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(CNNMoney.com)  -- The only professionals with a worse reputation than meteorologists for predicting the future are economists. So what happens when practitioners of the dismal science have to incorporate the effects of the weather in their economic forecasts? You get a blizzard of bad calls.Facebook
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Comment on this story    Throughout February, investors were told that we'd have to ignore much of the February economic data. The rationale was that the massive amount of snowfall that paralyzed the East Coast would lead to weak numbers that wouldn't tell the true picture of the economy.But a funny thing happened. Auto sales, unless you were Toyota (TM), were actually pretty good. Many retailers, and not just ones that sell shovels, reported solid jumps in same-store sales. Teen clothing stores Zumiez (ZUMZ) and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) emjoyed sizeable gains while department stores Macy's (M, Fortune 500) and Dillard's (DDS, Fortune 500) also shrugged off the snow."For all of the talk about the weather, people didn't just stay home and not spend. This is the winter. Snow is not a new phenomenon," said Michael Materasso, senior vice president of the fixed income group with money manager Franklin Templeton.And to top it all off, Friday's February jobs report showed that Snowmageddon didn't lead to a bigger-than-expected jump in job losses or spike in unemployment after all. So what now? It may be the case that the economy really is getting better and that not even a couple of feet of snow can derail this rebound. "Maybe we are in a real recovery. You do have a lot of pent-up demand," said Bill Stone, chief Investment strategist with PNC Wealth Management in Philadelphia.0:00
      /1:40Economy melts away snow woesSure, this is not a robust recovery. And for now, it remains a jobless one. Robert Barbera, chief economist with Investment Technology Group, a brokerage in New York, said he thinks the snowstorms did have an effect on the jobs numbers.He said payrolls may have been able to increase by more than 230,000 in February if not for the bad weather. So he argues that the weather did mask the recovery somewhat. In addition, the strong sales growth from Ford (F, Fortune 500) and GM as well as many retailers have to be taken with a grain of rock salt. Remember what was happening last February? People were afraid that the government was going to have to seize control of big banks to avoid another depression."We're comparing numbers against bad data from a year ago so that makes it look a lot better from the get-go," said Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.Still, some of the doom and gloom predictions of monthly job losses in the 200,000 to 300,000 range didn't pan out. Materasso noted that some economists may have been relying on what happened in the winter of 1996 for their predictions. The economy shed more than 200,000 jobs in a snowy January 1996, worse than was expected. Many blamed the weather. "A few economists pointed to 1996 as another bad weather year. People looked back at that as evidence that the jobs numbers could be distorted," Materasso said.Finally, it's worth pointing out that a bit of Wall Street and mainstream media navel-gazing probably played a role in painting an erroneous picture of an economy that was brought to a grinding halt in February.John Canally, economist for LPL Financial, a broker-dealer based in Boston, said some economists and yes, the press, probably got caught in the typical trap of focusing too much on their own backyard and forgetting that the United States is a lot bigger than the original 13 colonies."There was some small economic impact from the weather but broadly, we spent too much time in the Northeast thinking that this is the only part of the country. There was an element of that happening with estimates for February," he said. Reader comment of the week: Capitalism is apparently still alive and well. This remark from George Kerber in Thursday's market anniversaries column sparked a lively debate."I think people use the word 'greedy' to describe anyone that has more than they do. There is nothing wrong with developing a product and marketing it for the highest return." -- The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul R. La Monica. 


    
        
         
      
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Watch video editions of The Buzz  Unemployment rate holds steady  Good job news: Wages are rising. Really.  Americans spend more in February

