Workers join May Day protests in Manila, elsewhere

ATHENS/MADRID — Trains and ferries were cancelled and hospital staff walked off the job in Greece on Wednesday and thousands were due to demonstrate across Spain as May Day triggered protests against harsh government spending cuts. Separately, Turkish riot police fired water cannon and tear gas to disperse crowds gathering in central Istanbul for a rally on what has become a traditional labour holiday.

It's May 1, which is May Day, which for much of the non-American world, is a big holiday for workers. Pretty much all of Continental Europe has off for it. May Day sees pro-labor demonstrations and protests all around the world. Here's a few examples. All descriptions are from Reuters. May 1, 2013 Supporters of the Iraqi Communist Party carry a banner and an Iraqi flag during a rally marking Labour Day at al-Firdous Square in Baghdad

The graph above shows two monthly series back to 1965 (

The chart above shows the annual growth rates in: a) consumer prices (CPI),

MONTREAL — Quebec Premier Pauline Marois has declared that the unrest related to student protests is over in her province, one year and one week after it began. Later in the day, police and protesters clashed in the streets as officers attempted push back student crowds while snowballs and ice were thrown at the cops. Marois said the debate over tuition-fee hikes that saw demonstrations sweep Quebec was now “behind us,” as she closed out a Montreal summit on post-secondary education Tuesday.