NEW YORK – Stocks tumbled Thursday after disappointing jobless claims numbers had investors worrying about the government's upcoming January jobs report.
At the same time, more trouble for debt-strapped European governments also unnerved investors and sent them in search of safe haven holdings like the dollar and Treasurys. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 200 points, and all the major indexes were down about 2 percent.
The day's news reminded investors that the global economic recovery remains tenuous...Investors were concerned Thursday that a weakening of foreign economies could spill over to the U.S. and put more pressure on the job market, which is seen as the biggest obstacle to the nation's recovery.
Claims for unemployment benefits rose by 8,000 to 480,000 last week, the Labor Department reported [for] the fourth increase in the past five weeks. The number of lost jobs was the highest in two months...
The report chilled expectations that the government's January jobs report, due Friday, would show that employers added workers in the first month of the year. Analysts currently expect Friday report to show that employers added 5,000 jobs in January...
--- Bernard and Pardis, AP, via Yahoo, 2/4
Bill: This is what this blog has been saying for a long time...
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