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(CNNMoney.com) -- The Department of Homeland Security on Friday named the first 11 airports to receive full-body scanners paid for with stimulus funds, with most of them going to California and the Midwest.The first advanced imaging technology scanners are being installed at Boston Logan International on Friday, according to the DHS, with scanners going to 10 additional airports by the summer.Facebook
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Comment on this story    Rapiscan scanners use X-ray technology to detect objects hidden under clothing.Logan, the departure point for two of the airplanes hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001, is the only airport in the Northeast to receive a full-body scanner. None of the airports in the New York City area are included in the first wave of installations, despite the city's status as a prime target for terrorists."The Transportation Security Administration deploys imaging technology based on risk airport readiness and operation suitability," said TSA spokeswoman Sarah Horowitz, when asked why none of the scanners were installed in or near New York City. "TSA anticipates announcing the next deployment later on this month."Chicago O'Hare International will be the next location to get one, with installation scheduled for next week, according to the DHS.Scanners will be installed in three other Midwestern airports in addition to O'Hare, including Port Columbus International in Ohio, Kansas City International in Missouri, and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International.Another four are slated for California airports, including Los Angeles International, San Diego International, Oakland International and Mineta San José International.Two scanners are slated for Southern airports: Charlotte Douglas International in North Carolina and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International in Florida.0:00
      /6:26Why we need a second stimulusThe U.S. government is using $25 million in stimulus money to buy and install 150 full-body scanners in airports this year, to ramp up security and create jobs."By accelerating the deployment of this technology, we are enhancing our capability to detect and disrupt threats of terrorism across the nation," said DHS secretary Janet Napolitano in a press release on Friday. "These 11 airports will be the first of many to receive this enhanced technology as a result of the Recovery Act."The scanners are manufactured by Rapiscan, a subsidiary of Hawthorn, Calif.-based OSI (OSIS). They cost from $150,000 to $180,000 each. Peter Kant, vice president of global government affairs for Rapiscan, told CNNMoney.com in January that the government contract helped to create 25 jobs. The company did not immediately return call for comment on Friday.The soon-to-be-installed advanced imaging scanners use X-rays to provide detailed images of hidden objects in or under a person's clothing, such as weapons or explosives. According to Kant, this type of technology could have been used to prevent the alleged Christmas Eve bomber from boarding the Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight with explosives hidden in his underwear.The Transportation Security Administration has already implemented 40 scanners using a different type of technology called "millimeter wave advanced imaging" in 19 airports servicing Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami, Detroit, Dallas and other cities. These scanners were manufactured by L-3 Communications Corp., (LLL, Fortune 500) based in Woburn, Mass.


    
        
         
      
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Battle-tested: From soldier to business leader  Stimulus to bring body scanners to airports  Airlines ripe for another merger, experts say





First Published: March 5, 2010: 12:55 PM ET

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(CNNMoney.com) -- Most employers are still cautious when it comes to hiring, planning neither to add nor cut jobs from their payrolls this spring, according to a staffing firm survey released Tuesday.About 73% of employers surveyed by Manpower Inc. expect no change in their hiring plans from March to June this year. Facebook
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Comment on this storyBut there were also signs of improvement in the hiring outlook. Only about 8% of employers said they plan to make cuts, down from 12% in the previous quarter, and 14% a year ago. About 16% of employers said they expect to add to their payrolls, up from 12% last quarter."Things certainly seem to be turning around in many aspects of the economy," said Melanie Holmes, a Manpower vice president. "I really don't think employers are 100% confident yet, but I do think their confidence is building."The Milwaukee-based employment services company surveys about 18,000 employers in 200 metropolitan areas each quarter and tracks their hiring plans.0:00
      /2:24Treat employees like familyOf the 13 industry sectors Manpower surveyed, employers in leisure and hospitality, business services and mining reported the strongest hiring outlooks for the quarter. Only the government sector reported a negative outlook, with 11% of government employers saying they plan to cut jobs, and 10% saying they plan to hire new staff.All four regions tracked by Manpower expect modest hiring gains through June. Employers in the Northeast posted the highest hiring outlook, followed by the South and West, and finally, the Midwest.Around the world, 27 of the 36 countries surveyed by Manpower expect to add to their workforces. India, Brazil, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Peru and Australia posted the strongest hiring outlooks, while Italy, Spain and Ireland posted the weakest hiring plans.Manpower's survey results come four days after a government jobs report revealed employers cut payrolls by a total of 36,000 jobs last month. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected much worse -- a total of 68,000 cuts.A separate report showed the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7% in February.


    
        
         
      
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Jobs: Short-term hope, long-term despair  Jobs will grow in 2010, but then what?  Tax goodies for job seekers





First Published: March 9, 2010: 3:52 AM ET

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(CNNMoney.com) -- America's millionaires are on the rise again, according to a report issued Tuesday, after their ranks thinned out during the 2008 market meltdown.U.S. households worth $1 million or more grew to 7.8 million in 2009, up 16% from 2008, according to a survey from Spectrem Group, a Chicago-based market research and consulting firm.Facebook
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Comment on this storyThe firm's report also found that the number of ultra high-net-worth households, worth $5 million or more, jumped 17% to 980,000. "This is largely attributed to the stock market rebound, since other assets including real estate and private businesses have not rebounded as dramatically," said George H. Walper, Jr., president of Spectrem Group.The report comes one year to the day after the Dow and the S&P 500 closed at 12 year lows in the thick of the financial crisis.The market drop sent the number of millionaires plummeting 27% in 2008, according to Spectrem. Even now, the number of millionaires is still well below an all-time high of 9.2 million in 2007.   When will you be a millionaire?The Dow is up 61% in the past 12 months. But despite the market's rebound Walper said that the influential millionaires group, which controls about 70% of total U.S. assets and includes key corporate executives and small business owners, is still concerned about a prolonged economic downturn."They'd like to see unemployment in the 6% to 7% range before they feel confident that the economy is fully rebounding," said Walper.The "Affluent Market Insights 2010" report is a compilation of monthly research conducted in 2009. Spectrem surveyed over 6,100 affluent households throughout the year.


