Money world

European stocks rose on Friday as investors set aside concerns about the euro’s debt crisis to focus on the impending release of monthly U.S. jobs data, which many hope will confirm a mild recovery in the world’s largest economy.

Asian market indexes closed lower as they reacted to poor economic and financial indicators out of Europe the previous day. That stream of poor European data continued on Friday, with new information showing a drop in retail sales and economic sentiment among consumers and businesses. Unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone, meanwhile, remained at a worrying 10.3 percent.

Traders expect 2012 to be a tough one for Europe, as it slides back toward recession, and appeared relieved to have more upbeat U.S. economic indicators to focus on Friday.

Analysts are projecting hiring gains of about 150,000 when the U.S. Labor Department issues the December jobs report. That would mark a six-month stretch in which the economy generated 100,000 jobs or more in each month. Expectations of the data rose on Thursday, when the private payrolls agency ADP said its own calculations for hiring gains were much stronger than forecast.

An improvement in the U.S. labor market is crucial for global markets because American consumer spending accounts for a fifth of the world’s economic activity. A recovery in the U.S. would also mitigate the impact of the sharp slowdown in Europe.

Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent to 5,644.55, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.6 percent to 6,131.25. France’s CAC-40 rose 0.8 percent to 3,170.85. Ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street, Dow Jones futures rose almost 0.1 percent to 12,334 and S&P 500 futures gained 0.1 percent to 1,274.50.

Although upbeat U.S. data could push stocks higher, gains were likely to be limited by the lingering fears about Europe’s debt crisis. Italy’s benchmark 10-year bond yield edged further above 7 percent, a borrowing rate that is considered unsustainable over the longer term.

Italy, along with many other European governments, has to roll over huge amounts of debt in coming months. It is trying to restore investor confidence in its public finances to get those bond yields down and pay lower rates when it auctions its bonds to raise cash from capital markets.

Traders will watch comments from Italian Premier Mario Monti, who will hold talks in Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday.

Banks, meanwhile, are hurting due to fears that they will take big losses on their holdings of government debt and will struggle to raise new cash to plug those holes.

Trading in UniCredit, Italy’s largest bank, was halted on Thursday after the stock lost a quarter of its value in two days. The bank said Wednesday it would need to offer huge discounts to investors to raise money in a new share sale. The stock was down another 11 percent on Friday.

Longer-term concerns about the euro and the region’s financial system pushed the common currency to 15-month lows on Thursday. It recovered slightly on Friday, rising 0.1 percent to $1.2808.

Outside the eurozone, Hungary was sliding deeper into its own financial crisis. It had to pay a staggeringly high interest rate of 10 percent on its 12-month debt. That is far above the 7 percent level that forced Greece and Portugal to seek emergency bailouts to prevent them from defaulting on their debts.

Investor confidence in the country has deteriorated to the point that the country is considering asking the International Monetary Fund for a standby rescue loan.

Asian indexes ended mostly lower as they reacted to the previous day’s European market jitters. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index closed 1.2 percent lower at 8,390.35. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.2 percent at 18,593.06 and South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.1 percent to 1,843.14. Benchmarks in Taiwan and Indonesia also fell. India and Singapore rose.

In mainland China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.7 percent to 2,163.39, while the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.5 percent to 817.78.

Japanese stocks are hurt by the yen’s rise against the dollar, which makes exports less competitive internationally. On Friday, the dollar dropped another 0.1 percent to 77.07 yen.

Benchmark oil for February delivery rose 60 cents to $102.41 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell by $1.41 to end Thursday at $101.81 in New York.

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TORONTO

FRANKLIN COUNTY • The wound left when Chrysler shuttered its plants in 2008 and 2009 hasn’t healed in nearby Franklin County, where residents for years relied on those paychecks.

The county has seen the sharpest rise in poverty in the metro region since the recession, according to recently released census figures. In 2006, a year before the recession officially began, 10.3 percent of residents lived below the poverty level. That figure hit 17 percent in 2010, the most recent statistics available.

When asked why the county was hit so hard, those who work with the poor unanimously cite the Chrysler closure in Fenton and its lingering effects on jobs.

“I think disproportionately we were hit harder than other areas, and that showed in our unemployment rate,” said Presiding County Commissioner John Griesheimer.

Many in the county haven’t found a way to replace good-paying jobs, and the county is about to be dealt another blow with ties to the auto industry.

Harman-Becker Automotive Systems plans to start shutting its plant in Washington, Mo., as soon as this month, leaving nearly 300 people without jobs, said Sandy Lucy, the city’s mayor.

