Tokyo shares skid as Japan slips into recession -Lisa Twaronite (Reuters)

Passers-by are reflected on an electronic stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, November …

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese stocks marked their biggest daily drop since August on Monday, helping the yen rebound from a fresh seven-year low against the dollar touched after news Japan unexpectedly fell into recession in the third quarter.
"European equities are set to open lower following Japan's dip into recession," Capital Spreads dealer Jonathan Sudaria said in a note.
Capital Spreads predicted Britain's FTSE 100 <.FTSE> would fell 33 points, or 0.4 percent; France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> would open down 20 points, or 0.4 percent, and Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> would open 66 points lower, or 0.7 percent.
Meanwhile, Shanghai shares <.SSEC> edged up 0.2 percent. Hong Kong <.HSI> opened around 1 percent higher but quickly erased gains and was down 0.7 percent on suspected profit-taking by traders who had positioned for the launch of the Stock Connect scheme that will let Hong Kong and Shanghai investors buy and sell shares on each other's bourses.
A daily investment quota for the Shanghai leg of a stock market connect scheme was hit in early afternoon trading as investors piled into the relatively undervalued mainland shares.
"The market had already responded to the stock link," Andy Wong, senior investment analyst at Harris Fraser (International) Ltd in Hong Kong said, referring to the Hong Kong market. "Short-term investors are taking profits from the market."
Much of the cash flow is expected to be northbound at first, as foreign investors on the Hong Kong Exchange <0388 .hk=""> target mainland shares under a daily quota of 13 billion yuan.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> was down 0.3 percent, as the disappointing Japanese growth data sent the Nikkei stock average <.N225> tumbling 3 percent.
Japanese GDP contracted an annualized 1.6 percent in the July-September quarter, compared with a 2.1 percent increase forecast by economists in a Reuters poll. That followed a revised 7.3 percent contraction in the second quarter, which was the biggest slump since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The shockingly downbeat report reinforced expectations Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will delay a sales tax hike, set for October next year, after a hike in the tax in April took a heavy toll on consumption.
The dollar initially rallied as high as 117.06 yen , but gave up those gains in extremely volatile trade as the Nikkei extended losses. Many market participants, particularly foreign investors, sell the yen to hedge their equities positions, so the Japanese currency tends to gain whenever stocks drop. The dollar was last down about 0.4 percent at 115.74.
"Dollar/yen has been moving recently in close relationship with (Japanese) equities so the Nikkei's fall knocked the pair from its highs," said Masafumi Yamamoto, a market strategist at Praevidential Strategy in Tokyo.
"The GDP data was so unexpectedly weak and clouded many prospects taken for a given," he said.
The yen's renewed strength helped push down the dollar index <.DXY> about 0.2 percent to 87.369.
On Wall Street on Friday, U.S. shares were slightly lower, but still logged weekly gains and were underpinned by data showing most U.S. retailers reported strong sales in October and consumer sentiment rose to a seven-year high in November.
Two separate reports on Friday showed Americans' expectations for long-term inflation fell, and import prices slipped 1.3 percent in September as cheaper oil and a strong dollar slashed prices of imported items.
Leaders from the G20 group of nations agreed on Sunday to boost global growth, tackle climate change and crack down on tax avoidance, but ties between the West and Russia showed signs of fraying over the Ukraine crisis.
The euro added 0.2 percent to $1.2542, holding well above a two-year low of $1.2358 touched on Nov. 7.
In contrast with Japan, data on Friday showed the euro zone economy grew more than expected in the third quarter as France beat market forecasts and Germany narrowly avoided a recession. The 18 countries sharing the euro expanded 0.2 percent in July-September compared to the previous three months, when they grew 0.1 percent.
In commodities trading, U.S. crude dropped about 0.8 percent to $75.18 a barrel, moving back toward a four-year low of $73.25 marked on Friday. Brent crude shed 1.1 percent to $78.55.
Spot gold edged up slightly on the day to $1,189.08 an ounce, after its 2.5 percent surge on Friday on short-covering and fund buying.

(Additional reporting by Kazunori Takada in Shanghai and Shinichi Saoshiro in Tokyo; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Eric Meijer)

Culled from Reuters in yahoo finance

3 reasons to be optimistic you'll get a raise in 2015-Beth Ann Bovino

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American workers should be feeling their best since the start of the Great Recession. Unemployment is at its lowest level since 2008.

Yet while jobs have returned, wages have remained relatively stagnant, rising just 2% in the past year. More people may be clocking in, but a sense of "just getting by" continues to permeate the national mindset.
Luckily, 2015 will almost certainly usher in some much needed wage growth for U.S. workers. We expect wage growth next year to get close to 2.5% growth by year-end. This is well below the peak 3.5% rate seen before the crisis, but a step above the sluggish wage gains we've seen through most of the recovery.
Here are three reasons wages are likely to rise next year:
1. People are finding jobs
Short-term unemployment, which tracks workers who are out of the job market for six months or less, is at its lowest since the start of the recession. This shows a strong market for workers who come with readily available skills and can often demand higher wages.

