US Job Report’s Impact On ETFs

A glum jobs report is having a startling ripple effect through the economy and exchange traded funds (ETFs).

In November, 533,000 jobs were lost or dissolved, taking the unemployment rate to 6.7%, the largest one-month decline since December 1974, reports Louis Uchitelle for The New York Times.

This news brings justification that the current recession will be deep and long, possibly the longest since The Great Depression.

Major cutbacks and declines have been seen in construction, manufacturing, home sales, consumer spending, business investments and exports. AT&T (T) anticipates 12,000 job cuts and DuPont 2,500, while Viacom (VIA) is shedding 850.

• PowerShares Dynamic Media (PBS): down 54.5% year-to-date; Viacom is 4.9%

• iShares Dow Jones U.S. Telecommunications (IYZ): down 45% year-to-date; AT&T is 22%

Wall Street was nail-biting as the unemployment reports were anticipated, giving the last hour of trading on Thursday a slide. Major indexes ended the day down and data points such as the employment report has had much persuasion over the stock markets, says Tim Paradis for the Associated Press.

Also undermining the sharp downturn are hedge funds, which have completely shut down withdrawals, and 10-30 year Treasury yields are at 50-year lows. Investors are going to be hit with mutual fund redemptions and capital gains taxes during 2009.

On top of this, there has been no clear auto rescue deal, leaving many stray strings dangling as the United States economy unravels.

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