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Home Careers US workforce growth may give Fed one more reason to go slow on rates

US workforce growth may give Fed one more reason to go slow on rates

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Americans with a high school education or less are returning to the labor force in larger numbers, a trend that points to a broadening of economic growth, but could also keep wage growth subdued and stay the Federal Reserve's hand in its hiking cycle.

A man and woman enter a job fair at the Phoenix Workforce Connection in Phoenix, Arizona August 30, 2011. REUTERS/Joshua Lott
RALEIGH, N.C.: Americans with a high school education or less are returning to the labor force in larger numbers, a trend that points to a broadening of economic growth, but could also keep wage growth subdued and stay the Federal Reserve's hand in its hiking cycle.
The Federal Reserve meets this week and is expected to leave rates on hold. One factor it watches is slack in the labor market to see how much room the economy has to grow without triggering inflation.
The share of those 25 and older without high school diplomas who have jobs or are looking for one has risen 1.4 percentage points to 46.2 percent in six months to March, close to levels before the 2007-09 recession. For high school graduates, that share has risen by a half percentage point, while among those with college degrees the rate has remained virtually steady.
The return of less-educated workers to the labor force is a sign that the economy is still healing from the recession.
Americans with no more than a high school education accounted for nearly four out of every five jobs lost in the recession, according to research by economists at Georgetown University. Since such workers are considered at the greatest risk of being permanently shut out of the labor force, it fueled concerns that strains in the labor market might emerge even during spells of relatively modest economic growth.
Yet a Reuters analysis of Labor Department data suggests there could be more labor market slack than the unemployment rate of 5 percent may suggest because the improving economy has been spurring less-skilled workers to look for jobs again.
To count as part of the labor force, a worker needs to have held down a job or have actively searched for one in the last four weeks. Over the past year, in any given month there were about 6 million Americans who did not meet those criteria, a million more than before the recession. Until recently, Nathan Patterson, 24, who left high school in Illinois without a diploma and later moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, was often one of them, discouraged by poor job prospects from looking for work consistently.
Last year, though, a growing number of job openings posted in the area made him try again and in January he found a job with a company that processes scrap steel.
"I went from having nothing to having something," he said.
Patterson makes US$10 an hour sweeping up, well below the national average of US$25.43 an hour, and trains to operate cranes and steel-cutting torches.
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North Carolina, where unemployment spiked more than nationally during the downturn and more workers dropped out of the workforce, has recovered lost ground faster thanks in part to strong growth in low-wage sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality industries.
Nationally, they have created nearly a third of new jobs over the last year, although they only make up about fifth of total employment. Those industries also tend pay 30-40 percent less than the national hourly average, which helps explain sluggish national wage growth in the past months and absence of significant cost pressures in the economy.
"There is more room to run in this cycle and that means the Fed can afford to go slower on rate hikes in the beginning," said Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Michelle Meyer.
Economists polled by Reuters expect the Fed to raise rates twice this year, with the first move possibly in June, proceeding with caution because of concerns about the impact of global economic slowdown on the U.S. economy.
Minutes from the Fed's March 15-16 meeting show policymakers discussed the recent increase in labor participation and that some noted that slack remained in the labor market.
That slack, in large part is a result of gradually improving labor force participation driven primarily by more less skilled workers looking again for jobs, and many finding them.
Across the economy, companies continue to add about 200,000 jobs a month but the jobless rate has stayed roughly steady since October as around 400,000 people enter the work force each month, many finding jobs right away.
In North Carolina, local officials say they see more unemployed people going to community college to acquire skills that will help them find a better job, rather than to wait out a weak job market, which happened a lot during the recession.
Jackie Gregory, 25, for example, lost her job as an administrative assistant in November 2014 and spent almost a year out of work because some jobs required a college degree she did not have and some just did not pay enough to cover child care expenses. Then she took a three month break to complete a pharmacy technician course at a local community college with ne qualifications in hand landed a US$12.26 an hour job at a pharmacy's call center.
"If I didn't get that job I would be barely making it right now," she said.
(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
- Reuters
April 25, 2016
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April 20, 2016
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Women are working longer than ever before. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that by 2024 nearly 20 percent of women over 65 will still be in the workforce.
Photo: John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images
