On Friday December 3, 2010, 6:03 pm EST
Job growth weak for Nov. in
setback for economy
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
nation added only a trickle of jobs in November, far fewer than experts had
expected and a reminder that the economy is still recovering only fitfully.
The job market was weak all
around: Stores, factories, construction companies and financial firms all cut
positions. The unemployment rate nudged closer to double digits again -- 9.8
percent, after three straight months at 9.6 percent.
Employers added 39,000 jobs
for the month, the Labor Department said Friday.
The report caught
economists off guard. They had predicted 150,000 new jobs after the economy
added 172,000 in October -- which had been enough to qualify as a hiring spurt in
this anemic post-recession economy.
Stocks recover ground after
weak employment report
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks
staged a late afternoon rally after spending most of the day weighed down by an
unexpected rise in the unemployment rate. Indexes wound up closing higher for
the third straight day.
The Dow Jones industrial
average rose 2.6 percent for the week, its best weekly gain since hitting a
2010 high on Nov. 5. The Dow is now just 0.5 percent below that level.
Materials and energy
companies led the rebound, and oil and gold prices rose.
Panel recommends expanding
use of stomach bands
WASHINGTON (AP) -- About 12
million more obese Americans could soon be eligible to get surgery to implant a
small, flexible stomach band designed to help them lose weight by dramatically
limiting their food intake.
The FDA will make a final
decision on the Lap-Band in the coming months. On Friday, a panel of FDA
advisers recommended expanding use of the device to include patients who are
mildly obese.
The device from Allergan Inc.
is currently implanted in roughly 100,000 people each year. It usually helps
patients lose 50 pounds or more and has been limited to patients who are
morbidly obese.
US, South Korea reach
highly coveted trade deal
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S.
and South Korea have reached an agreement on the largest trade pact in more
than a decade, a highly coveted deal the Obama administration hopes will boost
American exports and create tens of thousands of U.S. jobs.
After a week of marathon
negotiations, representatives from both countries broke through a stalemate
Friday morning on outstanding issues related to the automobile industry, which
have been a sticking point in the talks.
The agreement would be the
largest U.S. trade deal since the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement with
Canada and Mexico, and would bolster U.S. economic ties with South Korea, the
world's 12th largest economy. The deal is often referred to as NAFTA.
US drilling decisions
ripple on 2 coasts
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Less
than a year ago, struggling states and coastal towns saw crude exploration off
the Gulf Coast and Atlantic seaboard as economic salvation.
Yet the backlash from the
BP oil spill -- most recently the Obama administration's decision this week not
to open up some of that area to new drilling -- has residents wondering if the
industry will ever thrive again in U.S. waters.
Some fear an exodus of oil
rigs in search of friendlier waters overseas. And with each passing day, folks
that rely on deepwater drilling say the damage is multiplying, creating a
ripple affect from blue-collar Main Street to beachside drives. They warn it
will only get worse.
WikiLeaks fights to stay
online amid attacks
LONDON (AP) -- WikiLeaks
became an Internet vagabond Friday, moving from one website to another as
governments and hackers hounded the organization, trying to deprive it of a
direct line to the public.
The organization that has
embarrassed Washington and foreign leaders by releasing a cache of secret --
and brutally frank -- U.S. diplomatic cables found a new home after an American
company stopped directing traffic to wikileaks.org. Then French officials moved
to oust it from its new site.
By late Friday, WikiLeaks
was up in at least three new places.
Viacom replays copyright claims
in YouTube appeal
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --
Viacom Inc. is seeking to overturn a court decision that dismissed its claims
of copyright abuse against YouTube even though the Internet video site used to
show thousands of pirated clips.
The challenge filed Friday
in a federal appeals court in New York had been expected since a June ruling
rebuffed Viacom's copyright infringement lawsuit against YouTube and its owner,
Google Inc.
Viacom's renewed effort to
collect more than $1 billion in alleged damages from Google is the latest twist
in a closely watched legal battle that has already dragged on for nearly four
years. Oral argument on the appeal probably won't happen until at least next
summer.
For now, China dominates
the US IPO market
NEW YORK (AP) -- Chinese
companies are poised to dominate the U.S. IPO market next week.
Of the nine companies
scheduled to conduct initial public offerings, six are from China and one is
from Taiwan. If all go to market as planned, it will be a record number of
Chinese companies listing in the U.S. in the same week, according to data
provider Dealogic.
The companies drawing big
investor interest are E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc., which is modeled after
online store Amazon.com Inc., and Youku.com Inc., an Asian mash-up of popular
U.S. online video websites Hulu and YouTube.
Debt crisis is changing
Europe's currency union
BRUSSELS (AP) -- Europe and
the euro will never be the same.
The debt crisis is forcing
governments to rewrite some of the eurozone's most fundamental rules. While
some see the current turmoil as the slow-motion wreckage of the common currency
bloc, others maintain Europe will have the political resolve to keep it
together and even bring it closer together.
Either way, one thing is
clear: Thanks to new debt and bailout rules being agreed among the 16 eurozone
nations, Europe's monetary union will be forever altered, even if it survives
the crisis.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial
average rose 19.68, or 0.2 percent, to close at 11,382.09.
The Standard & Poor's
500 rose 3.18, or 0.3 percent, to 1,224.71. The Nasdaq composite index rose
12.11, or 0.5 percent, to 2,591.46.
Benchmark oil settled up
$1.19 at $89.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. There are
widespread expectations that the price will hit $90 a barrel by year's end and
head toward $100 a barrel by next spring when traders begin looking ahead to
the summer driving season.
In other Nymex trading in
January contracts, heating oil rose 3.28 cents to settle at $2.4874 a gallon,
gasoline slipped 0.32 cent to $2.3521 a gallon and natural gas gained 0.6 cent
to $4.349 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude rose
78 cents to $91.42 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange.