Get A Job?

The numbers are "fugly", says Barry. Bloomberg (02.01.08):

"The U.S. economy unexpectedly lost jobs in January for the first time in more than four years, adding to the case for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates further next month to head off a recession."

U.S. Payrolls Decline for First Time in Four Years

So the smart guys saw this coming, right? Ha!! Guess again.

"None of the 80 economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted the decline in payrolls, which was the first since August 2003. The median forecast in the survey projected payrolls would rise by 70,000, compared with an initially reported gain of 18,000 in December. Forecasts of an increase ranged from 5,000 to 160,000."