JOBS

The last week of summer could prove to be anything but relaxing for stock investors worried about the economy, with the crucial August jobs report on the agenda.

Whirlpool Corp plans to shut a plant in Evansville, Indiana and move some production to Mexico next year, a change that will eliminate about 1.6 percent of the world's biggest appliance maker's workforce.

Whirlpool Corp plans to shut a manufacturing facility in Evansville, Indiana, and move some production to Mexico next year, a change that will eliminate about 1.6 percent of its workforce.

With the U.S. economy mired in recession, workers are finding themselves stuck in bad jobs with such annoyances as managers who berate employees and bosses who hold meetings in bed.

NEW YORK - Stock index futures were little changed on Thursday ahead of data expected to show that the U.S. economy shrank further in the second quarter and the number of jobless claims improved slightly.

Stock index futures edged lower on Thursday ahead of data expected to show that the U.S. economy shrank in the second quarter while the number of jobless claims improved slightly.

Germany's Linde (LING.DE) will cut up 8 percent of its workforce in Germany as part of a cost-savings programme to help weather the financial crisis, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

Britain's Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), 43 percent owned by the UK government, will cut 200 jobs in its general insurance division by the end of January in a shake-up of back office functions, the bank said on Tuesday.

Workers at a crisis-hit boiler factory in France have stripped off for a nude calendar in a bid to save 204 jobs slated for redundancy.

While businesses across the United States slash jobs, state and local governments have actually increased employment slightly since the economic recession began in December 2007, according to a report released on Thursday.

Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs was reportedly rejected two years ago by former Palm Inc. CEO Ed Colligan when he asked for an agreement between the two companies that required them to not poach each other's workers.

Stock index futures briefly turned negative on Thursday after weekly data showed an unexpected rise in first-time claims for jobless benefits.

When it comes to Apple's tablet rumor, the plot thickened today.

Apple Inc. will hold its music event Sep. 9 but it won't debut a tablet as previously speculated, according to reports Tuesday.

U.S. stocks edged lower on Thursday as gloomy government reports on retail sales and employment undercut hopes that the economy was on the road to recovery.

U.S. stock index futures rose more than 1 percent on Thursday after Wal-Mart Stores Inc reported second-quarter results that topped Wall Street's expectations, boosting investors' confidence in consumer spending ahead of a government report on July retail sales.

The dollar retained most of its gains against a basket of currencies on Monday but lost ground to the yen as Japanese exporters and short-term speculators took advantage of its jump the previous session on U.S. jobs data.

Stocks rallied on Friday, pushing the Standard & Poor's 500 to a 10-month high as the July jobs report was less bleak than feared and underpinned hopes the economy was on track for recovery.

The U.S. unemployment rate fell in July for the first time in 15 months as employers cut far fewer jobs than expected, giving the clearest indication yet that the economy was turning around from a deep recession.

Stocks shot up on Friday, pushing the S&P 500 to a 10-month high, as stronger-than-expected July non-farm payroll data underpinned hopes that the economy was on track for recovery.

Oil fell from six-week highs on Friday, pressured by gains in the dollar following the release of better-than-expected U.S. job-loss numbers.