Tales from the line of fire

Spain's parliament gave final approval Thursday to a sweeping overhaul of the labour market designed to slash soaring unemployment and revive the economy, despite union plans for a general strike.The new law -- which will make it easier and cheaper for employers to hire and fire workers -- was slammed by unions as a backward step immediately after its approval by the lower house of parliament.The government staunchly defended the reforms, which Finance Minister Elena Salgado said "will allow us to climb up the ladder of international competitivity."

BUTTE MEADOWS, Calif. — Crews were able to hold the line against two wind-whipped wildfires in Northern California, but one in Tehama County continued to grow. The Panther Fire north of the town of Butte Meadows had spread to 1,700 acres with no containment by Thursday morning. State fire spokesman Daniel Berlant says the fire is burning in a very remote area of brush and timber and is not threatening any homes.

Decision to invest £370m in West M

That’s hot.

Hiring a new employee can be an expensive process. Recent studies have shown that on average companies spend £5,000 recruiting a new employee. This cost can also increase with the seniority of the position.

By Compete: Amazon (AMZN), one of the biggest on-line retailers, has unveiled a new and promising contender to do battle in this year’s tablet wars. On November 15th, the retail giant made the much anticipated Kindle Fire available for purchase, just in time for the holiday season. The Kindle Fire comes with similar features to Apple’s iPad and the many android tablets available for consumers to consider.

Brad DeLong says that instead of a PR gimmick jobs summit, we need a meeting at which key players get together and decide what they think is going on. Is more fiscal expansion a bad idea because it will lead to a spike in interest rates, or is more monetary expansion a bad idea because the economy is too awash in liquidity? As he points out, it can’t be both: