Craig Stephens This Week in China: Possible tightening to remain in focus

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Last year China's massive stimulus package helped it become the first economy to recover from the global recession, pulling much of the world with it. This year, finding a reverse gear is proving a challenge, putting global markets on edge.

The sting in the tail from a strong set of Chinese economic data last week was inflation, rising to 2.7% in February, year-on-year. Rate hikes may now be just around the corner as economists struggle to interpret whether inflation is spiraling out of control or whether just too much is being read into one month's figures.

The importance of China's economy is underscored by its newly acquired ability to rattle global markets. An interesting development last week was that U.S. markets sold off to the inflation data coming out of China and likely interest-rate response. This looks like another symptom of the shifting balance of power on the world stage. It should be the other way around, where Asian markets take there cue from the latest musings of the Fed.

Perhaps now, the People's Bank of China is also setting the tone for global liquidity.

With the Fed clearly on hold on interest rates, along with the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England and most likely the European Central Bank, arguably any move by China takes on greater significance. And surely this is less of a stretch, given that China -- with its gargantuan appetite -- already regularly sets the price for a range of commodities.

The explanation for the market reaction is that the inflation numbers had analysts penciling in early rate hikes and talking openly that blunt administrative measures, such as property taxes or lending curbs, could now be in play.

This likely stoked fears of U.S. investors, who have been increasingly troubled by mainland Chinese inflation for some months, HSBC said in a recent research report.

Following a tour of U.S. investors, HSBC reported institutional-investor sentiment has gone full circle since the end of last year and was deeply bearish on China stocks. They cited concerns over inflation, property bubbles, structural imbalances in the economy and the prospects for a sharp rise in non-performing loans.

There is something to be said for the ability to see things clearly from a distance and far removed from intoxicating bubbles. But there are contrarian views.

Bank of America economists in Hong Kong, for instance, are less worried about a need for rate rises in China auto loan rates. They argue that, with the Chinese New Year falling in January rather than February this year, the latest figures are misleading. Typically prices in a range of goods are raised after the New Year. Moreover, when they look at their inflation expectations index based on Baidu searches, inflation expectations are subdued, having declined sharply since September.

Some mainland Chinese officials also sound remarkably sanguine about inflation. The National Bureau of Statistics said last week that they don't see any signs of economic overheating and predicted prices would drop with the spring harvest.

Still, it's the issue of ballooning asset prices that many analysts go back to. For instance, Nomura highlighted in a recent strategy note that, despite all the talk of tightening in recent months, so far it has not shown up in Macau if you look at gaming revenue. They argue this is typically a lead indicator of money conditions and is still growing, supported by upbeat guidance from casino operators. Perhaps everyone is just having a last roll of the dice before that loan is called in, or is the money wheel spinning out of control?

The other macro factor facing renewed focus after last week's data is the yuan. Expectations have risen on authorities once again allowing a small currency appreciation to help dampen inflation. Indeed, some brokers recommend international investors should ignore rate fears and position in mainland Chinese equities (such as H-shares) so to benefit from currency appreciation.

Going by last week's price action, it looks as if Shanghai A-shares are more concerned about tightening, as the market ended at a three-week low, testing 3,000 points. In contrast, the Hang Seng Index on Friday pulled back from a seven-week high, with investors seemingly more preoccupied with the liquidity-fuelled property sector and strong results from Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd.

For now, it appears there remains considerable faith in mainland policy makers, but a tough balancing act of managing growth and inflation remains. Expect markets from Shanghai to the U.S. to be nervously watching for policy surprises from Beijing.

Craig Stephen's This Week in China: Possible tightening to remain in focus

08:48 - 2010-Mar-14

Optimer Pharma reports narrower 4th-quarter loss

SAN DIEGO – Optimer Pharmaceuticals Inc. narrowed its loss in the fourth quarter as expenses declined, the company said.

In the three months that ended Dec. 31, the company lost $9.4 million, or 28 cents per share, compared to a loss of $10.4 million, or 35 cents per share, a year earlier.

The latest results was better than the 34-cent-per-share loss prediction of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue, which consists of research grants, rose 62 percent to $208,652 from $128,695.

For the entire fiscal year, the drug developer reported a bigger loss than in 2008 due to higher costs for development, manufacturing and preparing regulatory filings infrared space heaters. Optimer is developing anti-infective treatments. It lost $42.1 million, or $1.30 per share, compared to a loss of $35.6 million, or $1.24 per share, the year before. Yearly revenue fell 13 percent to $892,644 from $1 million.

At Dec. 31, cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $38.2 million.

Optimer's shares rose 2 cents to $13.59 in Friday afternoon trading.

Optimer Pharma reports narrower 4th-quarter loss

01:18 - 2010-Mar-13

Centuries-old shipwrecks discovered in Baltic Sea

STOCKHOLM – Sweden's National Heritage board says a dozen centuries-old shipwrecks have been found in the Baltic Sea by a gas company preparing to build an underwater pipeline between Russia and Germany.

The Swedish government agency says most of the wrecks are from the 18th and 19th centuries, while one could be up to 1,000 years old. It says three of the wrecks have intact hulls and are lying upside-down at a depth of 430 feet (130 meters).

It's unclear whether any of them will be salvaged but the heritage board said Tuesday it hopes they will be explored by divers business cards.

The ships were found during an analysis of the seabed east of the Swedish island of Gotland by the Nord Stream consortium, which is building a 750-mile (1,200 kilometer) pipeline in the Baltic Sea.

Centuries-old shipwrecks discovered in Baltic Sea

05:06 - 2010-Mar-9

Fundamentally: A Farewell to Europe? Not So Fast

IN 2008, during the worst of the financial crisis, portfolio diversification was of little help to stock investors as equity markets fell almost in lock step around the world.

Today, it’s a different story. For the first time since the global credit crisis, spreading one’s bets across different geographic regions is proving worthwhile. For example, while European equities have fallen around 5 percent so far this year — resulting from concerns over the ability of Greece, Portugal and other nations to manage their debt — domestic shares and Japanese stocks have gained more than 2 percent.

But what should investors make of this? Should they continue to diversify their portfolios — or simply reduce exposure to lackluster European equities?

It may be tempting to ditch European stocks. After all, Europe is expected to be one of the slowest-growing areas of the world in the next several years. (Its economy is expected to grow just 1 percent in 2010, compared with 3 percent for that of the United States.)

Moreover, stock markets in that region have become highly correlated with the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, thanks to the increasingly interconnected global economy. That means European stocks aren’t likely to zig when domestic stocks zag.

Nevertheless, many market strategists warn that jettisoning stocks from such a big chunk of the world, which represents more than a quarter of global stock market value, would be a big mistake.

For starters, doing so now would simply be locking in losses that have already occurred. “If you have extraordinary predictive capabilities and can see which regions will zig and which will zag, then yes, you don’t have to be fully diversified,” said Greg Schultz, a principal at Asset Allocation Advisors, a financial planning firm in Walnut Creek, Calif.

But without that ability to see into the future, it’s risky to make decisions by looking in the rear-view mirror, he said.

What’s more, as painful as it is to see some portion of your portfolio lose value, it’s actually a good sign when different asset classes move in opposite directions.

“I don’t want everything I own to go up all at once, because it stands to reason that if everything goes up at the same time, then the reverse can be true and everything can lose value at once,” said Mike Scarborough, president of Scarborough Capital Management, an investment advisory service in Annapolis, Md.

Remember that it wasn’t so long ago that European shares helped keep investors’ portfolios above water in a lousy decade for stocks. Between Dec. 31, 2001, and Dec. 31, 2009, when domestic shares were largely flat over all, the Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe index returned around 7 percent annually cash advance to savings account.

While this trend has reversed this year, there are other ways that European equities can help diversify a portfolio.

Betting on European stocks is a way to hedge one’s currency exposure. To be sure, there’s little appetite to bet on the euro now, after it has lost 6 percent of its value against the dollar since the start of the year.

But Mr. Schultz asks: “Can you tell me that you really know for sure that the euro will be stronger or weaker a year from now? How many people saw this year’s rally in the dollar coming?”

And by diversifying their exposure to Europe, investors can mix up the way they earn their money. European stocks are currently paying among the highest yields in the world — more than 3 percent, versus around 2 percent for the S.& P. 500 — which means they generate a greater percentage of their overall returns through dividends.

“Dividends are as important a driver as price movement,” said Alec B. Young, international equity strategist at Standard & Poor’s.

Indeed, between Dec. 31, 1969, and the end of last year, domestic and European shares appreciated by nearly the same amount, but European stocks enjoyed a total cumulative return, including reinvested dividends, of 6,016 percent, versus 4,258 percent for domestic equities, according to S.& P.

Ben Inker, director of asset allocation at GMO, a money management firm in Boston, added that yet another reason “you need Europe is that the valuation cycles are different.”

In other words, European stocks and American equities are considered cheap at different times. For example, at the beginning of 2001, European equities were trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18, versus 25 for the S.& P. 500. Not surprisingly, European shares wound up outgaining domestic stocks, 53 percent to 11 percent, from 2001 through 2007. Similarly, in 1995, the S.& P. 500 was trading at a cheaper level, a P/E ratio of 16 versus 19 for European stocks, and wound up trouncing that region’s market for a six-year stretch.

After this most recent sell-off, Mr. Inker said, “Europe is again cheaper.”

“The reason to have Europe in your portfolio is certainly not because there’s any reason to expect its economy to do better than the U.S. economy,” he added. “It’s because you’re getting things at a discount compared to the U.S. And I like getting deals.”

Paul J. Lim is a senior editor at Money magazine. E-mail: fund@nytimes.com.

Fundamentally: A Farewell to Europe? Not So Fast

12:36 - 2010-Mar-7

Nutrisystem tightens belt, turns 4Q profit

HORSHAM, Pa. – Nutrisystem Inc. tightened its belt and turned a profit in the fourth quarter despite falling sales.

The weight-control company said Monday that the economy made 2009 difficult, but new-customer counts and cost-cutting improved in the second half.

Nutrisystem predicted a "modest" increase in profit in 2010, while analysts had forecast the company's profit — 92 cents per share last year — would just more than 50 percent to $1.52 per share in 2010.

The shares fell 45 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $18.90 in regular trading before the report, then dropped another $1.21, or 6.4 percent, to $17.72 in extended trading.

Nutrisystem said it earned $2.7 million, or 9 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $3.3 million, or 11 cents per share, a year earlier.

Without a write-down from the acquisition of Nu-Kitchen, a maker of weight-loss meals, the company said it would have earned 18 cents per share no fax pay day loan.

Analysts, who typically exclude one-time items from their forecasts, had expected a gain of 13 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters.

Revenue fell to $106.2 million from $114.6 million, but above analysts' $102.2 million prediction.

For all of 2009, the company earned $28.8 million, or 92 cents per share, compared with $46.3 million, or $1.45 per share, in 2008. Full-year revenue dropped to $527.7 million from $687.7 million.

The company declared a quarterly dividend of 17.5 cents per share payable March 22 to shareholders of March 11.

Nutrisystem tightens belt, turns 4Q profit

02:36 - 2010-Mar-1

Obama: Compromise on health if GOP is serious

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Saturday that he's ready to compromise with Republicans if they're serious about it but that his health care overhaul must go forward.

Obama's comments in his weekly Internet and radio address, two days after an all-day bipartisan summit across from the White House, were the latest sign that Democrats are girding to try to plow sweeping health care legislation through Congress with no Republicans on board.

Success will require colossal efforts on the part of Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress to round up votes after a year of corrosive debate and a Senate special-election upset that threw the overhaul effort into limbo last month. But Obama and the Democrats reject the piecemeal approach sought by Republicans and have no intention of scrapping their 10-year, $1 trillion bill and starting over as the GOP demands.

"I am eager and willing to move forward with members of both parties on health care if the other side is serious about coming together to resolve our differences and get this done. But I also believe that we cannot lose the opportunity to meet this challenge," Obama said.

"The tens of millions of men and women who cannot afford their health insurance cannot wait another generation for us to act. Small businesses cannot wait. Americans with pre-existing conditions cannot wait. State and federal budgets cannot sustain these rising costs.

"It is time for those of us in Washington to live up to our responsibilities to the American people and to future generations," Obama said. "So let's get this done."

Obama's legislation would insure some 30 million more Americans over 10 years with a new requirement for nearly everyone to carry insurance and would end insurance company practices such as denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. Republicans generally oppose mandates that make everyone get insurance, and although they want people with pre-existing conditions to be able to buy insurance, they would try to address the problem without new requirements on insurance companies.

Obama plans to unveil an updated proposal this coming week, likely on Wednesday, according to press secretary Robert Gibbs best humidifiers. Gibbs suggested it would include concepts put forward by Republicans at the summit. One Republican who was there, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., was contacted Friday by the White House and asked to submit details of suggestions he made on rooting out waste and fraud from the medical system, Coburn's spokesman said.

Spokesman John Hart said that Coburn views Obama's legislation as a government takeover and would not be able to support it even if it's changed to include some of his proposals.