Conventional economic models often use the total U.S. unemployment rate (currently 5.8%) as the measure of labor market tightness. But the long-term unemployed make up a large share of the overall jobless rate. With diminished job opportunities and a greater chance of leaving the work force all together, the long-term unemployed have less influence on wages, meaning overall unemployment may have been less accurate as a predictor for salary increases.
Don't get me wrong, the long-term unemployment and total rate are critical in gauging the overall health of the labor market. But the short-term unemployment drop is a positive sign for wages.
2. Workers are feeling confident enough to quit
The so-called job "quit rate" has hit its highest level in six years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' September job openings and labor survey.
Workers who start voting with their feet are a good thing for wage appreciation. It signals the labor force feels confident they can quit in order to look for new jobs at potentially higher salaries.

3. Labor costs are going up
U.S. employers' labor costs are on the upswing, and that's yet another sign that worker pay could finally break out of its post-recession pattern of sluggish growth.
The Employment Cost Index (ECI), a broad gauge of wage and benefit expenditures, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in the second and third quarters as compared to 0.3% in the first quarter. Early on during the recovery much of the overall gain in the ECI was from a jump in benefits. This time wages and salaries, which account for roughly 70% of compensation costs, jumped 0.8%.
All that said, the news on wage growth will not be good for all. While certain jobs require higher and higher salaries, a large number of American workers aren't seeing any, or very little, wage growth.
What's more, while the short-term unemployed are finding jobs, many of the long-term unemployed often remain without work, or leave the jobs market altogether, ultimately ending up as causalities of the Great Recession.

After five years of relatively high unemployment and wage stagnation, however, these indicators can help keep the U.S. from slipping back into the doldrums of a tough recession as Europe is.
If the higher wages do take hold, workers may start spending more, which means businesses will feel more apt to hire, and a positive cycle can ensue.

If this scenario plays out, it may finally be time to walk into your boss's office and ask: 'how about that raise?'

Beth Ann Bovino is U.S. Chief Economist for S&P Ratings.

culled from CNN money in Yahoo finance

Take care of yourself first in retirement-By Dave Bernard By Dave Bernard

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When you retire you become personally responsible for your own happiness. How you spend your time and what you do is up to you. The freedom you feel can be refreshing, liberating and inspiring. However, if your retirement journey does not go the way you hoped, who is to blame? Your retirement happiness rests in your hands. Here's what you can do to maximize your chances of setting up a successful retirement.

Don't get caught up doing things you don't want to do. When the world learns you have free time on your hands, everyone will be knocking at your door. There is no limit to the number of worthy causes that will try to enlist you to do your part. Grown children will quickly translate your new freedom into an always open babysitting service available at their beck and call. Even a "honey do" list might get a bit out of control. It will be up to you to ration your time in a manner that satisfies you as well as the world around you. Learn to be selective and say "no".
As we age we need to maintain and expand our social network. It is important to interact with others and get involved. But if you really do not want to attend a particular dinner party or if the thought of attending the next symphony bores you, why force yourself to go? At a time when you are finally in charge of your calendar, choose what you want to do, not just what you feel obligated to do. This is your chance to look forward to your social life rather than dread it.
Set your own priorities. While on the job you typically focus on the things most important to your boss. Chances are you do not even have much input. Now that you are retired you get to do what is most important to you. Put goals at the top of your list that you consider the most important and also the most fun. Why not focus your attention on what you really enjoy? You can worry about less significant goals later.
It's OK to do nothing. Many of us find ourselves occasionally overwhelmed with all we have to get done and seemingly impossible deadlines. The thought of taking a break feels like an impossible dream. But in retirement it is OK to do nothing. In fact, finally getting to do nothing is an important part of retirement happiness. Look for the right mix of meaningful activities and serious downtime that best compliments your retired lifestyle. This balance can help keep you engaged and challenged while providing ample time to recharge and reset.
Keep active in mind and body. If we do not exercise our minds and bodies, they will not continue working the way we want them to. Obviously the biceps of a 65-year-old will not be as impressive as those of a 25-year-old, but that does not mean we cannot strive to be as fit as we can at any age. Exercising our bodies, challenging our minds, stretching beyond our comfort zone and keeping engaged with life are important ingredients for a healthy retired lifestyle. To give your mind a good workout, keep learning new things. Try to challenge your brain by learning a new language, signing up for a class, expressing your artistic side or taking a shot at something you have never done before. Each of these activities will challenge your brain to perform new tasks.

Enjoy the little things. With your calendar only as busy as you make it, retirement affords the opportunity to appreciate small moments that are frequently overlooked while caught up in the frenzy that life can be. This is your chance to slow down and take it all in. I love spending my mornings in the backyard with a nice cup of coffee and watching the sun moving up through the trees as it warms away the night coolness. Hummingbirds chase one another for the right to the feeder while my two cats vie for attention at my feet. This gradual start with time for reflection helps me prepare for the day ahead. Living at a less hectic pace helps me to take in the little details that make a moment special.

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