USA - Even Democrats not buying into TTIP and TTP: Harry Reid Calls Trade Push By Obama And GOP 'Insanity'

The push by President Barack Obama and Republicans for gigantic new trade deals meets the definition of insanity, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) charged in a Senate floor speech Wednesday.

The president and Republican leaders are pushing hard to pass legislation known as Trade Promotion Authority that allows a White House to fast-track trade deals through Congress with no amendments, no procedural hurdles or filibusters, and a simple up-or-down vote in limited amount of time.

That fast-track authority likely would make it possible for the Obama administration to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership with a dozen Pacific Rim nations, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with Europe. Together, those pacts would cover about 80 percent of the global economy.

The much-maligned North American Free Trade Agreement of the 1990s covered about 10 percent of the word's trade, and Reid said that deal and many since have all been disastrous for American workers, costing millions of jobs.

"It causes huge job losses," Reid said. "As Einstein said, you keep doing the same thing over and over again, and you expect a different result, that's the definition of insanity."

"We can look at these trade bills over the years -- every one of them without exception causes to American workers job losses. Millions of job losses," Reid added. "But yet they're going to try the same thing again and hope for a different result. That's insanity."

Read more:Harry Reid Calls Trade Push By Obama And GOP 'Insanity'

European Unemployment: Crisis cost 5 million jobs in Europe while Turkey boosted employment - by Mustafa Sonmez

The global crisis is behind us, almost six years on. Even though the epicenter was the United States, the European Union also caught fire immediately during the crisis. The U.S. is attempting to stand on its feet after the half-dozen years that have passed, but it is not easy to say the same thing yet for the EU.

For the 28-member EU, various countries were affected to varying degrees. Some members were heavily wounded, such as Spain and Italy. Germany, on the other hand, which is considered the leader of the union, is in a relatively good situation, and one could even say it grew stronger during the crisis. The United Kingdom is trying to recover with difficulty. However, the big picture tells us that the EU is going through recession and the light at the end of the tunnel has yet to appear.

The biggest pain of the crisis was felt by those who lost their jobs. The easiest way to measure the damage of the crisis from country to country is to review the employment losses of countries.

According to the European Statistics Office Eurostat’s data, the EU’s growth rate before the crisis, in 2007, was 3.2 percent. It was rolled back to 0.4 percent first in 2008 when the crisis erupted, but hit the bottom in 2009 when it experienced the biggest shrinkage in its history, dropping 4.5 percent.

Following this shrinkage, in 2010 and in 2011, some relative recoveries were experienced. However, in 2012 the union again experienced a negative growth rate of 0.2 percent. In 2013, a recovery of 0.1 percent was recorded from there. The expectations for 2014 were not pleasant either.

While six years have passed since the global crisis, economic troubles varied from one country to the other. Mediterranean countries, which had difficulty in harmonizing with the transfer to the joint currency, the euro, after 2000, were hit the most by the crisis. Greece experienced the heaviest blow while Spain, Portugal and Italy also received heavy blows. While Germany suffered minor scars because of its export capacity and its current account surplus, the U.K. was fiercely shaken by the crisis but is trying to recover rapidly.

In Europe, the most direct impact of the crisis is on employment. Before the crisis reached its peak, in the last quarter of 2008, the total number of employed in the EU was 219 million. In the second quarter of 2014, however, this number dropped to 214 million, meaning that roughly 5 million people lost their jobs in the global crisis.

No doubt, some of the 28 members experienced major losses in employment; some, though, were able to increase their employment rates. The total losses in the losing countries amounted to 8.9 million, while the winners created around 3.9 million jobs, giving a balance of around 5 million fewer jobs.

Read more: Crisis cost 5 million jobs in Europe as Turkey boosted employment - ECONOMICS

The Netherlands: "After making millions of profit" Tobacco Firm Philip Morris to End Production in Netherlands - by Maarten van Tartwijk

U.S. cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc. said Friday it will shut down its manufacturing facility in the Netherlands as the tobacco giant wrestles with dwindling demand for traditional smoking products in Europe.

Philip Morris said the closure of the plant in Bergen op Zoom, its largest production facility world-wide, would result in 1,230 job losses, about 90% of its total workforce there. Production will shift to other factories in Europe with spare capacity, it said.The plans still require approval from Philip Morris Holland's supervisory board and will be discussed with labor unions.

Tobacco makers in Europe are struggling with falling demand for cigarettes, due to an increase in health awareness, a weak economy and higher taxes on smoking products. 

Philip Morris said sales volumes have plummeted 20% in the past four years and that a recovery is "highly unlikely."

The company also blamed a new European Uniontobacco-control law that will ban flavored cigarettes and require bigger warning labels on packets. The tougher regulatory environment is creating a fertile ground for "criminal organizations involved in the illegal cigarette trade," it said.

The announcement comes days after Philip Morris said it would stop making cigarettes in Australia by year-end, halting nearly 60 years of manufacturing in Melbourne. The closure could result in the loss of as many as 180 jobs as the company shifts production to South Korea.

Read more: Tobacco Firm Philip Morris to End Production in Netherlands - WSJ.com