JOBS

The number of workers filing for jobless aid fell sharply last week and a gauge of underlying labor market trends hit a 1-1/2 year low, boosting hopes the economy is on the verge of creating jobs.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday as sovereign debt concerns remained in focus ahead of a meeting of European leaders to help Greece, while investors awaited data on first-time U.S. jobless claims.

Industrial group Fiat SpA aims to raise the number of job cuts in Italy to 5,000 and may spin off its car activities sooner than thought, an Italian newspaper said on Wednesday, sharply boosting its shares.

J.M. Smucker Co on Wednesday said it would cut about 700 jobs, or 15 percent of its workforce, as it plans to revamp its supply chain in a bid to boost profitability of its leading brands.

Carmaker Fiat is seen cutting 5,000 jobs as part of its strategic plan due to be unveiled next month while at the same time increasing Italian production by 50 percent, newspaper la Repubblica reported.

President Barack Obama signed into law a $17.6 billion jobs bill on Thursday and sounded an optimistic note about the U.S. economy, saying it may soon begin adding jobs instead of losing them.

Stock index futures remained little changed on Thursday after data showed first-time applications for jobless insurance ticked lower in the latest week, and U.S. consumer prices were unexpectedly unchanged in February.

Stock index futures dipped on Thursday, one day after the Dow pushed to a 17-month high, while investors awaited data on consumer inflation and the labor market.

Plenty of people download music from the Internet every day, but illegal downloading has a huge economic impact and could put more than one million people out of work by 2015, experts say.

Delta Air Lines Inc said it could cut 840 jobs at a subsidiary that provides ground-handling operations as part of a plan to consolidate operations in Cincinnati in May to save costs.

Apple Inc has awarded its chief operating officer a bonus valued at $22 million for leading the company while Chief Executive Steve Jobs was on 6-months' medical leave last year.

Top executives at aerospace group EADS will see their bonuses hit after the cost debacle surrounding the delayed A400M military transport aircraft, but staff will mostly be spared, its top personnel executive said on Thursday.

A study paid for by Boeing Co found that a Boeing-built aerial tanker would create 10 times as many new U.S. jobs as the now-withdrawn plan by Northrop Grumman Corp and EADS .

Chevron Corp , the second-largest U.S. oil company, put several of its downstream operations up for sale, including its Pembroke refinery in the UK, and said it would eliminate 2,000 jobs this year.

Chevron Corp, the second-largest U.S. oil company, said it planned to put several downstream operations up for sale, including its Pembroke refinery in the UK, and eliminate 2,000 jobs this year.

Chevron Corp , the second-largest U.S. oil company, said it planned to put several downstream operations up for sale, including its Pembroke refinery in the UK, and eliminate 2,000 jobs this year.

The widely held outlook that U.S. unemployment will ease this year may be overly rosy if companies continue to boost productivity at faster-than-usual levels, economists from the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank said in a study released on Monday.

Stocks jumped and the Nasdaq hit an 18-month closing high on Friday as U.S. employers cut fewer jobs than expected last month and consumers showed signs of shedding their penny-pinching ways.

The dollar soared against the yen on Friday after a government report showed U.S. employers cut fewer jobs than expected last month, boosting hopes a U.S. economic recovery was on track. The renewed optimism also encouraged investors to buy stocks and high-yield currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars, while the euro rose as concern about Greece's debt crisis ebbed after Thursday's successful debt auction.

New York gold futures rose on Friday, boosted by an oil rally and as the dollar cut initial gains following February's U.S. non-farm payrolls report.* For the latest detailed report.

Oil rose to a seven-week high above $82 a barrel on Friday after a report showed the United States lost fewer jobs than expected in February and on signals China will maintain its economic stimulus measures.