Most of those jobs are in manufacturing. Many workers earn $40,000 to $60,000 a year assembling auto accessories such as car radios and navigation systems. The company supplied parts to the Chrysler plant.

Harman-Becker’s closure was announced more than a year ago but wasn’t supposed to begin until summer. The plant is now expected to be shuttered by spring.

The plant is an example of efforts to create county jobs. The state and city bent over backward to lure Harman-Becker to Washington in 2005, with incentives worth nearly $3 million.

The company has repaid the state almost $540,000 under a “clawback provision,” which allows the state to recover tax money from businesses that fail to meet economic commitments, according to the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

The company did not have to repay nearly $40,000 it received through the Missouri Quality Jobs program because it created and maintained jobs for three years. Harman-Becker did not respond to an email request for comment.

The pending closure worries Sandy Crider, executive director of Loving Hearts Outreach food pantry in Washington. She sees people coming to the pantry who lost jobs in the auto industry that paid $25 or $30 an hour with health benefits and retirement plans, and who have continued to struggle after those jobs disappeared.

“Now they’re working two part-time jobs for minimum wage and no health insurance,” Crider said. “They’re embarrassed because they can’t find jobs to bring them back to the point where they were in the past.”

A 58-year-old freelance Web developer standing in line recently at the Agape House food pantry in St. Clair said the loss of the plants has crippled the county and sent ripples beyond the auto industry. His own workload is down 40 percent from before the recession, said the man, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Bill, so his customers wouldn’t know his financial situation.

“I could see if you’re a bad person, you’re not going to hold a job,” he said. “But I see a lot of good, hardworking people who want a job and there’s nothing for them.”

Crider said more families are becoming homeless and must move in with other family members, also on fixed incomes.

“That’s what the homelessness looks like in Franklin County,” she said.

Ellen Dietrich, director of community relations of the Jefferson Franklin Community Action Corp., has seen the uptick in poverty, too.

Not long ago, a woman who used to donate came into the social service agency’s office. Instead of writing a check, she asked for help.

“People come in and give us résumés and say if we know of anyone hiring, please pass it along,” said Tammy Stowe, executive director of the Union Chamber of Commerce.

Franklin County government relies heavily on sales tax, but collections hit a low of $4.9 million in 2009. Since then, sales tax revenue has been on a slight upswing, said county Auditor Tammy Vemmer.

To help balance the budget the last couple of years, county employees have been required to clean their own offices to save on janitorial services. This year, unelected, full-time county employees will get a $700 boost in pay. They have not seen raises since 2008, Vemmer said.

Griesheimer, the presiding county commissioner, said the county had been able to avoid layoffs, unlike the private sector.

From January 2009 through March 2011, unemployment in Franklin County topped 10 percent for all but two months, and peaked at 13.4 percent in February 2010. The rate dipped to 8.8 percent in November, the most recent data available.

Christie Bean, of Gerald, has searched for a full-time job for more than five years. “I call the temp service every day,” she said.

Bean lost her assembly-line position when the Daisy BB bullet factory shut down in Salem, Mo. She’d like a permanent factory job but knows she can’t be picky.

“People who are getting jobs are holding onto them,” said Bean, 42.

Her husband sells scrap metal and fixes cars, but work has dried up. He has resorted to selling firewood door to door.

“He’s working hard and he’s not getting anywhere,” said Bean. He once had a good factory job, too, she said, but he lost it because of back problems.

Last month, Bean and her sister stopped at the Loving Hearts Outreach food pantry in Washington. Bean packed a basket of pasta, tuna, tomato soup, applesauce and red beans and rice into the back seat of her car and was grateful for it.

Other county residents are slowly digging their way out. Cody Sansom, 27, once made $20 an hour working construction jobs. When the demand for new houses dried up, so did work. He became homeless three years ago and moved to the Agape House shelter three months ago.

He recently landed a job as a cashier and pizza cook at a convenience store, where he earns minimum wage.

“It’s the lowest I’ve ever made,” said Sansom, who will start classes at East Central College in Union next month. “But it’s a job.”

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President Barack Obama, saying he

Wall Street is heading higher on the last day of trading at the end of a raucous year on positive signals this week about jobs and, depending how you look at it, housing.

Oil prices edged higher in the absence of any major economic data Friday.

The government said Thursday that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits each week has dropped by 10 percent since January and pending home sales jumped to their highest point in a year and a half.

Still, investors will wait to see if those home sales actually close and also for a raft of data next week on manufacturing.

