Unexpected drop in jobless rate sparks optimism
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A
surprising drop in the unemployment rate and far fewer job losses last month
raised hopes Friday for a sustained economic recovery.
The rate unexpectedly fell
to 10 percent, from 10.2 percent in October, as employers cut the fewest number
of jobs since the recession began. The government also said 159,000 fewer jobs
were lost in September and October than first reported.
If part-time workers who
want full time jobs and laid-off workers who have given up looking for jobs are
included, the so-called underemployment rate also fell, to 17.2 percent from
17.5 percent in October.
Stocks edge higher as
employers cut fewer jobs
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors
grew more confident about the economy but also worried that a brighter
employment picture will mean rising interest rates.
Stocks closed higher Friday
but only after giving up much of their earlier gains. Indexes touched new highs
for year in the morning following news that job cuts fell sharply in November,
but that report also brought expectations that the Federal Reserve could hike
rates or remove other supports from the economy. Treasurys and gold fell as
demand for safe-haven investments eased.
Jitters about interest
rates left the Dow Jones industrial average ended with a gain of just 23 points
to 10,388.90, having been up as much as 151 points earlier. Stocks posted gains
for the week.
GM CEO shuffles managers,
seeks culture change
DETROIT (AP) -- General
Motors Co. Chairman Ed Whitacre Jr. urged the troubled automaker's employees to
forget their old bureaucratic culture, telling them Friday not to fear being
fired for taking risks.
Whitacre, who also
announced key management changes, wants to speed up the automaker's shift to an
entrepreneurial culture where decisions are made quickly.
In a 45-minute presentation
that was broadcast to employees on internal television networks and over the
Internet, Whitacre also unveiled a mission statement to design, build and sell
the world's best vehicles.
Drugmakers, FDA move to
curb painkiller abuse
WASHINGTON (AP) --
Pharmaceutical executives laid out plans Friday to prevent the misuse of
prescription painkillers, under pressure from regulators trying to stop
hundreds of fatal overdoses each year.
But Food and Drug
Administration officials said industry's proposals were short on specifics and
that more work is needed before any measures are put in place.
Johnson & Johnson, King
Pharmaceuticals and other drugmakers proposed using patient medication guides,
letters to doctors and additional physician training to curb inappropriate use
and prescribing of painkillers.
Govt: Some $600M to go to
energy plants
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- The
federal government is speeding up plans to produce more renewable fuels,
announcing Friday it will spend nearly $600 million to help build plants that
turn wood chips, cornstalks and algae into fuel.
The government will team up
with private companies to create 19 biorefinery projects in 15 states. The government's
$564 million share will come from stimulus funds and will be combined with $700
million in private investments.
The ideas range from
scooping up algae from ponds in New Mexico and converting it to jet fuel to
using wood waste from a wall panel company in Michigan to make ethanol.
Obama: Jobs plan will
'jump-start' hiring
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- Even
as he trumpeted a slowdown in the nation's job losses Friday, President Barack
Obama put finishing touches on a proposal he'll unveil next week to "jump-start"
business hiring across America.
In a speech from Washington
on Tuesday, Obama plans to send Congress an initial list of ideas he supports
for a new jobs bill. Among the ideas he will likely endorse is the expansion of
a program that gives people cash incentives to fix up their homes with
energy-saving materials, two senior administration officials said. They spoke
on condition of anonymity because the package, and Obama's speech, are still
being crafted and could change through the weekend and beyond.
Factory orders rise
unexpectedly in October
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Orders
to U.S. factories unexpectedly rose in October, the sixth gain in the past
seven months. It was further evidence that the manufacturing sector is
beginning to recover, which will help support the overall economy.
Orders rose 0.6 percent in
October, the Commerce Department said Friday, much better than the flat reading
that economists had expected. A jump in demand for commercial aircraft and
petroleum products led the gain.
Orders for durable goods,
items expected to last three years, rose 0.6 percent, unchanged from a
preliminary estimate last week. Orders for nondurable goods rose 1.6 percent,
propelled by gains in demand for petroleum, chemicals, plastics and food.
Kraft takes $16.3B offer to
Cadbury shareholders
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) --
Kraft Foods Inc. took its $16.3 billion hostile takeover offer for Cadbury PLC
straight to shareholders of the British candy company on Friday.
The deal is nearly
unchanged from an earlier offer that was rejected by Cadbury. But by putting it
directly in shareholder hands, Kraft starts the clock on a series of regulatory
deadlines to get the majority support it needs and may flush out rival bids.
Kraft announced in
September that it proposed a takeover of Cadbury and formally issued the bid in
November. Cadbury immediately rejected the offer, saying it undervalued the
company.
The offer includes 300
pence in cash and 0.2589 new Kraft shares for each Cadbury share.
Dollar soars after
unemployment rate drops
NEW YORK (AP) -- The dollar
leaped higher Friday after the government said the U.S. unemployment rate
dropped to 10 percent in November, leading traders to weigh chances that the
Federal Reserve might begin raising interest rates sooner than they had expected.
The 16-nation euro dropped
to $1.4827 in late New York trading from $1.5092 late Thursday. Before the
government's release at 8:30 a.m. in New York, the euro had traded above $1.50.
The British pound slid to
$1.6429 from $1.6566, while the dollar leapt to 90.70 Japanese yen from 88.21
yen.
Against a basket of six
currencies, the dollar was up 1.6 percent since the government's jobs report.
State regulator: Jury still
out on SEC post-Madoff
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
Securities and Exchange Commission culture that allowed the Madoff fraud
scandal to go undetected for nearly two decades may not change and the agency
isn't doing enough to support investor protection proposals in Congress,
according to a top state regulator.
Denise Voigt Crawford,
president of the North American Securities Administrators Association, blasted
the SEC for what she said has been too-weak support for provisions in financial
overhaul legislation aimed at bolstering investor protection.
By The Associated Press
The Dow ended with a gain
of 22.75, or 0.2 percent, to 10,388.90 after reaching a 2009 high of 10,516.70
in early trading.
The broader Standard &
Poor's 500 index rose 6.06, or 0.6 percent, to 1,105.98, after setting a 2009
high of 1,119.13.
The Nasdaq composite index
rose 21.21, or 1 percent, to 2,194.35, reaching a high for the year of
2,214.39.
Benchmark crude for January
delivery lost 99 cents to settle at $75.47 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. The contract slumped as low as $74.85 earlier in the day.
In London, Brent crude for
January delivery gave up 84 cents to settle at $77.52 on the ICE Futures
exchange.
In other Nymex trading in
January contracts, heating oil fell 2.27 cents to settle at $2.0268 a gallon,
and gasoline lost 1.8 cents to settle at $1.975 a gallon. Natural gas rose 12.7
cents to settle at $4.586 per 1,000 cubic feet.