BusinessWeek

By Bob Willis [Bloomberg] -- The U.S. unexpectedly lost 85,000 jobs in December and revisions showed payrolls increased the prior month for the first time in almost two years, indicating improvement in the labor market will be halting. Payrolls decreased last month after a November gain of 4,000, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected no change in December employment. The jobless rate held at 10...Read Full Story

Jan. 8 [Bloomberg] -- Shares of the following companies are having unusual moves in U.S. trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses, and prices are as of 11:10 a.m. in New York. Generic pharmaceutical companies retreated after the industry was cut to "neutral" from "attractive" by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which said the "resolution of health-care reform uncertainty" may hurt the sector. Mylan Inc. (MYL) fell 3.3% to $17.43. The biggest U.S. maker of generic drugs was cut to "neutral" from...Read Full Story

WASHINGTON SWINGS AT REFORM Before seasoned investors buy or sell, they run through a checklist of considerations. Here's an important one: New regulations. "Every time we look at an investment, we ask ourselves in what way the tentacles of U.S. or foreign government are going to interact with this investment," says Craig Perry, chairman of Sabretooth Capital Management, a $150 million hedge fund in New York. The sweeping reforms that politicians promised after the collapse of...Read Full Story

By Bloomberg News [Bloomberg] -- China's move to raise the cost of three-month bills will probably lead to the nation's first interest-rate increase in almost three years by September, a survey of economists showed. The People's Bank of China will lift the benchmark one-year lending rate to 5.85 percent by year-end from 5.31 percent now, according to the median estimate of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News today. The survey was after the central bank yesterday sold the bills at a...Read Full Story

THE SLOW ROAD TO JOBS Could it take as long as five years for the economy to replace all of the 8 million jobs lost since the Great Recession began? The most bearish economists think so. Job creation is proving to be painfully slow, and Washington is starting to panic. With unemployment at a 26-year high of 10.2% and climbing, the Democrats are scrambling to rev up the economy before the midterm elections next November. The latest effort is a "Jobs Summit" set for Dec. 3 at the White...Read Full Story

HEDGE YOUR BETS LIKE THE BIG BOYS Institutional investors have long used private equity and hedge funds to achieve overall returns far higher than those eked out by individuals. In the 10 years ended Dec. 31, 2008, Hedge Fund Research's Fund Weighted Composite Index gained 7% per year, on average, while the Thomson Reuters U.S. Private Equity Performance Index returned an annual average of 17%. That compares with a 13% cumulative loss for the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index. Until...Read Full Story

Although corporate profits in the fourth quarter will likely be dramatically better than a year ago, CEOs aren't pounding their chests yet. Most chief executives acknowledge that the fourth quarter brought higher sales but remain reluctant to provide guidance that looks much into the future, says Hank Herrmann, chief executive of Waddell & Reed Financial (WDR), an Overland Park, Kan., fund company that manages $70 billion. "A few [companies) are building backlogs, but not a lot. A few people...Read Full Story

THE MOMENTUM AT CSX Widespread signals that an economic recovery is in place, plus Warren Buffett's purchase of Burlington Northern Santa Fe on Nov. 3, have buoyed other rail stocks. Carl Birkelbach, president of Birkelbach Investment Securities, says CSX (CSX) is the most attractive of the lot as it should gain immensely from the coming recovery. Its stock climbed to a 52-week high of 50.15 a share on Nov. 17, up from 20 on Mar. 9. With the stock now at 48.82, Birkelbach says there's at...Read Full Story

CISCO'S EXTREME AMBITIONS During Cisco Systems' annual meeting on Nov. 12, John T. Chambers, chairman and chief executive, strode confidently around the auditorium at Silicon Valley's Santa Clara Convention Center. But he faced a barrage of tough questions about the company and its prospects. At one point, looking a tad dazed by the onslaught, he sat down on the steps of the stage. "At what size does Cisco become so big and diverse that its growth and profitability will plateau?" one...Read Full Story

WHY COPENHAGEN WILL BE GOOD FOR BUSINESS When the delegates at the climate summit in Copenhagen need to call home, they can do so in style. Cisco Systems is outfitting four rooms in the city's Bella convention center with a giant-screen teleconferencing system, enabling officials to confer face to face with counterparts in 100 places around the world. The donation is not entirely altruistic. It's a demonstration of how Cisco's products can substitute for business travel, slashing carbon...Read Full Story