News Updates: Jobs Report, BP Oil Spill and Google Privacy

Today’s news update includes links to Google privacy, BP oil spill and the jobs report.

Obama-May jobs report show economy strengthening

President Barack Obama said on Friday the gain of 431,000 jobs in May is a sign the U.S. economy is getting stronger, although there will still be ups and downs going forward.

“This report is a sign that our economy is getting stronger by the day,” Obama said in remarks to about about 50 workers at a large truck garage in Maryland.

“A lot of businesses that were hit hard during this downturn, they are starting to hire again. Workers who were laid off are starting to get their jobs back,” he said.

Hayward Pledges to Steer BP Through Crisis, Has Board Backing

BP Plc Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward, under growing pressure over the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, pledged to lead the company through the crisis with the backing of the board.

“My number one priority is to steer BP through this crisis, and that is exactly what I intend to do,” Hayward said on a conference call with investors today. He has received “extraordinary support” from the board, he said.

Criticism of Hayward grew this week after BP’s failure to stem the flow from the damaged well caused the biggest share price drop in 18 years and led to speculation over his future. Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investor Service downgraded BP’s credit rating yesterday on concern about the rising costs of the worst spill in U.S. history.

Like Facebook, Google Also Struggles With A Privacy Issue

We all know that Facebook has had more than its fair share of struggles with privacy issues. But the social networking site isn’t the only Internet titan battling privacy concerns. Google obtained data it probably shouldn’t have through the process it uses to take photographs for its Street View maps service. Several European nations complained, however, and Google is surrendering the private information.

Here’s what happened, via the New York Times:

“Last month, Google revealed it had been inadvertently collecting 600 gigabytes of personal data, saying that the roving, camera-mounted cars in its Street View program had collected not only photographs of neighborhoods but snippets of private information from people whose personal Wi-Fi networks were left unencrypted.”