Economic News

WASHINGTON (AFX) - Gearing up for the holidays, employers boosted hiring in November, and hundreds of thousands of jobseekers streamed into the market, nudging the unemployment rate up to 4.5 percent. The Labor Department's mostly positive report, released Friday, showed a national job climate that remains quite sturdy despite the troubled housing and automotive industries. That cheered Wall ...

NEW YORK (AFX) - The University of Michigan's mid-December report on consumer sentiment fell more than analysts expected, due to deteriorating expectations of future economic conditions. December's preliminary consumer sentiment index dropped to 90.2 from November's final reading of 92.1, according to media reports Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected the index to be li ...

WASHINGTON (AFX) - Employers boosted payrolls by a respectable 132,000 in November, but the unemployment rate edged up to 4.5 percent as jobseekers streamed into the labor market by the thousands with the onrushing holidays. The tally of new jobs added to the economy last month marked an improvement from the 79,000 new positions generated in October and was the most since September, the Labor ...

WASHINGTON (AFX) - Employers boosted payrolls by a respectable 132,000 in November, but the unemployment rate edged up to 4.5 percent as jobseekers streamed into the labor market by the thousands with the approaching holidays. The tally of new jobs added to the economy last month marked an improvement from the 79,000 new positions generated in October and was the most since September, the Labor D ...

LONDON (AFX) - European government bonds remain steady Friday morning as the market holds its breath before the US non-farm payrolls data in the afternoon. Analysts said investors are nervous over the US data after a string of disappointing US economic indicators in past weeks and despite figures published earlier this week from the ADP index, which forecast a larger-than-expected rise in payroll ...

Property developer Berkeley Group has reported a 5% dip in half-year profits but says it is upbeat about its future. Berkeley posted profits of £81.5m for the six months to 31 October, down from £86m in the same period last year. It said annual profits would be skewed towards the second half of the year after it took full control of property developer St James. Berkeley bought out RWE Thames Water's 50% stake in the St James joint venture last month for £97.5m. Land bank The  ...

Ross Lydall, Evening Standard8 December 2006 Reader comments (1) A third runway is set to be approved at Heathrow, increasing the number of daily flights by 500 a day. MORE FLIGHTS: Heathrow will get a third runway despite poor air quality and misery for thousands of homeowners WANT TO KNOW MORE? REPORT: Tax blow to family holidays COMPANIES & MARKETS: Latest City news OTHER STORIES Supermarkets' sweatshop shame Family tax bill rises by £200 Market repor ...

PARIS (AFX) - The OECD said its composite leading indicator rose to 109.7 in October from a revised 109.5 in September. The September figure was previously given as 109.6. The OECD said analysis of the CLI data points to a weakening of growth in the US and the euro zone in the period ahead, but to improved performance in Japan. But it said interest rate spreads are now contributing negatively t ...

Ed Monk, This is Money8 December 2006 Reader comments (1) Tax changes unveiled in Gordon Brown's Pre-Budget Report mean the Government will have taken an extra £6bn in taxes since May 2005 – or £200 for every family - says a leading economic think tank. TAX GRAB: The Chancellor's latest measures have added to the tax take since 2005 WANT TO KNOW MORE? SPECIAL: Pre-Budget Report 2006 Q&A: What the Pre-Budget Report means for you MORE: Brown bashed on Gold ...

The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left the cost of borrowing unchanged after increases in August and November took rates to the current five-year high.Yesterday's decision was seen as "a dead cert" by economists and the markets, particularly with the United States economy showing signs of weakness and consumer confidence in the UK under threat from rising taxes and household bills.The fra ...