years ago, Henry Ford Health System began to overhaul how its doctors and nurses care for patients outside the Detroit-based system's six hospitals.

The New Normal
Huffington Post
They say "truth is stranger than fiction" and we certainly have some incredible examples as of late, so much so that it makes you wonder if recent headlines ...

Notable & Quotable: Part-Time Is the New Normal in East Hampton
Wall Street Journal
Part-time is the new normal for most of the 100 or so employees at the Waldbaum's supermarket on Newtown Lane in East Hampton. Back in April, after rumors ...

NASA Satellites Track Wildfires From Space and Predict a 'New ...
University Herald
NASA Satellites Track Wildfires From Space and Predict a 'New Normal' For Dry Seasons....


University Herald

Has Rude Behavior Become Our New Normal?
Patch.com
Has Rude Behavior Become Our New Normal? Of those who expect civility to worsen in the next few years, 34 percent blame Twitter. Posted by April Chan ...

12 Things That Annoy Me About The iPhone With iOS 7 (AAPL)
Houston Chronicle
It's become the new normal. With that said, it could still be better. I'm not talking about bugs in the beta either. Those are to be expected, after all. What I'm talking ...

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al-Qaida, New Normal, diplomats

Doyle McManus: 'New normal' for al-Qaida presents serious threats

Omaha World-Herald
But for U.S. diplomats working in embassies overseas, the new normal is a serious problem — as much for their ability to do their work as for their safety....

Transportation Sales: Can you adapt to the New Normal?

Truck News
Some experts argue that transportation companies should increase the ratio of telephone sales reps to street reps to adapt to the new normal. But sales is based ...

Rising Great Lakes Water Temperature: A New Normal? [VIDEO]

Energy Collective
This video from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and posted on Peter Sinclair's ClimateCrocks.com describes how decreasing ice has led to a rise in Great Lakes ...

Farmers use new technology, conservation methods in response to ...

Kearney Hub
HOLDREGE — The new normal in irrigated agriculture requires doing more with less. New technologies and conservation practices are used by some farmers ...

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America, New Normal, Dystopia, Brazilification

America’s Dystopian New Normal - The Daily Beast: "Yes, the unemployment rate has edged down to 7.6 percent, but America is well on its way to becoming a nation of part-timers and full-time temps. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of  involuntary part-time workers rose by 322,000 to 8.2 million in June, while the ranks of temporary-help services employees have swelled to a record 2.68 million. Meanwhile, the employment-population ratio, the percentage of adult Americans who hold a job, has dropped nearly 2 percent to 58.7 percent since Barack Obama took office. Remarkably, both political parties are accommodating to this new reality of “Brazilification,” a term coined by Douglas Coupland in his 1991 novel Generation X and defined as the “widening gulf between the rich and the poor and the accompanying disappearance of the middle classes.” On a good day, Brazilification looks like the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala, a party for the well-heeled, well-dressed, and well-coiffed under the dazzle of blinding lights. But, on a bad day, Brazilification is bankrupt Detroit, post-Katrina New Orleans, or the shuttered mining and mill towns 24/7, except bleaker."

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