Recession fears rise on more job cuts
Fri Mar 7, 2008 7:35pm EST

By Glenn Somerville

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Employers unexpectedly cut jobs in February at
the steepest rate in nearly five years, a second straight month of
employment losses that heightened fears the world's largest economy has
skidded into recession.

"The question appears no longer to be are we going into a recession but
how long and deep it will be," said economist Joel Naroff of Naroff
Economic Advisors Inc in Holland, Pennsylvania.

The Labor Department on Friday said 63,000 non-farm jobs were eliminated
on top of an upwardly revised loss of 22,000 in January, sharply
contrary to Wall Street economists' forecasts that 25,000 positions
would be added in February.

The department also halved the number added in December to 41,000 from
the 82,000 estimated a month ago, in a move that underlined the steady
deterioration in the U.S. labor market.

"The underlying trends are horrible, with worse to come," said economist
Ian Shepherdson of High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York. The
Federal Reserve "has to ease (U.S. benchmark interest rates) much more,"
he said.

The U.S. central bank already has cut its federal funds target rate by
2.25 percentage points since September to its current 3 percent level
and is widely expected to slash it again at its next policy-setting
session on March 18.

A Reuters poll on Friday found that most major Wall Street dealers
expect the fed funds rate to be at 2 percent and possibly lower by the
end of April.

STOCK PRICES SUFFER

Stock prices dropped on the unfavorable jobs report, with the Dow Jones
industrial average down 146.70 points at the close to 11,893.69. The
Nasdaq Composite Index was off 8.01 points to end at 2,212.49.

U.S. Treasury debt prices were mixed. The benchmark 10-year note rose
10/32 in price for a yield of 3.56 percent, down from 3.59 percent late
Thursday.

Just before the employment report's release, the Fed said it was
increasing the size of special auctions it conducts twice a month to add
funds, or liquidity, into highly stressed capital markets. That should
make it easier for businesses to borrow money needed to expand and to
boost hiring.

President George W. Bush acknowledged an economic slowdown has begun but
said his administration deserved credit for administering a "booster
shot" in the form of a $152 billion economic stimulus program that
should kick in by summer.

"We believe that the steps we've taken, together with the actions taken
by the Federal Reserve, will have a positive effect on our economy,"
Bush said. Until now, the White House has maintained the economy was not
at risk of recession and still resists questions whether a contraction
is under way.

"Recessions are things that are declared by other people," White House
Economic Adviser Edward Lazear said, though he conceded the Bush
administration has "definitely downgraded" its forecast for
first-quarter economic performance.

The jobs report is one of the first gauges of overall U.S. economic
activity each month, and so the bleak February report sent a shock
through the global financial sector.

WORST SINCE 2003

The back-to-back January and February job losses were the first
consecutive monthly declines since May and June of 2003, shortly after
the start of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Labor Department officials said February's job losses were the largest
for any month since March 2003 when 212,000 jobs were cut.

Late on Friday, the Fed issued data showing consumers were still
borrowing heavily to spend in January. Consumer credit outstanding
climbed by $6.9 billion, nearly double December's $3.7 billion gain.

Many economists caution that the next wave of defaults on borrowing is
likely to occur in consumer loans like those taken out to buy cars and
to keep up credit-card payments.

During February, the U.S. unemployment rate eased to 4.8 percent from
4.9 percent in January, but that was because fewer people were in the
labor force. The department said the number of people in the workforce
fell by 450,000 in February, likely a sign that many people have given
up trying to find a job.

Job losses were widespread. Some 52,000 jobs were lost at factories, the
largest decline since July 2003 when 92,000 jobs were cut. Construction
businesses eliminated another 39,000 on top of 25,000 cut in January, a
reflection of the housing industry's deepening woes.

The department said that since the housing boom peaked in September
2006, construction businesses have cut 331,000 jobs.

Retailers also shed jobs last month, dropping 34,000 people off their
payrolls, a possible reflection of concern that hard-pressed consumers
are likely to begin pulling back sharply on spending.

In a statement issued with the data, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Commissioner Keith Hall warned that many of this year's job losses may
take a long time to come back.

