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Rival presidential candidates, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain, resumed their election campaigns with each blaming the other for the ailing US economy.

A day after the US Department of Labor report revealed the highest unemployment rate in almost five years, GOP candidate John McCain used the small town background of his Mid-West election campaign to attack his Democrat rival on the issue of taxation. McCain claimed that while his own policy of cutting taxes would lead to creation of jobs, Sen. Obama’s proposal of raising taxes would hurt the average earner already reeling under inflation and stagnant wages.

Sen. Obama was quick to retaliate by putting the cause of rising unemployment squarely in the court of Republican economic policies. Criticizing McCain’s comment on the fundamentals of US economy still being strong, Sen. Obama highlighted the economic concerns of the ordinary voter who wishes for little more than job security and saving enough money to put the children through college.

The weekend saw both US presidential candidates returning to the political battlefield after having won the nominations at their respective party conventions. This forms the beginning of last two months’ of campaigning when the candidates and their running mates will clash on televised debate and election speeches.

Machinists went on strike against Boeing Co. from Saturday morning as contract negotiations facilitated by a federal mediator broke down.

The Boeing plant at Everett, north of Seattle was witness to around 100 union members going on strike at 12:01 a.m, Saturday on key issues like pay, outsourcing, health care and retirement benefits. Other demands include better 401k deal as well as improved vacation package.

Boeing Co. spokesperson said that for the duration of the strike, assembly work on aircrafts would remain suspended. According to an estimate, the strike would cost Boeing as much as $100 million per day in deferred revenue and would further delay the launch of its much-awaited 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

This is second time the machinists have struck work against Boeing in as many contract negotiations. The last time they went on a strike was in 2005, when work was halted for 24 days. The machinists at Boeing are responsible for assembling commercial aircrafts as well as some other key components.

The union spearheading the strike at Boeing’s Everett plant represents around 25000 workers in the Puget Sound region, 1500 in the Portland, Oregon area as well as another 750 at Wichita, Kansas. Currently, the average machinist at Boeing makes $27 an hour or around $56000 a year, excluding overtime and incentives.

Unemployment rate in the US rose to 6.1% in August 2008 while non-farm payrolls were down by 84,000, revealed the latest report from the Department of Labor.

The sudden jump in unemployment rate has caught experts by surprise as economists had previously forecast that unemployment rate would remain steady at 5.7%. The decline of payroll jobs by 84,000 was also more than an earlier estimate of 75000.

The labor market continued to suffer over the summer with job losses in June and July exceeding previous estimates of 100,000 by 60,000 to touch 160,000.

On the brighter side, average hourly earnings rose by 7 cents or 0.8% to settle at $18.14 which was marginally more than a rise of 0.3% expected by economists. Overall earnings showed an increase of more than 3.6% from last year while the average workweek remained stable at 33.7 hours.

Anticipating bad news in the Labor Department report, the Dow Jones index fell sharply on Thursday evening. At 4p.m market close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 344.65 points or 3% to settle at 11188.23. while the spill at the stock market affected segments across the board, some of the biggest losers were Caterpillar, American Express, American International Group and General Motors, each of which plunged by more than 5%.

Low-cost retailers in the US gained over high end stores during the back-to-school season as consumers strove to keep expenses low.

Sales figures for August revealed that discount stores like Wal-Mart and warehouse club operators like Costco Wholesale Corp were the few retailers who did good business as shoppers focused on the best bargains. As children got ready to return to school, parents steered them away from fancy jeans and trendy tops and zoomed on the basics at discount stores.

Retail sales figures provided by the International Council of Shopping Centers-UBS revealed that sales in the month of August rose by a mere 1.7 percent which was below the 2 percent forecast. The worst figures were reported by the apparel stores and teen retailers at shopping malls like Wet Seal Inc, American Eagle Outfitters Inc and Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

Other than back-to-school shopping, the impact of a stagnant economic growth was also seen at the high-end stores like Saks Inc and Nordstrom Inc. Here too sales remained sluggish as most consumers continued to struggle with rising food prices and stagnant wages. Uninspiring sales figures for August augured a bad sign for upscale retailers as it signaled that for the approaching holiday season too consumer would exercise restraint while buying gifts.

The traditional image of an office space brings to mind a drab environment where workers are glued to their desks or computer screens. However in recent times businesses have realized the significance of office interiors and the impact it has on employees or customers.

With people increasingly spending more hours at work it is essential that an office has well designed spaces and furniture so that the motivational levels of its employees remain high. If the workers feel comfortable working in their environment, then their productivity level too will be higher. Concepts like ‘open office’ and ‘no-partition’ interiors have come up in environments where team work is particularly important.

Comfort and functionality for particular employee groups should also be taken into account when deciding on office interiors. For women employees, well-ventilated and clean ladies’ rooms as well as crèches will go a long way in boosting their morale. As more young people are absorbed into the workforce, it is necessary that office interiors too reflect some part of the changing trends.

If “Clothes Maketh the Man”, then office interiors play an equally important role in creating the right image for a business. Aesthetic interiors not only make a favorable impression on potential customers but also raise the value of a business in the eyes of suppliers or investors.