Where's the bottom? And does this mean the first "stimulus" plan was a failure? Sure, the banks are still open, but the economy continues to plummet.
And will throwing money at the problem fix it? On Feb 6, 9:01 am, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote: > My comment: Rate of fall does not rise much, first phase of this > crisis yet. > > Peace and best wishes. > > Xi > > http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aFTLrvbYYuMM&refe... > > Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The unemployment rate reached the highest level > since 1992 and payrolls tumbled in January, with millions more losses > likely until a fiscal stimulus and emergency lending programs begin to > temper the U.S. economy’s freefall. > > The jobless rate rose to 7.6 percent from 7.2 percent in December, the > Labor Department said today in Washington. Payrolls fell by 598,000, > the biggest monthly decline since December 1974. Losses spanned almost > all industries, spanning from construction and manufacturing to > retailing, trucking, media and finance. > > “We are in the middle of a very severe, a violent, collapse in > activity and it could go on for months,” James Galbraith, an economics > professor at the University of Texas in Austin, said in an interview > with Bloomberg Television. The report will likely diminish objections > “that somehow the president’s recovery plan is too large and should be > trimmed back.” > > Obama, who predicted a “dismal” report, is trying to push lawmakers to > approve a package of about $900 billion, and in three days plans to > announce a new effort to shore up credit markets. The rate of the job > market’s decline means it’s unlikely the steps will halt a collapse in > consumer spending until the second half of the year, economists said. > > Millions Hurt > > “We’ll see households pull way back, the economy is still in > freefall,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at HIS Global > Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. “We’ll probably see job losses of > another 2 million to 3 million before this is over.” Payrolls have > already plunged by 3.57 million so far. > > Treasuries slipped while stock-index futures headed higher after the > figures, indicating some investors feared an even worse January > employment report. Contracts on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index > gained 0.5 percent to 844.70 at 9:11 a.m. in New York. Benchmark 10- > year note yields rose to 2.93 percent from 2.90 percent late > yesterday. > > The loss of jobs, at employers ranging from manufacturers like > Caterpillar Inc. to retailers such as Macy’s Inc., is shattering > consumer confidence and crippling spending. Household purchases fell > more than 3 percent at an annual rate in the past two quarters, the > first time that’s happened since at least 1947. > > With a revised decline of 597,000 jobs in November, revisions > subtracted 66,000 workers from previously reported payroll figures for > the last two months of 2008. The 3.57 million of losses since the > recession started in December 2007 marks the biggest employment slump > of any economic contraction in the postwar period. > > Worst on Record > > Last month’s losses mark the first time since records began in 1939 > that job cuts exceeded half a million in three consecutive months. > > Payrolls were forecast to drop 540,000, according to the median > estimate of 75 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Estimates of the > decrease ranged from 400,000 to 750,000. > > The jobless rate was projected to jump to 7.5 percent. Forecasts > ranged from 7.3 percent to 7.6 percent. > > The House of Representatives last week passed an $819 billion stimulus > package that includes tax cuts and infrastructure spending. The Senate > is working on a plan that is closer to $900 billion. > > “A failure to act and to act now will turn crisis into catastrophe and > guarantee a longer recession,” Obama told lawmakers on Feb. 4 in > Washington. > > Factory Jobs > > Today’s report showed factory payrolls decreased by 207,000, the > biggest drop since October 1982, after declining 162,000 in the prior > month. Economists had forecast a January drop of 145,000. The decrease > included a loss of 31,300 jobs in auto manufacturing and parts > industries. > > Caterpillar, the world’s largest maker of construction equipment, on > Jan. 30 said it plans to cut 2,110 workers in addition to the 20,000 > reductions it reported earlier in the month. > > Payrolls at builders declined 111,000 after decreasing 86,000. > > Service industries, which include banks, insurance companies, > restaurants and retailers, subtracted 279,000 workers after cutting > 327,000. Retail payrolls decreased by 45,100 after a decline of > 82,700. Financial firms reduced payrolls by 42,000, after a 27,000 > decrease the prior month. > > Government payrolls increased by 6,000 after shrinking by 10,000 the > prior month. > > Retailers Hit > > Saks Inc., Target Corp., Starbucks Corp. and Home Depot Inc. last > month reported plans to reduce workers. Others following suit in > February include Macy’s. The second-largest U.S. department-store > company said it will cut 7,000 jobs, eliminate executives’ merit > increases for 2008, and trim its contribution to staff 401(k) > retirement-savings plans. > > “This is a time when nothing should be considered a sacred cow,” > Macy’s Chief Executive Officer Terry Lundgren said on a conference > call with investors and analysts. > > News of job losses continued this week. PNC Financial Services Group > Inc. will reduce almost 10 percent of its workforce by 2011, and Estee > Lauder Cos., the maker of Clinique and Bobbi Brown cosmetics, will > slash 2,000 jobs over the next two years. > > Government jobs are now also in jeopardy. The U.S. Postal Service > plans to trim headcount through attrition and early retirement, and > has asked lawmakers to allow it to reduce its six-days-a-week delivery > schedule to pare expenses. > > Working Hours > > The average work week remained at 33.3 hours in January. Average > weekly hours worked by production workers fell to 39.8 hours from 39.9 > hours, while overtime decreased to 2.9 hours from 3 hours. Average > weekly earnings rose by $1.67 to $614.72. > > Workers’ average hourly wages rose 5 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $18.46 > from the prior month. Hourly earnings were 3.9 percent higher than in > January 2008. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast a 0.2 > percent increase from December and a 3.6 percent gain for the 12-month > period. > > With today’s report, the Labor Department also issued revisions to > payrolls going back to 2004. The annual benchmark revision, which > aligns the data with corporate tax records and covers the period from > April 2007 to March 2008, subtracted 89,000 workers from payrolls in > the 12 months ended in March, exceeding the 21,000 reduction Labor > estimated in October. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World-thread" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/world-thread?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
