Dear Commons Community,

The Huffington Post is reporting that Rupert Murdoch took to Twitter on Sunday to weigh in on the U.S. presidential election and that he has his doubts about Romney’s chances.

“Met Romney last week. Tough O Chicago pros will be hard to beat unless he drops old friends from team and hires some real pros. Doubtful,” he wrote.

He added: “US election is referendum on Obama, all else pretty minor.”

This is just the latest in a series of anti-Romney tweets. Last week, the News Corp CEO wrote that Romney “Seems to play everything safe, make no news except burn off Hispanics.”

Murdoch’s Fox News team must be aghast since all they do his pan President Obama and shill for Romney.  Or maybe Murdoch is trying to drum up more interest in Romney’s candidacy.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

The New York Times is reporting that large financial companies are moving many of their middle-class jobs out of New York City and expanding to cheaper locales in the United States.  The article comments:

“The shift comes even as banks consider deeper staff cuts here, which could undermine the state and city tax base long term.

“Places like New York or London will remain financial centers, but most of the players are taking a much harder look and asking whether they can move large numbers of jobs,” said James Malick, a partner at the Boston Consulting Group who advises banks on relocation. In addition to higher taxes in the New York region, employers face real estate and labor costs significantly above the national average.

Consultants say they have seen a sharp pickup in this trend, known as near-shoring, as opposed to offshoring overseas. Goldman Sachs, during a presentation to investors in late May, even boasted of the cost savings that relocating jobs can bring.

“Some functions need to stay in the United States, but they don’t need to be in New York City or near the client,” Mr. Malick said. And with most investment giants facing anemic revenue and more stringent regulation that cuts into trading revenues, relocation is more tempting than it was before the financial crisis.”

This is not good news for our state and local economy.

Tony