Australia needs to think bust

AS a trading nation, Australia's prosperity relies upon our international competitiveness. The key for us is productivity. We need to be more efficient in both our public and private sectors so that we can produce more and innovate faster, at lower cost. We need skilled people across the board. The good news is that, relative to other OECD economies, Australia is well placed. We were fortunate to enter this slowdown with a strong banking system, our strong export ties to Asia - China and Japan particularly - and a national budget surplus.

Source : http://www.wabusinessnews.com.au/login.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wabusinessnews.com.au%2Fstory%2F2%2F74124%2FAustralia-needs-to-think-beyond-the-bust

Philippine orders drug prices

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has slashed the price of 27 essential medicines by half, after pharmaceutical manufacturers led by Pfizer Inc. ignored a government appeal to do so voluntarily. The hugely popular move is supposed to make anti-hypertension and anti-cholesterol drugs as well as antibiotics more affordable to the country's poor, but it also alarmed the drug industry, with Pfizer saying in a statement Tuesday it was disappointed. Arroyo on Monday signed an executive order reducing the price of the medicines effective Aug. 15, her office reported. Drug companies, including Pfizer, had offered to cut prices by 10 percent to 50 percent on 22 other drugs but not the 20-plus essential medicines recommended by the Department of Health. The Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines, which includes Pfizer, said it regretted the decision "because it believes the same result could be achieved through free-market competition." "Price control may deliver short-term benefits but the long-term negative consequences not only on the pharmaceutical industry but on other industries must be considered," it said, adding that drug companies would study options to remain viable. The statement did not elaborate. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the government had no alternative. "Call it an iron-fisted approach but we had no choice," he said. "Other firms simply refused to bring down prices." Duque said that competition in the past "was partial at best and prices were so slow to drop, and in some cases actually went up."

Source : http://www.pennlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/business-27/1248854607254170.xml&storylist=business

Latest Job Openings in Tamil nadu

Greetings from RTLx,

We are Looking for suitable candidates for the post of 1. Relationship Manager's 2. Sr. Relationship Manager's ELIGIBILITY -- Any Graduates/ Post Graduate/ MBA [Preferred] Fresher can also apply [2009 Result Awaited ] CTC : RM - 1.8 - 2.00 L pa + Incentives || SRM - 2.20 - 2.60 L pa + Incentives Employment Type : Direct Pay Rolls LOCATION: Coimbatore, Erode, Madurai, Trichy, Chennai, Tuticorin, Ooty, Salem, Thanjavur, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Trivandrum,Mysore Interview Location : Coimbatore Date: 25th July 2009 Timing – 10am to 5pm • Nearest Center Possible to your residential location as your work location Interested candidates can forward your CV to rtlx_jobs@yahoo.in Quote the 'Reference name' with your resume Forward to all your friends Reach Us, ------------ --------- --------- --------- H.R Team | RTLxGroups.com | E: rtlx_jobs@yahoo.in | www.rtlxgroups.com Bpo Projects | Manpower services | Skills Training | Project Resources | Internet works | Investments |

P&G Drug Unit Closer to Sale

The unit could fetch about $3 billion, these people say. An acquisition of the P&G business would substantially boost the profile of Warner Chilcott, a New Jersey-based company that focuses on women's health care and dermatology products. Folding in the division would triple Warner's revenue and give it access to drugs that focus on a wide range of women's health concerns. Warner Chilcott didn't return calls seeking comment. Cerberus, which proposes acquiring the division and turning it into a stand-alone company, is more circumspect about the transaction, according to people familiar with the situation. But it has lined up preliminary financing from some Wall Street banks, a small sign that banks are getting comfortable financing acquisitions, albeit ones with low amounts of debt financing and very steady cash flows. "Cerberus can't get it if the strategic buyers are serious. They will pay more than Cerberus for it," said one person familiar with the situation. The unit -- which makes roughly $800 million in operating profit -- was put on the auction block late last year, in a sales process led by Goldman Sachs & Co. A deal could be wrapped up by the end of summer, according to people familiar with the discussions, though they warned final discussions could still falter. A P&G spokesman said the company will look at all options to maximize shareholder value, including "continued operations of our strong and profitable business, as well as divestiture of some or all of our pharmaceutical assets." The division produces osteoporosis drug Actonel, bladder-control drug Enablex, ulcerative colitis drug Asacol and female sexual-dysfunction drug Intrinsa, which hasn't gained approval in the U.S. but is available in some European countries. P&G will likely focus on one bidder sometime next month, say people with knowledge of the process.