Adding Republican ideas is not likely to win Republican votes because the GOP insists Democrats should start from scratch. But Obama would be able to say that he'd listened to Republicans and attempted to meet them part way, and that could give Democrats political cover to move forward on their own. Doing so would require use of controversial Senate rules that would let Democrats pass legislation with a simple majority instead of the 60-vote supermajority they no longer command.

The approach infuriates Republicans and is opposed by some Democratic moderates because of its partisan nature.

Coburn, the GOP's weekly address, argued against a Democrats-only bill.

"Unfortunately, even before the summit took place the majority in Congress signaled its intent to reject our offers to work together," Coburn said. "Instead they want to use procedural tricks and back-room deals to ram through a new bill that combines the worst aspects of the bills the Senate and House passed last year."

"The American people are telling us to scrap the current bills, which will lead to a government takeover of health care, and we should start over," Coburn said.

___

Associated Press writer Philip Elliott contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

Obama weekly address: http://www.whitehouse.gov

GOP address: http://www.youtube.com/user/gopweeklyaddress

Obama: Compromise on health if GOP is serious

05:12 - 2010-Feb-28

Freddie Mac losses mount, warns of foreclosures

WASHINGTON – Freddie Mac lost almost $26 billion last year, ominous news for taxpayers who are footing the bill to rescue the mortgage finance company and its sibling Fannie Mae.

Freddie Mac, which has lost a total of almost $80 billion since the housing crisis started in 2007, is bracing for more pain. The McLean, Va.-based company said a record 4 percent of its borrowers are at least three months behind on their payments and facing foreclosure.

Its chief executive, Charles Haldeman, warned Wednesday of a "potential large wave of foreclosures" still to come.

This is a major problem for the federal government, which seized control of Freddie and Fannie in September 2008. The two companies have already siphoned $111 billion from the government to stay afloat. That number is expected to hit $188 billion by fall 2011.

And while Freddie Mac didn't ask for any more bailout money last quarter, the company said it will likely need more financial aid and might never repay it.

"We now have unlimited taxpayer exposure to the bailout of Fannie and Freddie, a bailout nation where the big get bigger, the small get smaller and the taxpayer gets poorer," Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said at a House hearing Wednesday.

Fannie and Freddie dominate the mortgage market, backing about 70 percent of the loans made last year. The two companies purchase mortgages from lenders and package them into securities. Investors are willing to buy the securities because they are effectively guaranteed by the U.S. government. That puts American taxpayers at risk.

But the fragile housing sector is so dependent on the government that officials say they won't have a detailed exit strategy until next year. Underscoring the market's weakness, the Commerce Department said Wednesday that sales of new homes unexpectedly plunged 11 percent from December to January to the lowest level on record Same day payday loans.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told lawmakers Wednesday that the Obama administration will "make sure we bring about fundamental change in the housing market and get ourselves in a position where the government is playing a less risky, but more constructive role in supporting housing markets in the future."

Separately, Freddie Mac warned there is "significant uncertainty as to whether or when we will emerge" from government control.

For taxpayers, stabilizing Freddie and Fannie Mae has been one of the costliest consequences of the financial meltdown. Freddie Mac has received about $51 billion from Treasury to date, and the Obama administration has pledged to cover unlimited losses through 2012.

Freddie Mac said Wednesday it lost $25.7 billion, or $7.89 a share, for all of 2009. Of those losses, $4.1 billion went to dividends paid to the Treasury Department, which holds a nearly 80 percent stake in the company.

In the final three months of last year, Freddie Mac posted a loss of $7.8 billion, or $2.39 a share. The results, however, were a marked improvement over the fourth quarter 2008 when Freddie lost $23.9 billion, or $7.37 a share.

During the most recent quarter, Freddie suffered $7.1 billion in credit losses and a $3.4 billion write-down in low income tax credit investments. Also Wednesday Fannie Mae said in a regulatory filing that it plans to take a $5 billion charge when it reports its fourth quarter results later this week.

Freddie Mac losses mount, warns of foreclosures

05:00 - 2010-Feb-24

3 Google execs convicted of privacy violations

MILAN – Three Google executives were convicted of privacy violations Wednesday in allowing a video of an autistic boy being abused to be posted online — a case that has been closely watched for its implications on Internet freedom.

Judge Oscar Magi sentenced the three to a six-month suspended sentence and absolved them of defamation charges. A fourth defendant was acquitted altogether.

The trial had been closely watched since it could help define whether the Internet in Italy is an open, self-regulating platform or if content must be better monitored for abusive material.

Google, based in Mountain View, California, had said it considered the trial a threat to Internet freedom because it could force providers to attempt an impossible task — prescreening the thousands of hours of footage uploaded every day onto sites like YouTube.

Prosecutors insisted the case wasn't about censorship but about balancing freedom of expression with the rights of an individual.

The charges were sought by Vivi Down, an advocacy group for people with Down syndrome. The group alerted prosecutors to the 2006 video showing an autistic student in Turin being beaten and insulted by bullies at school payday loans for bad credit. In the footage, the youth is being mistreated while one of the teenagers puts in a mock telephone call to Vivi Down.

Google Italy, which is based in Milan, eventually took down the video, though the two sides disagree on how fast the company reacted to complaints. Thanks to the footage and Google's cooperation, the four bullies were identified and sentenced by a juvenile court to community service.

The events shortly preceded Google's 2006 acquisition of YouTube.

All four executives denied wrongdoing. None was in any way involved with the production of the video or uploading it onto the viewing platform, but prosecutors argued that it shot to the top of a most-viewed list and should have been noticed.

Convicted of privacy violations were Google's senior vice president and chief legal officer David Drummond, former chief financial officer George Reyes and global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer. Senior product marketing manager Arvind Desikan was acquitted.

3 Google execs convicted of privacy violations

01:54 - 2010-Feb-24

Bond issue, rescue rumors in focus for Greece

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Investors are keeping their eyes peeled for details of a possible Greek government bond issue, while rumors continue to swirl of a German-led contingency plan designed to ensure Athens doesn't default on its sovereign debt, analysts said.

A report by Financial Times Deutschland on Monday said Germany was prepared to contribute around 20% of a rescue package designed to relieve the pressure on the country. The total package would include guarantees and loans totaling between 20 billion and 25 billion euros ($27 billion to $33.8 billion), the report said.

The German Finance Ministry on Sunday dismissed a similar story published over the weekend by Der Spiegel magazine, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

"We've no way of knowing how far along such a plan is or whether there is cross-country agreement," said Jim Reid, strategist at Deutsche Bank. "Our suspicion is that final agreement will only come when it's absolutely needed."

Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Sunday told the BBC in a television interview that the country isn't looking for an EU bailout, saying that the nation instead needs political support as it attempts to slash its deficit.

"Give us the time, give us the support -- and I'm not talking about financial but political support -- in order to show you that what we're saying is being implemented and we are credible again," Papandreou said easy pay day loans.

"We don't have at this point a need for borrowing. Our borrowing needs are covered until mid-March. What we're saying is simply that we need the help so we can borrow at the same rate as other countries, not at the high rates that undermine the possibility for" cutting the deficit, he said.

Greek government bonds have come under heavy pressure since late last year after it was revealed the nation's 2009 deficit was near 13% of gross domestic product, more than four times the euro-zone's 3% limit.

Greek debt was downgraded by all three major ratings agencies in December and the yield demanded by investors to hold Greek 10-year debt over benchmark 10-year German bunds remains above three percentage points.

The Financial Times reported over the weekend that bankers in Athens expect the government to launch a 3 billion to 5 billion euro syndicated bond issues within days. Expectations rose after Petros Christodoulou, general manager for treasury global markets at National Bank of Greece, was appointed head of the nation's debt office last week.

Bond issue, rescue rumors in focus for Greece

04:00 - 2010-Feb-22

Personal Finance Daily: What do you want from your bank?

Don't miss these top stories:

Bank customers want good service

Fund managers' trading may cost you

The unexpected hits working parents hard

What do you want from your bank?

I'd like good customer service, close attention to account security, and low fees. Given all the negative things so easily said about banks in the aftermath of the financial crisis, it seems odd to say this but I must admit I often get exactly what I want from my bank.

Of course, it's those times when they fail in some way that always stand out.

For instance, a year or so ago, I received an email from my bank ostensibly notifying me about "account changes." Only, the message didn't contain any details. So I sent an email to the bank asking for the specifics about what was changing. When the response from the bank was unclear, I called for clarification. A month later, a charge for that call appeared on my statement.

When I protested the charge, the bank removed it, so that's a good thing. But sometimes you just have to wonder what they were thinking. And of course, it's that random, annoying, "can you believe that?" instance that continues to stick in my head.

Similarly, I still remember walking into a branch when my daughter was very young, maybe 5 or 6 years old. She was really eager to save money and I thought talking to a bank teller about opening an account and about how to save would really be a positive experience for my daughter. Not. The teller brusquely said there were no savings options for kids that little (um, have you heard of custodial accounts?). Nice way to cement those customer relationships. We found a different bank for my daughter.

Still, not long ago my now-teenage daughter and I went back to my bank, because for a variety of reasons -- mainly ATM convenience -- she wanted to transfer her savings. A very knowledgeable teller helped us and I was impressed with the service. It didn't hurt that the guy found a cheaper account for me.

But customers have really, really long memories for the bad stuff. If the big banks weren't so busy focusing on the latest and greatest exotic investments, maybe they'd remember that.

-- Andrea Coombes, Personal Finance editor

Banks, many of which are deluging consumers with new fees and changing services, held their own in keeping customers happy in the latest quarter thanks to the myriad of smaller banks, the American Consumer Satisfaction Index reported Tuesday. See Consumer Watch.

Taking care of children is tricky when both parents work, but when one parent falls sick, goes on a trip or is out commission for whatever reason, balancing work and child care can be downright daunting for the parent left in charge. See Diary of a Recession Baby.

Global fund managers moved out of equities and into cash and bonds during February as they lowered their risk profiles, according to a monthly survey from Bank of America's Merrill Lynch unit. See Fundwatch.

Advisers are returning from their three-day holiday in a decidedly melancholy mood. And that gives contrarians hope that the bull market that began last March is not yet over -- recent market weakness notwithstanding. See Mark Hulbert.

One money manager's protection is another manager's short-term thinking. The difference is in portfolio turnover numbers, and there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that fund managers are as guilty as anyone of falling for short-term moves. See Chuck Jaffe.

While rumblings from China and Europe have captured investors' attention in recent weeks, an exchange-traded fund tracking U.S. home-builder stocks has quietly established itself as the best-performing sector fund so far this year. See ETF Investing.

Join America's new "mad as hell" club. You want short-term investing "solutions?" Stick with me, today we have 10 fabulous short-term solutions, solid tips for readers worried about the coming "Debt Bomb Explosion." See Paul B. Farrell.

Investors who fled from stock mutual funds in the market meltdown now appear to be carefully tiptoeing back online payday loans. In January, they put $2.7 billion into U.S. stock funds, reversing four consecutive months of outflows, and placed more than $8.1 billion into international stock funds, the most since December 2007, according to investment research firm Morningstar Inc. See Investing.

Life should be simpler in retirement. So should your finances. A clear-cut financial plan is a good idea at any age. But a growing body of research suggests simplicity takes on added urgency as we move into our 70s, when stock-picking acumen begins to slip. See Investing.

Buy-and-hold hasn't looked too good lately, but churn-and-burn is no better. Stocks are sloshing around faster and cheaper than ever. You can trade online for $7.95 or less. Nearly 2 billion shares are handled daily on the NYSE, not counting trades in rival markets. Throw those in, and trading is a tidal wave, averaging 9.4 billion shares so far in February -- up from 9.1 billion in January, says Rosenblatt Securities. See Jason Zweig.

People in the midst of a career reinvention don't have the luxury of a manager who sets priorities for them. The most difficult part of making a career change is starting it, especially with only your desire to propel you. See Careers.

When Michelle Bisutti, a 41-year-old family practitioner in Columbus, Ohio, finished medical school in 2003, her student-loan debt amounted to roughly $250,000. Since then, it has ballooned to $555,000. See College Costs.

A congressional hearing into WellPoint Inc.'s proposed rate hikes in California has prompted the health insurer to cancel its investor day, taking a bite not only out of its shares but those of other carriers as well. See Health Care.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the biggest porker of them all? It's hard to tell; there are so many to choose from. It seems as though hardly a day goes by without a politician on either side of the aisle railing against government spending and the humongous deficits it has produced. See Irwin Kellner.

Encouraged by low interest rates and the restoration of federal home-buyer tax credits, U.S. home builders were a bit more confident that the housing market is recovering, according to a monthly survey released Tuesday by the National Association of Home Builders. See Economic Report.

The U.S. economic recovery is likely to be slow and the unemployment rate is likely to stay above 8% by the end of 2011, said Narayana Kocherlakota, the new president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis on Tuesday. See The Fed.

U.S. fiscal policy is on an "unsustainable course" and the government must adjust its tax and spending programs or risk a crisis, Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Hoenig said Tuesday. See The Fed.