Dow futures rose 0.07 percent, to 12,225 and S&P 500 futures added 0.17 percent to 1,259.50. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.13 percent to 2,280.25.

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Stocks are opening slightly lower as worries over the European debt crisis persist, overshadowing a strong auction of Italian government debt.

The European Central Bank said the continent’s banks parked a record $590.72 billion overnight at the bank, reflecting distrust in the European banking system.

Italy held two successful bond auctions Wednesday at a substantially lower cost than what it paid in similar auctions last month payday loan lenders. The sales raised hopes that the country would be able to roll over its enormous national debt with new bonds.

The Dow Jones industrial average is down 20 points at 12,272 in early trading. The S&P 500 is down 3 at 1,262. The Nasdaq is down 6 at 2,619.

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Russia unexpectedly reduced its benchmark rate, suggesting policy makers see a global economic slump posing greater risks than inflation to the world

+%3Cp%3E+More+monetary+stimulus+from+the+U.S.+Federal+Reserve+would+be+the+%22wrong+path%2C%22+despite+the+threat+the+simmering+European+debt+crisis+is+posing+for+the+U.S.+economy%2C+a+top+Fed+official+known+for+his+hawkish+views+on+inflation+said+on+Friday.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EIt+is+up+to+Congress+and+the+President+–+not+the+U.S.+central+bank+–+to+clean+up+the+%22yucky+mess%22+that+is+the+country%27s+debt+and+fiscal+problems%2C+Dallas+Fed+President+Richard+Fisher+said%2C+reprising+what+is+for+him+a+frequent+theme+in+public+speeches.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3E%22The+Federal+Reserve+has+done+everything+it+can%2C+and+more%2C+to+reduce+unemployment+without+forsaking+our+sacred+commitment+to+maintaining+price+stability%2C+or+crossing+over+the+monetary+river+Styx+into+full-blown+debt+monetization%2C%22+Fisher+told+the+Austin+Chamber+of+Commerce.+%22From+my+standpoint%2C+resorting+to+further+monetary+accommodation+to+clean+out+the+sink%2C+clogged+by+the+flotsam+and+jetsam+of+a+jolly%2C+drunken+fiscal+and+financial+party+that+has+gone+on+far+too+long%2C+is+the+wrong+path+to+follow.%22%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+U.S.+central+bank+stood+pat+on+policy+at+its+meeting+Tuesday%2C+leaving+interest+rates+near+zero%2C+and+continuing+to+signal+that+it+will+keep+them+there+through+at+least+mid-2013.+One+policymaker%2C+Chicago+Fed+President+Charles+Evans%2C+dissented%2C+calling+for+further+easing.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3ESpeaking+in+Florence%2C+Italy+on+Friday%2C+Evans+reiterated+his+call+for+the+Fed+to+keep+rates+low+until+unemployment%2C+now+at+8.6+percent%2C+falls+below+7+percent%2C+as+long+as+inflation+does+not+threaten+to+top+3+percent.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EHe+also+said+that+while+the+United+States+needs+better+fiscal+discipline+in+the+medium+and+long+term%2C+some+%22smart+stimulus%22+would+help+a+lot+in+the+short+term.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EDISSENTERS%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EFisher+and+fellow+hawks+Minneapolis+Fed+President+Narayana+Kocherlakota+and+Philadelphia+Fed+President+Charles+Plosser+were+the+dissenters+earlier+this+year+as+the+Fed+eased+policy+to+jumpstart+a+slowing+recovery.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EFisher+on+Friday+said+his+votes+were+driven+not+by+a+fear+that+easing+would+stoke+inflation+but+on+concern+it+would+not+help+on+employment.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EInflation%2C+he+said%2C+is+headed+back+down+toward+the+Fed%27s+2+percent+target%2C+and+recent+economic+indicators+suggest+domestic+demand+is+strengthening.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EStill%2C+souring+conditions+in+Europe+and+slowing+growth+in+emerging+economies+like+China+and+Brazil+threaten+to+knock+the+U.S.+recovery+off+course+again%2C+Fisher+said.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EFinancial+markets+remain+on+edge+about+Europe%27s+ability+to+put+a+floor+under+a+bond+market+selloff+that+is+pushing+borrowing+costs+for+countries+such+as+Italy+and+Spain+toward+unsustainable+levels.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EBut+there+is+little+U.S.+policymakers+can+do+but+%22pray+that+fiscal+and+monetary+authorities+abroad+get+it+right%2C%22+Fisher+said.+To+reporters+after+the+speech%2C+Fisher+said+he+does+not+envision+the+need+for+a+monetary+policy+response+to+Europe%27s+crisis%2C+unless+there+were+to+be+a+panic+of+some+sort.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EIn+testimony+at+the+U.S.+House+of+Representatives+Friday%2C+the+New+York+Fed%27s+powerful+chief%2C+William+Dudley%2C+made+a+similar+point.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3E%22I+don%27t+anticipate%2C+even+if+the+crisis+in+Europe+were+to+worsen%2C+further+steps+on+the+part+of+the+Federal+Reserve+at+this+time%2C%22+Dudley+told+the+panel+of+lawmakers.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3ESpeaking+in+the+Texas+capital+about+1%2C000+miles+away%2C+Fisher+warned+against+the+Fed+opening+the+spigots+of+liquidity+further+to+get+the+economy+moving+again%2C+when+the+biggest+culprit+in+his+view+was+uncertainty+over+tax+policy%2C+given+the+huge+national+debt.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3E%22It+may+provide+immediate+relief+but+risks+destroying+the+plumbing+of+the+entire+house%2C%22+said+Fisher%2C+who+often+uses+colorful+metaphors+and+literary+references+to+enliven+his+speeches.+%22Better+that+the+Congress+and+the+president+–+the+makers+of+fiscal+policy+and+regulation+–+roll+up+their+sleeves+and+get+on+with+the+yucky+task+of+cleaning+out+the+clogged+drain.%22%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EFisher+and+his+fellow+hawkish+dissenters+rotate+off+the+Fed%27s+policy-setting+panel+next+year%2C+and+only+one+policy+hawk+–+Richmond+Fed+President+Jeffrey+Lacker+–+will+rotate+in.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+change+in+voting+line-up+means+the+panel+will+lean+more+dovish+than+it+did+last+year%2C+suggesting+Fed+Chairman+Ben+Bernanke+may+have+more+support+for+further+easing+in+the+New+Year.%3C%2Fp%3E++%3Cp%3E%3Ca+href%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Fassets%2Fprint%3Faid%3DUSTRE7BC0CW20111217%27+rel%3D%27nofollow%27%3ERead+more%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E+

