By: admin 11 October 2008 view: 50

Some state unemployment funds drying up


(CNN) -- The demand for unemployment benefits across the country has put a strain on state unemployment funds, with such funds in at least 10 states facing insolvency in 2009, according to a policy group.
Lines form at a job fair in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in August.


Lines form at a job fair in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in August.

Nationwide, unemployment reached 6.1 percent, or roughly 9.1 million people, in August, up from 4.7 percent in 2007, and is expected to continue rising. The U.S. Department of Labor said that in August, claims for unemployment benefits reached their highest levels since 2001, in large part because of hurricane activity on the Gulf Coast.

With a weekly average of 474,000 new applicants in August, in a system already looking after about 3.5 million people each week, the growing rate of recipients has nearly depleted unemployment funds in several states... >

By: admin 11 October 2008 view: 27

Oil closes at 13-month low

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices plunged in another violent sell-off Friday, briefly tumbling below $78 a barrel as investors grow more pessimistic about the prospects for resolving a mushrooming global economic crisis.
Traders buy and sell crude oil options at the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday.


Traders buy and sell crude oil options at the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday.

A barrel of oil hasn't been this cheap in 13 months... >

By: admin 11 October 2008 view: 23

Oil sheds more than $9 to hit 13-month low

Worries about declining demand send the price of crude plummeting by the third-largest dollar amount on record.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices plunged to a 13-month low Friday, following steep stock market declines, as investors worried that the weakening global economy was driving down demand for fuel worldwide.

U.S. crude for November delivery sank as much as $9.50 to a low of $77.09 a barrel during Friday trading, its lowest level since ... >