As policy makers in the U.S. and Europe contemplate mechanisms to ward off another economic near-collapse, one idea is gaining traction among liberals at the same time as it is infuriating conservatives: a financial transactions tax. See Capitol Report.

Wall Street needs to see evidence the economy is improving, and we've been getting that in reports that include today's report on New York-area manufacturing, says Chuck Lieberman, the chief investment officer for Advisors Capital Management. Listen to Radio Report.

Toyota Motor Corp. will reportedly suspend production at two key U.S. plants to keep inventory from ballooning as mounting recalls have slammed demand for its vehicles. See full story.

Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday said it will halve the number of shifts at a plant in Michigan this summer to better match its production capacity to demand in a move that will impact about 900 jobs.

Personal Finance Daily: What do you want from your bank?

02:48 - 2010-Feb-16

FTSE ends down on Greek debt saga

LONDON (AFP) – The London stock market closed lower on Friday as recovery stalled in the eurozone and the Greek debt saga weighed on the markets.

The benchmark FTSE 100 index ended 0.37 percent lower at 5,142.45 points.

Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) was the most traded stock, seeing 434 million units change hands, followed by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which saw 95 million shares switch owners.

National Grid topped the leader board, gaining 16 pence -- or 2.56 percent -- to finish at 640, followed by telecoms group BT, which added 2.6 pence -- or 2.17 percent -- to stand at 122.5.

British Airways was the session's biggest loser, slipping 8 free credit score.4 pence -- or 4.12 percent -- to close at 195.5, followed by LBG, which shed 1.56 pence -- or 3.24 percent -- to finish at 46.58.

Meanwhile, sterling slipped against the dollar but was up against the euro.

At 17:16, the pound was trading at $1.5684, down from $1.5690 at the same time on Thursday, while Britain's currency stood at 1.1500 euros, up from 1.1480 euros over the same period.

FTSE ends down on Greek debt saga

05:42 - 2010-Feb-15

US retail sales start new year strong

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US retail sales opened the year with a bigger-than-expected bounce, official data showed Friday in a report suggesting recovery from recession is gaining momentum.

The Commerce Department reported that seasonally adjusted retail sales increased 0.5 percent to 355.8 billion dollars in January.

The monthly increase in retail and food-service sales was better than the 0.3 percent forecast by most analysts and followed upwardly revised numbers for the previous two months.

"Consumers opened their wallets a little wider and that is good news for the economy," said Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors.

The Commerce Department revised the decline in December sales to a scant 0.1 percent, from a drop of 0.3 percent, and the November sales increase was raised 0.2 point to 2.0 percent.

"With last month?s decline being revised upward, this report is even stronger than it looks," Naroff said.

But he warned that "between snowstorms and Toyota shutting down sales for a while, I would not be surprised if the February numbers are weak."

The latest data, which are not adjusted for price changes, showed sales fell in only four of the 13 sectors measured, notably in housing-related sectors such as furniture and building materials.

Excluding often-volatile auto and gasoline sales, retail sales rose 0.6 percent.

Scott Hoyt at Moody's Economy.com said that winter weather "likely reduced demand for home improvement and other housing-related goods, while boosting demand for food and other winter weather supplies sold at warehouse clubs and grocery stores."

January retail sales were up 4.7 percent from the year-ago level, when consumers hunkered down in the face of the near-collapse of the US financial system and the 13th month of official recession pay day loans.

"This is a promising start to the year, especially in light of all of the headwinds that still face the US consumer," said Jennifer Lee at BMO Capital Markets.

With the jobless rate at 9.7 percent and expected to remain elevated even as the economy recovers, "give kudos to US consumers for doing their part to spur economic growth, despite still-high unemployment," Lee added.

Consumer spending drives two-thirds of US output and is a key in sustaining the economy's government-stimulated recovery from the worst recession in decades.

However, President Barack Obama's administration has repeatedly emphasized that consumer spending would not be as powerful a driver in this economic recovery as it has in past recessions.

Many analysts share that view and are forecasting weak consumer spending in the coming months, particularly as authorities wind down extraordinary measures taken to stimulate the recovery.

US gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at a strong 5.7 percent pace in the fourth quarter, in a second straight quarter of growth after four quarters of contraction.

"Perhaps the most impressive figure in this report was core retail sales -- which removes the impact of autos, gasoline stations and building materials -- which is fed into the personal spending data in the GDP report," said Lee.

"Core sales jumped 0.8 percent in January, the second-largest increase in the past 11 months, an indication that consumer spending started the quarter off on a strong note."

US retail sales start new year strong

03:48 - 2010-Feb-14

Taxing Times: Break on unemployment taxes doesnt go far

Don't miss these top stories:

Laid-off -- and taxed, too

Self-employed? There is tax help for you

Is filing taxes jointly a good idea?

Timeline for home-buyer tax credit

The good news is there's some temporary relief from federal income taxes on unemployment benefits: You don't owe any on the first $2,400 of benefits in 2009, thanks to a temporary provision in the stimulus bill, otherwise known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. See this IRS page for more information.

But that's about where the good news for jobless folks ends.

As Eva Rosenberg writes in her TaxWatch column today, many states levy their own income tax on benefits -- just the kind of hit you really don't need when you're down.

And let's not even get into the state of the job market right now. (But click here for an interesting look at how the blizzards this week will negatively affect next month's government jobs report.)

Still, there are signs of job-market stabilization, and even some signs of downright hiring activity. See story on job market shows signs of life.

But until we get some better news, what about those taxes, eh? It's just about mid-February. Have you filed? I haven't yet. But I figure my recent move is a really good excuse. All that paperwork is packed away somewhere...

-- Andrea Coombes, Personal Finance editor

Losing a job is stressful enough. But then come the unexpected costs of unemployment insurance. Tony lost his job in Michigan in 2007 and started collecting unemployment insurance from his state. See TaxWatch.

The overall complexity of the tax code is a major concern for many self-employed people as they think about filing their returns. Keith Hall, the national tax adviser for the National Association for the Self-Employed says, remember, you are not alone. Listen to Radio Report.

As a married couple, you probably share almost everything. But is that such a good idea when it comes to filing taxes? See TaxWatch.

Time is running short for people who want to take advantage of the home-buyer tax credits. There are two home-buyer federal income tax credits: the first-time home-buyer tax credit of up to $8,000, and the move-up homebuyer tax credit of up to $6,500. Both come with deadlines. See TaxWatch.

Like so many others, I lost a lot of money on my IRAs bad credit unsecured personal loans. My statements lately also reflect small losses or, at best, little gain. I am 63 years old and would like to withdraw it all and simply invest it in bank savings accounts and/or CDs. Of course, I had capital losses last year to report. See TaxWatch.