    
        
         
      
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43% have less than $10k for retirement  Make the best of a bad 401(k)  Rush Limbaugh wants $14 million for his NYC penthouse





First Published: March 9, 2010: 12:27 PM ET

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(CNNMoney.com) -- Friday's jobs report showed some glimmers of a recovery but if you're among the 8.8 million Americans still unemployed after nearly four months, you may have been left scratching your head.You're not alone.Facebook
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Comment on this story   I stopped looking for work                     The number of discouraged job seekers is at an all time high. These readers tell us what it's like to give up on the job search.      View photos   
"Whether you say the jobs market is improving or getting worse, there are people who will say you're crazy," said Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of Economic Cycle Research Institute. "That's because there are two Americas, and they're both right." Of the 8.8 million who have been unemployed for more than 3-1/2 months, there are 3.5 million more now than there were at this point last year. And for this group, the job market is looking grimmer by the day. According to the Labor Department, a stunning 58.9% of jobless Americans have now been unemployed for more than 15 weeks -- an all-time high.On the other hand, the job market is rapidly improving for those who have been unemployed for less than 3-1/2 months. There are 1.2 million fewer Americans who have been unemployed for under 15 weeks, compared with this time last year. The 41.1% who have been out of work for fifteen weeks or less marks a record low. One caveat. Some of those who have dropped out of the under-15-week group may still be out of work, putting them into the longer-term unemployed group. A tale of two job marketsA closer look at the numbers helps paint a picture of the increasingly fractured job market. Economists say most of the workers who have been out of a job for more than 15 weeks include those in slow-to-recover industries like construction, finance and manufacturing. Unfortunately for them, those businesses will likely be the last to recover."There is simply no business demand for construction workers or the guys writing credit-default swaps and derivatives," said Achuthan. "The economy, going forward, doesn't want them."0:00
      /1:34What's in the overdue jobs bill?When the housing and credit bubbles burst in late 2007 and 2008, the economy tanked. Leading up to that, when the bubble was expanding, both industries had a glut of workers. That left those industries over-exposed to financial losses when things turned sour. Both markets are just starting to recover, but businesses are still wary about hiring back construction workers and complex finance experts. "Those areas that were over capacity will have no bounce back anytime soon," said Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist for ChannelCapitalResearch.comOn the flipside, the short-term unemployed are largely from the services industries, economists say. Those with training in private and professional services have been able to find jobs faster in a number of growing industries like health care, information technology and education. For instance, the health-care industry has added 210,000 workers over the past year, according to the Labor Department. With an increasingly aging population, demand for health-care services is growing rapidly. Education has added 36,000 jobs during the past 12 months, and other industries like tech and accounting have also recently started adding positions.Temp jobs a temporary solutionFor the growing number of people who have been unemployed for 15 weeks or more, there's no easy solution to get their jobs back."The problem is that most the of the long-term unemployed are older people that have been doing the same thing for years. You can't just take a construction worker and give him a job in a hospital," said Achuthan. "No jobs bill is going to be able to deal with that."Historically, after an industry's bubble burst, it has taken a long and steady recovery before businesses were willing to take a chance and hire again. Meanwhile, its workers' skills atrophy, and they cost the country about $100 billion a year in lost productivity, Achuthan said.Tax goodies for job seekersFor those who can't find work in their fields but are able to get training or adapt their skills to new endeavors, there is a silver lining: temporary, introductory-level jobs are one of the fastest-growing sectors. Nearly 100,000 temporary positions have been created in the first two months of 2010 alone."The huge trend of temporary hiring will continue for a while, which is good for people looking for just about anything," said Roberts. "Now people are just happy to have any job."


    
        
         
      
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Jobs will grow in 2010, but then what?   Jobs report shows unemployment unchanged





