UNEMPLOYMENT

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.

A moderate stock rally fueled by a compromise between President Obama and Republicans on tax extensions and unemployment benefits petered out in late-session trading, resulting in a narrowly mixed results for major equity indices.

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.

The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index fell during December from the previous month, a report said.

Economy of California is expected to witness a slight pick up next year with a drop in unemployment rate, said a report on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks advanced in early trade on Tuesday as sentiment was buoyed by President Barack Obama's announcement of an agreement with Republicans on a plan to extend income tax cuts for all Americans.

Obama has compromised with the Republicans. The wealthiest Americans will see their tax break continued for at least the next two years and the millions of unfortunate Americans who are out of work will see their unemployment insurance extended for 13 months.

Global trade protectionism will accelerate in the years ahead and the tussle between the U.S. and China over trade and other issues will escalate to crisis levels as early as in 2012, according to an analyst.

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.

President Barack Obama and Congressional Republicans came to a compromise today involving tax break extensions for wealthier Americans and unemployment insurance extensions for working class families.

Stocks, which fell early in the session on some gloomy remarks on the economy from Federal reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, pared much of their losses later in the day on hopes that The Republicans and Democrats in Congress can hammer out a compromise on extending the Bush tax cuts as well as unemployment benefits.

While Europe (and much of the developed world) continues to reel from high unemployment in the wake of the global economic recession, at least one small, peaceful corner of the continent continues to enjoy very low jobless rates.

President Barack Obama melded a long-term vision for more science research and education spending with the short-term need to secure a deal with Congressional Republicans to extend both tax breaks for higher-income earners and unemployment benefits for struggling workers.

Investors who are worried about the health of the stock market might take some solace from the evidence that the U.S. equities have performed exceptionally well during the third year of a presidential term (Barack Obama enters the third year of his administration in January 2011).

The American people have spoken!By means of the mid-term elections the American people have sent a mandate to the American Congress. The message could not be clearer.

In a CBS interview, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke took shots at foreign critics who openly bashed QE2 in the days leading up to the November 11 G20 Summit.

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.

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.

A weaker-than-expected US jobs data on Friday forced investors to sell dollars and seek shelter in precious metals, helping silver and palladium post two-digit weekly rise and reach fresh multi-year highs in the week to December 3. An IB times study on gold and dollar index suggests investor interest to sell dollar for buying gold probably increased in the week.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is 40 years old this week. It may have been born later, or it may not have been born at all, if not for a dedicated U.S. lawmaker and a burning river.