Posted by Katharine Crnko
For Marketplace Morning Report, Friday February 4, 2011
The Labor Department will release its big January jobs report later this morning, and economists will be looking for growth in the leisure and food service industries. As Scott Tong explains, growth in these areas could indicate a recovery on a roll.
Agencies have to set aside some contracts up to $3 million for businesses that are majority-owned by women. The question is how that verification will be handled.
In the 90s, German citizens were crazy for telecom and dot-com stocks, driving the prices up as much as 700 percent. But after the bubble burst, citizens lost interest in the German stock exchange, a fact economists now hope to change.
According to one bank’s estimate, the unrest in Egypt has cost at least $300 million a day in lost business, Internet commerce and wages. And with no end in sight for the tumult, the costs can only go up. The BBC’s Magdi Abdelhadi explains.
Missouri voters passed a ballot measure in November for tougher rules on dog breeders. Now the Missouri legislature is attempting to overturn the vote.
The lights are back on in Texas after rolling black outs hit nearly 1.5 million homes this week. Officials say the cold weather overloaded 50 power plants, as KUT’s Erika Aguilar explains.
The nation’s economy created 36,000 jobs last month — not even enough to keep up with population growth, let alone boost the economy. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 9 percent, the lowest level in nearly two years. Jill Schlesinger explains the Labor Department’s mixed report.
The European Parliament voted to make it easier for American banana growers to sell the fruit to Europe, ending two decades of colonial favoritism. Now it will be easier for American banana farmers to sell their produce to the world’s largest banana market.
It was a mixed bag from the Labor Department this morning. January showed a major drop in unemployment — down to 9 percent — but the economy only created 36,000 jobs.
Jeremy Hobson speaks with Gus Faucher, an economist at Moody’s Analytics, about today’s job report from the Labor Department. Hiring activity was tepid last month. According to Faucher, more jobseekers — including many who were not included in the recent survey — are likely to start searching for jobs in early 2011.
Car dealers have hit some rough road during the past couple of years — GM and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy and took government bailouts, and hundreds of dealers closed. But things are looking up for the auto industry, and car dealers are gathering for a convention in San Francisco.
Here are the songs we played:
- Keep it Clean — Camera ObscuraBuy
- Teenbeat Reprise — Henry Cow Buy
- I Love the Nightlife — Alicia BridgesBuy
- Restrain — PocoBuy
- Roots Princess Dub — Lindval ThompsonBuy
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