First Published: March 6, 2010: 8:00 AM ET

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(CNNMoney.com) -- America's millionaires are on the rise again, according to a report issued Tuesday, after their ranks thinned out during the 2008 market meltdown.U.S. households worth $1 million or more grew to 7.8 million in 2009, up 16% from 2008, according to a survey from Spectrem Group, a Chicago-based market research and consulting firm.Facebook
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Comment on this storyThe firm's report also found that the number of ultra high-net-worth households, worth $5 million or more, jumped 17% to 980,000. "This is largely attributed to the stock market rebound, since other assets including real estate and private businesses have not rebounded as dramatically," said George H. Walper, Jr., president of Spectrem Group.The report comes one year to the day after the Dow and the S&P 500 closed at 12 year lows in the thick of the financial crisis.The market drop sent the number of millionaires plummeting 27% in 2008, according to Spectrem. Even now, the number of millionaires is still well below an all-time high of 9.2 million in 2007.   When will you be a millionaire?The Dow is up 61% in the past 12 months. But despite the market's rebound Walper said that the influential millionaires group, which controls about 70% of total U.S. assets and includes key corporate executives and small business owners, is still concerned about a prolonged economic downturn."They'd like to see unemployment in the 6% to 7% range before they feel confident that the economy is fully rebounding," said Walper.The "Affluent Market Insights 2010" report is a compilation of monthly research conducted in 2009. Spectrem surveyed over 6,100 affluent households throughout the year.


    
        
         
      
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43% have less than $10k for retirement  Make the best of a bad 401(k)  Rush Limbaugh wants $14 million for his NYC penthouse





First Published: March 9, 2010: 12:27 PM ET

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(CNNMoney.com) -- America's millionaires are on the rise again, according to a report issued Tuesday, after their ranks thinned out during the 2008 market meltdown.U.S. households worth $1 million or more grew to 7.8 million in 2009, up 16% from 2008, according to a survey from Spectrem Group, a Chicago-based market research and consulting firm.Facebook
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Comment on this storyThe firm's report also found that the number of ultra high-net-worth households, worth $5 million or more, jumped 17% to 980,000. "This is largely attributed to the stock market rebound, since other assets including real estate and private businesses have not rebounded as dramatically," said George H. Walper, Jr., president of Spectrem Group.The report comes one year to the day after the Dow and the S&P 500 closed at 12 year lows in the thick of the financial crisis.The market drop sent the number of millionaires plummeting 27% in 2008, according to Spectrem. Even now, the number of millionaires is still well below an all-time high of 9.2 million in 2007.   When will you be a millionaire?The Dow is up 61% in the past 12 months. But despite the market's rebound Walper said that the influential millionaires group, which controls about 70% of total U.S. assets and includes key corporate executives and small business owners, is still concerned about a prolonged economic downturn."They'd like to see unemployment in the 6% to 7% range before they feel confident that the economy is fully rebounding," said Walper.The "Affluent Market Insights 2010" report is a compilation of monthly research conducted in 2009. Spectrem surveyed over 6,100 affluent households throughout the year.


    
        
         
      
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43% have less than $10k for retirement  Make the best of a bad 401(k)  Rush Limbaugh wants $14 million for his NYC penthouse





First Published: March 9, 2010: 12:27 PM ET

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(CNNMoney.com) -- Most employers are still cautious when it comes to hiring, planning neither to add nor cut jobs from their payrolls this spring, according to a staffing firm survey released Tuesday.About 73% of employers surveyed by Manpower Inc. expect no change in their hiring plans from March to June this year. Facebook
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Comment on this storyBut there were also signs of improvement in the hiring outlook. Only about 8% of employers said they plan to make cuts, down from 12% in the previous quarter, and 14% a year ago. About 16% of employers said they expect to add to their payrolls, up from 12% last quarter."Things certainly seem to be turning around in many aspects of the economy," said Melanie Holmes, a Manpower vice president. "I really don't think employers are 100% confident yet, but I do think their confidence is building."The Milwaukee-based employment services company surveys about 18,000 employers in 200 metropolitan areas each quarter and tracks their hiring plans.0:00
      /2:24Treat employees like familyOf the 13 industry sectors Manpower surveyed, employers in leisure and hospitality, business services and mining reported the strongest hiring outlooks for the quarter. Only the government sector reported a negative outlook, with 11% of government employers saying they plan to cut jobs, and 10% saying they plan to hire new staff.All four regions tracked by Manpower expect modest hiring gains through June. Employers in the Northeast posted the highest hiring outlook, followed by the South and West, and finally, the Midwest.Around the world, 27 of the 36 countries surveyed by Manpower expect to add to their workforces. India, Brazil, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Peru and Australia posted the strongest hiring outlooks, while Italy, Spain and Ireland posted the weakest hiring plans.Manpower's survey results come four days after a government jobs report revealed employers cut payrolls by a total of 36,000 jobs last month. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected much worse -- a total of 68,000 cuts.A separate report showed the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7% in February.