If you’re a woman, retirement may be even further away than you thought.
The fastest-growing demographic of workers in the U.S. right now isn’t recent college graduates but women over 65. By 2024, twice as many women over 65 will be working, compared with 30 years prior, according to projections from the Labor Department. For most, working longer isn't a choice; it's a necessity.
This drawn-out working life is not for lack of saving for retirement. Female employees are 14 percent more likely to participate in their employer’s retirement plan than their male colleagues, according to a recent report from Vanguard. Target date funds have leveled the investing landscape, making the composition of retirement portfolios increasingly similar for men and women.
Yet men end up with average account balances that are 50 percent greater than their female counterparts'. The wage gap is a major factor in this difference, but closing it alone won’t fix the problem of needing to work longer. Even among men, most retirement account balances fall short.
One of the biggest problems is a lack of income planning, particularly in terms of career longevity. The bulk of wage growth happens between 25 and 35, a time when most people aren’t thinking about retirement. After that, earnings level out or decline, based on an analysis of wage data by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
As the oldest millennial women turn 35 this year, looking ahead to their career prospects is becoming increasingly important. Here are three steps to take now to plan a sustainable and satisfying career that will set you up for the retirement you deserve.
1. Plot your path. The first decade or two of a career has always been about exploration, according to Pamela Stone, author of “Opting Out?: Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home” and a professor of sociology at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. But eventually you have to commit to a path, she says.
Millennials can expect to work for a minimum of 45 years before reaching the full retirement age of 67 as it is currently defined by the Social Security Administration. No career path is perfect, but it’s advisable to have a vision for what you hope to achieve than to make decisions as you go.
“It is vital to have a career action plan,” said Cachet Prestcott, a certified career coach based in Georgia. “Look at where you are, think about where you want to be and how you intend to get there. You can break it down by decade and then break down those decades even further.”
For help with mapping out your career goals, don't be afraid to seek out advice from those you admire — women and men alike. “For women, it’s really important that it’s not just another woman, because men still have a lot of the power. There are so few women at the levels that you need," said Judy Robinett, author of "How to Be a Power Connector.”
2. Build your network. Setting goals is a first step, but surrounding yourself with people who can help you achieve them is equally important.
“Build a network of people who have your back and have your future,” Robinett said. Forming relationships with a diverse group of people you can count on if you’re laid off or want to change directions is key to maintaining a fulfilling career over many decades.
“There’s a tendency for people to think about networking strategically,” said Caroline Waxler, founder of Harkness Hall, which programs content for talks, conferences and festivals. But if you’re networking to advance your own goals, rather than to form genuine connections, others will see through it. “You don’t want it to be transactional,” she added.
Regularly connecting with new people is essential to expanding your network. "Besides smiling and saying hello, offer a compliment or ask a question," Robinett said. "And of course one of the best things you can do is just listen."
One of the best ways to meet people with shared interests and goals is to join organizations and committees within your industry. Successful networkers focus on quality rather than quantity. Establish and maintain relationships with people who care about you, and who can and will help you if you need it.
3. Stay in it. Inevitably, life will get busy and challenges will arise, particularly if kids are part of the picture. When that happens, persistence is paramount, according to Stone.
More often than not, women are the ones to sacrifice job growth for the family, which can have lasting negative impacts on a professional career. “If a woman wants to forge a career, she needs a partner who is with her in that endeavor,” Stone said.
“Women still need to be pioneers,” she added. “Persistence is better because you have salary growth as opposed to salary stagnation; you have promotion growth and you have pension accumulation. When you interrupt a career all those things are radically truncated.”
Rather than leaving a job to focus on raising children, Stone recommends suggesting a temporary solution that allows for flexibility while you need it but won’t derail your career path. Be proactive in approaching your manager, and outline clear objectives and expectations for the terms of the arrangement.
“Find ways to make your work work. If you've been an effective worker, you’re usually in a better position to arrange some kind of short-term accommodation," Stone said.
Making the most of each phase of your career will ensure that you have as much control as possible over your working years. Forming strong relationships with colleagues and maximizing your earning potential at each decade can soften the blow if you do have to work longer.
And while you’re busy climbing the ladder, try to remember the people around you are doing their best to do the same thing.
“Don’t ever remind anyone who is older than you that they’re older than you,” said Waxler. “God willing, you’re going to get there too.”
April 01, 2016
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  • Why Did The Unemployment Rate Rise In A Largely Positive March Jobs Report?
