Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Zeev's Turnips - No Politics -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Crossy who wrote (30120)	2/14/2002 8:57:14 AM
From: Ibexx	Respond to of 99280

U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Fell by 8,000 to 373,000 Last Week By Carlos Torres Washington, Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The number of U.S. workers filing initial applications for unemployment insurance benefits fell last week, and the level stayed below 400,000 as it has since the year started, signs the economy is improving. First-time jobless claims dropped by 8,000 in the week that ended Saturday to 373,000 from a revised 381,000 during the prior seven days, the Labor Department said. The six-week stretch of claims at less than 400,000 is the longest since March-April 2001, when the first U.S. recession in a decade was beginning. Weekly claims surged in the months after the terrorist attacks Sept. 11, averaging 456,000 in the last quarter of 2001. The four-week moving average of claims last week dropped to 376,000, the lowest since August. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and Steelcase Inc., the biggest maker of office furniture, are among businesses now primarily targeting overseas units for additional reductions to those made last year. ``Businesses reacted quickly to the economic slowdown and accomplished much of the adjustment they desired,'' said Michael Moran, chief economist at Daiwa Securities America Inc. in New York, before the report. The level of claims ``implies a steady to slightly rising unemployment rate which is much better than people expected'' just a few months ago. Analysts had expected jobless claims would rise to 380,000, based on the median of 36 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey, from 376,000 initially reported the previous week. Little New Hiring Goodyear announced plans last week to cut 3,500 jobs after the company lost $174 million in the fourth quarter. North America's largest tiremaker is eliminating jobs in Europe, Asia and Australia this year to reduce costs after cutting production and shedding 10,000 workers in 2001. Steelcase said this week it plans to trim its payroll by as many as 500 employees and expects its first loss as a public company. Steelcase will cut 200 to 300 jobs in Europe in the next six to nine months and 150 to 200 salaried workers in North America in the next 60 days. It eliminated 5,000 jobs, or about 21 percent of its workforce, in 2001. Analysts still expect little new hiring as the economy tries to emerge from recession. That may mean unemployment will edge higher. The jobless rate may average 6 percent this year, according to analysts surveyed this month by Blue Chip Economic Indicators, as companies look to get more production from current staff. The average was 4.8 percent last year. ``Corporations have to see an increase in the bottom line in order to reinvest in people,'' said Jeff Kaye, president of Kaye- Bassman International, a Dallas-based affiliate of MRI Inc., a job search firm. ``I would consider this a `wait-and-see' period.'' Continuing Claims Some companies are taking on workers. Home Depot Inc., the largest home improvement chain, opened 17 new stores last week, hiring 3,000 people. An informal survey by the Texas Workforce Commission found that of more than 600 people fired by Houston-based Enron Corp., almost one-third found new jobs within two months. That's about half the average of 15 weeks needed to find work in Texas. The number of people continuing to collect jobless benefits rose during the week that ended Fed. 2 to 3.43 million from 3.41 the previous week, today's report showed. The Labor Department also said that 39 states and territories reported an increase in new claims during the week that ended Feb. 2, while 14 states and territories reported a decrease. The insured unemployment rate, which tends to move up and down with the U.S. jobless rate, was unchanged at 2.7 percent in the week that ended Feb. 2. State totals and the unemployment rate are reported with a one-week lag. Ibexx