    
        
         
      
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Jobs: Short-term hope, long-term despair  Jobs will grow in 2010, but then what?  Tax goodies for job seekers





First Published: March 9, 2010: 3:52 AM ET

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(CNNMoney.com) -- The jobless may not be getting much help from President Obama's loan modification program, but those in Pennsylvania have another place to turn.The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency offers the jobless and those suffering financial hardship loans of up to $60,000 for as long as three years to cover their monthly payments or take care of their arrears. Created in 1983, the program boasts an 80% success rate in preventing foreclosures.Facebook
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Comment on this story"If you allow people some time to find a job, they can keep their home, which saves their family, their neighborhood and their communities," said Brian Hudson, the agency's executive director.The emergency mortgage assistance program, which is funded by the state and borrowers' repayments, has come into the spotlight in recent weeks as the president searches for a way to help the unemployed stay in their homes.The administration late last month announced a $1.5 billion initiative that gives money to the states hardest hit by the mortgage crisis: Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada. The effort calls for the states' housing authorities to assist the jobless and those who are underwater -- meaning they owe far more than their homes are worth.Already, officials in Nevada, California and Florida have been in touch with Hudson to learn how to replicate Pennsylvania's program, which has distributed $450 million on behalf of 43,000 homeowners since inception. Similar efforts also exist in Delaware, North Carolina and Massachusetts.Here's how the Pennsylvania program works: Housing counselors send the agency applications of those suffering temporary hardships beyond their control, Hudson said. Those approved could have their arrears wiped out, their monthly mortgage obligation covered, or both.Hudson attributes the program's success to a careful inspection of applicants' financial backgrounds, which are reviewed annually. Those who've racked up credit cards debts are not likely to gain approval, for instance. Those likely to land a job within a few months or years are."You must have a reasonable prospect of resuming full payments within 36 months and of paying the mortgage in full," Hudson said.Loan payments are made directly to the servicers and a lien is placed on the property. The aid is repaid at a 5.25% interest rate over 10 years on average, though the borrower's financial circumstances are taken into account.For Erin and Robert Smith, the loan program helped them keep a roof over the heads of their three children. The Harrisburg, Pa. couple had no problem handling the $2,000 monthly payment on their home ... until they lost their jobs in 2008.Their loan servicer refused to help them, instead sending them a foreclosure notice. But the Pennsylvania agency stepped in, giving them a $30,000 loan to cover their arrears and real estate taxes. "All we needed was a break," said Erin Smith, 33. "We knew once we found employment, we could start making those payments."The Smiths are among the 3,250 homeowners that the housing agency's mortgage assistance program saved from foreclosure last year. A record 14,000 homeowners applied for help in 2009, up from 10,000 in most years."Not too many mortgage companies say we'll only take a small payment until you get back on your feet," said Linda Harvan, a foreclosure intervention counselor with Action Housing in Pittsburgh.Such loan programs are not that easy to administer, however. Fannie Mae unveiled a similar program, HomeSaver Advance, in 2008 to help those suffering temporary financial hardships. It provided unsecured loans of up to $15,000 that borrowers could use to clear their arrears.But the program was effectively discontinued within a year after redefault rates soared to nearly 70%. By August 2009, HomeSaver Advance accounted for only 3% of Fannie Mae's foreclosure prevention actions, down from 42% a year earlier.Awilda Mercado is thankful that the emergency loan program in Pennsylvania continues to serve the state's residents. In 2008 she lost her factory position and her husband had an on-the-job accident that left him unable to work. To help her stay in her York, Penn., home, the agency took care of her arrears of $7,386 and paid four months of her mortgage.0:00
      /3:58The challenges facing job growthNow that she's receiving unemployment and her husband is on disability, the Mercados have been able to resume their mortgage payments. They also are reimbursing the housing agency, often sending in more than the $25 minimum payment."They helped me not only save my home, but got me back on my feet," said Mercado, 52, who has three grown children.


    
        
         
      
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Housing help for unemployed, underwater borrowers  One year later: Lasting help for 116,000 homeowners  Yet another try at foreclosure rescue





