BARACK OBAMA

The unemployment rate surprisingly fell to a five-month low in January and factory payrolls grew for the first time since 2007, hinting at a labor market recovery even though the economy lost 20,000 jobs.

“The O'Reilly Factor” host Bill O'Reilly aired the second part of his interview with “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart on Thursday.

The White House on Friday welcomed the Labor Department's report that the unemployment rate had fallen to a five-month low, saying it showed encouraging signs of gradual labor market healing.

He spoke at a Democratic National Committee fund-raising reception at which he sought to boost the morale of party loyalists in the wake of the Democrats' loss of a 60-vote supermajority in the Senate when Republican Scott Brown won in Massachusetts last week.

President Barack Obama, looking for ways to drive down high U.S. unemployment, will announce plans on Friday to expand credit for small businesses, a main source of job creation in the United States.

Payrolls unexpectedly fell in January, but the unemployment rate surprisingly dropped to a five-month low, according to a government report on Friday that hinted at labor market improvement.

Employers unexpectedly cut 20,000 jobs in January, but the unemployment rate surprisingly fell to a five-month low of 9.7 percent, according to a government report on Friday that hinted at some labor market improvement starting to take root.

Employers unexpectedly cut 20,000 jobs in January, but the unemployment rate surprisingly fell to a five-month low of 9.7 percent, according to a government report on Friday that hinted at some labor market improvement starting to take root.

U.S. employers probably stopped cutting jobs and added 5,000 payrolls in January, the second monthly gain since the recession started in December 2007, the government is expected to report on Friday.

The median forecast for nonfarm payrolls is for an increase of 5,000 after an unexpected 85,000 drop in December. Forecasts range from a decrease of 97,000 to an increase of 100,000.

The number of U.S. workers filing for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, but another big gain in productivity in the fourth quarter offered hope that companies were closer to adding to payrolls.

IBM is testing a cloud computing service for the US Air Force in hopes to quell concerns that the technology is insecure.

The chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, Christopher Dodd, blasted banks and Wall Street on Thursday for a refusal to work with Congress on financial reforms that borders on insulting to the American people.

The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan said on Thursday the security situation remained serious but was no longer deteriorating, offering a more upbeat assessment than other U.S. military and intelligence officials.

A prominent Goldman Sachs Group executive expressed support on Thursday for some of the many financial regulation reforms being considered by Congress since taxpayers bailed out his firm and others like it.

The number of workers filing for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, but another big gain in productivity in the fourth quarter offered hope that companies were getting close to adding to payrolls.

Economists at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, known as CMS, said in a new report that the national healthcare spending will grow an average 6.1 percent a year over the decade to $4.5 trillion in 2019, about 1.7 percent faster than the overall economy.

China dismissed U.S. threats to get tough on trade and exchange rates to ensure American goods are not disadvantaged, saying on Thursday that its currency was at a reasonable level.

Tough enforcement of trade agreements will help the United States meet President Barack Obama's goal of doubling exports during the next five years, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said on Thursday.

Lingering concerns about the global economy and a host of negative local factors pushed Asian stocks lower on Thursday, with Toyota hitting a 10-month low on investor concerns over its massive vehicle recall.

The top U.S. transportation official on Wednesday warned Toyota owners caught up in its massive recall to stop driving their cars, triggering alarm and confusion in a crisis that has engulfed the automaker.