Soft Economy

It is not going well for the American worker.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of workers filing new claims for jobless aid surged last week to the highest since October 2005, and consumer spending softened at the end of last year, according to reports on Thursday that heightened worries about a possible recession.[...]

Separately, the Commerce Department said consumer spending edged up by 0.2 percent in December after a 1 percent gain in November, just enough to keep pace with inflation.

U.S. stock markets opened down sharply on economic concerns, while the value of the dollar dropped and prices for government debt rose as traders concluded the reading on the jobs market made further aggressive interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve more likely.