Books that Amazon.com Inc. sells for its Kindle electronic reading device will also be available on cell phones, too. The company is not saying when the books will be available, or on which phones. Another e-book provider, Mobipocket, which is owned by Amazon, already sells titles that can be read on smart phones.
Job losses mount in January
Employers eliminated 598,000 jobs in January, the most since the end of 1974, and catapulted the unemployment rate to 7.6 percent. The grim figures were further proof that the nation’s job climate is deteriorating at an alarming clip with no end in sight. The Labor Department’s report, released Friday, showed the terrible toll the drawn-out recession is having on workers and companies.
Consumer loans drop in December
Consumer borrowing fell for a third straight month in December, the longest stretch in 17 years, as households cut spending amid a steep recession and rising job layoffs. The Federal Reserve said Friday that consumer borrowing dropped at an annual rate of 3.1 percent in December. The $6.6 billion decline was nearly double what analysts expected. It followed an $11 billion drop in November that was the biggest monthly plunge on records going back to 1943. The weakness in December reflected a big 7.8 percent decline in the category that includes credit card debt, and a 0.2 percent drop in the category that includes auto loans. The cutback in consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity, is the major reason the overall economy contracted at an annual rate of 3.8 percent at the end of 2008.
Ford losing parts suppliers
Ford’s top executive for auto parts purchasing said Friday he expects more failures among parts suppliers as the industry grapples with an unprecedented downturn in automobile sales. “We are going to see more, and we are going to see more faster,” said Tony Brown, Ford’s group vice president for global purchasing, of the pace of parts supplier insolvencies. Forty auto parts makers went bankrupt in 2008, according to the Original Equipment Suppliers Association. Brown said Ford will continue to slash the number of suppliers it does business with as it adapts to the weak auto market.
From Herald news services.
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