    worker pushes barrels of chili paste at the Huy Fong Foods Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce factory in Irwindale, California on May 14, 2014.
    Photo: David McNew/Getty Images
  • A welder for Stewarts Inc., an oil field service company, works on a pipe that will be used in the fracking industry in the Permian Basin oil field in the town of Andrews, Texas, Jan. 20, 2016.
    Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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An otherwise solid jobs report for March featured one odd quirk: The unemployment rate edged up to 5 percent from 4.9 percent. It’s a slight change but still bound to attract attention, given the broader narrative of falling unemployment for the past five years.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics described the increase as “insignificant,” as it fell below the 0.18 percent necessary to be deemed significant. But economists greeted the uptick as good news. In essence, it means more people want to work.
One of the lingering effects of the Great Recession has been a vast pool of adults who simply gave up on finding work. The government does not include these sidelined workers in its official unemployment rate.
As previously discouraged adults come back to the workforce, not everyone will find a job immediately. That’s why economists look at the difference between job gains and the increase in the overall pool of workers when unemployment temporarily notches up. In March, the increase in the labor force totaled 396,000 individuals, greater than the 215,000 additional positions added to payrolls.
“Admittedly, the unemployment rate did edge up to 5 percent last month, but it increased for all the right reasons,” Paul Ashworth, economist at Capital Economics, wrote to clients Friday, noting the labor force has increased by more than 2 million in the past five months after years of stagnation. “This is a remarkable turnaround in terms of both its speed and magnitude,” Ashworth continued.
For the first time during this recovery, people are entering the labor force more quickly than jobs are being added. It was 2009 when we last saw such a large difference between the increase in payrolls and the number of workers entering the labor force over a six-month average.
There was more good news in the March report: The labor force participation rate increased for the fourth month in a row, a trend that hasn’t occurred since 1992. That persistent rise reverses, if only partially, a decadeslong decline in the share of the adult population taking part in the workforce.
Another factor that might be at work in the slight uptick in the headline unemployment rate last month: quitters. A certain share of those entering the ranks of the unemployed each month consists of those who have voluntarily left their jobs. Since people are more likely to leave when they feel materially secure or likely to find another position, economists greet quitters with open arms.
In March, 10.5 percent of the newly unemployed were job leavers, the highest share since August 2008. Indeed, that proportion was greater than the share of unemployed people who had entered from outside the labor force, a phenomenon that has happened only twice during the recovery.
It might seem contradictory that the share of the unemployed who were newly entered into the labor force — “new entrants” shown in the black line above — actually declined in March, given the surge of previously sidelined workers coming into the labor force. Wouldn’t the growing labor force swell the proportion of unemployed people who are deemed new entrants?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics explained that although there was a decline in the overall number of workers moving from outside the labor force to the unemployed population, there was a similar decline in the number of unemployed workers giving up and leaving the labor force. With more people staying unemployed rather than giving up altogether, unemployment ticked up.
This is all good news for the American worker. But the long shadow of the Great Recession still looms. Wage growth, for instance, has yet to rise to levels commensurate with a strong economy, and an outsize share of employees are working part-time when they’d like to be full-time. But as more Americans return to the workforce, hopes for improvements in wages and hours increase.
April 01, 2016
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Women are working longer than ever before. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that by 2024 nearly 20 percent of women over 65 will still be in the workforce.
Photo: GETTY/JOHANNES EISELE
If you’re a woman, retirement may be even further away than you thought.
The fastest-growing demographic of workers in the U.S. right now isn’t recent college graduates but women over 65. By 2024, twice as many women over 65 will be working, compared with 30 years prior, according to projections from the Labor Department. For most, working longer isn't a choice; it's a necessity.
This drawn-out working life is not for lack of saving for retirement. Female employees are 14 percent more likely to participate in their employer’s retirement plan than their male colleagues, according to a recent report from Vanguard. Target date funds have leveled the investing landscape, making the composition of retirement portfolios increasingly similar for men and women.
Yet men end up with average account balances that are 50 percent greater than their female counterparts'. The wage gap is a major factor in this difference, but closing it alone won’t fix the problem of needing to work longer. Even among men, most retirement account balances fall short.
One of the biggest problems is a lack of income planning, particularly in terms of career longevity. The bulk of wage growth happens between 25 and 35, a time when most people aren’t thinking about their career prospects or retirement. After that, earnings level out or decline, based on an analysis of wage data by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
