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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (39818)	8/6/2001 11:54:01 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

Job Cut Announcements Hit Record in July Monday August 6 11:23 AM ET By Anupama Chandrasekaran NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. job cut announcements jumped 65 percent to a record level in July, led by telecommunications, computer, electronic and industrial companies, a report by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. said on Monday. Announced job cuts in July hit 205,975, up from 124,852 in June. July's total was more than three times the level of job cuts recorded in the same month last year, the report said. ``Job cuts tell us as much about the economy's future as they do about the present. Companies are looking at their staffing needs for the balance of 2001 and the numbers do not present a very positive picture,'' said John Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The survey began in 1993. For the first half of 2001, U.S. companies said they planned to cut 777,362 jobs, more than three times the number announced during the first six months of last year. The telecom sector overtook the technology sector in July in recording the highest number of job-cut announcements. With 44,908 jobs cuts announced in July, the total number of layoffs announced in the sector hit 175,350 for the first seven months this year. Technology companies announced 26,321 layoffs in July bringing the total to 101,044 for the year to date. Mobile phone company Ericsson (news - web sites) (LMEb.ST) announced up to 22,000 job cuts in July and telecom equipment manufacturer Lucent (NYSE:LU - news) said it plans to lay off between 15,000 and 20,000 employees this month. ``This is a very very big surge in layoffs. Basically it says two things: One is that the employment situation is not going to turn around in the near future and will continue to get worse during summer months. It also means that (benefits) claims will edge higher,'' said Eric Green, chief economist with BNP Paribas. ``But it does not mean much for the market. Everyone knows the labor market is weak and will continue to get weaker in the coming months,'' he added. On Friday, the Labor Department (news - web sites) said the number of nonfarm jobs declined by 42,000 in July. But the unemployment rate held steady at 4.5 percent. July's Challenger data was the sixth time in the past seven months that job cut announcements totaled more than 100,000. The market reaction to the Challenger report was minor, with Treasuries ticking higher. ``We moved up a little but the impact was limited because it came after Friday's jobs report,'' said Ray Remy, head of government bond trading at HSBC Securities.

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (39818)	8/6/2001 12:01:55 PM
From: limtex	Respond to of 65232

JW - Looks to me like Mr G is getting exactly what he wants. He seems to me to be doing whatever it takes to keep up the appearance of making moves to help the economy so long as nothing happens that might cause the NAZ, his bete noir, to recover. Any move that might cause the NAZ to rally is avoided even though it might bring with it a further downturn leg in the economy. We have had six rate cuts....oh yes but the rate is still 3.75% nad this is now undenaible the worst economy for 20 years maybe more if he continues to keep the brakes on. How do we know that he has the brakes on? Ask anyone who got a pink slip in the last month. When was the last time we had a rate of 3.75% and how bad was the economy at that time? Was it as bad as it is now? Deny deny deny. Thats how you avoid a recession if you are in the driving seat either at the Fed or at the Treasury. Simple just deny it. Well if it goes another three years well then it is going to be fun. Nov 2004 just over 2 1/2 years to go till the bill check arrives for GW. Get ready to get it out and dust it down....."It's the e------ stupid". Some of those comentators who are talking about years till the market recovers should start looking at exactly what they are prediciting. Best regards, L