MarketWatch (01/22/14)

The Staffing Group Ltd. today announced that, effective Jan. 13, it has entered into a share exchange agreement with staffing company EmployUS Ltd., with which it had previously executed a letter of intent. Pursuant to the share exchange agreement, EmployUS will exchange all of its shares of common stock for shares of the Staffing Group’s common stock. Upon closing of the transaction, EmployUS will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Staffing Group.

Associated Press (01/21/14)

The International Monetary Fund has raised its 2014 global economic outlook to 3.7% from 3.6% in October, and says the U.S. is leading the recovery worldwide. The IMF raised its forecast for U.S. economic growth this year to 2.8% from 2.6%. It also downgraded its 2015 growth forecast for the U.S. to 3.0% from 3.4%, because the recently formulated federal budget left spending cuts in place that the IMF previously had expected to be repealed.

The IMF says that the U.S. should exercise caution and not rescind prematurely the economic support being provided by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

PR.com (01/22/14)

The Staffing Solutions Division of Belcan Corp. has been rebranded BelFlex Staffing Network and launched as a sister company to Belcan, effective Jan. 9. Belcan Corp. will continue to focus on providing engineering solutions to clients around the world, while BelFlex will provide flexible staffing solutions to light industrial customers in North America. BelFlex’s ownership and management team will remain the same.

New York Times (01/22/14) Eduardo Porter

The full tally of the financial markets’ collapse in 2008-09 is still a mystery, though economists with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas estimate that the financial crisis cost each American nearly $20,000. The broader impact on workers’ well being, however, could raise the cost of the crisis to about $120,000 per person in the U.S.

Wall Street Journal (01/21/14) Paul Ziobro; Louise Radnofsky

Target Corp. will stop offering health coverage for part-time employees, stating that insurance options are available through public exchanges. The company will stop covering part-time employees on April 1. The change affects less than 10% of Target’s 360,000 person workforce. Each affected employee will be compensated with $500.

Other large corporations, such as United Parcel Service, also have reduced the health coverage they offer. Meanwhile, Target has announced it will not trim its workers’ hours in response to the Affordable Care Act.