US economy's gloom expected to begin lifting by late '09

New York – The economic storm that has engulfed the United States – and the world – is expected to continue for most of 2009.

If there is a silver lining, it is that as the year progresses, economists expect the rate of decline in the economy to start to slow – with some modest growth possible by the last quarter of the year.

Before the skies brighten, however, unemployment will rise, business bankruptcies will accelerate, housing prices will continue to fall, and consumer confidence will remain low, according to most forecasts.

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4 recruiter suicides lead to Army probe

HENDERSON, Texas – Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Henderson, a strapping Iraq combat veteran, spent the last, miserable months of his life as anArmy recruiter, cold-calling dozens of people a day from his strip-mall office and sitting in strangers' living rooms, trying to sign up their sons and daughters for an unpopular war.

He put in 13-hour days, six days a week, often encountering abuse from young people or their parents. When he and other recruiters would gripe about the pressure to meet their quotas, their superiors would snarl that they ought to be grateful they were not in Iraq, according to his widow.

Less than a year into the job, Henderson — afflicted by flashbacks and sleeplessness after his tour of battle in Iraq — went into his backyard shed, slid the chain lock in place, and hanged himself with a dog chain.

He became, at age 35, the fourth member of the Army's Houston Recruiting Battalion to commit suicide in the past three years — something Henderson's widow and others blame on the psychological scars of combat, combined with the pressure-cooker job of trying to sell the war.

Read full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081222/ap_on_re_us/recruiter_suicides;_ylt=Ap9t9Lx02j3OhD0hRfaoZCFeW7oF

Obama boosts plans to speed US economic recovery

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President-elect Barack Obama has boosted plans to kickstart the ailing US economy with an ambitious goal to create three million jobs and unveiled Sunday a task force to protect working families.

Several Obama advisors told US media that after a four-hour meeting last week with his economic advisors, Obama added another 500,000 jobs to his plan announced a month ago to create 2.5 million jobs over the next two years.

Faced with fears the United States will now shed some 3.5 million jobs in 2009, driving unemployment rates up from 6.7 percent to above nine percent, Obama decided on a more aggressive strategy, the Washington Post reported.

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Economic News Release

Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary

Friday, December 19, 2008

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally higher in November.  Overall, 37 states and the District of Columbia recorded over-the-month unemployment rate increases, 5 states registered de- creases, and 8 states had no change, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  Over the year, job- less rates were up in 49 states and the District of Columbia and un- changed in 1 state.  The national unemployment rate rose from 6.5 to 6.7 percent in November and was up 2.0 percentage points from a year earlier.
Read full release: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm

Manufacturers cut jobs, pay amid downturn

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Several U.S. manufacturers added their names to the growing list of companies making job or benefit cuts to weather the global financial crisis.

Caterpillar Inc, the world's largest maker of heavy construction and mining equipment, said Monday it is cutting white-collar pay by up to 50 percent and offering buyouts to as many as 25,000 U.S. employees as it looks to cut costs during what it characterized as "uncertain times."

Textron Inc, the world's largest maker of corporate jets, said it will eliminate 2,200 jobs worldwide to cope with a global downturn that has forced its customers to pare all but essential spending.

The Providence, Rhode Island based company, which employs about 44,000 workers worldwide, said "further headcount reductions" and other cost-cutting actions were likely.

...

The moves announced Monday come just days after FedEx Corp said it was forcing salaried workers to take at least a 5 percent pay cut and was suspending its 401(k) retirement plan match.

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New unemployment claims surge unexpectedly

WASHINGTON – New claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week, exceeding even gloomy expectations for an economy stuck in a recession that seems to be deepening.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial applications for jobless benefits in the week ending Dec. 6 rose to a seasonally adjusted 573,000 from an upwardly revised figure of 515,000 in the previous week. That was far more than the 525,000 claims Wall Street economists expected.

Elsewhere, the U.S. trade deficit rose unexpectedly in October as a spreading global recession dampened the once-strong sales of American exports and the volume of oil imports surged by a record amount, the Commerce Department said.

