Unemployment drops to 6.9% and US adds a solid 638,000 jobs
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. job market showed a burst of strength in October, with employers adding 638,000 jobs and the unemployment rate tumbling to 6.9%. Still, the pace of hiring isn’t enough to rapidly soak up the millions of Americans who were thrown out of work by the pandemic recession. The job gain suggested that a tentative economic recovery is still intact even as it faces a surging viral outbreak. October’s increase was slightly below the 672,000 jobs that were added in September and far fewer than the 1.5 million in August. But last month’s gain was stronger than it appears: It was held down by the loss of about 150,000 temporary Census jobs.

 

Stocks take a breather, while yields rally on jobs report
By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s best week since April is taking its first breather on Friday, and stocks are slipping following their big rally on enthusiasm about the upside of potential gridlock in Washington. The S&P 500 was down 0.4% in midday trading, though it remains 6.8% higher for the week. Optimism was still pumping through other areas of the market, though, and Treasury yields climbed after a report showed U.S. employers hired more workers last month than economists expected. They’re the latest swings in a wild week dominated by Tuesday’s election, where the winner of the White House is still unknown.

MILAN (AP) — The center of Italy’s vibrant financial capital, Milan, is remarkably empty today as a patchwork of nonessential businesses closed on the first day of a partial lockdown in four Italian regions aimed at stopping the coronavirus’s resurgence. The new restrictions allow a great deal more freedom than Italy’s near-total 10-week lockdown starting in March, but nonetheless brought recriminations from regional governments that feel unfairly targeted. Italy’s move echoes those in many parts of Europe, where infections are surging again, but governments have been reluctant to impose the kind of nationwide shutdowns they did in the spring because of the terrible economic damage they did.

UNDATED (AP) — Marriott is reporting dramatic improvements in the third quarter as travel demand rebounded in China. Average occupancy at hotels in China was 61% during the quarter, down just 10% from a year ago. Occupancy in North America was 37% as some leisure demand returned. That was down 40% from the July-September period a year ago. The world’s largest hotel company is reporting earnings of $100 million in the July-September period, down from $387 million in the same quarter a year ago. It says 94% of its hotels are now open worldwide.

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Honda has reported its profit rose 23% in the last quarter, despite the pandemic that has slammed businesses around the world. Honda says its July-September profit was 240.9 billion yen, or $2.3 billion, up from 196.5 billion yen, as the auto market recovered in some parts of the world. But Toyota says its profit for the quarter fell 11% from a year earlier. Still, Japan’s top automaker appeared to be holding up better than weaker rivals that have sunk into the red.