Definitions by abu yahya
U-1
(ECONOMICS) Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of the civilian labor force.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics regularly publishes six estimates of unemployment. The others are U-2, U-3, U-4, U-5, and U-6. Eurostat publishes one monthly estimate of unemployment for the European Union, which is approximately midway between U-3 and U-4.
The unemployment statistics for the USA are collected through a monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) (also known as the household survey) and an establishment survey.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics regularly publishes six estimates of unemployment. The others are U-2, U-3, U-4, U-5, and U-6. Eurostat publishes one monthly estimate of unemployment for the European Union, which is approximately midway between U-3 and U-4.
The unemployment statistics for the USA are collected through a monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) (also known as the household survey) and an establishment survey.
Analysts use U-1 as a measure of the proportion of people that can no longer replace employment earnings with unemployment insurance or savings.
U-3
(ECONOMICS) Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force (official unemployment rate). Does not include discouraged workers. Also referred to as "headline unemployment" because it is the statistic reported in the news.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics regularly publishes six estimates of unemployment. The others are U-1, U-3, U-4, U-5, and U-6. Eurostat publishes one monthly estimate of unemployment for the European Union, which is approximately midway between U-3 and U-4.
The unemployment statistics for the USA are collected through a monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) (also known as the household survey) and an establishment survey.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics regularly publishes six estimates of unemployment. The others are U-1, U-3, U-4, U-5, and U-6. Eurostat publishes one monthly estimate of unemployment for the European Union, which is approximately midway between U-3 and U-4.
The unemployment statistics for the USA are collected through a monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) (also known as the household survey) and an establishment survey.
U-3 is the official unemployment rate in the USA; it excludes passive jobseekers (people who are just looking for available job openings without applying). Passive jobseekers are counted as part of the labor force in Europe, but not in the USA. Prior to the 2008 economic crisis, this caused unemployment rates in the USA to be about 1% lower than they would have been if the BLS had used European methods of estimating.
Shah Reza
(HISTORY OF IRAN) More accurately known as Reza Shah; founder of the Pahlavi Dynasty (1925-1979), shah (emperor) of Iran from 1925 to his ouster in 1942 (by invading British and Russian armies).
Born, 1878; died, 1944. Originally in the regular Iranian Army, when the Iranian monarchy was bankrupted he contracted out to command a cossack division for the Anglo Persian Oil Company (British Petroleum). As a result, he actually had a lot of money and was able to become the prime minister (1922), and then depose the old Dynasty, the Qejars.
As Shah, he promised to revise the hated concession to Anglo Iranian Oil Company, but they managed to stall and thwart him with the help of the International Court of Justice. As a result, he turned to the Axis Powers. When World War II broke out, he offered some help to the Germans and Italians, so the British invaded and replaced him with his son, Shah Muhammad Reza.
Born, 1878; died, 1944. Originally in the regular Iranian Army, when the Iranian monarchy was bankrupted he contracted out to command a cossack division for the Anglo Persian Oil Company (British Petroleum). As a result, he actually had a lot of money and was able to become the prime minister (1922), and then depose the old Dynasty, the Qejars.
As Shah, he promised to revise the hated concession to Anglo Iranian Oil Company, but they managed to stall and thwart him with the help of the International Court of Justice. As a result, he turned to the Axis Powers. When World War II broke out, he offered some help to the Germans and Italians, so the British invaded and replaced him with his son, Shah Muhammad Reza.
Shah Reza Pahlavi is often compared with Ataturk, a contemporaneous dictator of Turkey. However, Reza Shah was much more reliant on a cooperative clergy than Ataturk was.
credit default swap
(FINANCE) financial instrument in which buyer is someone who needs insurance against the possibility that a borrower will default on a loan. In that case, the counterparty is whoever receives the CDS premiums, and pays out in the event of default.
WHY IT'S BAD
Loans are usually made by either commercial banks (in which a loan officer is supposed to make a professional assessment of risk of default before handing over the money), or by investment banks (which underwrite securities like bonds). If the borrower has a high risk of default, then the loan should not be made--period.
Credit default swaps were a stupid method of supposedly turning a bad loan into a "risky" (and potentially high-yield) "investment"; they were in reality a strategy for fraud. Since portfolio managers knew they were bundling securitized loans that contained mostly crap, they would arrange credit default swaps and cash in when the borrowers defaulted.
WHY IT'S BAD
Loans are usually made by either commercial banks (in which a loan officer is supposed to make a professional assessment of risk of default before handing over the money), or by investment banks (which underwrite securities like bonds). If the borrower has a high risk of default, then the loan should not be made--period.