For further details visit as : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124821771844870125.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Higher Secondary Teacher's Salary is High

The state government has finally released the fitment tables, making way for the payment of "hiked salaries" to the higher education teachers as per the recommendations of the University Grants Commission (UGC). However, the government order in this regard has failed to enthuse the teachers as it has come five months behind the schedule and does not include several key benefits recommended by the UGC such as increase in age of superannuation to 65 years and payment of arrears with effect from January 2006. The UGC on the basis of the Chhadha Commission report, which was at par with the sixth pay commission, had recommended high pay scales for the teachers. The 80% of the expenses due to hike in the salary structure will be bore by the UGC and 20% by the state government. The UGC had also recommended to increase the superannuation age to 65 years, prescribed a new nomenclature for the posts and directed to pay arrears from January 2006. Further, the teachers were expecting that government order will include family planning increment, house rent allowance, maternity leave and child care leave. "But barring fitment table, the government order does not mention anything else," said Moulindu Mishra, president, Lucknow University Associated College Teachers Association (LUACTA). He said that after release of fitment tables, teachers will start getting the enhanced pay. However, he added, that if government fails to take decision on other issues by July 28, LUACTA will take to streets. The teachers of the Lucknow University have also threatened to go on strike on the issue. In fact, efforts are also on to bring teachers from all over the state under one platform to launch a joint agitation. Fitment tables define the salary slabs of the teachers as per their seniority and designations. The UGC had released the fitment tables long time ago following which the union ministry for human resource development had implemented the new scales in central universities. However, teachers in state universities, government and government-aided colleges had to wait for five months. The UGC guidelines on new scales also include increase in retirement age and make it mandatory for the state governments to follow all the recommendations for getting financial assistance required to implement the revised scales.

Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City/Lucknow/Higher-education-teachers-to-get-more-salary/articleshow/4800911.cms

Romania studies at Spiru Haret University

One of three students in Romania studies at Spiru Haret University, the largest private university in the country. But more than 100,000 students, recent and older graduates, could be left without their diplomas because the authorities dispute the quality of education provided by the institution. In all 311,928 students are currently pursuing a degree offered by Spiru Haret University, in one of the three forms of study offered: full-time, part-time, and distance learning. The size of the student body is impressive even by European standards: last year all universities in the UK, one of Europe's most active countries in marketing education, produced 335,000 graduates. Created in 1991 soon after the existence of private educational institutions was provided for in Romanian legislation (after the fall of state socialism in 1989), Spiru Haret got official authorisation to function in 2002. Since then, the student body has grown exponentially. The number of students enrolled this year is three times the number of graduates produced by the institution since it started. In 2007, Spiru Haret registered a profit of 30 million euros, making it one of the most lucrative businesses nationwide. The part-time and distance learning tracks are the most popular. The university currently has 49 distance learning and 47 part-time centres around the country. Students pay on average 500 euros a year, and there is usually no limit on the number of students, especially for the distance learning courses.

For further details visit as : http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47737

National Education System - DPM

Preschools will be absorbed into the national education system as part of the efforts to strengthen the command of the English language at the early stage of schooling, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said. He said trained English language teachers would be sent to the schools to help improve the learning and teaching of the language. Muhyiddin, who is education minister, said the government had agreed in principle to implement the policy but had not set any time frame to do so. He added that the move would be implemented to correspond with the proposal to make English a compulsory pass subject in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination. "If we can set aside a suitable period for the subject, and let trained teachers handle the class, in three years these preschoolers will be able grasp basic English," he said. By doing so, he said, preschoolers need not wait until they were in primary school to have a good grasp of basic English. "If the six-year period (in primary school) is not enough, they have five more years to learn the language (in secondary school). "So, it is unlikely that they will fail their SPM English language examination," he said at a gathering with educators at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) here Tuesday. He said that the government was aware of the concerns expressed by certain quarters over the proposal to make English a compulsory pass subject as many students, especially those in the rural areas, might not be able to achieve the pass mark. Citing the results of last year's SPM examination as an example, Muhyiddin said, only 26.9 per cent of rural students managed to register a pass in the subject. The government, however, would not take the "levelling down" approach in implementing the proposal, he said. "We should instead be brave enough to adopt the 'levelling up' approach by striving to improve the performance among students. "In the context of the English language, the suggestion to make English a 'must pass' subject is a levelling up approach to improve the command of the language among students so that they can become competitive." Muhyiddin said the proposal could be implemented soon but the efforts to enhance the command of the English language among students should start now.

