an at any time since 1999. Hollande has promised to stop the rise of unemployment this year, and a labor-market reform unveiled Wednesday is at the center of those efforts. France's hidebound labor rules make it very difficult to fire workers, even in times of economic difficulty, and that has long made employers reluctant to hire. Even in economic boom times, France's structural employment has remained relatively high. Hollande hopes to loosen those rules, while still maintaining robust worker protections that the French consider at the heart of their way of life,http://www.airenmai.com/space.php?uid=27128&do=blog&id=260624. The new plan would offer companies in financial difficulty more flexibility in setting working hours and salaries. The government hopes that will help businesses stay afloat, instead of shutting down factories or moving production to countries with cheaper labor. France's leading employers' group and three top unions negotiated the compromise in January, and it was formalized into a draft law at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday. Two hardline unions oppose it, saying it's too generous to bosses. The bill now goes to the parliament dominated by Hollande's Socialist party, and the government is hoping it can be in place by the end of April. Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed,http://home.ylcars.com/space.php?uid=79321&do=blog&id=233045. An insider's guide to politics and policy, available on the iPad or as a PDF download.
LONDON (AP) Russia's second-largest oil company will push for legislation to allow independent producers to compete for the right to tap the rich energy reserves of the Arctic,tomsoutletsalecheap.com. Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov says the company is anxious to get a piece of the Russian Artic shelf, which is dotted by oil deposits. Though no one is drilling yet in the Arctic, the Russian government has so far allowed only state-owned companies to offer plans,cheaptomsshoessalei.com. Alekperov told reporters while announcing the company's results Thursday that he seeks a level playing field for independents,cheap toms shoes. Lukoil, which in Russia is only behind state-owned Rosneft in size, routinely gets elbowed out of potentially major deals and licenses to oil fields that the government distributes. Its profit rose 6.2 percent to $11 billion in 2012. Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. An insider's guide to politics and policy, available on the iPad or as a PDF download.
By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. worker productivity shrank in the final three months of last year, mostly because of temporary factors that dragged down growth,http://www.yinxinzong.com/uhome/space.php?uid=63292&do=blog&id=768780. Productivity contracted at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.9 percent in the October-December quarter, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's about the same as last month's estimate of a 2 percent decline. It followed a 3.1 percent gain in the July-September quarter. Productivity is the amount of output per hour of work. It shrank because economic activity barely expanded i