Finance

Morning Market Roundup: Unemployment Stuck at 8.2 Percent, U.S. Futures Down

Here’s what’s important in the business world this morning:

Unemployment: U.S. employers added only 80,000 jobs in June, a third straight month of weak hiring that shows the economy is still struggling three years after the recession ended.

The unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.2 percent, the Labor Department said in its report Friday.

The economy added an average of just 75,000 jobs a month in the April-June quarter. That’s one-third of the 226,000 a month created in the first quarter.

For the first six months of the year, U.S. employers added an average of 150,000 jobs a month. That’s fewer than the 161,000 a month for the first half of 2011. And it suggests that three years after the Great Recession officially ended, the job market is weakening instead of strengthening.

A weaker job market has made consumers less confident. They have pulled back on spending, even though gas prices have plunged.

Spanish & Italian Rates: A week after financial markets greeted European leaders’ decision to help economically-troubled Spain and Italy, the two countries saw their borrowing rates rise again on Friday, signaling resurging concern over the sovereign debt crisis.

The rate, or yield, for the Spanish 10-year bond was up 0.22 percentage points to 6.96 percent by early afternoon in Madrid. That level is deemed unsustainable over the long term and could push Spain to seek a full-blown bailout like Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

Italy’s equivalent rate was up 0.13 percentage points to 6.01 percent. In comparison, Germany’s bond – seen as a safe haven for investors – was commanding a yield of just 1.37 percent.

Both Spain‘s and Italy’s yields fell sharply earlier this week in a wave of euphoria after European leaders agreed to channel aid directly to troubled banks, without further burdening a country’s debt. They also agreed to make it easier for countries to get rescue loans and for the European bailout fund to buy bonds from other investors, which would lower countries’ borrowing rates.

The summit decisions were generally seen as a step in the right direction in the resolution of the crisis, but the feeling is that more needs to be done – and faster.

U.S. Futures: Stock futures slid Friday after the U.S. added only 80,000 jobs in June, marking the weakest quarter for hiring in two years.

Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 68 points to 12,764. Standard & Poor’s 500 futures slid 9 points to 1,352.40 and Nasdaq futures fell 15 points to 2,627.50.

China: China’s government said Friday it will “properly handle” a U.S. complaint to the World Trade Organization about its anti-dumping duties on auto imports and doesn’t want the latest in a string of trade disputes to harm relations.

“It is normal for frictions to occur,” said a foreign ministry spokesman, Liu Weimin, at a regular briefing. “What is important is to properly handle it and not to let it impede friendly relations.”

The U.S. complaint Thursday adds to a series of disputes with Beijing over market access for goods ranging from poultry to steel. Political tensions over trade are mounting as governments try to boost exports at a time of slumping global demand.

Washington accused Beijing of improperly imposing anti-dumping duties on American-made autos worth $3 billion. The Chinese duties of 2 to 21.5 percent affect cars and SUVs with engine capacity of 2.5 liters or larger.

A Commerce Ministry statement said Beijing will “properly handle the request for consultations under the WTO dispute settlement procedures” – the first step in resolving a complaint.

If consultations fail to resolve the issue, Washington can request a WTO dispute panel. A ruling can take 18 months to two years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Comments (14)

  • welloddyfriggindah
    Posted on July 6, 2012 at 2:01pm

    Hmm….I am admittedly, or obviously not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I do know there’s something wrong with 80000 jobs created in June… generally a productive month…and 85000 ‘folks’ newly approved disability recipients, also in June!

    Report Post » welloddyfriggindah  
  • Cavallo
    Posted on July 6, 2012 at 10:24am

    Europe is just pumping more blood in without stemming the arterial would that is killing their economy. They’ll run out of aid sooner or later. They’re just delaying the inevitable, hoping against hope that the global economy will turn around with some boom before their untenable policies collapse on their ears. The United States is not all that far behind them.

