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

Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:04:49 -0400
U.S. stocks advance as employment report comes as expected

NEW YORK
U.S. stocks end mostly higher, offering a benign reaction to the
government's report on employment, which fell only slightly 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 says he has "no
bias" on interest-rate policy after the ECB makes good on his threat to
hike its key lending rate.

Currencies: Dollar gains after ECB meeting, jobs data

The dollar spikes higher after jobs data comes in better than expected
and official rhetoric out of Europe doesn't confirm further interest
rate hikes.

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.