America’s jobless rate has fallen to 4.9% after US companies took on 151,000 new hires in January, fewer than expected * Non-farm payroll rises by just 151k.. * ....but average hourly earnings jump * Analysts: It’s a mixed report * Full story 5.33pm GMT OVER IN GREECE, THOUSANDS OF POLICE MEN (BACKED UP BY FIREMEN AND COASTGUARD OFFICIALS) ARE MARCHING THROUGH ATHENS CHANTING “WE SAVE LIVES, DON’T DROWN OURS “ IN REFERENCE TO PENSION CUTS, writes Helena Smith. All are in uniform. They’re protesting pension funds being amalgamated and demanding that they be excluded from planned reforms by virtue of the sensitivity of their jobs. Protestors have descended on the capital from all over Greece, including the southern Aegean, site of mass refugee arrivals. The union of police employees from Trikala are participating with a banner that reads: “No to the measures of death. Stop the cuts.” 5.02pm GMT The initial reaction to the US jobs numbers, which showed a weaker than expected rise of 151,000 in non-farm payrolls, was that a US rate rise was therefore off the table in the immediate future. But as the afternoon wore on, investors began to concentrate on the rise in average earnings and the fact that the jobless rate was at an eight year low. So the prospect of a rate rise was suddenly back on the agenda, and as a consequence the dollar rose and markets fell. Continue reading...
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