    Report Post » Cavallo  
  • lylejk
    Posted on July 6, 2012 at 10:18am

    The government still continues to hide the truth. It’s not a recession; true. It‘s another Depression and it’s not just here. This whole planet is tanking much like it did back in the 30s. The way they cooked the books, it appears we‘re aren’t even in a recession, but how many folks do you know are either unemployed or underemployed or doing the so called contract work since they couldn’t find anyone to hire them? Bernake continues to print money which keeps Wallstreet happy but it continues to our demise. First we need to tell Bernake to stop printing. Second, we need to retract all our foreign obligations/commitments and let those countries fend for themselves where it makes sense to do so (i.e, get out of Europe for starters; still don’t see a reason why we are still there). Third, and most important, is to renegotiate all of our trade agreements. Our economy was doomed ever since Clinton and Gingrich helped (and got) pass NAFTA/GATT. The government has since been juggling and hiding the books but then finally Bush Jr. dropped a few and it has been a cascade ever since. Barrack promised to re-negotiate these treaties and instead passed what use to be called CAFTA making it even more difficult. cont.

    Report Post » lylejk  
    • lylejk
      Posted on July 6, 2012 at 10:19am

      cont. Detroit fell (some say because of the Muslim settlements, but I don’t) because of GATT. Many states in the South are struggling since the Textile (Apparel) Industry headed down further South due to NAFTA. Heck, we are selling the cotton we grow here to other countries now. We are becoming a third world nation because of these ill conceived and unfair trade agreements. Personally, I can care less about the rest of this planet; not my concern. My only concern is America period. Sorry for my long diatribe, but folk; wake up. And for the non-U.S. visitors reading my prose, you have to think the same for your own country. We all have to take care of our own and only then can we all get back to equalibrium.

      Report Post » lylejk  
    • Cavallo
      Posted on July 6, 2012 at 10:35am

      You have to be very careful when slapping up trade barriers. If you don’t think globally with your business you will be in a heap of trouble. We need to export as much as we need imports. Most tariffs usually end up being reciprocal. We tax their goods, they tax ours. The WTO isn’t exactly our friend. Raising the price of foreign imports isn’t the greatest solution to our economic woes. There probably can be some renegotiating of treaties that can benefit us, but you have to be careful. The unintended consequences of government meddling in trade are very rarely positive. The rest of your comment(s) are spot on, however.

      Report Post » Cavallo  
    • lylejk
      Posted on July 6, 2012 at 10:51am

      I’m not against trade; I’m against unfair trade and the U.S. appears always to get the butt end of the deal. Why should we be responsible for uplifting the rest of the planet. The people living in those other nations should be. Every freaking trade agreement we’ve negotiated in recent times have been to our detriment. Getting sick and tired of this. Again, I’m only one of millions of angry white guys (though I do have Korean and Chippawah in me; lol) that are fed up literally. You can see that in my words I guess. :)

      Report Post » lylejk  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on July 6, 2012 at 10:10am

    The Marxist radical in Chief is once again demonstrating he knows how to destroy the nation; and yet there are still so many who love the man and his insane ideological manifestations of madness across the board.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • Uncurable wound
      Posted on July 6, 2012 at 10:22am

      but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools Roman1:21

      Report Post »  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on July 6, 2012 at 9:56am

    How can Ohio read statistics like this and still support Obama by 10 points over Romney? Do they not realize that we can do better than this?

    Report Post » Gonzo  
    • momprayn
      Posted on July 6, 2012 at 10:10am

      My husband was born and raised in Ohio – still have family there (Repubs. mainly)….I asked the same question (Im not from there). Said the same ‘ol thing – too many under unions there; liberals abound in the cities, etc. Too many choose to be ignorant of all this, just believe what the libs/unions tell them without checking it out, and/or just plain stupid and/or lazy & want their continued hand-outs.. Not surprising.

      Report Post »  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on July 6, 2012 at 10:19am

      I was born and raised in Cincinnati and it was consevative there. I guess Southern Ohio is different from the rest of the state. Of course I have been gone for 30 years, things change.

      Report Post » Gonzo  
    • sawbuck
      Posted on July 6, 2012 at 10:24am

      Gonzo
      Ever since the ‘rust belt exodus’ attributed to Slick Willy .
      Ohio has been taken over by welfare junkies..
      Just waiting for nanny to give them another fix…
      They love that merry Barry money.

      Report Post » sawbuck  
    • hauschild
      Posted on July 6, 2012 at 10:26am

      It’s called “Obama Money”.

      Gonna get me some.

      Report Post »  
  • the_system_disconnect
    Posted on July 6, 2012 at 9:50am

    It’s not that surprising considering how well our government motivates us to work……oh wait…sorry :P

    Report Post » the_system_disconnect  

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