There's nothing like sliding behind the wheel of a new car, but something comes close this tax-filing season: deducting the taxes. See TaxWatch.

Employees often give a little extra in their jobs. If that giving is literal -- you paid some work-related costs and weren't reimbursed -- you may be able to turn your professional dedication into a tax break. See TaxWatch.

Talk about adding insult to injury. As if it weren't bad enough to be laid off from a job, workers who apply for unemployment compensation might be shocked to learn that they have to pay federal income tax on those benefits. See TaxWatch.

Americans have always been mobile. Our restlessness is even encouraged somewhat by the Internal Revenue Service's tax deduction for moving expenses. See TaxWatch.

Have you heard about the latest crazy tax deductions? How about the cholesterol deduction? The Willie Nelson write-off? The time machine? Or the stripper who bared her assets? See TaxWatch.

The hard work of putting Americans back to work is facing a new test with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's decision to shelve an $85 billion jobs bill in favor of a narrower version. See Capitol Report.

U.S. companies would get a payroll tax exemption for hiring new workers this year under a draft Senate job-creation bill released Thursday. The draft bill, put out by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, would also make workers eligible for extended unemployment benefits and would let businesses write off certain capital expenses. See Capitol Report.

UBS and Credit Suisse may be neighbors in Zurich, but the Swiss banks have taken a very different path through the financial crisis and nothing has illustrated that more clearly than their ability to attract the world's richest private banking clients.

Taxing Times: Break on unemployment taxes doesn't go far

03:30 - 2010-Feb-12

Summary Box: Viacom 4Q profit up; ads weak

ADVERTISING WEAK: Ad revenue fell 3 percent for media giant Viacom Inc. in the fourth quarter. That is a signal that companies were still cautious about buying commercial time on cable channels like MTV to entice consumers.

COST CUTTING HELPS: Despite a 3 percent drop in revenue to $4.1 billion, net profit quadrupled to $694 million, or $1.14 per share, helped partly by restructuring at movie studio Paramount Pictures free credit report and score.

WHY IT MATTERS: Weak ad spending indicates economic troubles remain. Viacom, however, expects some ad revenue improvement in the current quarter.

Summary Box: Viacom 4Q profit up; ads weak

10:24 - 2010-Feb-11

Healthy Jump in Chinese Exports Points to Recovery in World Trade

HONG KONG — China said Wednesday that its exports climbed 21 percent in January from a year earlier, while imports surged 85.5 percent, the latest sign that world trade is starting to recover from the global financial crisis.

Imports rose impressively, and in line with economists’ expectations, because imports a year ago were so weak. Many Chinese export factories practically stopped buying raw materials then as their orders dried up, but have been restocking since late spring.

China’s exports showed a somewhat smaller increase than expected; the consensus of economists had been that exports increased 28 percent. But the healthy jump in exports last month could still fuel further calls from the United States and the European Union for China to break the peg of its currency, the renminbi, to the dollar and allow the renminbi to appreciate.

China’s exports have recovered more rapidly than most countries’ exports in recent months, partly because the low value of the renminbi has kept Chinese goods relatively inexpensive in foreign markets.

The rebound in Chinese exports has been so rapid that some factory executives in the Pearl River delta region near Hong Kong have begun complaining of shortages of empty steel containers in which to ship their goods. Container shipping companies have begun raising freight rates and remove discounts introduced in response to the financial crisis.

“With the export recovery taking hold more strongly, the outlook for export manufacturing, ports and container shipping sectors appears to be brighter compared to last year,” said Jing Ulrich, the chairman of China equities and commodities at J.P. Morgan, in a research note.

China’s trade surplus was $14.17 billion last month, compared to $18.43 billion in December and $39.1 billion in January of last year, according to figures released on Wednesday by China’s General Administration of Customs.

The trade statistics are the latest sign of China’s robust economic health even as most of the rest of the world still struggles to recover from the global financial crisis payday advance online.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers announced on Tuesday that auto sales in China surged 143 percent from a year earlier and production leaped 124 percent.

A few analysts had expressed fears that auto sales might be weak in January because the government partially rescinded a sales tax cut for cars with engines of 1.6 liters or less. Having cut the tax to 5 percent a year ago, from 10 percent, the government raised it back to 7.5 percent at the start of this year.

But car ownership remains extremely popular in China, personal incomes are rising and consumer confidence is strong. Car dealerships in China have weeks-long waiting lists for many models, and months-long waiting lists for some of the most popular models.

The A-share index on the Shanghai stock exchange climbed 0.58 percent in early trading on Wednesday in response to the auto sales figures, which had been released after the close of trading on Tuesday. With the release of the trade figures just before the lunch break, the index finished the morning up 0.62 percent.

China’s snapshot of its January trade data on Wednesday came the morning after Germany released official data confirming that it had lost its status as the world’s leading exporter, as China overtook it.

Chinese exports amounted to $1.2 trillion in 2009, while German exports totaled $1.1 trillion, the German Federal Statistical Office said.

Germany became the top world exporter in 2003, surpassing the United States. The value of goods exported from United States for the first 11 months of 2009 was $947.5 billion.

Judy Dempsey contributed reporting from Berlin.

Healthy Jump in Chinese Exports Points to Recovery in World Trade

10:00 - 2010-Feb-9

Fashioning rescue not easy for euro zone

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Investors are pressing for a bailout of Greece and possibly other debt-burdened southern European nations, but big questions still surround how policymakers might go about fashioning any such rescue plan, economists said.

"Going forward it seems that the market won't rest until we get what is increasingly likely to be an E.U. bail-out for the peripheral nations," said John Reid, strategist at Deutsche Bank, in a research note. "It's difficult to know what form such a bail-out will take but it seems that E.U. politicians will act at some point in the next few days, weeks or months."

The euro accelerated its recent plunge last week to hit an eight-month low versus the dollar below $1.37 as concerns about the potential for sovereign default spread across the southern euro zone. The euro stabilized versus the dollar Monday, but strategists said the single currency remained vulnerable to further crisis-inspired selling. See currencies.

The cost of insurance against default on Greek, Portuguese and Spanish government debt soared last week. The yield premium demanded by investors to hold southern European debt versus benchmark German bunds has also jumped, further reinforcing worries about debt service costs.

Greek and Spanish default fears appeared to ease somewhat Monday, with credit insurance costs easing slightly from historically high levels. However, shares of Greek lenders including National Bank of Greece took a fresh downturn on worries about their ability to get funds in the market. See Europe Markets.

