Free Republic

Private companies added an estimated 127,000 jobs in November, a sharp slowdown from October and the lowest monthly gain in nearly two years, according to a new ADP jobs report. The estimate, which does not include public sector jobs, fell from 239,000 private jobs added in October and marks the latest sign of a cooling labor market as the Federal Reserve rapidly raises interest rates. Private companies added 357,167 monthly jobs on average last year, a steady pace spurred by the nation’s pandemic recovery that has since slowed amid the central bank’s monetary tightening, which is aimed at lowering inflation....

HONG KONG – Wall Street major Morgan Stanley is expected to start a fresh round of layoffs globally in the coming weeks, three people with knowledge of the plan said, as dealmaking business takes a hit due to rising inflation and an economic downturn. In Asia Pacific, the bank has drafted up a list of staff members considered redundant, who will mainly come from teams that focus on China-related business, two of the sources said. All declined to be named as the information is confidential. Some of the cuts will come from capital markets teams in Hong Kong and mainland...

Inflation signals climbed in August even while the pace of growth in manufacturing unexpectedly slowed in August, according to a survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Fed’s survey of manufacturers showed the current activity index slipping from 21.9 to 19.4 in August, the regional Fed bank said Thursday. Economists had forecast an increase in the index to 25. Yet the slowdown in the pace of growth did not slow down price increases. To the contrary, the price indexes climbed in August.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Employers hired far fewer workers than expected in May and the jobless rate rose to 9.1 percent, raising concerns the economy might be stuck in a painful slow-growth mode. Nonfarm payrolls increased 54,000 last month, the weakest reading since September, the Labor Department said on Friday. Private employment rose just 83,000, the least since last June, while government payrolls dropped 29,000. Economists had expected payrolls to rise 150,000 and private hiring to increase 175,000. The government revised employment figures for March and April to show 39,000 fewer jobs created than previously estimated. The job creation slowdown confirmed...

ARRIAGA, Mexico - For thousands of illegal immigrants from Central America, the long journey to the U.S. starts here, on the groaning back of a freight train they call The Beast. But these days many don't get too far. Central Americans without documents now face increased security within Mexico, including checks on the train for stowaways. It's also harder for them to head north once they cross into Mexico because of hurricane damage to the train tracks. The result: The number of non-Mexican migrants stopped by the U.S. Border Patrol has dropped almost 60 percent from 2005, despite increased detention...

BANGKOK, Thailand - A slowdown in the U.S. economy will likely drag on global growth next year, economists predict, but Asia and Europe are expected to remain fairly resilient amid signs of healthy consumer demand. Even as a cooling U.S. housing market weakens Americans' appetites for foreign-made electronics, clothing and other exports, the swelling ranks of middle-class consumers in China, India and the rest of emerging Asia are seen picking up the slack, experts say. Europe's growth may also slow some, but the outlook there is also relatively positive due to renewed consumption and falling unemployment. "While the world's other...

Some solace for traditional news outlets worried about how to compete with the Internet: A survey finds slowing growth in the number of people who regularly go online for the news. Almost three in 10 adults, or 31 percent, regularly log in for news, a rate roughly the same as two years ago, according to the survey released Sunday by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. People in their 40s were more likely to go online for news than the younger adults. "The online news audience is maturing and at this point is wider than it...

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez has put the brakes on legislation that would require judges in some cases to censor personal and financial information from divorce records and is working to revise the bill. Assembly Democrats have been working behind the scenes this week to modify the bill so that judges could keep their discretionary powers and preserve the public's access to trial records, said Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa. "I believe we need to have an open as possible process in our judicial system," said Evans, who is among the lawmakers seeking amendments to the bill. "Openness in judicial proceedings...

JACKSON, Miss. -- As the forced evacuation of New Orleans continues, Air Force helicopter crews here are flying fewer rescues and conducting more ferry missions from evacuee collection points. Though aircrews still have a high operations tempo and their helicopters are flying much more than usual, it is different from the first hectic days after Hurricane Katrina left a path of death and destruction along the Gulf Coast. “There was plenty of rescue work to go around then. You could fly over New Orleans and it was like a scene right out of a movie. There were helicopters everywhere,” said...

Dollar soars as Europe slows Eurozone output refuses to rebound The euro has hit four-month lows against the dollar, as dismal European economic data contrasts with optimism in the United States. The European single currency traded at below $1.11 for the first time since April, as traders swapped their money into dollars in response to a buoyant US stock market. The euro has lost 7% of its value against the dollar since June, partially reversing a sustained 33% increase since early last year. The cooling of the euro - which is being welcomed by policy makers on both sides of...

<p>John Fraser's one-man Mac clone business has been put on hold after a key parts supplier became the target of Apple Computer's legal team.</p> <p>As previously reported, the 21-year-old Fraser runs his Mac clone business, CoreComputers, out of his home in Chanhassen, Minn.</p>