US employers cut payrolls by 533,000 in November, the biggest monthly cut in 35 years, bringing the US unemployment rate to a 15-year high of 6.7 percent, and the total number of jobs eliminated this year to 1.9 million.┬á The new statistics have handed Americans more grim news right before the holidays, and has fueled fears that the worldÔÇÖs largest economy is positioned for a deep, long downturn. ┬á ÔÇ£You canÔÇÖt get much uglier than this,ÔÇØ said Richard Yamarone at Argus Research in New York.

AT&T Inc., the largest US phone company, joined the faltering US economyÔÇÖs procession of layoffs by announcing on Thursday its plan to cut 12,000 jobs in an effort to trim expenses. ┬á┬á The company plans to record $600 million in expenses for severance packages, with job cuts taking place in December and throughout 2009. The reductions will amount to nearly 4 percent of AT&TÔÇÖs workforce, and bring the companyÔÇÖs total job cuts this year to over 25,000, although it is unsure which departments and cities will suffer the cuts.

General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler have all submitted their proposals to Congress, asking for a combined total of $34 billion with the promise of slashing costs, reducing levels of debt, and investing in greener technologies.   General Motors asked Congress for a $12 billion loan in order to provide adequate funding through 2009, as well as a $6 billion line of credit in case industry conditions worsen.

JP Morgan is to axe more than a fifth of the workforce, about 9,200 jobs, at the former Washington Mutual. ┬á Nearly 4,000 of the cuts will be made by the end of January, and the remaining 5,200 will be eliminated by the end of 2009. The lingering 5,200 workers will receive double their annual salaries payable in a lump sum when their employment ends. ┬á While the job cuts at Washington Mutual were expected, the amount of additional cuts will put more pressure on AmericaÔÇÖs quickly rising unemployment rate.

Healthcare products giant Johnson & Johnson has agreed to buy Mentor Corporation, a leading supplier of medical products for the global aesthetic market, in a deal valued at approximately $1.07 billion. ┬á The companies announced that Johnson & Johnson will purchase all of MentorÔÇÖs outstanding shares at $31.00 per share, almost double MentorÔÇÖs closing share price on Friday.

The Canadian government is seeking new powers to enable it to take a stake in banks and other financial institutions, following the example set by the US and the United Kingdom. ┬á The new legislation would allow the government to inject capital into private institutions or to take over a failing lender and split it into a "good bank" and "bad bank."┬á┬á Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty said in his autumn economic statement that the measures were "in keeping with the action plans we agreed to with our international counterparts at the G7 and G20 meetings." ┬á┬á The minis

With the United States announcing another stimulus package to revitalize its economy, this time a staggering $800-billion, the Canadian federal government is under increasing pressure to do something similar, and quickly.  But while Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will present the annual fall fiscal and economic update today in the House of Commons, he has already made it clear that he will not be announcing any significant spending or tax initiatives until next yearÔÇÖs budget. ┬á┬á Critics are many, and furious.

The Federal Reserve announced another $800 billion injection into the US economy in an effort to further stabilize the financial system.   US Secretary Henry Paulson said basic lending such as credit cards, car loans and student loans had basically come to a halt in October, as financial institutions are reluctant to lend. Paulson said the stimulus package is aimed at making more lending available to consumers, and getting the basic types of lending back to more normal levels.

BHP Billiton has called off itÔÇÖs bid for rival mining company Rio Tinto after falling commodity prices and regulatory demands that it sell off assets has left the firm with more than just cold feet. ┬á The firm said the decision had come from the European Commission, which had been set to deliver a verdict in January on whether the two Anglo-Australian companies could merge, as the combination would create the largest merger in the history of the mining industry.