Portuguese debt insurance costs continued to climb, however, reflecting unease over a parliamentary vote last week to boost regional aid spending.

The move stands in the way of pledges by the Portuguese government to slash its deficit.

Public sector workers are striking in Greece in protest of massive budget cuts. Uncertainty over the Spanish government's ability to get the cooperation of public unions and powerful regional governments in its deficit-cutting efforts also looms.

News reports say officials on the European Commission, the executive arm of the 27-nation European Union, have privately indicated they would back a bailout. But German remarks indicate such a move would be a tough sell in Berlin, observers said.

"Greece has to realize that when you break the rules over a long period of time, you have to pay a high price," German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told reporters in Iqaluit, Canada, at the weekend meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers, according to news reports.

At the same time, Luxembourg's Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the group of euro-zone finance ministers, effectively warned the International Monetary Fund to steer clear of Greece business cards.

"We told our partners we had to solve the problem ourselves," he said.

Although the Maastricht Treaty, which set the criteria for monetary union, carried a no-bailout clause, experts have widely noted that the recently ratified Lisbon Treaty carries an exception that allows for assistance in the case of "exceptional" circumstances.

"While we can certainly thinks of lots of reasons why the Germans probably would accede to a request for a pan-European bailout ... the one thing that is equally apparent to me is that whenever we've looked for the Germans to cave on this kind of stuff in the past, the Germans have tended to hold the line," said Simon Derrick, chief currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon.

European stocks managed to look somewhere other than Greece, Spain and Portugal early Monday, but don't bet on that lasting.

The German Bundesbank's unwillingness to ease interest rates in 1992 was blamed for the British pound's ejection from the European exchange-rate mechanism, a framework that pegged exchange rates within the euro zone. The Bundesbank also refused to relent in 1993 as the French franc came under pressure, forcing a re-fashioning of the ERM's currency bands.

Moreover, Berlin seems focused on "a very clear social contract drawn up between the German government and the German populace that they wouldn't bail out the rest of Europe, and I don't in my heart of hearts think that's changed," Derrick said.

For now, European officials appear reluctant to indicate a bailout, said Richard McGuire, fixed-income strategist at RBC Capital Markets.

That's partly because they want to avoid the "extreme moral hazard" implicit in promising a bailout, he said. Also, they appear to hope that market forces will further help push national policy makers to undertake the heavy lifting needed to put their budgets in order.

"Crucially, however, the bailing out of one country would immediately see the market speculate over the bailing out of another. This both stands to underpin the euro-zone authorities' reticence to provide such a backstop while highlighting the likelihood that, were such assistance to be offered, it would not be localized," he said, in a research note.

As a result, the establishment of a centralized fund that could be tapped by troubled member states could prove more appealing than a bridge loan from one member to another, he said, but noted that the political hurdles involved in "such an implicit fiscal centralization" would make it difficult to set up any time soon.

Fashioning rescue not easy for euro zone

09:18 - 2010-Feb-8

Labor Market Shows Signs of Rebirth in New Data

The unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped to 9.7 percent in January, from 10 percent in December, the government reported Friday, buoying hopes that the worst job market in at least a quarter-century is finally improving.

But a different survey in the Labor Department’s report found that the economy lost 20,000 net jobs during the month, muddying the picture and underscoring the formidable struggles still confronting millions of Americans. Yet with the pace of decline slowing, most experts focused on signs that the economy was recovering after the longest recession since the Great Depression.

Manufacturing added 11,000 jobs in January, the first monthly increase since November 2007, while the length of the average workweek rose slightly at factories. The economy added 52,000 temporary workers, and average wages increased modestly, amplifying the view that commercial activity is reawakening after two years of hibernation.

“The economy is continuing to improve,” said John E. Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, N.C. “You don’t have a boom, but you have an economic recovery. It’s a positive sign.”

Despite encouraging indications for the future, the government’s monthly snapshot of the labor market revealed that last year’s collapse was considerably more severe than previously recorded. And the report came wrapped in substantial statistical uncertainty, intensifying debate about the staying power and vigor of the apparent recovery.

The Labor Department revised previous data to show that the economy contained 1.36 million fewer jobs in December, a downward adjustment of roughly 1 percent. The revisions showed the economy lost 150,000 jobs in December, far more than the 85,000 initially reported.

In calculating the unemployment rate, the report used new census estimates of the population, an annual adjustment. That prompted some economists to dismiss the drop in the jobless rate as a statistical quirk, though the Labor Department said the change was negligible.

“Everyone goes crazy over today’s number,” said Joshua Shapiro, chief United States economist at MFR Inc. in New York, “but history has been rewritten.”

Mr. Shapiro focused on the economic anxiety and tight finances that still grip many households, suggesting this would dampen consumer spending, which represents more than two-thirds of the economy. That would keep employers reluctant to hire.

“The question is, what is the rate of improvement going to be?” he asked. “Very slow.”

The Obama administration portrayed the report as grounds for cautious optimism.

“It’s somewhat encouraging,” said Christina D. Romer, who leads the president’s council of economic advisers. “The overall number is too high. You can’t look at 9.7 percent unemployment and say that’s anything but a tragedy.”

Ms. Romer acknowledged that she and her colleagues failed to grasp the magnitude of the employment crisis last year when putting together a $787 billion package of spending measures aimed at stimulating economic growth. The administration had assumed that without the stimulus the unemployment rate would top out at 8.9 percent by the end of last year, considerably below the 10.1 percent rate reached in October, which now represents the peak.

“Forecasting is a difficult business,” she said, adding that she felt “pretty confident” the economy would produce sustained job growth by the spring.

Economists remain divided on that prognosis. Some envision the jobless rate reaching nearly 11 percent by the end of the year, which would raise the prospect of new shocks to the system: a retreat in consumer spending and renewed fears in the banking system as jobless people lose the wherewithal to pay their mortgages guaranteed cash advance.

Such visions are at the center of concerns that the end of this recession may signal the beginning of a long period of disappointingly slow growth, or perhaps just a pause before another downturn.

Construction continued to suffer in January, losing 75,000 net jobs. Transportation and warehousing lost 19,000 net jobs. State and local governments collectively lost 41,000 jobs.

Small companies complain that loans remain exceedingly difficult to secure, limiting their ability to expand and hire. The Obama administration is seeking Congressional approval for a measure that would direct $30 billion toward loans for small businesses.

In Cleveland, Kirk K. Meurer, the owner of an office furniture store with 30 employees, has frozen wages and stopped buying new cars to trim costs. He has a $250,000 line of credit, but complains that it has been difficult to persuade his bank to lend more.

