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Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Davos founder Schwab cleared of misconduct by WEF probe
An investigation conducted by the World Economic Forum's board on Friday cleared the body's founder Klaus Schwab and his wife of wrongdoing, after a probe into whistleblower complaints. "Following a thorough review of all facts, the Board has concluded that ... there is no evidence of material wrongdoing by Klaus Schwab," the board announced. In April, the Wall Street Journal reported that an anonymous letter sent to the prestigious institution's board of directors accused Schwab and his wife Hilde of mixing their personal affairs with Forum resources without proper oversight. A spokesperson for Schwab had immediately denied all these accusations, but the 87-year-old said he would step down as head of the WEF. The board of the WEF, best known for its annual summit for political and business elites in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Davos, asked a law firm to carry out an independent probe of the allegations. "Minor irregularities, stemming from blurred lines between personal contributions and Forum operations, reflect deep commitment rather than intent of misconduct," the statement said. "The Board has taken action to address all issues identified throughout the investigation, including strengthening the governance in general." Also on Friday, the WEF said it will be replacing former Nestle CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe as interim chairman of the board. He is being replaced by the billionaire duo of Larry Finck, the American co-founder of the investment fund Blackrock, and Andre Hoffmann, the Swiss vice-chairman of the pharmaceutical group Roche, according to a separate statement. The letter alleged Schwab had asked junior employees to withdraw "thousands of dollars" from ATMs for him and used organisation funds to pay for massages during hotel stays. But the probe found nothing improper in his conduct. Schwab was born in Ravensburg, Germany, on March 30, 1938. He was married with two children. He was a professor of business management at the University of Geneva, where he taught until 2003, when in the early 1970s he launched the "European Management Forum," the precursor to the current Forum. He expanded it by inviting American business leaders, successfully building a huge network of the world's economic and political elite, transforming the event into a major high-level international gathering dedicated to business relations and the exchange of ideas. The Forum's success has led to the satirical concept of "Davos Man", the supposed avatar of a globalised elite of the stateless ultra-rich committed to free trade and high-minded seminars on corporate social responsibility. Like other international organisations, the WEF has spurred conspiracy theories alleging that it was seeking to establish a "new world order". Elon Musk, the world's richest man and once an influential member of US President Donald Trump's inner circle, accused Schwab on his social media platform X of wanting to "be the emperor of the Earth." vog/gv/dc
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Warning signs in Europe's job market: Workers now brace for tariff effects
Much attention has been given to how US import tariffs might hit Europe's industries and corporate giants as the once-solid transatlantic trading relationship faces one of the biggest challenges of the modern era. One area that has been largely ignored — the fate of workers — could also suffer, as ripples in the EU's economic stability lead to a reduction in job opportunities and weakened employment stability. Here's an overview of what to expect in the months ahead. Job vacancy rate One indicator of labour market health is the rate at which vacancies appear, a sign of how stable businesses feel. When lots of jobs are up for grabs, it tends to be a sign that companies are confident and ready to hire more people. When openings start to dry up, it usually means they're getting cautious. If vacancies are rising while unemployment is low, workers have more choice and bargaining power as demand is high relative to supply. But when available job offers fall, it's often the first hint that the labour market is slowing down. Employers generally hit pause on hiring well before they start letting people go, which is why vacancy rates are such an important early clue as to what's coming. And right now, the data shows risks ahead. In first-quarter figures released by the European Commission in June, there was a slight drop in the job vacancy rate, which came in at 2.4% in the eurozone. That's down from 2.5% in the final quarter of 2024. When looking at the yearly change, the drop is more significant, as the rate for the first quarter of 2024 was 2.9%. As seen in the graph below, the COVID-19 pandemic had the most pronounced impact on job vacancies, much more than the 2008-2009 economic crisis. While the market recovered somewhat in 2021 and 2022, vacancy rates are now dropping again. Vacancy rates dropped the most in Germany, Greece, Austria and Sweden, indicating that employers are growing more reluctant, if only marginally, to hire more people. For workers, a falling vacancy rate often means fewer opportunities to change jobs, less leverage to negotiate higher pay, and a longer wait to re-enter the market if they get laid off. If the decline seen at the start of 2025 continues, workers could find themselves in a much tougher bargaining position by the end of the year. Hours worked and overtime Another important indicator is the squeeze on working hours or indicators that show employers are cutting back shifts, a step often taken before moving to layoffs or instituting a hiring freeze. Overtime hours also decrease when employers trim shifts in response to falling demand or input shortages. In the EU, in 2024, people aged 20-64 years worked 36 hours on average per week, including full- and part-time work. This number refers to the hours people worked in their main job in the reference week. Countries with the longest working week were Greece at 39.8 hours, Bulgaria at 39, Poland at 38.9 and Romania at 38.8. By contrast, when it comes to European Union countries, the Netherlands had the shortest working week at 32.1 hours, followed by Austria, Germany and Denmark (all with 33.9 hours). The number of hours worked decreased by 0.3% in both the eurozone and the European Union in the first quarter of 2025, compared with the previous quarter, according to Eurostat. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, hours worked increased by 0.1% in the eurozone and decreased by 0.2% in the EU. Fewer hours on the job does not just mean more free time. It often means less pay and fewer benefits, especially for hourly workers. If hours continue to shrink, the impact will be felt fastest among lower- and middle-income households already squeezed by increased living costs. Even if employment levels hold steady, underemployment — when workers have a job but can't get the hours they want — can rise. In the first quarter of 2025, 10.9% of the EU's extended labour force was underutilised, amounting to around 23.6 million people. This suggests that the erosion in job quality can run deeper than headline unemployment figures might immediately show. Labour rights Europe's institutional safeguards for workers are deteriorating, which is worrying when considering the economic shocks that could potentially be caused by tariffs in the future. The Labour Rights Index for 2024 flags gaps in legislation based on its assessment of labour protections across the world. It evaluates aspects like freedom of association, employment security and family responsibilities through a 0–100 scoring system. In Europe, countries such as Norway, Sweden, Finland, France and Italy score 94, while countries such as Germany and the UK score 88.5 and 88 respectively. While many EU countries score highly on paper, the index highlights persistent legislative gaps in areas such as protection against unfair dismissal and equal treatment for non-standard workers. These gaps mean that even in stable economic periods, large groups of workers remain less shielded from sudden job loss or deteriorating conditions. Related Years at work: Which European countries have the longest average working life? UK job vacancies fall at a slower pace while wage growth holds steady Meanwhile, the ITUC Global Rights Index 2025 shows how these legal weaknesses translate into reality, and tracks violations of labour rights such as restrictions on strikes, the formation of unions, and judicial access and protections on a yearly basis. According to ITUC, Europe saw its worst-ever average score in 2025, at 2.78, compared to 2.73 in 2024 and 2.56 in 2023. "Europe continued a rapid deterioration from 1.84 in 2014 — the biggest decline seen in any region worldwide over the past 10 years," the ITUC report highlights. According to the ITUC index, "nearly three-quarters of European countries violated the right to strike and almost a third of them arrested or detained workers. More than half were denied or restricted access to justice — a sharp increase from 32% in 2024." What does this mean? The economic signals of a slowing labour market — falling vacancy rates, shrinking working hours, and rising underemployment — suggest that workers may have less power to protect themselves just as their jobs and incomes come under strain. In other words, tariffs and other trade shocks could land much harder in 2025, not simply because the economy is cooling, but because the institutional defences that once helped workers weather downturns are eroding at the same time. With early warning signs already visible, the next few quarters will reveal whether these shifts are temporary tremors or the start of a deeper downturn for Europe's workforce. If the combination of tariff pressure and eroding rights persists, the cost could be measured not only in lost jobs, but in lasting damage to workers' bargaining power for years to come. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Intel stock jumps on report Trump admin. is considering stake
Shares of Intel (INTC) jumped 7% following a Bloomberg report that the Trump administration is considering taking a stake in the chip giant. The report states that the size of the stake the government would take is unclear, with one of the outlet's sources stressing that talks were fluid. Market Domination Overtime Anchor Josh Lipton reports the breaking details, and Investopedia editor in chief Caleb Silver weighs in. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination Overtime. the Trump administration considering taking a stake in chipmaker Intel. This is going to bloomberg news. That deal would help shore up intel's plan factory hub in Ohio, according to the report. Company had once promised to turn that site, remember, into the world's largest chip making facility. It's unclear the size of this potential stake the US would have, but the plans seem to have stemmed from a meeting this week, remember between President Trump and Intel's chief executive officer. The ideas for the US government to pay for the stake, details being sorted out. Caleb, headlines coming fast and furious. The stock reacting about two percent in the after hours. What do you make of it? Yeah. Well, things have really changed for the Putan, the CEO of Intel because just a week, week and a half ago. Trump was saying you're out. He wanted his ouster. He called for his head. Yeah. Right. So this is administration getting very deep into the private sector into some of the most important companies in the market, doing some of the most important things. And the reality for Intel is they have the manufacturing base here more than any other chip maker in the US to produce a lot of chips. And if we're going to become a chip producing nation, we're going to need Intel. We're going to need its foundry. We're going to need all of its factories all over the southwest and everywhere else to make as many chips as possible. The fact that the US might take a stake, that's an interesting conflict of interest, but everything is interesting these days with this administration. You know, the reports saying this is fluid. It sounds like we don't have a lot of details yet. So we'll see how this all flushes out and works out. It is interesting though, Caleb, as a long time market watcher that you are, when we talk about Intel, and here you have this, this storied American company. But on this show, listen, we talk about Nvidia and AMD, and Broadcom, and Micron, and you name it. Intel is not discussed all that much. It is not in the bloodstream like it used to be. Because it missed arguably the AI chip making wave. It's catching up to it, but it got, it missed the head start that Nvidia was on to, that AMD was on to, that a lot of these other chip makers have invested in tens and hundreds of billions of dollars over the last few years, and they've been rewarded for it. So it missed that. It's losing a big customer in Apple who's going to be making its own chips, and it lost its way arguably for a while. But it does have the infrastructure in place in this country to do a lot of chip manufacturing if it had the investment. So far, it doesn't have any big customers for its foundry business, which it invested a lot of money, and that was supposed to be the future. Maybe this, if it's true, turns things around a little bit, but we haven't mentioned Intel in a while. We had mentioned Cisco in a while, and Cisco on the program earlier today. These are like partying, like it's 1999 all over again. It sounds like Intel's declined comment on the discussions. Just sounds like the White House not immediately responding to request for comment either, but we'll keep you posted on headlines as they come.