(Reporting by Glenn Somerville; Editing by Neil Stempleman)

HK wrote:

Recession fears rise on more job cuts
Fri Mar 7, 2008 7:35pm EST

By Glenn Somerville

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Employers unexpectedly cut jobs in February at
the steepest rate in nearly five years, a second straight month of
employment losses that heightened fears the world's largest economy has
skidded into recession.

"The question appears no longer to be are we going into a recession but
how long and deep it will be," said economist Joel Naroff of Naroff
Economic Advisors Inc in Holland, Pennsylvania.

The Labor Department on Friday said 63,000 non-farm jobs were eliminated
on top of an upwardly revised loss of 22,000 in January, sharply
contrary to Wall Street economists' forecasts that 25,000 positions
would be added in February.

The department also halved the number added in December to 41,000 from
the 82,000 estimated a month ago, in a move that underlined the steady
deterioration in the U.S. labor market.

"The underlying trends are horrible, with worse to come," said economist
Ian Shepherdson of High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York. The
Federal Reserve "has to ease (U.S. benchmark interest rates) much more,"
he said.

The U.S. central bank already has cut its federal funds target rate by
2.25 percentage points since September to its current 3 percent level
and is widely expected to slash it again at its next policy-setting
session on March 18.

A Reuters poll on Friday found that most major Wall Street dealers
expect the fed funds rate to be at 2 percent and possibly lower by the
end of April.

STOCK PRICES SUFFER

Stock prices dropped on the unfavorable jobs report, with the Dow Jones
industrial average down 146.70 points at the close to 11,893.69. The
Nasdaq Composite Index was off 8.01 points to end at 2,212.49.

U.S. Treasury debt prices were mixed. The benchmark 10-year note rose
10/32 in price for a yield of 3.56 percent, down from 3.59 percent late
Thursday.

Just before the employment report's release, the Fed said it was
increasing the size of special auctions it conducts twice a month to add
funds, or liquidity, into highly stressed capital markets. That should
make it easier for businesses to borrow money needed to expand and to
boost hiring.

President George W. Bush acknowledged an economic slowdown has begun but
said his administration deserved credit for administering a "booster
shot" in the form of a $152 billion economic stimulus program that
should kick in by summer.

"We believe that the steps we've taken, together with the actions taken
by the Federal Reserve, will have a positive effect on our economy,"
Bush said. Until now, the White House has maintained the economy was not
at risk of recession and still resists questions whether a contraction
is under way.

"Recessions are things that are declared by other people," White House
Economic Adviser Edward Lazear said, though he conceded the Bush
administration has "definitely downgraded" its forecast for
first-quarter economic performance.

The jobs report is one of the first gauges of overall U.S. economic
activity each month, and so the bleak February report sent a shock
through the global financial sector.

WORST SINCE 2003

The back-to-back January and February job losses were the first
consecutive monthly declines since May and June of 2003, shortly after
the start of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Labor Department officials said February's job losses were the largest
for any month since March 2003 when 212,000 jobs were cut.

Late on Friday, the Fed issued data showing consumers were still
borrowing heavily to spend in January. Consumer credit outstanding
climbed by $6.9 billion, nearly double December's $3.7 billion gain.

Many economists caution that the next wave of defaults on borrowing is
likely to occur in consumer loans like those taken out to buy cars and
to keep up credit-card payments.

During February, the U.S. unemployment rate eased to 4.8 percent from
4.9 percent in January, but that was because fewer people were in the
labor force. The department said the number of people in the workforce
fell by 450,000 in February, likely a sign that many people have given
up trying to find a job.

Job losses were widespread. Some 52,000 jobs were lost at factories, the
largest decline since July 2003 when 92,000 jobs were cut. Construction
businesses eliminated another 39,000 on top of 25,000 cut in January, a
reflection of the housing industry's deepening woes.

The department said that since the housing boom peaked in September
2006, construction businesses have cut 331,000 jobs.

Retailers also shed jobs last month, dropping 34,000 people off their
payrolls, a possible reflection of concern that hard-pressed consumers
are likely to begin pulling back sharply on spending.