More layoffs were announced Thursday. New Britain, Conn.-based tool maker Stanley Works said it plans to cut 2,000 jobs and close three manufacturing facilities, while Sara Lee Corp., known for food brands such as Jimmy Dean and Hillshire Farm, said it will cut 700 jobs as the Downers Grove, Ill.-based company outsources parts of its business.

Read full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081211/ap_on_bi_ge/financial_meltdown

Job cuts hit Texas' chemical industry

Contractors take brunt of downturn that will likely slash full-time workers and close plants

By BRETT CLANTON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Dec. 14, 2008, 11:57PM

JOHNNY HANSON CHRONICLE

Chunks of road are recycled behind Onesimo Garza, an employee with Freeport's Vernor Materials, which contracts about 30 employees to the Dow Chemical Company.

Sweeping cutbacks by chemical makers are exacting a heavy toll on a large but lesser-known part of the industry's work force, the thousands of contract laborers who work alongside full-time employees at chemical manufacturing sites in Texas and elsewhere.

Dow Chemical Co., the nation's largest chemical maker, said this month it will cut 6,000 contract workers globally, nearly a third of its contract work force. That was after the company already had announced it would release most of its 4,000 contract workers at a huge complex in Freeport for three weeks starting Dec. 15. Elsewhere, DuPont said it will cut 4,000 contractors, while other chemical makers said they are making cuts as necessary.

The moves come in response to a recession-driven downturn in the chemical industry this year, and are part of broader cost-cutting actions that will also eliminate thousands of full-time jobs at the companies, close plants and slash output.

For Texas, the nation's biggest chemical-producing state, with nearly 75,000 people directly employed by the industry, the cuts will be painful.

Read full article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6164976.html

KB Toys closing stores; filing for Chapter 11

KB Toys Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with plans to close its chain of stores.

The toy retailer cited sharp declines in consumer spending for the filing.

Locally, KB has locations at the Round Rock Premium Outlets and at the Tanger Outlet Center in San Marcos, according to the company's Web site. There are 23 locations in Texas, and 460 locations companywide.

The Pittsfield, Mass.-based toy store chain is located in shopping malls and has faced financial struggles off and on for several years as it competes with big-box rivals.

Bank of America to cut up to 35,000 jobs

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bank of America Corp said on Thursday it plans to eliminate 30,000 to 35,000 jobs over three years, reflecting its pending purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co and weaker business activity stemming from the economic recession.

The cuts could affect as much as 11.4 percent of the combined companies' workforce of about 308,000 people, and are intended to help save $7 billion of annual costs.

Bank of America said the cuts will come from both companies and affect all business lines, and in part reflect "the weak economic environment, which is affecting the level of business activity."

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank said it won't determine the final number of cuts until early 2009, and that as many as possible will come through attrition.

Bank of America employs about 247,000 people and Merrill about 61,000. The merger values Merrill at about $20.5 billion and is expected to close on January 1, 2009, creating the largest U.S. bank by assets.

Financial companies have announced more than 250,000 job cuts this year, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc, as losses soared from mortgages, credit cards and securities write-downs.

Read full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081212/bs_nm/us_bankofamerica;_ylt=Ak.IcRs3MmE_JjYJcnCv8kjv5rEF

Jobless claims hit 26-year high, exports tumble

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits surged to a 26-year high last week, government data showed on Thursday, as employers tightened their belts to help weather what many fear will be a deep, long recession.

A separate report showed the U.S. trade deficit swelled unexpectedly in October as weak economies around the world imported less from the United States.

Analysts said the export pillar that had helped to support the fragile economy earlier in the year was now crumbling and many said the economy appeared headed for an even deeper contraction in the fourth quarter than they had thought.

"The last bastion of the U.S. economy has collapsed. The U.S. economy will contract by 4.5 percent in the current quarter. The ugly recession accompanies us into the next year," said Harm Bandholz, an economist at UniCredit Markets & Investment Banking in New York.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits jumped by 58,000 to 573,000, the U.S. Labor Department said.

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Furniture Brands cuts workforce by 15 percent

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Furniture Brands International Inc (FBN.N) said on Thursday it would cut its workforce by 15 percent, or about 1,500 jobs, to cut costs as it faces softer sales in the recession.

