- Title: USA: Wall Street opens lower on Greece, payrolls data
- Date: 5th November 2011
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 4, 2011) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) GENE SPERLING, DIRECTOR OF THE WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL, SAYING: "The first part is that you have to have a significant injection of demand and spark into the economy over the next 12 and 18 months, so that people have confidence that our economy is going to grow at a faster pace, not the one and a half to two percent growth that so many forecasters are projecting at this time. If at the same time that you're providing that extra demand, that confidence that the economy and job growth will get going over the next 12 and 18 months, you can also layer after that a balanced deficit reduction plan that's fair and balanced and sparks bringing our debt down, that then gives people confidence that the economy is going to pick up next year and that we are dealing with our long-term debt. That's certainly the best one-two punch I think to give businesses, small and large, the confidence to get off the sidelines and get their cash off the sidelines and start investing in America and American jobs again."
- Embargoed: 20th November 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa, Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Economy
- Reuters ID: LVA65YI0JZTQB6C5R2KN9VHORW4L
- Story Text: Wall Street extended losses on Friday (November 4) with the three major indexes falling more than 1 percent on uncertainties surrounding the debt crisis in Europe and a mixed report on the U.S. labor market.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 114.28 points, or 0.95 percent, at 11,930.19. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 13.85 points, or 1.10 percent, at 1,247.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 28.31 points, or 1.05 percent, at 2,669.66.
Also, nonfarm payrolls rose 80,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday, missing economists' expectations for a gain of 95,000.
However, August and September were revised to show 102,000 more jobs than previously reported. In addition, the small drop in the jobless rate from 9.1 percent came even as more people entered the labor force.
Gene Sperling, the Director of the White House National Economic Council, touted the White House's plan to boost the U.S. economy.
"The first part is that you have to have a significant injection of demand and spark into the economy over the next 12 and 18 months, so that people have confidence that our economy is going to grow at a faster pace, not the one and a half to two percent growth that so many forecasters are projecting at this time. If at the same time that you're providing that extra demand, that confidence that the economy and job growth will get going over the next 12 and 18 months, you can also layer after that a balanced deficit reduction plan that's fair and balanced and sparks bringing our debt down, that then gives people confidence that the economy is going to pick up next year and that we are dealing with our long-term debt. That's certainly the best one-two punch I think to give businesses, small and large, the confidence to get off the sidelines and get their cash off the sidelines and start investing in America and American jobs again," he said.
The labor market remains the Achilles heel of the economic recovery, and progress at putting the 13.9 million unemployed Americans back to work remains painfully slow.
The slight improvements in the labor market hinted at by Friday's report will likely do little to take the pressure off President Barack Obama, who faces a tough fight for re-election next year.
However, they may be enough to keep the Federal Reserve on the sidelines as it considers whether the economy could benefit from a further quantitative easing of monetary policy. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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