Korea’s economy has progressed rapidly over the past 40 years, catching up with the level of well-being in most OECD countries. It now needs to continue and speed up the reforms of its labour market in order to strengthen its social safety net, create better quality jobs and boost inclusive growth, according to a new OECD report.

Migration flows to OECD countries have dropped slightly for the first time since 2011, with around 5 million new permanent migrants in 2017, down from 5.3 million in 2016. This trend is mainly due to a significant decrease in new asylum applications, with 1.2 million applications in 2017 compared to 1.6 million in 2016, according to a new OECD report.

Forum on competition and regulation: In pursuit of market efficiency

The global crisis led to a smaller increase in the unemployment rate than in most other OECD countries as employment has been sustained through intensive use of reduced working time schemes.

The well performing labour market has delivered low unemployment and relatively stable wage developments.

This conference on 9 April 2014 will provide an opportunity for a mutual sharing of good practice in fostering the better insertion of youth into the labour market through the development of quality apprenticeships. It would also seek to foster a greater commitment by countries to take action to introduce or strengthen apprenticeship initiatives and to take stock of the progress achieved.

One of the most dramatic consequences of the economic crisis has been the soaring levels of youth unemployment in several OECD countries; and the hesitant recovery of the past years was insufficient to improve the job prospects of young people.

At the turn of this century, two different models of higher education programmes prevailed in the world.

More and more adults are earning a tertiary qualification, but not all tertiary degrees have the same value on the labour market. In general, postgraduate degrees such as master’s and doctoral degrees are associated with higher employment rates and earnings than bachelor’s degrees.

Although girls and boys perform similarly in the PISA science assessment at age 15, girls are less likely than boys to envision a career in science and engineering, even in countries where they outperform them.

A university degree has always been considered as key to a good job and higher wages. But as the share of tertiary-educated adults across OECD countries has almost doubled over the last two decades, can the labour market absorb this growing supply of skills?

Across OECD countries, more and more individuals have attained tertiary education and the share of those with less education has declined. Although there are more tertiary-educated individuals than ever before, they still achieve good labour market outcomes.

The project will identify the policy levers and instruments that can be helpful in the design of strategies to accompany the transition to older local labour markets, and identify how national policy frameworks can best support these transformations.

This study will analyse how selected local areas/industry clusters identify the specific skills needed to support green growth and how related skills policies and practices can be made more effective in supporting their provision and accelerating transition to a low-carbon economy.

The ATX decreased 983 points or 30.44% since the beginning of 2020, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from Austria. Historically, the Austria Stock Market (ATX) reached an all time high of 5010.93 in July of 2007. The Vienna Stock Exchange Index is a major stock market index which tracks the performance of all companies listed in Austria. It is a market capitalisation weighted price index. The WBI represents around 60% of Austrian stock trade. The index has a base value of EUR100 as of December 31, 1967.

For investors tempted to put money into the stock market, there are some basic rules to consider

Top tips to entice serious buyers into your home

Market leaders such as BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street have gained control of 61% of the industry’s assets

John Tomasi’s attempt to reconcile the beliefs of libertarians and left liberals leaves too many questions unanswered

Let us build garden cities – but we cannot build enough to prevent a housing bubble

The ASX fell by 1.7 per cent, wiping $36billion off the market amid fears the outbreak will reduce the number of tourists visiting from China.

Singer and guitarist Russell Hastings thinks the Government should set up a social deprivation fund to help people who have lost income due to the coronavirus.

New electronic trading exchanges promise to give Indian farmers better options for marketing their crops, eliminating middle-men costs substantially in the process. To gain market-share, the exchanges will have to help farmers become familiar with the system. Gagandeep Kaur reports.

When an advertising professional starts to tell the India Story, expect an interesting take. Chief strategy officer at Bates 141 India, Dheeraj Sinha, says in the introduction to "Consumer India" that his account is "from the playing field, not the sidelines."

नयी दिल्ली। शेयर बाजार एक जैसी जगह है जिसे अकसर लोग, यहां तक कि दूसरी जगह पैसा लगाने वाले निवेशक भी एक तरह का जुआ समझते हैं। मगर ऐसा है नहीं। शेयर बाजार सबसे जल्दी और सबसे अधिक मुनाफा देने वाली

In the top-10 list, only Reliance Industries Ltd and Bharti Airtel managed to close the trading week with gains.

Archives, Room Use Only - HE7775.B68 1981

Archives, Room Use Only - Z104.B84 1860

About 200 shops set to begin operations tomorrow; all vehicles to be sanitised

Why has Koyambedu been so badly affected in all stages of the pandemic response?