In a statement issued with the data, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Commissioner Keith Hall warned that many of this year's job losses may
take a long time to come back.

(Reporting by Glenn Somerville; Editing by Neil Stempleman)


OTTAWA - A whopping 43,000 new jobs were created in February, stunning
economists and creating a widening jobs gap with the United States that
suggests Canada may be able to ride out a mild U.S. recession.

Statistics Canada said Friday the country's unemployment rate remained
unchanged, at a 33-year low of 5.8 per cent, shrugging off the storm clouds
that have swirled for months, including a shrinking trade surplus and gross
domestic product,

In contrast, the United States shed another 63,000 jobs in February.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said in London, Ont., that he was
particularly
pleased with the jobs growth in Ontario. Its battered manufacturing sector
lost 20,000 more jobs but the province still added 46,000 jobs, mostly in
construction and public service.

"This is a good development. We have economic growth in all regions of the
country and people are able to adjust to get new jobs," Flaherty said.

Still, the jobs picture shocked most analysts. For the second straight
month,
predictions of a jobs slowdown were dismissed by the real economy.

Like last month, Canada's job report surprised both in the aggregate number
and in the details. The job gains were once again mostly full-time, private-
sector and were concentrated in Ontario, where the slowing U.S. economy is
supposedly being felt the most.

"We are knocked off our feet like everyone else," said Dale Orr of Global
Insight, which Friday downgraded Canada's growth rate this year to 1.6 per
cent, from 1.9 per cent projected last month.

"There is, unfortunately, an ominous side to this," Orr added. "It is
happening in an economy where the pace of output is very weak, meaning
labour
productivity this year is going to be very close to zero."

That suggests that the impressive jobs numbers can't last, said CIBC senior
economist Avery Shenfeld, but it also means that Canada likely won't fall
into recession.

Canada avoided following the U.S. into the 1973-75 oil shock recession and
the 2001 technology slump, and will likely avoid the current U.S. subprime
recession, Shenfeld said, although the manufacturing sector will
continue to
suffer.

"Since Canada never had much of a subprime market, there was nothing to
blow
up (in Canada) in the first place," he pointed out. "The best defence
against
recession in Canada is the consumer sector and with the job growth and some
very nice wage gains to go along with it, there's still a lot of spending
power in the hands of Canadians."

Pay gains also remained strong in February, with the average hourly wage up
4.9 per cent from a year earlier - more than double the rate of inflation.

The employment news initially helped send the Canadian dollar up around
nine-
tenths of a cent. But the currency slipped later in the day and closed down
0.27 cent at 101.05 cents US.

"To say that today's employment numbers were stunning simply doesn't do the
outcome justice," commented TD Bank economist Craig Alexander.

"In fact, we've run out of superlatives to describe the remarkable strength
in the labour market at a time that the other monthly economic reports are
signalling slowing economic growth."

February also saw another record being set with 63.9 per cent of Canadian
adults now holding down a job, as the economy added 361,000 jobs over the
past 12 months.

But the Canadian Labour Congress pointed to "a disconnect between the
slowing
economy we all see and the numbers published by Statistics Canada."

Said CLC president Ken Georgetti: "Can this apparent strength of the job
market continue when there are so many announced or expected layoffs and
plant closures due to the high dollar and rising energy costs?"

Few economists think so, although Orr said he expects the strength in
construction to have legs because Canadians are taking advantage of low
interest rates to buy homes.

"HK" wrote in message
...
HK wrote:

Yessiree Kraussie. Absolutely! You d' Man! Hey Krausie, you been gnawing
off your fingernails since you were a kid??

On Mar 7, 9:42*pm, HK wrote:
Recession fears rise on more job cuts
Fri Mar 7, 2008 7:35pm EST

By Glenn Somerville

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Employers unexpectedly cut jobs in February at
the steepest rate in nearly five years, a second straight month of
employment losses that heightened fears the world's largest economy has
skidded into recession.

"The question appears no longer to be are we going into a recession but
how long and deep it will be," said economist Joel Naroff of Naroff
Economic Advisors Inc in Holland, Pennsylvania.

