AFP - A top EU official expressed concern on Monday about Israel's economic sanctions on the Gaza Strip, urging restraint and saying the measures could bolster extremists in the Hamas-run territory.

Banks lead European stocks lower (FT.com)
FT.com - European stocks extended their losses on Friday with troubled financial stocks leading the market lower on renewed fears about subprime fallout and escalating credit market woes.
So doesn't it make sense to lay off your high paid employees first? o Gross misbehavior (not following a substantial order from boss). This is always much harder to do, and you will need more emotional support. This removes any confusion and keeps the jobholder from stating that they never received the termination notification. You as a boss have tried every positive method possible to deal with a insubordinate employee. Since termination is always an emotionally charged circumstance for both the manager and the jobholder, you might include some special instructions for the boss. You can rest easy that it will be plain to a court and any legal defender that you have done everything possible to be fair in your lay off of employees. Write it ahead of time and have your legal defender or Personnel Workforce review it before you ever schedule the lay off meeting. Remember you always have the option of hiring a temporary worker or using a jobholder from another division to fill in temporarily. Our offer of extra severance benefits expires on [For the most part 3 weeks from date of notice.] To get these extra benefits, please sign and return the agreement to me by this date.

Other times, the boss will investigate, document the examination and then sack the worker. While this works for low-risk employees, this is not the right approach for medium and high risk workforce, which are the majority of termination cases. You must give this manual to each new employee when they join the company or firm. Once the worker completes his testimony, you or your eyewitnesses can testify again if you want to refute any testimony he has made. This leaves the supervisor at the losing end and that costs time, money and productivity. At times, a productive worker screws up because of unintentional conduct or due to issues in his personal life.