(The Paypers) Menlo Security, a global enterprise cloud security provider, has entered the Australian...

Source: Knox Henderson for Streetwise Reports   05/07/2020

A quick update since FansUnite Entertainment Inc. (FANS:CSE) went live on Tuesday, May 5, because big things are happening in the industry, thus showing there is an enormous appetite for this kind of technology especially now, as we (very slowly) emerge out of this COVID pandemic.

On the sports front, Germany announced that its Bundesliga soccer will resume games in May, yet with tight restrictions and no fans. This is followed by the Turkish soccer league, which plans to resume playing on June 12. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), with a huge draw to the masses—the UFC 246 prelims averaged 1.767 million viewers on ESPN—will return at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., on May 9, again featuring no live fans. So as more sports emerge in our "new reality," where will those fans be? Online, of course! In a fanless sports environment we're going to see a lot of online engagement no matter what sport or activity that may be. That's going to spawn even more online attention, which will likely hold firm even after we emerge from our home quarantine.

The industry is rapidly consolidating. On Tuesday we alluded to The Stars Group Inc. (formerly Amaya), which, according to Bloomberg, "saw record revenue in its first quarter as COVID-19 led to an increase in online activity starting in March. Indeed TSGI.T has had a great run from $18 mid-March to a high of $40 on May 1 after it confirmed shareholder approval of a friendly takeover by UK based Flutter Entertainment plc. (LSE:FLTR.L - News). The two create a £10 billion (US$12 billion) giant, according to Racing Post, and combine for more than 13 million customers, US$4.6 billion in revenue and US$1.7 billion in EBITDA.

Investors are getting on board

In our previous note we referred to DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG), which launched as recently as April 23, in the thick of this stay-at-home pandemic. After completing a merger with Diamond Eagle, a special purpose acquisition company, and back-end technology provider SBTech, its stock soared. DraftKings' stock jumped 14% in its first day of trading before closing up 10.38% at $19.35. The company was also able to add another half a billion dollars on the balance sheet at a time when it's not easy to raise money. That company currently has a $17 billion market capitalization.

Meanwhile there's been a noticeable correlation of trading activity in the industry from mid-March to the end of April:

• Prior to the merger with Canadian The Stars Group, Dublin, Ireland-based Flutter, trading as OTC:PDYPY in the U.S., had a good run of its own. Since mid-March it doubled from $31 to $64 by the end of April, despite any global sport-killing pandemic.

• UK-based GVC Holdings PLC (LSE:GVC) gained 23% in the last month, from $611 to $750, reaching a US$4.3 billion market capitalization.

• After falling from February highs of $30, Scientific Games (NASDAQ:SGMS) more than tripled from a $4 low mid-march to $13 by the end of April to again reach a $1 billion market valuation.

• Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ:PENN), now at a US$1.8 billion market capitalization, has a chart that mirrors SGMS. After February highs of $38, PENN rebounded through the COVID crisis. It also more than tripled from a low of $4.50 mid-March to a $17.80 high by the end of April.

• Score Media and Gaming (SCR.V,) with a market capitalization of $185 million, during that same period, ran from $0.32 to $0.42 mid-march to April 29, gaining 31%

• (are you starting to a pattern here?)

On the regulatory front, Colorado, became the next state to legalize sports bargaining following New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware and Pennsylvania. The state is poised to generate $6 billion in annual wagers and an estimated $400 million in revenue once the industry matures, according to Dustin Gouker, chief analyst for PlayColorado.com. According to the Denver Post, Colorado fans will have their pick of 17 digital sportsbooks currently licensed to operate in the state.

FansUnite Is at a Small-Cap Entry Point with Tremendous Upside.

It is in this environment that FansUnite launched on the Canadian Securities Exchange on May 5. "We are just getting started," said CEO Darius Eghdami. "We've bought a great asset in McBookie and will be continuing to focus on M&A." McBookie, the company's first acquisition, is a white-label sportsbook in the UK, focusing on the Scottish market. It offers 200,000 members active in sports and virtual games, and boasts over $100 million turnover cumulatively the last three years. "We want to be active in finding that next 'McBookie' operating in a niche market, looking at Esports assets and also creative ways to get into the U.S. market. "

After a financing at $0.35, the now-trading company rests slightly above that as a relatively new and unknown entity—so far—which is why now is great opportunity participate in a smaller scale, yet leveraged, consolidation play. "We have a great opportunity to use our stock as currency, and then grow and scale companies through our team and resources," says Eghdami.

"We also have great investors and support, a very experienced board and management team and a clear vision of how we want to be that next gaming giant. The path has been shown by other Canadian gaming companies such as Amaya, and we want to follow that path and execute on our vision."