Credit default swaps were a stupid method of supposedly turning a bad loan into a "risky" (and potentially high-yield) "investment"; they were in reality a strategy for fraud. Since portfolio managers knew they were bundling securitized loans that contained mostly crap, they would arrange credit default swaps and cash in when the borrowers defaulted.
What the bankers hit on was a sort of insurance policy: a third party would assume the risk of the debt going sour, and in exchange would receive regular payments from the bank, similar to insurance premiums. JPMorgan would then get to remove the risk from its books and free up the reserves. The scheme was called a "credit default swap," and it was a twist on something bankers had been doing for a while to hedge against fluctuations in interest rates and commodity prices.
{Newsweek, "The Monster That Ate Wall Street," 27 Sep 2008}
{Newsweek, "The Monster That Ate Wall Street," 27 Sep 2008}
credit default swap by Abu Yahya July 17, 2010
voice over
(CINEMA || TELEVISION) technique in which an actor reads lines, but is not shown speaking the lines in the video stream. So, for example, we might see Martin Sheen lying in bed in a decrepit hotel in Saigon, and hear his voice say, "Saigon... shit! I was still in Saigon!" But he's narrating in the past tense, and the Martin Sheen onscreen is not saying anything. Or we might see Robert Duvall sitting on the beach, and Martin Sheen's disembodied voice, calmly recalling, "Well, he loved his men... Felt safe with them.."
It serves to fill in events in the story that the director doesn't want to depict on screen; it helps to describe how a character feels about events shown in the scene, or remind viewers that they are currently watching a flashback; it also has been used successfully to explain away absurd holes in the plot that would otherwise ruin the movie.
The voice over (VO) is particularly popular in US cinema and somewhat less so in British and Japanese; non-US movies that are conscious imitating Hollywood cliches will usually use it as well.
Usually, artistic movies made outside the English-speaking world tend to avoid using the VO because it's a non-traditional narrative technique, and it looks lazy. A good screenwriter doesn't need to use it. However, in commercials and TV "journalism" it is almost supernaturally powerful in persuading people of utter nonsense; it's basically a form of posthypnotic suggestion.
It serves to fill in events in the story that the director doesn't want to depict on screen; it helps to describe how a character feels about events shown in the scene, or remind viewers that they are currently watching a flashback; it also has been used successfully to explain away absurd holes in the plot that would otherwise ruin the movie.
The voice over (VO) is particularly popular in US cinema and somewhat less so in British and Japanese; non-US movies that are conscious imitating Hollywood cliches will usually use it as well.
Usually, artistic movies made outside the English-speaking world tend to avoid using the VO because it's a non-traditional narrative technique, and it looks lazy. A good screenwriter doesn't need to use it. However, in commercials and TV "journalism" it is almost supernaturally powerful in persuading people of utter nonsense; it's basically a form of posthypnotic suggestion.
The propaganda effect of commercials is massively enhanced by the use of voice over narration; usually the VO script is a grammatical mess and crammed with logical errors. This actually makes it work as a tool of brainwashing, since the logic cannot be followed by the listener.
voice over by Abu Yahya July 15, 2010
consent decree
(US LAW) a legal ruling that consists of a decision in which the two parties (the plaintiff and the defendant) consent to some action by the defendant in exchange for a suspended sentence. For example, a husband who is a defendant in a domestic violence case may agree to psychiatric counseling in exchange for not going to prison for assaulting his wife.
The agreement has to be reached beforehand by the parties and then the court may (or may not) approve of the agreement. When it does, that's a consent decree.
The agreement has to be reached beforehand by the parties and then the court may (or may not) approve of the agreement. When it does, that's a consent decree.
WASHINGTON, July 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Justice Department today announced a court-approved consent decree which resolves a lawsuit against the state of New York and its public university systems for their failure to provide voter registration services at offices serving students with disabilities at each public university and college campus in New York State.
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Under the consent decree, by the start of the 2010-2011 school year, disability services offices at each public university and college campus in the state will provide voter registration services to students with disabilities.
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Under the consent decree, by the start of the 2010-2011 school year, disability services offices at each public university and college campus in the state will provide voter registration services to students with disabilities.
consent decree by Abu Yahya July 15, 2010
Bureau of Labor Statistics
(US GOVERNMENT) bureau within the federal government of the United States; part of the Department of Labor. Measures unemployment, hours worked, hourly wages, inflation, productivity, and so on.
The Department of Labor was created as a result of the NLRA (1935), which gave workers the right to organize.
The Department of Labor was created as a result of the NLRA (1935), which gave workers the right to organize.
Yesterday the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published its monthly report of hours worked. This revealed that, while employees are working more hours, unemployment has not declined and wages continue to decline.
Bureau of Labor Statistics by Abu Yahya July 15, 2010