Source : http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=426878

Emphasis on justice education

The National Law University, Cuttack, today commenced its academic activities with 85 students in two courses of five-year integrated Law and five-year Law and Management.Around 3,000 students had appeared in the nationwide tests for admissions to the youngest member of the premier legal education institutions in the country. There are 12 NLUs in the country today. Counselling was held on Saturday and 85 seats in the BA LLB and BBA LLB were filled up. The students in the courses with 60 seats each have been drawn from 22 states. The rest 35 seats would be filled up on July 24, when the second counselling would be held. The fledgling institution has started classes from a rented premises at Chahata. Welcoming the students, Vice-Chancellor Prof Faizan Mustafa said that the University would soon get its own campus and building. About 60 acre land at Naraj on the outskirts of Cuttack has been alloted for the purpose. Work on the project site has started and by the next academic session, the University is expected to have shifted to its own campus. The Vice-Chancellor said that the University would mark a shift from the traditional by inculcating the concept of justice education rather than basic legal studies. While emerging fields of specialisation would be promoted, legal research would also be given optimum emphasis. The University is planning to launch specialised courses like mining law, shipping law, food law and agriculture law from the ensuing academic session. Work on designing and preparing the course frame-work and modules is on. They will come into existence from 2010-11 academic year.

Source : http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Emphasis+on+justice+education+rather+than+on+leg&artid=ANyx/O3allg=&SectionID=mvKkT3vj5ZA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=nUFeEOBkuKw=&SEO=

Schools More rural in More Benefits :

Fifteen more schools in Mpumalanga are to benefit from an initiative enabling children from different schools to be taught maths and science at the same time. Through video conferencing technology and the use of interactive whiteboards, the initiative of the Ligbron Academy of Technology in Ermelo has already linked three schools in 2008. “The Ligbron e-Learning project allows for the sharing of SMART interactive educational technology between five schools in the region. Expansion to a further 15 schools also being planned,” said Frans Kalp, technology teacher and project manager. Mr Kalp said the programme was piloted at Camden Combined School and Umzimvelo School outside Ermelo as well as Ermelo Combined School which is in the city. He said the schools wirelessly connect to conferencing software to share their lessons with the Ligbron academy, which has 920 pupils. The Ligbron e-Learning Project is the first of its kind in South Africa, according to Mr Kalp. “With the blessing of the Mpumalanga Department of Education, Ligbron started sharing mathematics, mathematics literacy and science lessons with the first three schools within a 50 kilometre radius of Ligbron,” he said. E-learning is possible through the connection of SMART interactive whiteboards, with each having an LCD screen with a digital camera connected to the computer showing the image of teachers from linked schools.

http://www.skillsportal.co.za/learning/schools/090713-elearning-schools-technology-conferencing.htm

Rate increases in Employment (Jan to March '09)

In India, in some industries grew by 0.6 percent during the first quarter of this year 2009.

During the first quarter period, in gems and jewellery employment increased by 3.08 per cent, in automobiles by 0.10 percent, in Textiles increased by 0.96 per cent and the evergreen sector IT & BPO by 0.82 per cent -- report from Minister of Labour and Employment.
He said that the leather, metals and transport sector comments a decline during the recession period.The Transport and automobile,gems and jewellery were the worst industries during the last quarter October to December '08 by 4.03 and 2.42 percent, 8.53 percent decline rate in employment.
During the last period, Layoff rate increased by 500,000 due to the global recession.To prevent the cut down, he said state governments have been asked to make their machinery so effective and to accomplish the Labour laws in peculiar way.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20090708/1416/tnl-employment-rate-increases-by-0-6-per.html

Latest Job Openings in South India

Urgent Job openings in Reputed concern
Positions open:

1.Accounts Manager
2.HR Manager
3.Admin Manager
4.Accounts executive
5.Call center executive
6.HR Executive
7.Admin executive
8.Receptionist
9.Front office executive
10.Office assistant

ELIGIBILITY -- Any Graduates/ Post Graduate
Experience required for the some requirements

Freshers can also apply

Salary -- Best remuneration

LOCATION: Madurai,Trichy, Coimbatore, salem

Date: From 3rd July 2009

Timing – 10am to 5pm

Interested candidates can forward your CV to rtlx_jobs@yahoo.in

Forward to all your friends

Reach Us,

------------ --------- --------- ---------
H.R Team | RTLxGroups.com |

E: rtlx_jobs@yahoo.in | www.rtlxgroups. com

Bpo Projects | Consultancy services | Skills Training | Project Resources | Internet works | Investments |