It's an ambitious plan: a CA$25 million market-cap company, $2 million in the bank, with a consolidation plan to attack a $1 trillion online industry. Yet FansUnite comes out of the gate with strong financial backing led by board member Shafin Diamond, CEO of Victory Square since 2015, a venture builder that builds start-ups in web, mobile, gaming, AI and AR/VR. Diamond has launched 40 start-ups in 24 countries, employed more than 350 people, and has generated over $100 million in annual revenues.

Eghdami says the immediate plan is to strengthen its UK presence with McBookie and focus on M&A activity, while continuing to develop its software platform.

The games are just beginning.

Knox Henderson is a journalist and capital markets communications consultant. He has advised for a broad range of small cap companies in the resource, life sciences and technology sectors for more than 25 years.

Disclosure:
1) 1) Knox Henderson: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: None. I personally am, or members of my immediate household or family are, paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: FansUnite Entertainment Inc. My company has a financial relationship with the following companies mentioned in this article: None. I determined which companies would be included in this article based on my research and understanding of the sector.
2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. As of the date of this article, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports has a consulting relationship with FansUnite. Please click here for more information. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
3) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of the author and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The author is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. The author was not paid by Streetwise Reports for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. Streetwise Reports requires contributing authors to disclose any shareholdings in, or economic relationships with, companies that they write about. Streetwise Reports relies upon the authors to accurately provide this information and Streetwise Reports has no means of verifying its accuracy.
4) This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.
5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of FansUnite, a company mentioned in this article.

( Companies Mentioned: FANS:CSE, )

This is a public service campaign suggesting you save water...and suggesting some other things too. ; Credit: SFPUC

Friday's news is going to make you wait for it...when it comes to an explanation for the picture above.

The Wall Street Journal takes on pricing and other big-think policies that various authors claim are worsening the drought.

• Those higher food prices Jed wrote about yesterday? Alyssia Finley, assistant editor of OpinionJournal.com, says they're the fault of environmentalists, and higher food prices will be the way the rest of the country will pay for California's "green sanctimony." (WSJ)
• Economist Edward Lazear argues that "government-dictated prices, coupled with restrictions on the transfer of water, have made a bad situation much worse." He takes aim at the state's limitations on water transfers (lifted, he doesn't note; but he argues that pricing distorts the need for transfers anyway). He argues that public agencies that protect environmental conditions with water should pay for the privilege:

Although there may be good reasons to ensure that some fish and wildlife be protected, we should not pretend that this protection is costless. Agencies that divert water for environmental purposes should be required to budget explicitly for the lost revenue associated with the decision to divert it for this purpose, rather than allowing it to be sold at the market price for urban or agricultural use. (WSJ)

...and he argues that farmers, who might have to pay more for water on a more-open market, should get extra money to help them transition to the free market.

• Cato loves Lazear's arguments, and offers one amendment. Chris Edwards wants the federal government to get out of the water business, and in California, to hand over the Central Valley Project to the state. (Cato)
• In other business news, it's going to be a mixed bag for boat businesses at California recreation areas this summer. They're nervous in Tahoe, but overall expect to benefit from Folsom Lake's bad year. (TradeOnly Today)
• CNN gets into the Firehawk, which is a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter with a giant water tank on it. L.A. County owns a few. They're going to be busy this summer, thanks to the drought. (CNN)
• And finally, in a move that reminds me of the time I wanted to name this blog "Hot, Wet, Climate Action," the San Francisco Public Utility Commission has a new, sexy (or is it sexxy?) campaign to conserve water, with words like "QUICKIE" and "DOING IT" popping out of copy alongside minimalist pictures of pieces of water plumbing. My favorite is "DIRTY HANDS" with its faucet shot to look like a piece of anatomy. (SFPUC)

VIDEO: Get paid for doing it nice!

How has your community been affected by the drought (besides getting more suggestive ads about jiggling the toilet handle)? Share your story with a photo on Twitter or Instagram. Tag it #mydrought. For more details on our photo project, click here.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Founder and Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group Jack Ma (L) attends the company's initial price offering (IPO) at the New York Stock Exchange on September 19, 2014 in New York City. ; Credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Alibaba's stock is surging as the Chinese e-commerce powerhouse begins its first day trading as a public company.

The stock opened at $92.70 and nearly hit $100 on the New York Stock Exchange Friday, a gain of 46 percent from the initial $68 per share price set Thursday evening.

At Friday's opening price, the company is worth $228.5 billion, more than companies such as Amazon, Ebay and even Facebook.

