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As the economy slows, NBC offered the pros and cons of a tight labor market. CNBC's Margaret Brennan catalogued a lengthening list of current corporate layoffs--AT&T, DuPont, Bank Credit Suisse--while citing predictions that 73,000 store closings in shopping malls in 2009 will cost 600,000 jobs nationwide. The number of beneficiaries on unemployment rolls is at a 26-year high. Meanwhile Lee Cowan spotted the silver lining at Fort Riley in Kansas. At least the USArmy offers job security--not to speak of health benefits and education benefits and a resigning bonus. Reenlistment rates are improving. "It is not all the economy. The improved security situation in Baghdad has certainly helped."
On ABC, Betsy Stark explained the latest scheme to revive the housing market, which has a nationwide unsold inventory of 4.6m homes. "The Treasury Department is now considering a plan to lower fixed rate mortgages for homebuyers from 5.5% to 4.5%. It is a plan within its power now that it controls FannieMae and FreddieMac." Even if approved, however, Stark warned that it is unlikely that the cheaper rates would kick in "until the new President takes office."
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