Investor's Business Daily - Wholesalers' stockpiles shot up far more in April than the 0.5% expected, though it was likely driven by higher prices for oil and food. March inventories were revised up to a 0.1% gain vs. the initial reading of a 0.1% drop. Wholesale-level sales rose 1.4% in April -- they also were likely price-driven -- a sign that firms aren't stuck with unwanted goods. Higher inventories will boost Q2 GDP. -- read full article
Reuters - Stocks plunged on Friday, marking the
Dow's worst day in 15 months, after the government said the May
unemployment rate jumped the most in 22 years and oil prices
shot to another record, renewing fears that the U.S. economy
faces 1970s-style stagflation.
Reuters - Top energy officials from the
world's biggest consumer nations meet on Saturday to discuss
how to tackle surging oil, coal and natural gas prices that
pose a growing threat to global economic growth.
AP - Oil prices made their biggest single-day leap ever Friday, dragging the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 400 points and raising the once-unthinkable prospect of $150 oil and more record gas prices by the Fourth of July.
Reuters - U.S. employers shed jobs for a fifth
straight month in May and the unemployment rate jumped to its
highest in more than 3-1/2 years, partly because more people
were trying to come back into the workforce, a Labor Department
report on Friday showed. -- read full article
AFP - US unemployment in May unexpectedly surged by the strongest increase in two decades, Labor Department data showed Friday, raising warning flags that the economy is headed in the wrong direction.
Reuters - Oil surged, the dollar weakened and
government debt turned strongly higher on Friday after an
unexpected jump in the U.S. unemployment rate rattled investors
who believe the American economy was recovering.
AFP - The European single currency jumped close to 1.57 dollars on Friday as traders digested news that the US unemployment rate soared to 5.5 percent in May.
Reuters - The U.S. unemployment rate surged to
5.5 percent in May, its highest in more than 3-1/2 years, as
the barely growing economy lost jobs for the fifth straight
month.
AP - Treasury prices rebounded Friday as stocks plunged, with investors returning to less risky assets after a government report revealed a significant jump in the unemployment rate and as oil surged to new record highs. -- read full article
Reuters - President George W. Bush on Friday
said the weak data in the government's employment report for
May was consistent with an economy facing a slow growth period. -- read full article
Reuters - U.S. stocks slid on Friday on renewed
fears the U.S. economy faces 1970s-style stagflation after
government data showed the unemployment rate jumped the most in
22 years in May and the price of oil hit a record.
