AFL-CIO Chief Economist Ron Blackwell argues there is not a short-term debt problem, and spending has reduced the number of jobs that would have been lost in the recession.
Prof. Peter Morici weighs in on the latest unemployment report.
•Merck agrees to acquire Millipore (NYSE:MIL) for $7.2 billion •AIG (NYSE:AIG) sells Asian life insurance unit, AIA, to Prudential •Citigroup (NYSE:C) sells $330 million worth of shares in Primerica insurance unit to PE firm Warburg Pincus ahead of IPO •Nissan (PINK:NSANY) recalls 540000 vehicles •Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) launches patent suit against HTC over Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Nexus One •CF Industries (NYSE:CF) rekindles takeover battle and makes new offer to buy Terra Industries (NYSE:TRA) at $47.40 per share, trumping Yara’s $41.10 per share bid •Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) reportedly bid as much as $4.08 billion for Ratiopharm, with Teva (NASDAQ:TEVA) and Actavis Group also said to be in the running •Citigroup’s (NYSE:C) Pandit heads back to Capitol Hill to testify before Congress about TARP assistance. Says they have cut back on trading and thanked taxpayers •General Growth Properties wins a five-month extension to present bankruptcy plan •Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) finds buyer for 34.4% stake in CICC •Investigators look into complaints about Toyota’s (NYSE:TM) recall fixes •Tivo (NASDAQ:TIVO) wins appeal ruling against Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) and echostar (NASDAQ:SATS) •US employers cut smaller than expected 36000 in February, leaving the unemployment rate unchanged at 9.7%
The major US equity indices closed higher Friday despite troubling signals over the global economy. The Labor Department said the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell in January to 9.7% from 10%. However, employers cut 20000 jobs, which is more than the 5000 that economists had expected. The Federal Reserve said that consumers borrowed less for an 11th straight month in December and said that total borrowing fell far less than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) closed 0.10% higher at 10012.23, the S&P500 (INX) was up 0.29% at 1066.18, and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) was up 0.74% at 2141.12.