You know this unemployment issue is already a big thing here in Jakarta with companies laying people off every day here. I would hope that most JC'ers know that Idul Adha is on this coming Monday so it would help if you dig in your pocket and scrap a few IDR together and buy a goat, buffalo or cow and give it to the nearest mosque for sacrifice so the meat can be given to the poor that have a few chances to eat meat these days.

Foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia rose 21 percent in October from a year ago, according to data released on Monday, as security fears in Thailand prompted some vacationers to switch to Indonesia instead. The number of foreign tourists for the first 10 months rose 13 percent to 5.09 million, boosted by arrivals to Bali Province, but still well below the government’s full-year target of 7 million visitors.

The Finance Ministry is expecting to register an additional two million taxpayers this year, courtesy of a “sunset policy” campaign that is part of an intensified effort to encourage more people to pay taxes . Darmin Nasution, director general of tax at the Ministry of Finance, explained that the sunset policy allows people to register for a new tax identification number until Dec. 31, 2008, without being sanctioned for not having done so previously.

PT BISI International, the country's top producer of hybrid seeds for corn, rice, vegetables and fruit, forecasts a 40 percent growth in sales next year but has decided nonetheless to adopt a prudent liquidity position by postponing an expansion plan.

Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The Industry Ministry is proposing the removal of value-added tax (VAT) totaling Rp 6.8 trillion (US$561.98 million) to help keep labor-incentive sectors afloat, an official says. The ministry's director general for metal, machinery, textile and miscellaneous industries, Ansari Bukhari, said Monday the proposed industries to receive the 10 percent VAT cut included steel, textiles and footwear.

TEMPO Interactive, Semarang:Several companies in Central Java have been dismissing workers since September due to the world financial crisis and this will continue. “Businesses cannot do anything in facing the global crisis. The export market is bad. There are no more orders,” said Central Java’s Indonesian Businessmen Association’s advocacy division head, Agung Wahono, on Tuesday (2/12).