EconomicCrisis.US

U.S. stocks swung between gains and declines as reports showed business activity expanded this month and gross domestic product topped estimates, while American International Group Inc. plunged on its quarterly loss and home sales missed projections.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.1 percent to 1,103.51 at 10:23 a.m. in New York after retreating 0.5 percent earlier.

Business activity in the U.S. expanded in February, more than anticipated and at the fastest pace since 2005, a private report showed. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. said that its business barometer climbed to 62.6, from 61.5 last month. Readings greater than 50 signal expansion.
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The unemployment rate in the U.S. unexpectedly dropped to 9.7 percent in January, indicating the labor market may be poised to climb out of its deepest slump since World War II.

More than half a million Americans found work, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington, helping push the jobless rate to the lowest since August. A separate survey of employers showed payrolls declined by 20,000 as construction companies and state and local governments cut back.

Manufacturers hired more workers for the first time in three years, expanded hours and boosted pay, which may lift consumer spending and sustain growth. Revisions to previous data increased the number of jobs lost in the recession to 8.4 million, adding impetus to the Obama administration’s push for fresh government measures to boost employment.
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The economy in the U.S. probably stopped losing jobs in December for the first time in almost two years, a sign the recovery strengthened heading into 2010, economists said before a report today.

Rising global sales mean American companies including Caterpillar Inc. may start hiring again this year after carrying out the biggest job cuts in the post-World War II era. The Federal Reserve has pledged to keep interest rates low and the Obama administration has announced measures to boost employment at small businesses as the jobless rate is forecast to exceed 10 percent through the first half of the year.
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The U.S. services sector, like its sister sector manufacturing, is showing an increase in activity, which bodes well for the U.S. economy. The Institute for Supply Management’s Non-Manufacturing Index, also known as the services index, rose to 50.1 in December from 48.7 in November, the ISM announced Wednesday. Readings above 50 indicate an expansion; below 50, a contraction.

A Bloomberg News economists survey had expected the services index to rise to 50.4 in December. The index totaled 50.6 in October, and hit a cycle low of 37.4 percent in November 2008.

What’s more, the index’s closely watched business activity component also jumped 4.1 points, rising for the fourth time in five months, to 53.7 in December from 49.6 in November. The business activity component totaled 55.2 in October.
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