As the oldest millennial women turn 35 this year, looking ahead to their career prospects is becoming increasingly important. Here are three steps to take now to plan a sustainable and satisfying career that will set you up for the retirement you deserve.
1. Plot Your Path. The first decade or two of a career has always been about exploration, according to Pamela Stone, author of “Opting Out?: Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home” and a professor of sociology at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. But eventually you have to commit to a path, she says.
Millennials can expect to work for a minimum of 45 years before reaching the full retirement age of 67 as it is currently defined by the Social Security Administration. No career path is perfect, but it’s advisable to have a vision for what you hope to achieve than to make decisions as you go.
“It is vital to have a career action plan,” said Cachet Prestcott, a certified career coach based in Georgia. “Look at where you are, think about where you want to be and how you intend to get there. You can break it down by decade and then break down those decades even further.”
For help with mapping out your career goals, don't be afraid to seek out advice from those you admire — women and men alike. “For women, it’s really important that it’s not just another woman, because men still have a lot of the power. There are so few women at the levels that you need," said Judy Robinett, author of "How to Be a Power Connector.”
2. Build Your Network. Setting goals is a first step, but surrounding yourself with people who can help you achieve them is equally important.
“Build a network of people who have your back and have your future,” Robinett said. Forming relationships with a diverse group of people you can count on if you’re laid off or want to change directions is key to maintaining a fulfilling career over many decades.
“There’s a tendency for people to think about networking strategically,” said Caroline Waxler, founder of Harkness Hall, which programs content for talks, conferences and festivals. But if you’re networking to advance your own goals, rather than to form genuine connections, others will see through it. “You don’t want it to be transactional,” she added.
Regularly connecting with new people is essential to expanding your network. "Besides smiling and saying hello, offer a compliment or ask a question," Robinett said. "And of course one of the best things you can do is just listen."
One of the best ways to meet people with shared interests and goals is to join organizations and committees within your industry. Successful networkers focus on quality rather than quantity. Establish and maintain relationships with people who care about you, and who can and will help you if you need it.
3. Stay In It. Inevitably, life will get busy and challenges will arise, particularly if kids are part of the picture. When that happens, persistence is paramount, according to Stone.
More often than not, women are the ones to sacrifice job growth for the family, which can have lasting negative impacts on a professional career. “If a woman wants to forge a career, she needs a partner who is with her in that endeavor,” Stone said.
“Women still need to be pioneers,” she added. “Persistence is better because you have salary growth as opposed to salary stagnation; you have promotion growth and you have pension accumulation. When you interrupt a career all those things are radically truncated.”
Rather than leaving a job to focus on raising children, Stone recommends suggesting a temporary solution that allows for flexibility while you need it but won’t derail your career path. Be proactive in approaching your manager, and outline clear objectives and expectations for the terms of the arrangement.
“Find ways to make your work work. If you've been an effective worker, you’re usually in a better position to arrange some kind of short-term accommodation," Stone said.
Making the most of each phase of your career will ensure that you have as much control as possible over your working years. Forming strong relationships with colleagues and maximizing your earning potential at each decade can soften the blow if you do have to work longer.
And while you’re busy climbing the ladder, try to remember the people around you are doing their best to do the same thing.
“Don’t ever remind anyone who is older than you that they’re older than you,” said Waxler. “God willing, you’re going to get there too.”
April 01, 2016
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Junior doctors offer Jeremy Hunt their sympathy for having to work on a Saturday
Poor Jeremy (Picture: Getty
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt is very keen to make junior doctors work for lower overtime rates than they used to get at the weekend.
That’s one of the reasons junior doctors have been striking.
So it must have been gratifying for medics to see Jeremy step up and show he’s willing to graft at the weekend too. This morning, he put in a Saturday shift at a cabinet meeting to discuss the PM’s EU negotiations.
The only thing is, it was the first time the cabinet has met on a Saturday since the Falklands War in 1982.
Not much like the new contract for junior doctors then, which could see people working consecutive weekends.
David Cameron called an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the reform deal he secured on Britain’s EU membership, which will form the basis of a referendum on if we should stay in the EU.
Britons will vote whether or not to stay in the EU on June 23 this year.
As Jeremy wants to make more of the weekend considered ‘normal’ working hours, people were surprised to hear politicians refer to the ‘extraordinary’ cabinet meeting on a Saturday morning.
We’re all in this together, eh?
H/T Huffingon Post.
February 20, 2016
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Don't let one bad job ruin your future.

