Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the All Things Digital conference, Tuesday, June 01, 2010.

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs on Tuesday defended working conditions in China at the plants of the world's biggest contract manufacturer, the Taiwan-owned  Foxconn, where ten workers have committed suicide since January.

"Foxconn is not a sweatshop," Jobs said during an on-stage interview at an All Things Digital annual conference in the California coastal town of Rancho Palos Verdes. "You go in this place and it's a factory but, my gosh, they've got restaurants and movie theaters and hospitals and swimming pools. For a factory, it's pretty nice."

The factory at Shenzhen in the southern province of Guangdong in China's Pearl River delta industrial heartland, is the biggest in the world and has 300,000 employees. Last week, the official China Daily newspaper said in an editorial that declining share of wages as a proportion of China's gross domestic product has necessitated the need for fresh regulation, especially in a country that is trying hard to embrace consumer-led growth. The minimum monthly wage is as low as 900 yuan (US$131) and by working 12 hours per day, sometimes for the full week, higher earnings are achievable.

Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry, owner of Foxconn, said on Wednesday that the cash component of wages would rise by 30% effective immediately, more than the 20% rise the company had signalled late last month.

Foxconn produces for well-known consumer electronic products designed by companies such as Apple, Dell, HP and Nokia.

"We're all over this," Jobs said in relation to worker conditions in China. "I actually think Apple does one of the best jobs of any company in the industry and maybe any industry of understanding the working conditions in the supply chain."

Economic View: Benefits of a lower euro to the Irish economy; Goodbody chief economist, Dermot O’Leary, comments  --"Although the reasons for the recent weakness in the euro are troubling, the region is set to benefit in terms of improved competitive positions relative to those countries outside the euro-area as a result. The Irish economy will be one of the largest beneficiaries of the fall in the value of the euro, thus aiding in the goal of achieving an export-led recovery. First of all, with exports amounting to 90% of GDP (and imports 70% of GDP), Ireland has one of the most open economies in the euro-area. Moreover, with 60% of Irish exports destined for outside of the euro-area, the economy is heavily influenced by currency fluctuations.

Of course, to engineer an export-led recovery, there needs to be demand for Ireland’s exports on international markets. In this regard, Ireland has positioned itself in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, IT, insurance and financial services. One would expect these sectors to benefit from the lower euro and, indeed, with Ireland already undergoing a painful real devaluation, these cost reductions being accompanied by a fall in the value of the euro is a positive development for the Irish economy. In our note issued this morning, we are explain these issues in more detail and publish new currency forecasts following the sharp fall in the euro over the past month. Among the corporates in the ISEQ, CRH has one of the largest $ exposures, while Greencore, DCC and Grafton have the biggest exposure to sterling."

Irish manufacturing recovery has reached point where employment is now growing: Davy chief economist, Rossa White, comments -- "Increasing concerns about the European banking system are hurting the performance of Irish government bonds. Yesterday, the Itraxx CDS for investment-grade financials in Europe almost reached its worst point since May 9th (the trading day before the euro area bailout). Meanwhile, Irish 10-year spreads have reached 225bps above bunds, albeit that bunds have enjoyed a sustained rally. For now the banking jitters are masking the continued improvement in Irish macro data, highlighted yesterday by the return of employment growth in industry.

The Irish manufacturing PMI index rose by another 0.7 points to 54.1, its highest level since September 2007. Any reading above 50 signals month-on-month growth. The PMI will stay well above 50 in the next three months, because new orders are healthy. New exports orders jumped to 59.2 from 57.4, not far short of the recovery high recorded in March. Crucially, stock levels in manufacturing remain low: finished goods stock declined sharply again month-on-month. At some point, manufacturers will feel confident enough to re-stock. That will provide a further boost to activity. At least there is some hint that they believe in the recovery: manufacturing employment finally returned to growth in May.

Irish consumer confidence, which is heavily dependent on the interest rate outlook, was resilient in May. It nudged 0.3 points lower last month. But that was still the third-best reading after April and January 2008 in the last 30 months. As fiscal policy is tightened more aggressively across the euro area, the ECB will provide some relief through monetary policy. We do not expect any rate hike until late Q1/early Q2 2011. Irish prices and wages are still falling (raising the real debt burden), so stable base interest rates are a welcome tonic for households."

Irish Life & Permanent (Buy, Closing Price €1.85): IL&P will have to submit viability plan to EU; Goodbody's Ken Darmody comments - - "The announcement on Monday by the European Commission extending the guarantee in its current format by one month brings the timeline of the Irish guarantee in line with the majority of European members. Guarantees post June are likely to take on a different structure within the EU with higher charges for banks with lower credit ratings in an aim to avoid state intervention distorting market levels. In a recently released working paper it is also suggested that banks which use a state guarantee will be required to have a viability plan submitted to the Commission by their relevant state.

The deadline for the viability plan would be within 3 months of the granting of the guarantee. The working paper differentiates between banks that have already been required to submit restructuring plans and those that up to now have managed to avoid EU scrutiny. It would appear that this may require the Irish government submit a viability plan for IPM which in turn could cause them to interact more around a solution for the Irish banking system and the third force.

While it may be helpful to IL&P to finally have a seat at the table in terms of negotiations on this front, the thought of the EU looking into the long term viability of the bank may act as a drag in the short term. There are still a number of unknowns around the shape of the guarantee, however, this may accelerate the timeline of a capital raise at IL&P. We have built an €800m capital raise into our models for IL&P, which given the magnitude relative to its existing market cap, we think implies third party involvement, diluting existing shareholders by 25%. This still shows upside, but uncertainty around the endgame for the bank is muddying the waters for the moment."