
Ratings agency Standard and Poor's downgraded the long-term credit rating of Spain by one notch, knocking the Euro down by a third of US cent as it followed hard on the heels of a similar downgrade by Fitch last week.

Unemployment in Britain has jumped to its highest level since 1994, with young people hit hardest as private companies fail to make up for job losses in the public sector, piling pressure on the government to boost a stagnant economy.

The number of people filing for unemployment benefits in Spain shot up by nearly 100,000 in September, a surprisingly big increase even in a month that tends to be bad for workers as vacation season contracts expires.

US new unemployment benefit claims fell to a five-month low last week, while the economy grew slightly more than previously reported in the second quarter, according to data from the Labour Department.

Developed countries are failing to cut unemployment, according to figures released this week by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). July’s figures show unemployment at 8.2% for the 34-country group – unchanged for five consecutive months.The Euro zone is faring even worse, with unemployment sticking at 10%.

Argentina’s Deputy Minister of Economy, Roberto Feletti stated on Thursday that the idea of the government is to “reduce the level of unemployment to 5%” in the coming two years.

Brazil’s unemployment rate fell in July to its lowest level this year, 6% from 6.2% in June, reported the National statistics office. Average real wages rose 4% from a year ago to 1.613 Real (999.50 dollars) a month.

Brazil’s unemployment rate fell to its lowest since January in spite of efforts by policy makers to cool growth and inflation in Latin America’s biggest economy. The jobless rate fell to 6.2% in June, from 6.4% in May and 7% a year earlier, the national statistics agency said in a report distributed in Rio de Janeiro.

US employment growth ground to a halt in June, with employers hiring the fewest number of workers in nine months, dousing hopes the economy would regain momentum in the second half of the year.

The Federal Reserve has cut its growth forecast for the US economy in the face of the impact of higher energy prices. It now estimates that the US economy will expand between 2.7% and 2.9% this year, down from its April forecast of 3.1% to 3.3%.