By Suzanne Lucas

IMAGE: Getty Images
In an ideal world, all bosses would be fantastic, and the only bad references would be for former employees who deserved the bad reference. In the real world, some managers are mean and vindictive and will set out to destroy people who were great employees.
And, let's also face it-sometimes we do screw up and deserve a bad reference, but that doesn't mean we're not capable of doing a different job better than the last one. While most companies will let you give a list of people you'd like them to contact, if your last couple bosses aren't on that list, a good recruiter or hiring manager will likely track those people down. This means that lots of people have a bad reference out there. Here are five ways to overcome these bad references.
1. Find a job in the bad manager's network.
Most horrible bosses are well known by other people to be horrible bosses. This doesn't mean that they haven't pulled the wool over a bunch of people's eyes, but guaranteed there are other people who know that this guy is a complete jerk. If you can find a vacancy in a department where another escapee from this department works (and even better, if that person is the hiring manager!) you can explain, "John Doe was my manager and..." and this person will commiserate with you.
2. Hire a reference checking firm and then send a cease-and-desist letter.
Many companies have policies against giving references at all but don't generally enforce it. But, a letter from a lawyer reminding them that the references they do give need to be honest, can generally scare the proverbial pants off them. If your former boss is lying about you, you can hire a reference checking firm to get an official reference and report back to you. If what your boss said was false, you can have a lawyer send a letter telling them to knock it off. Some reference checking firms have lawyers on staff to offer this service. It costs, but it also works.
3. Admit your faults first.
Look, we're not all meant to be in all jobs. You wouldn't want me as a security guard because I'm far too easily distracted. So, if I ever ended up as a security guard, I'd probably be like, "ooh, shiny!" and not catch the shoplifter. That doesn't mean I'm not fabulous at other jobs, where my talents lie. So, in that situation, I'd say. "I worked for Company X as a security guard, and frankly, I was lousy at that. This is one of the reasons I'm applying for a completely different job where I have a true talent and passion for the work." Then go on to explain why you'd be fabulous in the job. They will probably still call your boss, but when your boss says you were a lousy security guard, they already know that and know it's not relevant to the current job.
4. Overcome your own faults.
Sometimes you have a lousy reference from a job where you didn't do a great job, but you want to stay in the same field. But, if you were rotten at the last job, what can you do to make sure you don't repeat those same errors at the next job?
  • Take a class
  • Get a new certification
  • Get executive coaching. (You don't have to be an executive for this.)
  • Be willing to take a lower-level job with a pay cut in order to learn more.
5. Provide alternate references.
Many recruiters who will only look at your list. If you have someone from every company, that may be enough. Make sure you provide the name of someone else you worked with at that company-preferably a higher level person. Talk to these people beforehand.
For instance, as an HR person I had a direct boss who was also in HR, but I also worked closely with many senior people in different departments. If I needed a reference other than a direct supervisor, I'd choose one of the senior people who knew my work and could give a strong reference. Many, many people have relationships like that.
A bad reference doesn't have to be a career ender. Try one or two of these tips if you're struggling with a bad reference.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.
February 16, 2016
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Think In Bite Sizes

By Ami Kassa
IMAGE: Getty Images
When Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were starting out while working out of a California garage, they weren't thinking about marketing, distribution networks, product lines, insurance and the millions of other things that large corporations handle.
Instead, they focused on building the best computers they could and finding a few people who might want to buy them. All that other stuff came later.
In other words, they weren't worried about ultimately building Apple out--they just wanted to reach the next stage.
That's a lesson that applies to the financing world.
Companies looking for financing often make the mistake of trying to line up enough money that will pay for several stages of development instead of just lining up money for their next phases of growth.
For one thing, lenders simply aren't going to lend that much money -- no matter how convincing the business plan is or how sexy the product or service itself appears, to most companies -- especially start-ups and other small businesses.
Second, and more importantly, no management team can say with any degree of certainty just exactly how their business will grow and develop. A lot of things happen accidentally--the discovery of penicillin is a famous example--or not at all.
And in an increasingly fast-paced world, things changes rapidly. The fax machine was an office godsend at first, but when's the last time you used one? What seems like a sure thing today may be folly by 2020.
Consider financing as a journey instead of the end game, and your results are sure to be better.
By pursuing financing in bite-sized pieces, you also will do better with lenders. That's because you'll have a handle on your immediate needs and can more effectively present your case.
Meantime, there's less risk for a lender, who will adopt a "show me" stance, especially for newer clients. At the same time, you'll be building a relationship with a lender who may well be eager to assist your future needs if your initial lending foray is successful.
Being an entrepreneur requires some degree of risk-taking, but there are times its prudent to go the safer route. Take your time when it comes to financing.
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The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.
February 14, 2016
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James Franco and Seth Rogen are the latest targets of hackers targeting Sony Pictures. The actors, who star in the studio’s upcoming comedy “The Interview,” had their salaries revealed by hackers who go by the name “The Guardians of the Peace.”

“The Guardians of the Peace” began their attack on Sony Pictures on Nov. 24, leaking watermarked copies of studios’ upcoming films, including “Fury” and “Annie.” The hacker group also sent a warning to the studios’ employees that internal data would be made public “if you don’t obey.”
READ ALSO - 5 Movies Leaked Online By Sony Hackers

The leaked salary information is the first to target the stars of “The Interview,” which is rumored to be the reason cyber hackers have singled out Sony Pictures.

Rogen was reportedly paid $8.4 million, while co-star Franco allegedly earned $6.5 million, Bloomberg reports. In addition, Britney Spears’ ex-husband Kevin Federline, who has a cameo in the film, was reportedly paid $5,000.

Other leaked info from the film includes $250 reportedly allotted for a prop described as a “table of weed, coke, pills and panties,” but cost $241.

The comedy, about two talk-show hosts (Franco and Rogen) recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, has angered the country’s officials, with his representatives blasting the film’s release as “an act of war” in a letter to the United Nations earlier this year.

A spokesman for North Korean's mission to the United Nations did not deny being responsible for the cyber-attack, telling the BBC on Tuesday that “the hostile forces are relating everything to the DPRK (North Korea).”

