Sep 5, 2008 2:13 pm US/Eastern
CBS4 Your Money: Unemployment At 6.1%
Today's figures increase the risk that President Bush will become the first president since Richard Nixon to oversee two recessions
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
-
-
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
On Monday, as Hurricane Gustav came ashore in Louisiana, the price of oil actually came down. It appeared that oil refineries and platforms in the Gulf of Mexico weathered the storm.
On Tuesday, crude oil prices dropped below $109 a barrel. That caused OPEC to worry about holding the price at $100 a barrel. What a difference two months can make!
On Wednesday, there was more bad news for the struggling U.S. auto industry. Ford said its sales dropped more than 26 percent in August.
On Thursday, we got a sign that the housing slump could be bottoming out. That's because August foreclosure auctions in Miami fell 10 percent between July and August.
However, an industry group reported on Friday that a record 9.2 percent of American homeowners with a mortgage were either behind on their payments or in foreclosure at the end of June, as damage from the housing crisis continues to mount.
The week ended with the U.S. losing more jobs than forecast in August and the unemployment rate climbed to a five-year high of 6.1 percent, a sign that the economic slowdown is worsening two months before Americans elect their next president.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Golden Globes Winners, Fashions & Stars
Zoo Babies: Cuteness Unleashed
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