The Labor Department on Friday said 63,000 non-farm jobs were eliminated
on top of an upwardly revised loss of 22,000 in January, sharply
contrary to Wall Street economists' forecasts that 25,000 positions
would be added in February.

The department also halved the number added in December to 41,000 from
the 82,000 estimated a month ago, in a move that underlined the steady
deterioration in the U.S. labor market.

"The underlying trends are horrible, with worse to come," said economist
Ian Shepherdson of High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York. The
Federal Reserve "has to ease (U.S. benchmark interest rates) much more,"
he said.

The U.S. central bank already has cut its federal funds target rate by
2.25 percentage points since September to its current 3 percent level
and is widely expected to slash it again at its next policy-setting
session on March 18.

A Reuters poll on Friday found that most major Wall Street dealers
expect the fed funds rate to be at 2 percent and possibly lower by the
end of April.

STOCK PRICES SUFFER

Stock prices dropped on the unfavorable jobs report, with the Dow Jones
industrial average down 146.70 points at the close to 11,893.69. The
Nasdaq Composite Index was off 8.01 points to end at 2,212.49.

U.S. Treasury debt prices were mixed. The benchmark 10-year note rose
10/32 in price for a yield of 3.56 percent, down from 3.59 percent late
Thursday.

Just before the employment report's release, the Fed said it was
increasing the size of special auctions it conducts twice a month to add
funds, or liquidity, into highly stressed capital markets. That should
make it easier for businesses to borrow money needed to expand and to
boost hiring.

President George W. Bush acknowledged an economic slowdown has begun but
said his administration deserved credit for administering a "booster
shot" in the form of a $152 billion economic stimulus program that
should kick in by summer.

"We believe that the steps we've taken, together with the actions taken
by the Federal Reserve, will have a positive effect on our economy,"
Bush said. Until now, the White House has maintained the economy was not
at risk of recession and still resists questions whether a contraction
is under way.

"Recessions are things that are declared by other people," White House
Economic Adviser Edward Lazear said, though he conceded the Bush
administration has "definitely downgraded" its forecast for
first-quarter economic performance.

The jobs report is one of the first gauges of overall U.S. economic
activity each month, and so the bleak February report sent a shock
through the global financial sector.

WORST SINCE 2003

The back-to-back January and February job losses were the first
consecutive monthly declines since May and June of 2003, shortly after
the start of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Labor Department officials said February's job losses were the largest
for any month since March 2003 when 212,000 jobs were cut.

Late on Friday, the Fed issued data showing consumers were still
borrowing heavily to spend in January. Consumer credit outstanding
climbed by $6.9 billion, nearly double December's $3.7 billion gain.

Many economists caution that the next wave of defaults on borrowing is
likely to occur in consumer loans like those taken out to buy cars and
to keep up credit-card payments.

During February, the U.S. unemployment rate eased to 4.8 percent from
4.9 percent in January, but that was because fewer people were in the
labor force. The department said the number of people in the workforce
fell by 450,000 in February, likely a sign that many people have given
up trying to find a job.

Job losses were widespread. Some 52,000 jobs were lost at factories, the
largest decline since July 2003 when 92,000 jobs were cut. Construction
businesses eliminated another 39,000 on top of 25,000 cut in January, a
reflection of the housing industry's deepening woes.

The department said that since the housing boom peaked in September
2006, construction businesses have cut 331,000 jobs.

Retailers also shed jobs last month, dropping 34,000 people off their
payrolls, a possible reflection of concern that hard-pressed consumers
are likely to begin pulling back sharply on spending.

In a statement issued with the data, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Commissioner Keith Hall warned that many of this year's job losses may
take a long time to come back.

(Reporting by Glenn Somerville; Editing by Neil Stempleman)

The only time you aren't lying is when you cut and paste......

On Mar 8, 11:43*am, wrote:
On Mar 7, 9:42*pm, HK wrote:





Recession fears rise on more job cuts
Fri Mar 7, 2008 7:35pm EST

By Glenn Somerville

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Employers unexpectedly cut jobs in February at
the steepest rate in nearly five years, a second straight month of
employment losses that heightened fears the world's largest economy has
skidded into recession.

