Apparently, many employers were not prepared to lay off workers during the holidays. Whether the spirit of giving prevailed, or whether many companies just needed the extra seasonal help, the fact remains that the latest ADP payrolls data, just released, shows that job loss is slowing. While the unemployment rate remains high, the pace of job losses has been slowing, and there are hopes that things could turn around solidly, with the economy adding jobs overall, by the end of 2010.
The U.S. services sector is also enhancing, and this is providing a great deal of hope, especially when added to …read more

In an effort to help taxpayers during the recession, a number of tax breaks were introduced to ease matters, as well as help stimulate the economy. However, some of these tax credits will be expiring sooner than you think. The California Society of CPAs, sent to me via email, has an overview of some of the tax breaks that will soon be expiring:

COBRA Extension Benefits: If you are eligible for this tax break, you pay only 35% of your COBRA premiums, and you receive a reimbursement of the other 65% through a tax credit. Termination of your job for COBRA …read more

The economic outlook for 2010 appears to be improving. Stocks, at least, are rallying this morning in early trading. Many analysts expected measured improvement for 2010. However, it is clear that even with growth, the economy is not going to turnaround quickly. In fact, it is likely that the economy continues its improvements at a relatively slow pace in 2010. This could cause some disappointment for some, who continue to insist that the economic recovery should be moving more quickly. However, it is important to note that a recession nearly a decade in the making (with foundations set through two …read more

I love the annual year in review video put together by JibJab. It’s funny, and it offers some great perspective on what has happened in the past year. And there was plenty of financial shenanigans as well. The good news was that consumers, at least, began to exercise some prudence. While the government continued to spend its way out of recession (something that has been going on for decades, no matter which party is in the White House), consumers realized the folly of digging the debt hole deeper. Of course, only time will tell whether or not they conversion to …read more

The big news from the world of finance today is that the U.S. unemployment rate dropped in November. In the wake of a jobs summit at the White House, the latest numbers for the employment picture are in. And in November, it looks as though the economy only shed 11,000 jobs. This is opposed to the 125,000 that many expected the economy to shed in November. The news also meant that the unemployment rate dropped to 10%
Of course, this positive data does not indicate that a significant number of jobs are being added to the economy — just that the …read more

While I’m not always a huge fan of Ben Stein, he does come up with some interesting insights every now and again, and he does have some clever and funny things to say about them. For Fortune Magazine, he recently offered these 4 lessons that he learned from the recession:

Economic forecasting is difficult.
Financial market forecasting is more troublesome than economic forecasting.
The financial sector in this country has lied a great deal.
The government cannot predict the economy or financial markets.

These are, of course, very good lessons to learn. It is important to realize that neither the government, nor the financial “experts”, …read more

In these times of economic turmoil, one of the biggest casualties has been personal credit. Many people are seeing a drop to their credit scores, and finding it difficult to get the best rates on a number of products and services. This includes car leases, for those who prefer to lease their cars. And, if a double-dip recession becomes a reality, this problem could continue. Those with credit that is good enough to lease may find that they are not getting the best payment plan for their money.
One way that you can improve your chances of getting better pricing is …read more

We’ve heard a lot of talk about the economy lately. And that talk has increased as the latest unemployment data puts the new jobless rate at 10.2%. The news is that, even though the recession is technically over, there are still some very grim economic realities to deal with. Whether you are planning on investing in economic recovery, or just want to gauge the health of the economy, MoneyNing offers three economic indicators you should not overlook:

Consumer Confidence Index: This measures how consumers feel about the economy. It is a measure of whether or not consumers feel confident enough about …read more

In a rather dour Friday morning surprise, the U.S. unemployment rate hit 10.2%. There have been predictions for months that the unemployment rate would exceed 10%, but as the economy started showing signs of life, hope was emerging along the lines of thinking that maybe that psychologically important level could be avoided. This morning’s non-farms payroll data destroyed all such thoughts.
However, even though the news sent stocks a little lower initially, they are inching up, desperate to remain in the black, even with the news. Even though the unemployment rate is higher, job loss is moving at a slower pace, …read more

The Federal Reserve should be announcing its interest rate decision later today, and stocks are heading higher on the assumption that the Fed is likely to keep interest rates near 0%, as well as the expectation that the Fed will keep stimulus help coming in. Indeed, what Ben Bernanke says about economic policy going forward is more likely to influence the stock market than just about anything else today, and expectations that he will play up the fact that we’re only at the beginning of the recovery, and that there will be a continued need for economic stimulus for some …read more