Today, an unidentified spokesman for North Korea's powerful National Defense Commission finally denied responsibility for the attack but acknowledged that it “might be a righteous deed of the supporters and sympathizers” of the North’s call for the world to turn out in a “just struggle” against U.S. imperialism. The statement carried in state media said further;

We do not know where in America the Sony Pictures is situated and for what wrongdoings it became the target of the attack, nor (do) we feel the need to know about it. But what we clearly know is that the Sony Pictures is the very one which was going to produce a film abetting a terrorist act while hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership of” North Korea.

So far sensitive information about studio employees, including executives’ salaries and employee performance reviews have been leaked online. Sony confirmed the hacking in a memo to staff on Tuesday, and the following day refuted a report that North Korea was responsible for the hacking, adding that the investigation to uncover the culprit was still ongoing.
December 07, 2014
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Oga, you no look like 20 o...lol. Dolphins FC of Port Harcourt striker and 2014 Federation MVP, Emem Eduok has been dismissed from the national U23 camp for age falsification.

According to the management of the U23 players, Emem's passport states he was born January 31, 1994 while his club license shows he was born in 1991. Media officer of the U23, Timi Ebikagboro while speaking on his dismissal said Emem has to go and sort out his age irregularities with his club.


 He came with a passport showing he is 20 but his records in the LMC shows he is 23. If you watch the Federation Cup final on Super Sport, his age was shown as 23. The license his club sent to the NFF is 23. So, it’s left for him and his club to sort out the issue. It’s assumed that the player signed the LMC document, which stated that the player agreed to all the information in the document,” he said.
Meanwhile Emem maintains he is 20 and not 23
"I’m 20 and not 23. I was born in 1994, so I don’t know where the club got their information from. I played at the U-20 World Cup last year, with the age on my passport. That is my age and that is what FIFA knows” he said.
December 03, 2014
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Lady Gaga has revealed on the Howard Stern show today how she was raped at the age of 19 by a record producer. The record producer was 20 years older than her at the time.

It's been almost ten years since the incident, and Lady Gaga, now 28, says she kept it bottled inside and was scared of telling anyone about her ordeal. She says she just finally got healing by mentally confronting the situation through getting therapy.

According to E Online, Lady Gaga made the revelation after host Howard Stern asked about the controersial performance of her song "Swine" last March. "Vomit painter" Millie Brown had spewed neon green liquid all over Lady Gaga during the song.

"Everyone's just looking for something to bitch about. Just lighten up! It's art! My friend Millie—she lives in London—it's her art form.

She doesn't eat food and vomit it up. She swallows gallons of paint, OK? She's a hardcore bitch. She swallows paint and then she regurgitates it on canvases in rainbows and color. It's bizarre to watch, and sometimes there's techno in the background, and sometimes someone's singing, and sometimes it's in silence."

"I wrote a song called 'Swine.' The song is about rape. The song is about demoralization. The song is about rage and fury and passion, and I had a lot of pain that I wanted to release.

I said to myself, 'I want to sing this song while I'm ripping hard on a drum kit, and then I want to get on a mechanical bull'—which is probably one of the most demoralizing things that you can put a female on in her underwear—'and I want this chick to throw up on me in front of the world so that I can tell them, you know what?

You could never, ever degrade as much as I could degrade myself, and look how beautiful it is when I do.'"

"You keep alluding to...were you raped by a record producer?" Stern asked.


"I don't...I don't want to...Happy times! Let's talk about happy things!"

Dailymail reports that Lady Gaga goes on to speak more on the rape;

“I don’t want to be defined by it. I’ll be damned if somebody’s gonna say that every creatively intelligent thing that I ever did is all boiled down to one d–khead who did that to me,” Gaga said. “I’m going to take responsibility for all my pain looking beautiful. All the things that I’ve made out of my strife, I did that.”

Gaga said she never confronted the man, and if she were to run in to him again, she isn’t sure how she would react.

I think it would terrify me. It would paralyze me. I saw him one time in a store and I was so paralyzed by fear. Because it wasn’t until I was a little bit older that I went, ‘Wow, that was really messed up.’” 

Gaga said it’s especially hard since the man has told people that they used to date!

“You were 20 years older than me. I was a kid. How is that a date? It took me a long time to feel strong about it. I don’t know what I was thinking. I didn’t tell anybody. And I didn’t even tell myself for the longest time. And then I was like, ‘You know what? All this drinking and all this nonsense, you have to go to the source, otherwise it just won’t go away. It will not go away.”

"I went through some horrific things that I'm able to laugh [at] now, because I've gone through a lot of mental and physical therapy and emotional therapy to heal over the years. My music's been wonderful for me. But, you know, I was a shell of my former self at one point. I was not myself.