First Published: March 8, 2010: 3:47 AM ET

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(CNNMoney.com) -- Federal programs will dole out more than $500 billion a year over the next decade based on data collected through the 2010 Census, according to a study released Tuesday.The Census Bureau began hand-delivering questionnaires in rural areas last week, and most U.S. households will start receiving the forms in the mail next week. The bureau will use the completed questionnaires from an estimated 134 million households to determine the nation's headcount, which is critical to the process of allocating federal assistance dollars.Facebook
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Comment on this storyThe Brookings Institution said 215 federal programs distributed almost $447 billion in fiscal 2008 based on the census data collected in 2000. More than 80% of that money was divvied up among states and the nation's capital, and mostly funded Medicaid payments, and highway planning and construction programs, according to the Washington-based liberal think tank.About $21.5 billion was allocated to metro areas for affordable housing vouchers."Since 2008, federal assistance spending has increased substantially, in part because of the massive stimulus package of 2009," said Andrew Reamer, Brookings Institution policy analyst and author of the study, in a statement. "State governments stand to gain the greatest fiscal benefit from increased census participation, as a fifth of their revenues come from federal grants."To encourage more people to answer the questionnaire and return it by mail, the Census Bureau is spending $133 million, or about $1 per household, in national advertising campaigns. The bureau estimates it will save $85 million in taxpayer money for each percentage point increase in the 2010 Census mail-back response rate by avoiding spending $56 going door-to-door to each unresponsive household to collect data.Winners and losers: The Brookings report said states with high income levels and those with high poverty rates, based on census data, generally receive the most federal assistance for each person.In fiscal year 2008, Washington, D.C., received the most aid per person at $4,656, followed by Vermont, Alaska, New York and Massachusetts, which each received between $2,100 and $2,900 a resident.The lowest amount went to Nevada, at just $742 per person, according to the study.Among the 100 largest metropolitan areas, upstate New York's Capital District, which includes Albany, Schenectady and Troy, received the most per capita at $5,217, while the Florida metropolitan area that includes Bradenton, Sarasota and Venice received $336 per resident.Of the 200 largest counties, Suffolk County in Massachusetts received the highest amount in federal funding per person at $6,032, and Collin County in Texas received the least at $182.19 per resident.


    
        
         
      
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How $1 trillion hides in plain sight  CBO: $10 trillion jump in debt under Obama budget  Why cities aren't hitting panic button -- yet

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(CNNMoney.com) -- The number of chief executives who left their posts surged in February to the highest level since September 2008, when the economy was rocked by the financial crisis. Chief executive departures jumped 48% to 132 in February, from 89 in January, according to a report out Wednesday from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., an outplacement consultancy. That's the highest level of turnover in the corner office since 140 CEOs left office in September, 2008.   Facebook
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Comment on this storyLast month's total was also up 61% from February, 2009. "For the past 12 to 18 months, companies needed leaders who could see them through the recession," said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. "Now, they are reassessing and, in many cases, replacing executives with those who are better equipped to take advantage of expansion," he said.0:00
      /2:29Quitting on Twitter is bad formSo far in 2010 a total of 221 CEO's vacated their seats, well ahead of the 196 chiefs who left during the same period last year, according to the report. Some of the biggest names to clear out their offices this year include Jonathan Schwartz who famously tweeted about his last day at Sun Microsystems (SUNW), Owen Van Natta, whose tenure at the helm of MySpace lasted less than one year and Walt Freese who left Ben & Jerrys.Health care has seen the most turnover this year, with 35 departures, followed by the government and non-profit sector which saw 23 leaders step down, and the energy sector, which had 16 CEO's leave this year.Challenger said that nonprofit and health care CEO's have buckled under the weight of monstrous state budget deficits and the uncertainty surrounding health care reform."There's no consensus on how to deal with [the health care industry], but near unanimous agreement that's it's not working," said Challenger. "This puts great pressure on a CEO."Challenger expects to see CEO departures continue to climb this year."As the economy improves and companies try to improve their competitive position through mergers and acquisitions," said Challenger, "we will see more and more top executives leave the newly combined companies." 


    
        
         
      
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2008 crisis: Where are they now  The fall of a Wall Street highflier





