A report by the US Department of Labor released Thursday said that job losses grew in June this year thus pushing up the unemployment rate to 9.5%, the highest in 26 years.

painting a dismal picture of the economy, the Labor Department report said that payrolls in the US shrank by 467,000 in June, much more than had been predicted by economic analysts. Currently there were 131.7 million jobs in the country which is even lesser than what had been in May 2000 when official statistics reported 131.9 million jobs. Thus the United States now has fewer jobs than it did nine years ago even though its work force has grown larger by 12.5 million people.

Economic experts figure that this is the first time in the post-War period that recession has eaten away all the jobs created in the last business cycle which is calculated from the start of the last recession in March 2001 to the beginning of the current recession in December 2008. While the previous business cycle had led to the creation of 5.7 million jobs, official data shows that the current recession has wiped out as many as 6.5 million jobs.

Thursday’s Labor Department report slammed the brakes on hopes for a quick economic recovery and indicated that a turnaround may take longer than previously expected.

Passengers at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport were forced to go through harrowing delays after a computer glitch at United Airlines check-in counter caused massive delays.

The computer outage occurred at the self-service check-in kiosks of United Airlines in the O’Hare Airport due to which the check-in services shut down unexpectedly. The outage resulted in thousands of flight passengers waiting in queues while half-empty airlines waited on the runway for its passengers. Several flights had to be canceled as delays snowballed and disrupted flight schedules and those that managed to take off were delayed by an average 45 minutes.

Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport were is a major hub of domestic as well as international flights which is why Thursday’s shutdown led to flights being cancelled or delayed at many other airports. United Airlines waived rescheduling costs for all passengers flying out of Chicago on Thursday and also encouraged customers to check in at its website.

Thursday’s outage at the O’Hare International Airport turned out be particularly inconvenient since this was the start of the Fourth of July weekend when travel picks up across airports. Even though this time is not as busy at the Thanksgiving of Christmas weekend, still families take off for vacations or family get-togethers.

Arianespace, a private space company, announced Wednesday that it had launched the “largest commercial communications satellite”, known as TerreStar-1, into space.

According to Arianespace, an Ariane-5 rocket blasted off from the European Space Agency’s launch centre in Kourou, French Guiana on Wednesday at 2.52 pm local time. The rocket carried with it TerreStar-1, billed by the company as the largest commercial communications satellite in the world. The satellite was released into the orbit twenty minutes after launch. The Ariane-5 can carry a payload or upto 10 metric tons.

TerreStar Corp, the company behind the satellite, hopes that with this launch it will be able to provide better hybrid telecommunication services to cellular and satellite handsets throughout United States and Canada. Industry experts estimate that the entire cost of the launch including satellite, ESA services and insurance is sure to have crossed $500 million.

The TerreStar satellite weighed around 6.9 metric tons at take-off and was manufactured by US-based Loral Space & Communications Inc. Wednesday’s launch of TerreStar was the thirty-first straight successful lift-off for Arianespace. Arianespace is a reputed space transport company based in Paris and thirty percent of it is owned by the European space giant EADS.

US bank regulators brought down the shutters on seven financial institutions on Thursday, thus bringing the total number of bank failures to 52 since the onset of the market crisis last year.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp on Thursday closed down seven banks, six of which were controlled by one family in Illinois and followed a similar business model. According to information available on one of its websites, the institutions belonged to the Campbell Group of privately held banks. the FDIC said that the banks had failed because of investments gone bad in collateralized debt instruments.

According to the FDIC, the largest financial institution seized on Thursday was Founders Bank of Worth, Illinois which had around $848.9 million in deposits and whose assets were estimated to be worth about $962.5 million. The PrivateBank and Trust Co of Chicago is slated to take over all the deposits of Founders Bank.

The FDIC is a federal agency which is entrusted with job of monitoring all the problem banks in the country. There has been a sharp rise in the number of bank failures since last year with the deterioration of loan portfolios following the housing market crisis. While there were only three cases of bank collapse in 2007, that number shot to 25 in 2008.

Going on a cruise is one the most luxurious ways to spend a vacation and among the current crop of cruises, the Alaskan cruise is unbeatable for an unforgettable experience.

Alaska is a land of wild beauty – covered with glaciers, ice mountains, endless forests and rare wildlife. Adventure enthusiasts can opt to go for several outdoor offshore excursions which are part of the Alaskan cruise. Activities like dog sledding and fishing are becoming increasingly popular with tourists who wish to experience the thrill of working with great big Alaskan huskies or catching a rare Wild Alaskan Salmon.

Again those who are fond of hiking or camping in the outdoors can experience the Alaskan landscape through many wilderness tours conducted as part of Alaskan cruise expeditions. Guests interested in socio-cultural aspects of Alaska can even visit the mines and learn how the miners lived and worked in Alaska’s unforgiving conditions.

After all the tough work and harsh weather of the offshore excursions, it is now time to head back to the luxuries of the cruise liner. Here you can wine and dine on the greatest delicacies and then head to the dance floor to boogey away the night. Or if gambling is more like your cup of tea, you may want to woo Lady Luck in the casino. Choose an itinerary according to your preferences and check out www.ooaha.com for best Vancouver hotel deals where many Alaskan cruise liners start from.