"To be fair, I was about 19. I went to Catholic school and then all this crazy stuff happened, and I was going, 'Oh, is this just the way adults are?'...I was very naïve."
December 02, 2014
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Davido lost out in the 5 categories he was nominated in at the 2014 Channel O Music Video Awards. He shared a 15-second video on his instagram page thanking fans for their continued support and promised to come back harder. Below is what he said...
"Shout out to team Davido, we didn’t win yesterday. It happens, but trust me we are coming back harder and harder. I love you guys for all the support"
December 01, 2014
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Acclaimed Gospel singer, songwriter and musician, and worship leader at RCCG House Of Praise London, Femi Omole, is proud to unveil his exciting new debut album titled Clap Clap. Written by Femi Omole himself and produced by award-winning producer Evans Ogboi, Clap Clap is an exhilarating 10-track affair filled with emotive and soul stirring live music, which brings down the atmosphere of heaven to earth allowing true worshippers to bask in the glory of God.

Clocking in at just under 45 minutes, Clap Clap is distinct from the plethora of African and Gospel records of recent times - every of the ten songs that make this amazing album has been carefully thought out, crafted and selected for the sole purpose of reminding it’s listeners about the love of God. And what an excellent job of it, this Clap Clap album does - from its high energy praise songs, to the resounding ballads to its 80’s Funk influenced numbers, Femi Omole has brought an original and unique sound to the contemporary Gospel scene with this album.
Accompanied by a bevy of acclaimed live musicians, from Emmanuel Laykay Dada on drums, Matt Davieson Saxophone, and Amos Evwiarivi on keyboards, to Ben Trickey on guitar, James Fountain on trumpet, Patrick Kenny on Trombone, and Tolulope Ogunbameru on bass, Femi Omole has also made Clap Clap a collective effort pulling in an amazing array of talent, the effects of which is an album, not only strong on the live music element, but also brimming with outstanding musicianship and glorious sonic backdrops on every side and every song.
From the slow building opening track “Bought” which is inspired by the redemption work of Christ on the Cross, to the Psalm 47-inspired album title track “Clap Clap”, to the life-affirming number “Nobody Else”, to the stirring worship song “One True God” which pays ode to the Lamb of God, to the solemn album’s curtain call “In Your Presence”, Femi Omole’s Clap Clap is full of gratitude to God and filled with inspiration from start to finish, to make simply what is one of the best records you will hear in 2014, Gospel or otherwise.
STREAM + DOWNLOAD TITLE TRACK “CLAP CLAP”:
http://www.hulkshare.com/57tet9mm7uyo
DOWNLOAD ‘CLAP CLAP’ ALBUM ON iTUNES:
http://smarturl.it/ClapClapiTunes
November 30, 2014
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Pope Francis, who is currently on a state visit to Turkey, joined Muslim faithfuls in Istanbul to pray at the Grand Mufti of Istanbul, Istanbul Blue Mosque yesterday. The Pope stood with his head bowed and hands clasped in front of him in 2-minutes of silent prayer inside the 17th-century Sultan Ahmet mosque, aiming to show respect for Islam and encourage stronger ties between the two faiths.


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November 30, 2014
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Photo: BFA
After causing an Internet storm by appearing on Harper's BAZAAR's September subscriber cover, Emma Ferrer, the art student and former ballerina granddaughter of Audrey Hepburn, hit the front row circuit, and now it seems she's poised for the runway. Ferrer signed a modeling contract with Storm Model Management, according to The Telegraph. Ferrer will join a roster of heavy-hitters in the industry including Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford, and Cara Delevingne.
It appears a relocation is also on the agenda for the 20-year old. Ferrer will move from Florence to New York City, as the Florence Academy of Art, which she currently attends, has recently opened a satellite campus in Jersey City, according to the Brit paper. When asked how Ferrer feels about comparisons to her famous ancestor, who passed away two years before her birth, she is nonplussed, telling The Telegraph, "All I can compare is what I live of her through my father and family," she says. "She had a desire to help people and make the world more beautiful, and I undeniably feel the same....When it's these kinds of comparisons, no I'm never bothered, but rather honoured." As for following in her grandmother's theatrical footsteps? "I think it's a beautiful art form and you can explore so much about yourself, so I am very interested in it," she says.
But for now, it's all about fashion. As far as designers, of whom Ferrer counts Carolina Herrera and Lanvin's Alber Elbaz as favorites, she explains, "Seeing the fruits and toilsome labours of designers, who are artists, come together as these flawless productions is great to witness." And for those behind the lens? "I am more looking forward to meeting different photographers with different visions and learning about fashion today through them." We look forward to seeing more beautiful images of the ingenue.
November 21, 2014
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Nicki Minaj is promoting her latest album coming out in December with several singles, magazine covers, as well as hosting the 2014 MTV EMAs where she previewed new single Bed of Lies. The rap star is on the cover of the upcoming issue of Complex Magazine and she talks about music as well as her personal life.