“I’m being very frugal with my decisions,” Mr. Meurer said. “For us to hire, we need to see a turn in the economy.”

Many economists saw in Friday’s jobs report heartening signs that such a turn had arrived.

For months, American businesses have expanded their production while continuing to shrink the work force. The January data — particularly the increase in manufacturing and the hours worked — suggested that employers finally felt enough confidence in expanding business opportunities to add to their payrolls.

Health care, long a bright spot in a dismal economy, grew by 17,000 jobs. Retailing gained 42,000 jobs, and professional and business services added 44,000.

“We’ve seen a surge in demand for graphic designers and people who create display advertising for the Web,” said Fabio Rosati, chief executive of Elance, an online job market for freelance computer programmers and other tech-related workers. “There’s been an increase in confidence among employers.”

Adding to the sense that employers are finally inclined to add labor, the number of so-called involuntary part-time workers — people who cannot find full-time jobs, or whose hours have been cut — fell to 8.3 million in January, from 9.2 million.

But even among the signs of improvement, the report presented unambiguous evidence that these remain grim days for millions of ordinary people.

The unemployment rate reached 16.5 percent among African-Americans, 12.6 percent among Hispanics, and 26.4 percent among teenagers.

“African-Americans and Latinos continue to bear the brunt of this economic recession,” Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California, said in a written statement. “We cannot in good conscience welcome these numbers without acknowledging the disparity that exists between the general population and communities of color.”

The so-called underemployment rate — which counts involuntary part-time workers along with people who have given up looking for jobs — was 16.5 percent in January. That amounted to an improvement from the 17.3 percent a month earlier, yet it was nearly double the level of three years ago.

Those who have been out of work for six months or longer swelled to 6.3 million in January, from 6.1 million in December, the highest level since the government began tracking such data in 1948.

“Things are getting bad less rapidly,” said Dean Baker, co-director of the liberal Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. “We’re sort of hitting bottom, but there is no evidence of a robust turnaround.”

Javier C. Hernandez contributed reporting.

Labor Market Shows Signs of Rebirth in New Data

07:36 - 2010-Feb-7

Economic Report: Jobless rate falls to lowest level since August

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- By one measure, the labor market showed signs of healing in January, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The unemployment rate fell to 9.7% in January from 10% in December, the government said. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected the unemployment rate to remain steady in double-digits.

The Obama administration has cast some straws in the wind that suggest an effort at rapprochement with the business community. WSJ's Gerald Seib reports on the White House's new efforts to work together with the Chamber of Commerce.

In the survey of households used to figure the unemployment rate, the government reported employment rose by 511,000, while unemployment fell by 430,000. The labor force rose by 11,000.

These were the factors that led to the lowest unemployment rate since August.

Economists said it was possible that the unemployment rate peaked at 10.1% in October.

Immediately after the report was released, Wall Street stock futures pared losses, and futures added to bets that the Fed would hike rates. The dollar cut its gains.

But in a separate survey of business establishments, the U.S. economy lost 20,000 nonfarm jobs in January. Read full government data.

This was worse than expected. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were forecasting payrolls to rise 25,000. Read forecast of all major U.S. indicators

But the payroll data include benchmark revisions and other special factors that may make them a less reliable indicator this month. One special factor was temporary hiring by the federal government for the 2010 Census. In January, 9,000 workers were hired.

In January, job losses continued for construction and in transportation. A positive sign was that temporary service employment increased.

Employment in the manufacturing sector increased for the first month since January 2007.

The department said 35,000 jobs were lost on average over the past three months. This is a much slower pace than the 103,000-per-month average in the three months ended in December online cash advance.

In another sign of some healing, an alternative gauge of unemployment, which includes discouraged workers and those forced to work part time, fell to 16.5% in January from 17.3% in December.

In addition, the number of persons working part time who would have preferred full-time employment dropped to 8.3 million in January from 9.2 million in December. This is the lowest level in a year.

Despite the signs of improvement, the official data also reflect that this recession has been the worst in terms of job losses since World War II.

S&P 500 (1 YEAR)

Under the revisions released Friday, job losses since the start of the recession in December 2007 totaled 8.4 million. This was in line with expectations. See data preview: Massive revision will show recession was even worse

The economy lost 4.8 million jobs in 2009.

Average hourly earnings increased 5 cents, or 0.3%, to $18.89. Economists had been expecting a 0.2% gain.

This is a new measure that includes all workers. Earnings are up 2% in the past year. The average workweek rose six minutes to 33.9 hours.

Within the goods-producing industries, manufacturing added 11,000 jobs. The manufacturing workweek rose 18 minutes to 39.9 hours and factory overtime increased.

Retail companies increased payrolls by 42,000 in January. Professional and business services gained 44,000 jobs, mostly in temporary help positions.

Government lost 8,000 jobs despite the gain in census workers.

Economic Report: Jobless rate falls to lowest level since August

03:36 - 2010-Feb-5

Macys posts 3.4 percent rise in January sales

CINCINNATI – Macy's Inc. raised its earnings outlook Thursday after posting improved sales in January, a sign that shoppers are returning to the department store after it suffered more than many retailers in the recession.

The department store operator said Thursday that sales in stores open at least a year rose 3.4 percent in January, helped by its strategy of localizing store management.

The improvement was better than Wall Street expected. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters projected flat sales.

Macy's net sales rose 3 faxless payday loan.4 percent to about $1.26 billion.

The company also raised its fourth quarter earnings outlook to between $1.35 and $1.37 per share. Analysts expect $1.18.

The department store's stock jumped 76 cents, or 4.7 percent, to $17 in premarket trading.

Macy's full-year sales at stores open more than a year fell 5.3 percent, while net sales fell 5.6 percent to $23.49 billion.

Macy's posts 3.4 percent rise in January sales

10:30 - 2010-Feb-4

Fiat workers strike over Sicily plant plans

ROME – Fiat workers across Italy are going on strike to protest plans to end auto production at a Sicilian plant next year.

Wednesday's four-hour strike, which began at 8:00 a.m. (7:00 GMT), marked the first nationwide work stoppage since CEO Sergio Marchionne took over the company in 2004 and mounted its turnaround.

Fiat SpA has insisted auto production must stop at the plant because of the high cost — about euro1,000 ($1,400) per car — of transporting parts from northern Italy to the Termini Imerese plant on the southern island no fax payday loans. Fiat has said it would study ways of revamping the plant to build other things, perhaps components, but has insisted auto production must stop.

Unions say they expected all 80,000 Fiat workers in Italy to strike to protest the plans.

Fiat workers strike over Sicily plant plans

02:06 - 2010-Feb-3