The company, whose shares have fallen 70 percent in the past year, said it would record severance costs of between $8 million and $9 million, the bulk of which would be seen in the fourth quarter.

Furniture Brands said it expects to save more than $20 million a year on the action.

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A tattered safety net for US unemployed

East Orange, N.J. – As a rising number of Americans sign up for unemployment benefits, many of the state-funded trusts that pay them are on the decline.

At least 12 of them are on the brink of insolvency. In 20 other states, the funds have lost value, even before the big job losses of the past two months.

While unemployed workers will get their benefits – federal law requires it – the trust fund woes are putting states into a peculiar squeeze. They're loath to raise taxes or cut services in a recession, so many are racking up new loans. That debt burden will affect residents for years to come.

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Retail sales post big drop in November

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. retail sales excluding autos posted their biggest monthly drop in five years in November, as consumers, spooked by a deepening recession, pared spending for a third straight month, a private report released on Thursday showed.

The decline accelerated in November despite a sales spurt over the crucial "Black Friday" weekend -- the three days after the Thanksgiving holiday in late November -- according to SpendingPulse, the retail data service of MasterCard Advisors, a subsidiary of MasterCard Inc.

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DHL to lay off 434 in Houston area

DHL Express USA Inc. plans to lay off 434 Houston-area employees in conjunction with the company's recent decision to exit the U.S. delivery business to focus on international deliveries.

DHL informed the State of Texas that 434 people in Houston will be let go over a period of time beginning Dec. 15. The employees have already been notified of their termination.

It is not known if DHL's entire local work force will be laid off. Company representatives did not return calls for additional information.

DHL announced in November that it would cut 9,500 U.S. jobs by early next year.

Read full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2008/12/08/daily22.html?ana=from_rss

Even the NFL cuts jobs as economy woes touch down

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The National Football League said on Tuesday it will lay off almost 14 percent of the league's staff as part of a cost-cutting plan in response to the recession.

The move to eliminate about 150 jobs over the next 60 days is a stark reminder that no sport, even the most popular in the United States, is immune to the slowdown.

The layoffs do not include jobs at teams, which are controlled by individual clubs.

"These are difficult and painful steps," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a Tuesday memo to staff, "but they are necessary in the current economic environment."

"I would like to be able to report that we are immune to the troubles around us, but we are not," he added.

The NFL employs 1,100 people in three locations: league headquarters in New York, NFL Films production facilities in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, and the NFL Network and NFL.com production facilities in Los Angeles.

To read the full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081209/bs_nm/us_nfl_layoffs;_ylt=Aj4SD.3mY.F2izEuLO.Dq0rv5rEF

Office Depot cutting 112 stores, 2,200 jobs

CHICAGO – Office Depot Inc. will close about 9 percent of its North American stores and cut 2,200 jobs over the next three months while planning to open fewer locations next year in an effort to cut costs.

Shares of the office supply chain rose more than 9 percent Wednesday.

The plan to shutter 112 stores will reduce the chain's base to 1,163. It plans to close 45 stores in the Central U.S., 40 in the Northeast and Canada, 19 in the West and eight in the South.

Office Depot, which began the year with about 49,000 workers, also will close six of its 33 North American distribution facilities.

 

Read full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081210/ap_on_bi_ge/office_depot_strategic_review;_ylt=AqQX9mC2UfvYAnxTw1TPacus0NUE

 

Hit by Recession, NPR to Lay Off Seven Percent of Staff

Core of the article:

Washington-based NPR said it would lay off about 7 percent of workforce and eliminate two daily programs produced out of its facilities in Culver City, Cal. The shows include "Day to Day," which was aimed at younger listeners, and the newsmaker-interview program "News & Notes," which NPR hoped would attract African Americans.
The layoffs of 64 of NPR's 889 employees is designed to close a $23 million shortfall in NPR's current fiscal year, said Dennis Haarsager, NPR's interim president and chief executive in an interview. The cutback will affect all departments, including reporters, producers, researchers and digital media employees.

Read full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/10/AR2008121002064.html?hpid=moreheadlines