Business as unusual

Published November 8, 2012
Communist supporters attend the unveiling of the statue of Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, marking the anniversary of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in St. Petersburg. The statue, created in 1949, was unveiled in the yard of a sports institute after relocating from its original site near a former railway station.?Photo by AFP
Communist supporters attend the unveiling of the statue of Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, marking the anniversary of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in St. Petersburg. The statue, created in 1949, was unveiled in the yard of a sports institute after relocating from its original site near a former railway station.?Photo by AFP
Fudan University's student members of the Chinese Communist Party stand in formation to create the party's emblem, a hammer and sickle, to mark the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) which kicks off today, in Shanghai. Close to 260 students participated in the display.?Photo by Reuters
Fudan University's student members of the Chinese Communist Party stand in formation to create the party's emblem, a hammer and sickle, to mark the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) which kicks off today, in Shanghai. Close to 260 students participated in the display.?Photo by Reuters
Men wait their turn to receive food from volunteers in Barcelona, Spain. The number unemployed jumped by 128,242 people in October as the country's recession showed no signs of easing. Spain's unemployment rate is released separately and quarterly. It stood at 25.02 percent at the end of the third quarter. The jobless rate is 52 percent for those under age 25.?Photo by AP
Men wait their turn to receive food from volunteers in Barcelona, Spain. The number unemployed jumped by 128,242 people in October as the country's recession showed no signs of easing. Spain's unemployment rate is released separately and quarterly. It stood at 25.02 percent at the end of the third quarter. The jobless rate is 52 percent for those under age 25.?Photo by AP
Tomas Qvist, Ericsson's head of Human Resources in Sweden, arrives for a press briefing at the Ericsson headquarters at Stockholm. Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson announced that it intends to shed 1,550 jobs in Sweden in an effort to boost profits.?Photo by AFP
Tomas Qvist, Ericsson's head of Human Resources in Sweden, arrives for a press briefing at the Ericsson headquarters at Stockholm. Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson announced that it intends to shed 1,550 jobs in Sweden in an effort to boost profits.?Photo by AFP
Protesters stand in front of parliament during a demonstration in Athens. Greek police today used tear gas to disperse demonstrators protesting outside parliament ahead of a key vote on a new round of austerity measures. Some protestors responded by hurling petrol bombs at police forces as the demonstration by some 70,000 people in Athens briefly flared up.?Photo by AFP
Protesters stand in front of parliament during a demonstration in Athens. Greek police today used tear gas to disperse demonstrators protesting outside parliament ahead of a key vote on a new round of austerity measures. Some protestors responded by hurling petrol bombs at police forces as the demonstration by some 70,000 people in Athens briefly flared up.?Photo by AFP
A riot police officer is engulfed by petrol bomb flames thrown by protesters in front of the parliament during clashes in Athens, Wednesday. Greece's fragile coalition government faces its toughest test so far when lawmakers vote later Wednesday on new painful austerity measures demanded to keep the country afloat, on the second day of a nationwide general strike.?Photo by AP
A riot police officer is engulfed by petrol bomb flames thrown by protesters in front of the parliament during clashes in Athens, Wednesday. Greece's fragile coalition government faces its toughest test so far when lawmakers vote later Wednesday on new painful austerity measures demanded to keep the country afloat, on the second day of a nationwide general strike.?Photo by AP
People in wheelchairs protest against a new government austerity bill on the second day of a general strike in Thessaloniki. Lawmakers were locked in a fierce debate today ahead of a vote on a new austerity package needed to unlock international aid and stave off imminent bankruptcy.?Photo by AFP
People in wheelchairs protest against a new government austerity bill on the second day of a general strike in Thessaloniki. Lawmakers were locked in a fierce debate today ahead of a vote on a new austerity package needed to unlock international aid and stave off imminent bankruptcy.?Photo by AFP
Pham Thi Hue, wears a traditional long dress with anti government slogans written on it during a demonstration outside the Government Office in Vietnam. As land prices have risen, officials have in some cases moved farmers off their land to make way for lucrative industrial projects.?Photo by Reuters
Pham Thi Hue, wears a traditional long dress with anti government slogans written on it during a demonstration outside the Government Office in Vietnam. As land prices have risen, officials have in some cases moved farmers off their land to make way for lucrative industrial projects.?Photo by Reuters
L'Oreal vice-president for Asia-Pacific Jochen Zaumseil delivers his remarks during the inauguration ceremony of L'Oreal's factory in West Java. Cosmetics giant L'Oreal opened its biggest factory in the world in Indonesia, as it seeks to profit from strong demand for beauty products in fast-growing Asia.?Photo by AFP
L'Oreal vice-president for Asia-Pacific Jochen Zaumseil delivers his remarks during the inauguration ceremony of L'Oreal's factory in West Java. Cosmetics giant L'Oreal opened its biggest factory in the world in Indonesia, as it seeks to profit from strong demand for beauty products in fast-growing Asia.?Photo by AFP
Rescue workers look for survivors from the debris of a collapsed building rented by Melcom Ltd, which runs Ghana's largest chain of retail department stores, in Accra. The four-storey building housing a department store in Ghana's capital Accra collapsed on Wednesday, killing at least one person and trapping dozens inside.?Photo by Reuters
Rescue workers look for survivors from the debris of a collapsed building rented by Melcom Ltd, which runs Ghana's largest chain of retail department stores, in Accra. The four-storey building housing a department store in Ghana's capital Accra collapsed on Wednesday, killing at least one person and trapping dozens inside.?Photo by Reuters
ING , the largest Dutch financial services group, is to cut more than 2,000 jobs worldwide as it prepares to separate its banking and insurance operations in difficult markets. The cuts, which equate to 2.5 per cent of ING's workforce, come as banks across Europe shed staff in a reassessment of their businesses after the financial crisis.?Photo by Reuters
ING , the largest Dutch financial services group, is to cut more than 2,000 jobs worldwide as it prepares to separate its banking and insurance operations in difficult markets. The cuts, which equate to 2.5 per cent of ING's workforce, come as banks across Europe shed staff in a reassessment of their businesses after the financial crisis.?Photo by Reuters
A member of the Mortgage Victims' Platform (PAH) holds a pot outside nationalized lender Bankia bank's headquarters in Madrid November 7, 2012. Protesters have camped outside the headquarters of Bankia for more than two weeks, saying that when the bank repossesses their properties, it should clear their debt and allow them to stay on as tenants paying a low rent.?Photo by Reuters
A member of the Mortgage Victims' Platform (PAH) holds a pot outside nationalized lender Bankia bank's headquarters in Madrid November 7, 2012. Protesters have camped outside the headquarters of Bankia for more than two weeks, saying that when the bank repossesses their properties, it should clear their debt and allow them to stay on as tenants paying a low rent.?Photo by Reuters

As Greece is going through another tumultuous period, economically, politically and financially during its two day general strike, with Hurricane Sandy having ravaged the spiritual and financial capital of the world just days earlier, business it seems,  in general has not been favourable for the rest of the world either. Ericsson plans on laying off over a thousand people as does ING in the Netherlands. Indonesia on the other hand has plenty more vacancies as L'oreal opens their largest factory ever there.—Photos by Agencies

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