Dow Chemical Co. announced on Thursday that the company will be closing three of its Louisiana plants as part of a shift away from basic chemicals toward the more profitable specialty chemicals.

The closing of the plants was undertaken as a part of the company’ major cost cutting program after Dow bought rival Rohm & Haas in April for more than $16 billion. This deal added massive amounts of debt to its balance sheet. Dow is expecting to cut about a $100 million a year.

However, good news for about a hundred employees working there who’ll not be laid off and instead will be offered job elsewhere, Dow said.

These plants make ethylene, a building block for basic chemicals like plastic and packaging. The basic chemicals market is heavily affected by price fluctuations in crude. Their products are made and sold in large batches with minimal profit margins.

Citigroup has decided to raise interest rates on credit card accounts in a move which is expected to affect as many as 15 million US customers, according to a report in Financial Times.
The hike is interest rates on credit cards is being seen as part of a strategy to raise revenues before a legislation barring such hikes kicks in from 2010. Citing sources close to the decision, Financial Times reported that the rise in interest rates will make credit cards more expensive for at least 13 to 15 million customers since Citigroup co-brands with customers of many popular retail chains like Sears.

In a statement Citigroup claimed that the rise in interest rates was in keeping with “regular account reviews” and was in part motivated by increasing business costs so as to keep credit channels free in the consumer market. The company also announced that it was selling off 34% stake to the US government under the terms of a financial rescue package agreed with federal agencies.

In May this year, the Credit Card Responsibility, Accountability and Disclosure Act 2009 were passed in the US under the guidance of President Obama. The Act will help control finance industry practices and make it difficult for lenders to adjust risk-based pricing.

After a year of nationwide slump in the US auto market, there were reports that the decline of sales had slowed in June and the auto industry may have put its worst phase behind.

Auto makers sold a total of 849,857 vehicles in the month of June which was a 7.9% drop from the sales in May, according to figures compiled by Autodata Corp. the overall June sales also indicate a decline of 28% from the same time last year.

However the good news in the Autodata report was that the rate of decline in sales had significantly slowed for at least four of the six major car manufacturers. Ford Motor Co experienced the least decline in its June sales of 107%, a major improvement on declines of 30-40% in sales that has been crippling the biggest automakers in the United States since last year.

The slowdown in declining sales figures has brought back hopes for the Detroit Big Three that the darkest days of the auto making industry may be finally over. Even Chrysler which had appealed for bankruptcy protection last month saw better sales this June. Analysts believe that the waning recession and several government incentives to the domestic auto industry may result in cautious improvements during the second half of 2009.

Crabtree & Evelyn Ltd filed for bankruptcy in the US on Wednesday as the personal care products retailer became the latest victim of the recession crippling consumer markets.

The company filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 after sales slumped and revenue fell in the aftermath of the recession. Crabtree & Evelyn Acting president, Stephen Bestwick said in a court filing that last year’s housing crisis and the tightening of credit channels had forced consumers to restrict discretionary spending which in turn proved crippling for the company.

Crabtree & Evelyn is owned by Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhard and is a division of the British parent holding company. Based in Woodstock, Connecticut, the American unit currently operates 126 stores across the US and has employee strength of 950. After its bankruptcy filing, Crabtree & Evelyn announced that it would continued to keep its stores open, honor gift cards and coupons even as it proceeds to reorganize its business under bankruptcy laws.

The worst post-war recession in the US economy saw several major names in the retail industry succumb to the economic slowdown. Since the end of 2007, retailers like Fortunoff, Steve & Barry’s, Gottschalks as well as Boscov’s were forced to seek bankruptcy protection under US laws.

Caribbean warmth and azure-blue seas make Cuba a tourist’s dream island. There is plenty to do in Cuba – luxuriate on the sun-kissed beaches, sail on luxury cruise liners, dance to mesmerizing Afro-Latin beats or discover the grandeur of old colonial heritage.

In recent times, Cuba has also emerged as a favored destination for all water sports fans. This is because the Cuban has some of the best coral reefs in the world which are an aquatic sports lover’s delight. Here divers and snorkelers can discover underwater treasures like gem-colored corals, amazing fishes and sea life, fabulous topography and even ancient sea-wrecks, if one is lucky!

The main diving sites in Cuba in located in Havana, Los Canarreos Archipelago, Santa Lucia, Varadero, Playa Giron, Ancon Peninsula, Santiago de Cuba and Jardines del Rey. Most of the diving centers are located near the bigger hotels and resorts which offer their own diving gear on hire. Other than this, Cuba has 30 major dive centers which are well-equipped with technical and instructional support. There are diving packages for everyone – from the professional to the novice. Some of these diving centers in fact offer courses in subjects like marine photography, night diving and other specialty diving.

Diving and snorkeling enthusiasts can thus make Cuba their next travel destination and before leaving they can check out www.ooaha.com which has some of the best Havana hotel deals.