Wall Street protests (photo © 2011, Rachel Citron, published with permission)

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The month-long amorphous, largely leaderless popular protest on Wall Street, against the failings of the economy, has been ordered to vacate Zuccotti Park in New York City by 07:00 Friday morning.

Protesters say they aren’t leaving,according to CNN. An estimated 1,000 people were in the park Thursday night.

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – European stock markets were down sharply, with falls of 4.5 to nearly 6 percent, late Thursday Swiss time, following a day of drops in Asian markets and on Wall Street.

The Swiss SMI index of top shares held up slightly better, falling by 3.5 percent mid-afternoon.

Concerns over European and especially French banks, have hit bank shares, with markets also reacting gloomily to the Wednesday on US economic growth prospects and reports that the Eurozone may be on the brink of recession.

Links to other sites: TSR, Fre, Bloomberg, Financial Times

The US economy shed 263,000 jobs in September, more than anticipated, and the unemployment rate reached 9.8 percent, its highest rate since 1983, the US Labor Department announced today 2 October. The news raises questions as to whether any recovery in the US economy can be sustainable. Employers have been cutting jobs every month since January 2007, and the number of jobs lost in this recession has reached 7.2 million, adding to the 15.1 million now unemployed in the US. Bloomberg, CNN, New York Times

Canada created 27,000 jobs in August while the US lost 216,000 jobs during the same month, raising hopes in Canada that the national economy, which is highly dependent on its huge southern neighbour, the US, may have decoupled from it. The Canadian unemployment rate nevertheless rose slightly to 8.7 percent as the number of people looking for jobs still outpaced the jobs available. Since October 2008, which was the peak employment level in the current cycle, 387,000 fulltime jobs have disappeared, a decline of 2.3 percent.

Unemployment in the US climbed to 9.7 percent, its highest rate since 1983, according to the US Department of Labor.

The US Federal Reserve, the country’s central bank, says that it sees the US economy beginning to stabilize after months of recession. But it kept short term interest rates on hold, near zero percent since December, after its FOMC, rate-setting committee meeting, Wednesday, 12 August. The Fed pointed to improving financial markets as an indicator that the recession is coming to an end. The bond markets dipped a little on the news, disappointed that the Fed was not going to increase its bond market interventions, but then came back. Major stock indices were at highs since the crisis began, and the dollar strengthened against the Yen. Reuters

Unemployment figures in the US are at an all-time high of 9.4 percent, and President Barack Obama says he believes they could go as high as 10 percent. Housing foreclosures set new records, too: more than 360,000 homeowners received a foreclosure filing in July, meaning that legal action was being taken to repossess their homes because they can’t maintain mortgage payments. In the first seven months of the year, 2.3 million homes have been repossessed, auctioned or foreclosed, a record. Reuters, Financial Times (pay), NZZ (Ger)

The ballooning US budget deficit, triggered in large part by the cost of the Iraq war and tax cuts, then increased by economic recovery spending, unemployment charges and financial industry bailouts, has reached $1 trillion for the first time. BBC, Wall Street Journal

Reuters video The Dow Jones Index in the US at the close of trade Friday showed the largest six-week gain, 22.7 percent, since 1938, reports Reuters, which credits “a reassuring report on the mood of consumers and stabilization in General Electric (GE.N) and Citigroup’s (C.N) quarterly results” for the upswing.

Reuters video, “Reading the economic signs”

American insurance company AIG, which Bloomberg says is “the insurer deemed too important to fail,” has posted a fourth quarter 2008 loss of $61.7 billion, prompting the US government to put up to $30 billion into the company in a revised bailout plan.

A $786 billion stimulus package bill for the US was approved by party negotiators in Washington Wednesday, and is being hailed as a victory for President Barack Obama. Shares on Wall Street rose In late trading. The package is now scheduled for a House vote Thursday and is expected to face a Senate vote soon after. Reuters

Figures published 30 January show the US economy contracting 3.8% at an annual rate, the worst slide in the economy since 1982, with the drop in consumer spending the biggest post-war fall. Inventories kept the figures from being worse. Bloomberg, Financial Times

The Wall Street Journal quotes well-placed Democrats as saying Barack Obama will name Paul Volcker to head a US economic advisory panel. Volcker headed the US Federal Reserve. President-elect Obama will make “economic” announcements at a press conference late Wednesday afternoon, Swiss time. Reuters

The headlines on the front page of the 7 November New York Times, one after the other, tell a stark story of an economy in a tailspin: Unemployment rate at 14-year high after big October losses; Ford plans cuts as it burns through $7.7 billion; Retailers report a [double digit] sales collapse.