Report: Job losses moderate in July

Date: Friday, August 7, 2009

Job losses moderate in July

Job losses slow in July to the lowest total since August as the
unemployment rate unexpectedly falls back to 9.4%, the Labor
Department estimates.

HOPEFUL SIGNS FOR JOB SEEKERS, COLLEGE GRADS

If you think the nation's unemployment rate is high -- hovering at
close to 10%-- consider this: Experts say that in some colleges, close
to 50% of the
graduates of the class of '09 still don't have full-time jobs they can call
their own.

SOME SEE U.S. ECONOMIC RECOVERY FLAGGING NEXT YEAR

Private-sector economists from Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Barclays
and other banks are at odds over whether U.S. economic growth will
cool in 2010 after a
widely expected recovery later this year. If the pessimists are right, both
stocks and employers risk catching a chill.

FRIDAY'S BIGGEST GAINING AND DECLINING STOCKS

Among shares trading actively on Friday are AIG, CBS, Fannie Mae, PMI
and VeriSign.

MORTGAGE RATES SKIRT FANNIE, FREDDIE DEBATE

Heightened public debate over what the U.S. government will ultimately
do with mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has the mortgage
market on alert.