First Published: March 10, 2010: 10:03 AM ET

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(CNNMoney.com) -- A total of 30 states and Washington, D.C., reported rising unemployment rates in January, down from the number in the previous month, according to a government report released Wednesday.Jobless rates decreased in nine states, according to the Labor Department's monthly report on state unemployment. Eleven states reported no change. Facebook
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Comment on this storyIn December, 43 states reported monthly jobless rate increases. Twenty-five states posted jobless rates lower than the national unemployment rate of 9.7% in January. Eleven states and Washington, D.C., reported rates higher than the national average, down from 17 states and Washington, D.C.  posting rates higher than the national average of 10% in December.The report said all 50 states had an unemployment rate in January that was higher than a year earlier."On balance, the report still reflects a very weak labor market," said John Lonski, a chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "Unemployment remains unacceptably high throughout the far majority of states, and despite hints of an improving employment picture, we have a long way to go before the U.S. economy achieves a satisfactory labor market." Michigan again had the highest rate of unemployment at 14.3%. Second was  Nevada at 13%, followed by Rhode Island at 12.7%. For South Carolina, fourth at 12.6%, and California, fifth at 12.5%, the January jobless rates were record highs.New Mexico posted the largest jobless rate increase in January, a rise of 0.3 percentage point to 8.5%.North Dakota was again the state with the lowest jobless rate, at 4.2%.0:00
      /4:50Don't ask for a state jobSome 31 states and Washington, D.C., added jobs in January, according to the Labor Department. The District of Columbia led with a 32,500 increase, followed by Illinois with a 26,000 gain.Lonski expects there will be a gradual decrease in the unemployment rate throughout the year, but he cautions that there's no reason to celebrate yet."What you can infer from this month's report is that the deterioration in the market eased in January, but easing is not the same thing as an outright improvement," he said. "Forthcoming declines in the unemployment rate will occur grudgingly -- it's unlikely that the unemployment rate is on the verge of declining significantly." Lonski said he wouldn't be surprised if state unemployment rates fall modestly in the spring and especially in March, when the government begins hiring temporary Census workers. Warmer weather may also slightly improve the employment landscape, as employees who were let go in the winter months return to work.In a separate report earlier this month, the government reported the nation shed 36,000 jobs in February, following a 26,000 loss in January. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.7%. "It's still not a very pretty picture," said Lonski. "And to go ahead and assume that the U.S. will grow rapidly enough to lower the rate of unemployment later this year remains, in part, an act of faith."The Labor Department generates the unemployment rate by conducting a monthly population survey and includes in the rate people who have actively searched for work in the past four weeks. Those who have given up on finding jobs are not counted in the unemployment rate, and the rate is not affected by the number of people who are eligible for, or have run out of jobless benefits.


    
        
         
      
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Budget squeeze sours jobs picture  Employers still skittish on hiring  Jobs: Short-term hope, long-term despair





First Published: March 10, 2010: 10:21 AM ET

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(CNNMoney.com) -- Federal programs will dole out more than $500 billion a year over the next decade based on data collected through the 2010 Census, according to a study released Tuesday.The Census Bureau began hand-delivering questionnaires in rural areas last week, and most U.S. households will start receiving the forms in the mail next week. The bureau will use the completed questionnaires from an estimated 134 million households to determine the nation's headcount, which is critical to the process of allocating federal assistance dollars.Facebook
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Comment on this storyThe Brookings Institution said 215 federal programs distributed almost $447 billion in fiscal 2008 based on the census data collected in 2000. More than 80% of that money was divvied up among states and the nation's capital, and mostly funded Medicaid payments, and highway planning and construction programs, according to the Washington-based liberal think tank.About $21.5 billion was allocated to metro areas for affordable housing vouchers."Since 2008, federal assistance spending has increased substantially, in part because of the massive stimulus package of 2009," said Andrew Reamer, Brookings Institution policy analyst and author of the study, in a statement. "State governments stand to gain the greatest fiscal benefit from increased census participation, as a fifth of their revenues come from federal grants."To encourage more people to answer the questionnaire and return it by mail, the Census Bureau is spending $133 million, or about $1 per household, in national advertising campaigns. The bureau estimates it will save $85 million in taxpayer money for each percentage point increase in the 2010 Census mail-back response rate by avoiding spending $56 going door-to-door to each unresponsive household to collect data.Winners and losers: The Brookings report said states with high income levels and those with high poverty rates, based on census data, generally receive the most federal assistance for each person.In fiscal year 2008, Washington, D.C., received the most aid per person at $4,656, followed by Vermont, Alaska, New York and Massachusetts, which each received between $2,100 and $2,900 a resident.The lowest amount went to Nevada, at just $742 per person, according to the study.Among the 100 largest metropolitan areas, upstate New York's Capital District, which includes Albany, Schenectady and Troy, received the most per capita at $5,217, while the Florida metropolitan area that includes Bradenton, Sarasota and Venice received $336 per resident.Of the 200 largest counties, Suffolk County in Massachusetts received the highest amount in federal funding per person at $6,032, and Collin County in Texas received the least at $182.19 per resident.


    
        
         
      
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How $1 trillion hides in plain sight  CBO: $10 trillion jump in debt under Obama budget  Why cities aren't hitting panic button -- yet

