20 million-plus collect unemployment checks in '09
WASHINGTON (AP) _ A record 20 million-plus people collected unemployment benefits at some point in 2009, a year that ended with the jobless rate at 10 percent.
As the pace of layoffs slows, the number of new applicants visiting unemployment offices has been on the decline in recent months. But limited hiring means the ranks of the long-term unemployed continues to grow, with more than 5.8 million people out of work for more than six months.
The number of new claims for jobless benefits dropped last week to 432,000, the Labor Department said Thursday, down sharply from its late March peak of 674,000. The decline signals that the economy could begin adding a small number of jobs in January, several economists said.
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Stocks fall sharply as investors close out 2009
NEW YORK (AP) _ The stock market has closed out a remarkable 2009 with a loss as investors bet the improving economy will lead the government to pull back on its stimulus measures. But stocks still managed their best year since 2003 as they recovered from the financial crisis and recession.
Thursday's trading, which came on extremely light pre-holiday volume, was a fitting end to a tumultuous year. Stocks fell to 12-year lows by early March on investors' increasing pessimism, then rallied on growing signs of recovery in what turned out to be Wall Street's biggest comeback since the Great Depression.
The thin volume exaggerated the market's moves. According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 120.46, or 1.1 percent, to 10,428.05. For the year, the Dow rose 1,651.66, or 18.8 percent.
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Treasury winds down bank bailouts with $29M outlay
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Treasury Department said Thursday it has pumped $29.3 million into 10 banks, which will be the last to receive investments as part of the taxpayer-funded program to shore up the financial system.
The aid comes from a $700 billion financial bailout program created last year during the height of the financial crisis.
The investments in the 10 banks are the last under Treasury's so-called Capital Purchase Program, Treasury officials said. By law, the Treasury must report the transactions _ which occurred on Tuesday _ within two business days.
Although the government anticipated winding down support for banks, Treasury Secretary Geithner recently extended the publicly derided bailout program, saying it will now focus on helping homeowners avoid foreclosures and small businesses get loans.
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AT&T is latest to end Tiger Woods sponsorship