The Sappington Farmers Market, which filed for bankruptcy Friday, will remain open despite its troubles.

“The reorganization of Sappington Farmers Market will allow the store to remain open and viable,” said Nancy Smith, the market’s manager, in a written statement. “We feel this will position us to be successful in the future.”

Smith didn’t provide an interview.

The store, on Watson Road in Marlborough, has roots going back to the early 1980s, and has been at its present location since 1995 where it has gained a loyal following of bargain hunters and proponents of local farming.

The store’s mission has long been to support area farmers by featuring their products.

In her statement released Saturday, Smith said the store would continue to feature local farmers, and would continue distributing their products not only through the store, but through schools, restaurants and a “mobile market instant payday loans.”

The store’s founder, Tessa Greenspan, sold it in 2008 to a cooperative of small-scale farmers known as the Missouri Farmers Union, which formed a company called Farm to Family Naturally LLC to buy the business.

Farm to Family Naturally, which does business as Sappington Farmers Market, was the organization that filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday.

Members of the original cooperative who purchased the store have since left, according to employees.

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The General Motors plant in Wentzville has completed the hiring of 437 employees who will work a second shift that’s set to begin in early January, which will mark the first time in two years that the plant has run more than a single shift.

GM, which builds the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size vans in Wentzville, will add a second shift of van production on Jan.3, bringing the total employment at the plant to 1,940 hourly workers and 155 salaried employees.

Of the 437 hourly employees added for the second shift, 235 are new hires, said Tom Brune, UAW communications coordinator for Local 2250, which represents hourly workers at the plant. GM also recalled 38 employees to the plant and transferred 164 GM employees from across the country.

“It’s a long time coming,” Brune said about the second shift, which was announced in September as part of a new labor contract.

Plant manager John Dansby said many of the transferred employees planned to move their families to the St. Louis region over the holidays.

“We’ve gotten them familiar with the plant and have them working side by side with current employees to understand how we work and how the plant works,” he said of the new employees.

Recalling laid-off workers and preparing for a second shift has “been a great boost to morale,” Dansby added.

The second shift isn’t the only new development at the Wentzville plant. GM also plans to build the next generation of its Colorado midsize pickup there, which will bring an additional 1,260 hourly and salaried jobs in 2013.

To prepare for the line, the automaker plans to invest $380 million in the plant, including the construction of a 500,000-square-foot addition to the current 3.7 million square feet.

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