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(CNNMoney.com) -- A closely-watched measure of consumer confidence fell sharply in February after three straight months of improvement, a research group said Tuesday.The Conference Board, a New York-based research group, said its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 46.0 in February from 56.5 in January.Facebook
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Comment on this storyAccording to a Briefing.com consensus survey, economists expected the index to fall slightly to 55.0 from 55.9. The index, which is based on a survey of 5,000 U.S. households, is closely monitored because consumer spending drives two-thirds of the nation's economic activity.  The overall index remains at historically low levels and is the lowest since April 2009. A reading of above 90 indicates a stable economy, while 100 or greater is an indication of strong growth."One report does not a trend make," said Carl Riccadonna, senior economist for Deutsche Bank in New York. "This is a yellow flag but not a critical development to be sure. At economic turning points, we often show volatile fits and starts." February's present situation index, which indicates how consumers feel about current economic conditions, hit a 27 year low of 19.4, according to the Conference Board. That means that consumers feel things are worse now than they were during the throes of the financial crisis in the fall of 2008. Riccadonna said the significant decline on the heels of three months of gains is similar to what happened after the recession of 1981-1982. At that time, the present situation index also experienced violent swings before leveling off.0:00
      /2:45Small banks still not lendingExpectations for the future also took a turn for the worse in February. The expectation index, a measure of consumer outlook over the next few months, fell to 63.8 from an upwardly revised 77.3 in January. Only 16.7% of consumers expect to see an improvement in business conciliations over the next 6 months, down from 20.7%. Some 15.3% of those surveyed expect business conditions to get worse over the next six months. The outlook for the labor market was even more bleak. The percentage of those who expect fewer jobs to become available jumped to 24.6% from 18.9% in January. And only 9.5% of those surveyed anticipated an increase in their incomes, compared to 11.0% in January."Employment is the driving factor of consumer confidence," said Riccadonna, who expects the index to see a boost in March when he predicts the first positive payroll numbers. Riccadonna cautioned against viewing this individual report as a sign of a double-dip recession, since other economic indicators such as employment and housing are showing steady signs of improvement. For example, unemployment ticked down to 9.7% in January from 10.0% in December.  And the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index released today showed continued slowing in home value declines across the U.S."Clearly the trend of consumer confidence bears continued scrutiny," said Riccadonna. "I'm putting an asterisk by today's number. This is not an indication of double dipping, but rather typical behavior." 


    
        
         
      
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Home prices fall another 2.5%  Economists: Recovery is firmly on track  Wall Street's big week ahead





First Published: February 23, 2010: 10:33 AM ET

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(CNNMoney.com) -- A total of 30 states and Washington, D.C., reported rising unemployment rates in January, down from the number in the previous month, according to a government report released Wednesday.Jobless rates decreased in nine states, according to the Labor Department's monthly report on state unemployment. Eleven states reported no change. Facebook
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Comment on this storyIn December, 43 states reported monthly jobless rate increases. Twenty-five states posted jobless rates lower than the national unemployment rate of 9.7% in January. Eleven states and Washington, D.C., reported rates higher than the national average, down from 17 states and Washington, D.C.  posting rates higher than the national average of 10% in December.The report said all 50 states had an unemployment rate in January that was higher than a year earlier."On balance, the report still reflects a very weak labor market," said John Lonski, a chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "Unemployment remains unacceptably high throughout the far majority of states, and despite hints of an improving employment picture, we have a long way to go before the U.S. economy achieves a satisfactory labor market." Michigan again had the highest rate of unemployment at 14.3%. Second was  Nevada at 13%, followed by Rhode Island at 12.7%. For South Carolina, fourth at 12.6%, and California, fifth at 12.5%, the January jobless rates were record highs.New Mexico posted the largest jobless rate increase in January, a rise of 0.3 percentage point to 8.5%.North Dakota was again the state with the lowest jobless rate, at 4.2%.0:00
      /4:50Don't ask for a state jobSome 31 states and Washington, D.C., added jobs in January, according to the Labor Department. The District of Columbia led with a 32,500 increase, followed by Illinois with a 26,000 gain.Lonski expects there will be a gradual decrease in the unemployment rate throughout the year, but he cautions that there's no reason to celebrate yet."What you can infer from this month's report is that the deterioration in the market eased in January, but easing is not the same thing as an outright improvement," he said. "Forthcoming declines in the unemployment rate will occur grudgingly -- it's unlikely that the unemployment rate is on the verge of declining significantly." Lonski said he wouldn't be surprised if state unemployment rates fall modestly in the spring and especially in March, when the government begins hiring temporary Census workers. Warmer weather may also slightly improve the employment landscape, as employees who were let go in the winter months return to work.In a separate report earlier this month, the government reported the nation shed 36,000 jobs in February, following a 26,000 loss in January. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.7%. "It's still not a very pretty picture," said Lonski. "And to go ahead and assume that the U.S. will grow rapidly enough to lower the rate of unemployment later this year remains, in part, an act of faith."The Labor Department generates the unemployment rate by conducting a monthly population survey and includes in the rate people who have actively searched for work in the past four weeks. Those who have given up on finding jobs are not counted in the unemployment rate, and the rate is not affected by the number of people who are eligible for, or have run out of jobless benefits.


    
        
         
      
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Budget squeeze sours jobs picture  Employers still skittish on hiring  Jobs: Short-term hope, long-term despair





First Published: March 10, 2010: 10:21 AM ET