"The question appears no longer to be are we going into a recession but
how long and deep it will be," said economist Joel Naroff of Naroff
Economic Advisors Inc in Holland, Pennsylvania.

The Labor Department on Friday said 63,000 non-farm jobs were eliminated
on top of an upwardly revised loss of 22,000 in January, sharply
contrary to Wall Street economists' forecasts that 25,000 positions
would be added in February.

The department also halved the number added in December to 41,000 from
the 82,000 estimated a month ago, in a move that underlined the steady
deterioration in the U.S. labor market.

"The underlying trends are horrible, with worse to come," said economist
Ian Shepherdson of High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York. The
Federal Reserve "has to ease (U.S. benchmark interest rates) much more,"
he said.

The U.S. central bank already has cut its federal funds target rate by
2.25 percentage points since September to its current 3 percent level
and is widely expected to slash it again at its next policy-setting
session on March 18.

A Reuters poll on Friday found that most major Wall Street dealers
expect the fed funds rate to be at 2 percent and possibly lower by the
end of April.

STOCK PRICES SUFFER

Stock prices dropped on the unfavorable jobs report, with the Dow Jones
industrial average down 146.70 points at the close to 11,893.69. The
Nasdaq Composite Index was off 8.01 points to end at 2,212.49.

U.S. Treasury debt prices were mixed. The benchmark 10-year note rose
10/32 in price for a yield of 3.56 percent, down from 3.59 percent late
Thursday.

Just before the employment report's release, the Fed said it was
increasing the size of special auctions it conducts twice a month to add
funds, or liquidity, into highly stressed capital markets. That should
make it easier for businesses to borrow money needed to expand and to
boost hiring.

President George W. Bush acknowledged an economic slowdown has begun but
said his administration deserved credit for administering a "booster
shot" in the form of a $152 billion economic stimulus program that
should kick in by summer.

"We believe that the steps we've taken, together with the actions taken
by the Federal Reserve, will have a positive effect on our economy,"
Bush said. Until now, the White House has maintained the economy was not
at risk of recession and still resists questions whether a contraction
is under way.

"Recessions are things that are declared by other people," White House
Economic Adviser Edward Lazear said, though he conceded the Bush
administration has "definitely downgraded" its forecast for
first-quarter economic performance.

The jobs report is one of the first gauges of overall U.S. economic
activity each month, and so the bleak February report sent a shock
through the global financial sector.

WORST SINCE 2003

The back-to-back January and February job losses were the first
consecutive monthly declines since May and June of 2003, shortly after
the start of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Labor Department officials said February's job losses were the largest
for any month since March 2003 when 212,000 jobs were cut.

Late on Friday, the Fed issued data showing consumers were still
borrowing heavily to spend in January. Consumer credit outstanding
climbed by $6.9 billion, nearly double December's $3.7 billion gain.

Many economists caution that the next wave of defaults on borrowing is
likely to occur in consumer loans like those taken out to buy cars and
to keep up credit-card payments.

During February, the U.S. unemployment rate eased to 4.8 percent from
4.9 percent in January, but that was because fewer people were in the
labor force. The department said the number of people in the workforce
fell by 450,000 in February, likely a sign that many people have given
up trying to find a job.

Job losses were widespread. Some 52,000 jobs were lost at factories, the
largest decline since July 2003 when 92,000 jobs were cut. Construction
businesses eliminated another 39,000 on top of 25,000 cut in January, a
reflection of the housing industry's deepening woes.

The department said that since the housing boom peaked in September
2006, construction businesses have cut 331,000 jobs.

Retailers also shed jobs last month, dropping 34,000 people off their
payrolls, a possible reflection of concern that hard-pressed consumers
are likely to begin pulling back sharply on spending.

In a statement issued with the data, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Commissioner Keith Hall warned that many of this year's job losses may
take a long time to come back.

(Reporting by Glenn Somerville; Editing by Neil Stempleman)

The only time you aren't lying is when you cut and paste......- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

No, most of his cut and paste is lies.. That's why no one reads them...