Jubilant CEO Jack Ma stood on the NYSE trading floor Friday as eight Alibaba customers, including an American cherry farmer and a Chinese Olympian, rang the opening bell.

"We want to be bigger than Wal-Mart," Ma told CNBC shortly after the opening Bell. "We hope in 15 years people say this is a company like Microsoft, IBM, Wal-Mart, they changed, shaped the world."

On Thursday, Alibaba and the investment bankers arranging the initial public offering settled on a price of $68 per share. The company and its early investors raised $21.8 billion in the offering, which valued Alibaba at $168 billion in one of the world's biggest ever initial public offerings.

The company, which is trading under the symbol "BABA," has enjoyed a surge in U.S. popularity over the past two weeks as investors met with executives, including its colorful founder Jack Ma. As part of the so-called roadshow, would-be investors heard a sales pitch that centered on Alibaba's strong revenue growth and seemingly endless possibilities for expansion. Demand was so high that the company raised its offering price to $66 to $68 per share from $60 to $66 per share on Monday.

The main reason investors appear breathless about the 15-year old Alibaba: It offers an investment vehicle that taps into China's burgeoning middle-class.

Alibaba's Taobao, TMall and other platforms account for some 80 percent of Chinese online commerce. Most of Alibaba's 279 million active buyers visit the sites at least once a month on smartphones and other mobile devices, making the company attractive to investors as computing shifts away from laptop and desktop machines.

And the growth rate is not expected to mature anytime soon. Online spending by Chinese shoppers is forecast to triple from its 2011 size by 2015. Beyond that, Alibaba has said it plans to expand into emerging markets and eventually, Europe and the U.S.

"There are very few companies that are this big, grow this fast, and are this profitable," said Wedbush analyst Gil Luria.

Alibaba operates an online ecosystem that lets individuals and small businesses buy and sell. It doesn't directly sell anything, compete with its merchants, or hold inventory.

"The business model is really interesting. It's not just an eBay, it's not an Amazon, it's not a Paypal. It's all of that and much more," said Reena Aggarwal, a professor at Georgetown.

Like China's consumer and Internet market, Alibaba is still growing rapidly. The company's revenue in its latest quarter ending in June surged 46 percent from last year to $2.54 billion while its earnings climbed 60 percent to nearly $1.2 billion, after subtracting a one-time gain and certain other items.

In its last fiscal year ending March 31, Alibaba earned $3.7 billion, making it more profitable than eBay Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. combined. Amazon ended Thursday with a market value of about $150 billion while eBay's market value stood at $67 billion.

Alibaba, is based in Hangzhou in Eastern China, Ma's hometown. The company got started in 1999 when Ma and 17 friends developed a fledgling e-commerce company on the cusp of the Internet boom. Today, Alibaba's main platforms are its original business-to-business service Alibaba.com, consumer-to-consumer site Taobao and TMall, a place for brands to sell to consumers.

And while there's plenty of growth left in China, Ma has recently hinted about plans to expand beyond those borders.

"We hope to become a global company, so after we go public in the U.S., we will expand strongly in Europe and America," Ma said to a group of reporters in Kowloon on Monday.

Alibaba offered 320.1 million shares for a total offering size of $21.77 billion. Underwriters have a 30-day option to buy up to about 48 million more shares. That means the offering size could be as much as $25 billion

The IPO's fundraising handily eclipses the $16 billion Facebook raised in 2012, the most for a technology IPO. If all of its underwriters' options are exercised, it would also top the all-time IPO fundraising record of $22.1 billion set by the Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. in 2010.

Yahoo, which has been struggling to grow for years, made a windfall $8.28 billion by selling 121.7 million of is Alibaba shares. And founder Jack Ma sold 12.75 million shares worth $867 million.

Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable discusses the future of DNI Metals with the company's executive chairman.

Jordan Trimble of Skyharbour Resources lays out the reasons why the uranium bear market is coming to an end, and why his company is poised to take advantage of the upturn, in this conversation with Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable.

With the supply/demand balance moving in favor of miners, the outlook for uranium stocks is the brightest it has been in years, according to McAlinden Research Partners.

Jordan Trimble of Skyharbour Resources lays out the reasons why the uranium bear market is coming to an end, and why his company is poised to take advantage of the upturn, in this conversation with Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable.

With the supply/demand balance moving in favor of miners, the outlook for uranium stocks is the brightest it has been in years, according to McAlinden Research Partners.

Organisations are increasingly applying green business principles. According to a recent study, electronics manufacturing companies in Taiwan that practice green supply chain management (GSCM) have a better business performance than companies that do not. Those with a strong green marketing focus performed the best, successfully competing with their rivals.