TJX Companies Inc will shut down its A.J. Wright clothing stores, cutting about 4,400 jobs and taking a charge of $150 million to $170 million, as it focuses on its core off-price retail brands like T.J. Maxx and Marshalls.
Ford Motor Co plans to add 1,800 autoworker jobs and invest $600 million to overhaul its Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky, which will make the next generation of its Escape small SUV.
Stocks rose modestly on Thursday after encouraging labor market data renewed optimism the fragile economic recovery was track, but gains were limited by a decline in the euro.
Stock futures rose modestly on Thursday as Treasuries steadied after a jump in yields, while data on the labor market was expected later in the morning.
Longer-term, the potential impact of the tax cuts upon the stock market and economy remain rather fuzzy, given the multitude of other issues facing investors, including perpetually high unemployment in the U.S., a seemingly never-ending sovereign debt crisis in Europe and constant friction with China over trade and currency.
Tax cuts and increased government spending designed to support and grow the economy are fiscal stimulus measures. President Obama's compromise with the Republicans will give America both.
The number of job openings in the U.S. climbed to 3.4-million at the end of October, up from 3-million in the prior month, according to data from the Labor Department.
Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen AG plans to hire around 50,000 workers worldwide in the medium-term, including 5,000-6,000 in Germany by 2015.
The United States is expected to see weak employment prospects though employers expect the modest hiring pace to continue in the first three months of the year, a survey reported.
S&P 500 Index slid 3.63 points, or 0.31 percent, to trade at 1,220.95 at 09:55 a.m. EST. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 30.08 points, or 0.26 percent, to trade at 11,352.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.28 percent to trade at 2,584.64.
During the negotiations (with the U.S.), I did not think of Yeonpyeong Island or the USS George Washington. I have just mulled over the benefits and losses in terms of trade, South Korean trade minister Kim Jong-hoon said, apparently to refute criticism that Seoul gave away ground to the U.S. in the aftermath of the geopolitical crisis precipitated by last week’s shelling by North Korea on South’s islands.
Futures on the S&P 500 are down 0.30 percent to 1,219.80, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are down 0.21 percent to 11,340.00 and Nasdaq100 futures are down 0.19 percent to 2,183.00.
Youth unemployment is a growing problem and the implications are frightening. Young people are suffering high levels of unemployment in many parts of the world as global economic uncertainty continues.
While the Great Recession has raised the unemployment rates for virtually all Americans, it has served to heighten what has already existed as a long-term trend: the declining employment levels of American men, particularly those who are less educated.
A downbeat jobs report boosted shorter-dated U.S. government debt prices on Friday, paring back traders' expectations of faster U.S. economic growth in reaction to a recent string of upbeat data.
The unemployment rate in the U.S. surprisingly edged up in November after remaining constant for three months, the U.S. Labor Department reported on Friday.
U.S. stocks edged mostly lower on Friday as Wall Street shook off an unexpectedly weak payrolls report, while investors were reassured by the broader economic picture and the likelihood the Federal Reserve would stay the course on its stimulus plan.
USD/CAD is technically poised for a bounce back from current levels just above parity, but given the uncertainty about key data due later in the day, one should also be prepared for a move on the other side, which could easily take the pair to 0.9976 (S1) support.
Wall Street mostly shrugged off a weaker-than-expected payrolls report on Friday, leaving stocks little changed as the data didn't alter investors' view the economic recovery is on track.
Wall Street's largest two-day rally in three months will be tested by jobs data on Friday, with some in the market predicting a strong report that will push the S&P 500 to a fresh two-year high.
European shares were little changed in early trade ahead of the release of fresh U.S. jobs data later on Friday, while the euro also paused for breath after bouncing from a 2-1/2 month low.
The U.S. dollar was steady on Friday ahead of payrolls data for November that could show more evidence of a strengthening recovery and give investors a reason to push benchmark U.S. Treasury yields above 3 percent and put more money in equities.
