Economy | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Economy: June 6, 2012
Excerpts and more top stories
Fed Considers More Action Amid New Recovery Doubts – Jon Hilsenrath, WSJ
Disappointing U.S. economic data, new strains in financial markets and deepening worries about Europe’s fiscal crisis have prompted a shift at the Federal Reserve, putting back on the table the possibility of action to spur the recovery.
Global Economic Struggles Put Pressure on Political Leaders — Zachary A. Goldfarb, Washington Post
Anemic job growth in the United States, a business slowdown in Asia and the ever-intensifying debt crisis in Europe are raising pressures on political leaders to take new actions to bolster the world economy. In the United States, political deadlock in Washington has kept any significant economic measures from emerging from Congress, despite obsessive political rhetoric from Democrats and Republicans about the need to create jobs.
Obama’s Fate May Depend on Europe –Eduardo Porter, NY Times
The recent downshift in the economy has dealt a powerful blow to President Obama’s chances of re-election in November. But perhaps most worrying for the president is just how little sway he retains over where the economy goes from here.
After Loss, JPMorgan Regulators in Spotlight – Ben Protess, NY Times
JPMorgan Chase’s regulators will be in the spotlight here on Wednesday, when they testify before Congress on the bank’s multibillion-dollar trading blunder and its implications for the future of Wall Street regulation. One of the bank’s primary regulators, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, will face particular scrutiny for its oversight of the JPMorgan unit responsible for a trading loss of more than $2 billion.
Markets Tumble on Weak Unemployment Report Amid Fear that U.S. Recovery Has Stalled–Ylan Q. Mui, Washington Post
A dramatic drop-off in U.S. job growth has erased one of the few bright spots in the global economy, stoking fears that the world’s major countries are inextricably linked in a downward spiral. The U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that businesses created a meager 69,000 jobs last month — less than half what economists had expected.
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Small business hiring slows in May: NFIB– William Schomberg, Reuters
Hiring by small businesses slowed in May, but there was a slight increase in the number of employers planning to create new jobs, the National Federation of Independent Business said.A survey by the NFIB of 681 small businesses found that the seasonally adjusted average change in employment per firm slipped to 0.0 worker per firm from 0.1 in April.
Defense Chiefs Signal Job Cuts –Nathan Hodge, WSJ
U.S. defense contractors are preparing to disclose mass job cutbacks ahead of November elections if Congress fails to reach a deficit-reduction deal by then, industry officials said. Firms including Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp. may idle thousands of workers at the beginning of the year, they said, when more than $50 billion in new defense cuts could take effect—along with similar reductions across federal agencies.
Goldman Sachs Sees Potential S&P 500 Bear Market on Europe – Inyoung Hwang, Bloomberg
An intensifying financial crisis in Spain or elsewhere in Europe has the potential to drive American stocks into a bear market, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. chief U.S. equity strategist said.
