U.S. stocks advance as employment report comes as expected

Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:03:31 -0400
U.S. stocks advance as employment report comes as expected

NEW YORK
U.S. stocks pull higher after the government says employment declined
only a bit more than expected in June, offsetting worries that the
ailing economy is getting worse.

Economic Report: Payrolls fall by 62,000 in June

The U.S. economy shed 62,000 jobs in June while the unemployment rate
unexpectedly remained at a four-year high of 5.5%, the Labor Department
reports.

ECB's Trichet claims 'no bias' after first hike in 13 months

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet on Thursday said he
has "no bias" on interest-rate policy after the ECB made good on his
threat to hike its key lending rate for the first time in 13 months in a
bid to tamp down inflation expectations.

Currencies: Dollar slightly higher as markets await ECB, U.S. payrolls
data

The yen was modestly lower against its major rivals in Asian trading
Thursday, but currency markets were rangebound and subdued ahead of the
European Central Bank's interest rate announcement and U.S. nonfarm
payrolls data later in the session.

Yahoo shares jump on report that Microsoft considering new bid

Shares of Yahoo Inc. jump 6% after a news report says Microsoft Corp.
has approached other media companies about a potential joint bid for the
Web portal.