Nicki Minaj opens up about loving Drake to death, and says that's why he's the perfect friend. Am I the only one who thinks they'll make a great couple? Probably in my dreams...

Check out some more pictures from her shoot and excerpts of her interview below and read the full interview on Complex.

On her new album, The Pinkprint, being her most personal album yet to deal with her family, loss, death, and guilt...

When you’re working and you’re busy and you’re successful, no matter what, something suffers, whether it’s your relationship with your mother, your relationship with your whole family, not being able to go to your brother’s graduation…. Certain things suffer and take the back burner, not because they’re on the back burner in your heart but because the world just moves so quickly. A lot of people, when they’re chasing their dreams, they have to leave people they love. A lot of artists feel that guilt but they don’t express it.

Was there any rules in making the album?

One rule is “no more self-judgment.” I’m not judging myself; I’m not dissing what I do. I’m proud of what I’ve done and I’m proud of what I’m working on. I’ve accomplished something and I’m not going to be ashamed to be happy about what I’ve done. I’m talking about things that I didn’t speak about on other albums. It’s a truthful body of work. The album is me doing a press conference, addressing things and not putting too much [emphasis] on “This has to be lyrical,” to the point where I lose focus of a message. It’s important as a woman to be vulnerable and be strong at the same time. The album is a dope balance of vulnerability and strength, of inspiration and of not being politically correct. It’s the best of both worlds. It’s tapping into both sides. There are times when all I want to do is be lyrical and create metaphors and experiment with my flow. Then there are times when I just want to tell a truthful story about love and have people identify with me.

Her opinion on how women can make it in the world.

Every woman is multifaceted. Every woman has a switch, whether she’s going to be maternal, whether she’s going to be a man-eater, whether she has to kick ass, whether she has to be one of the boys, whether she has to show the guys that she’s just as smart or smarter, she’s just as talented or creative. Women suppress a lot of their sides.

On her soulful ballad “Pills N Potions” being about toxic relationships;

“Pills N Potions” isn’t just about relationships. A couple of my girlfriends I hadn’t spoken to in a while reached out to me after they heard “Pills N Potions.” That struck such a chord with people. The message—we still love [each other] but we’re angry—we feel that way all the time, we just don’t say it. And a lot of times you don’t even get over that, you just have to keep it moving.

On Anaconda:

I wanted to create a song that embraced curvy women. I wanted to be sexual but be playful with it. And I wanted it to be so melodic that even if you don’t understand English you could still go along with the melody and you would have no idea about all the raunchy shit I’m saying—I get a kick out of that. It was simple to write. I just created the melody and then I let the words happen. I started laughing when I said, “Boy toy named Troy.” [Laughs.] That whole song, I was just being dumb. It was a joke. My biggest thing was seeing how my girlfriends Sherika and Thembi were going to react. If they don’t like a song, they’ll be like, “No.” As soon as they walked in the studio, we were laughing and having fun. I thought, if we’re doing this, then everybody is going to have fun with it.

On her friendship with Drake and his role in Anaconda video;

[Laughs.] Oh, no. It’s so cute. He’s such a dope actor. After he did that we just busted out laughing and we all were cracking up. He’s such a good sport. I love that he makes fun of himself and doesn’t take himself too seriously. That’s why my friendship with him works so well. That’s why I love him to death.

Her biggest fear?

That I’ll become so consumed with work that I’ll forget to live my personal life to the fullest. If I’m done with my fifth album and I don’t have a child by then, no matter how much money I have, I would be disappointed, as a woman, because I feel like I was put here to be a mother.

On when she will get married and have kids, which comes first?

I have definitely put off the wife thing because I don’t want people in my business. I’d rather not do anything that’s going to be on paper but I definitely will be married before I have my baby. I want to make sure I do it in that order. I’ve always felt like that since I was young; my mother always put that in my head. By the fifth album, I will have walked down the aisle and I will at least be on baby number one, possibly baby number two. [Laughs.] And have $500 million.

Will she retire when she has a family?

Yeah. I won’t use the word “retire” but I would use the word “vacation”—because I don’t believe in vacations, I don’t believe in holidays. I have to put out all six of my albums, contractually. After the fifth, I’ll probably have my baby. I wonder if I’m going to be one of those women who balances my child with a career. I always said, “When I have my baby, it’s going to be all about my baby.” I don’t want the child feeling like they don’t have all of my attention, so I always said, “I’m going to take a little break.” But we’ll see.




Photo Credit - Vijat Mohindra/Complex
November 18, 2014

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