UNEMPLOYMENT

Friday's job report for March showed 121,000 hires -- the first figures in five months showing job growth under 200,000.

Leading indicators in the Labor Department's March employment report, released Friday, suggest that the U.S. economic recovery may have run out of gas, David A. Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff & Associates Inc., said in a note.

Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutharika died following a heart attack on Thursday, according to government officials.

Stock futures on U.S. indexes, which stopped trading at 9:15 a.m. EDT because of the Good Friday holiday, plunged after the Labor Department reported weaker-than-expected jobs numbers for March.

Payrolls rose far less than expected in March, keeping the door open for further monetary policy support from the Federal Reserve, even as the unemployment rate fell to a three-year low of 8.2 percent.

U.S. employers hired 120,000 workers in March, well below economists' forecast, and the smallest gain since October, signaling the economy could be losing momentum.

The U.S. economy is expected to expand at a disappointing pace in 2012, similar to the tepid 1.7 percent growth rate achieved in 2011, despite recent job gains, according to economists at HSBC, who said wages have failed to keep up.

The number of Americans lining up for new jobless benefits dropped to the lowest level in nearly four years last week, according to a government report that showed ongoing healing in the labor market.

Stocks traded flat to slightly higher Thursday after two straight days of declines as jobless claims data showing improvement in the U.S. labor market helped offset revived concerns about the euro zone's fiscal stability.

The number of Americans lining up for new jobless benefits dropped to the lowest level in nearly four years last week, according to a government report that showed ongoing healing in the labor market.

The suicide of a 77-year-old pensioner outside of Greece's parliament has become a symbol of the nation's pain after an economic crisis brought on a host of austerity cuts and caused protests in Athens.

A pharmacist ought to be able to live comfortably on his pension. So for him to reach the point of suicide out of economic hardship means a lot. It shows how the social fabric is unraveling, an activist in Athens said.

Spanish borrowing costs Thursday hit their highest levels since before the European Central Bank launched two massive liquidity injections to keep the euro zone's financial system from freezing up.

A pair of unexpectedly downbeat economic reports from Germany and the UK on Thursday added to fears of a recession in the euro zone and fueled doubts that manufacturing could power the region's economic recovery.

The Bank of England held back from giving Britain's fragile recovery an extra boost on Thursday, as the economy appears to have avoided falling into recession despite a shock drop in manufacturing output in the first months of 2012.

Claims for jobless benefits fell to 357,000 last week, building up toward a solid March nonfarm payroll report that is scheduled to come out on Friday. Some economists though still fear that the improvement in the U.S. economy seen so far this year could be just another false start.

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a lower opening Thursday ahead of key weekly jobless claims from the government.

Last year we woke up to headlines involving the home of the Acropolis and one of the worst debt situations in recent history – Greece.

China's rise has unsettled many Westerners, especially Americans who fear Chinese influence could overwhelm that of the U.S. As the U.S. struggles through economic recovery, will China seize its chance to lead the world?

By resigning, the president becomes eligible for an emergency election expected to take place May 6, and it opens the door to a challenge from opposition leader Tomislav Nikolic, who favors stronger ties with Russia.

Fresh figures on business activity and retail sales in the 17-member currency area reinforce earlier signs of recession, even as the European Central Bank left its main interest rate unchanged at an all-time low of 1 percent.