Asian stock markets fell this morning as gloomy economic reports from the world’s two biggest economies heightened fears of a sharper global downturn.

UNEXPECTEDLY weak US job numbers for August yesterday reinforced fears of recession, driving investors out of stocks and into the safety of bonds, gold and the Swiss franc. World stocks fell nearly 2 percent after the US Labour Department said employers added no new jobs in August and July’s figure was revised lower.

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits in the US rose sharply last week, after two straight weeks of declines.

FOR 33 men found alive after 17 days trapped deep in a copper and gold mine, the toughest challenge now may be preserving their sanity during the months it may take to carve a tunnel big enough for them to get out.

ENERGY giant BP yesterday said it was capturing about a fifth of the estimated oil gushing from its ruptured undersea Gulf of Mexico well and hoped to try to fully stop the flow later this week.

US president-elect Barack Obama said the US economy would get worse before it gets better today as new figures showed the nation suffered its worst month of job losses in 34 years in November.

G8 finance ministers from industrialised nations wrapped up talks today after struggling with soaring world prices of almost everything from oil to grain, presenting serious and complex challenges with no quick fixes.

US stocks climbed today as strong April retail sales and a steep drop in oil prices alleviated investors’ worries about a greater-than-forecast jump in labour costs.

Chronic economic worries stifled Wall Street’s attempt at a rebound today as stocks fell for a third straight session.

Wall Street lifted itself out of a fourth day of losses today, closing higher as Hurricane Rita weakened slightly and veered away from many oil refineries.

Wall Street finished a difficult week lower today as investors, restrained by uncertainty about the economic impact of Hurricane Katrina, had little reaction to a sharp decline in oil prices and a drop in unemployment.

Wall Street finished an uncertain session mixed today, encouraged by a drop in oil prices but worried about disappointing earnings from media giant Time Warner.

Wall Street ended a volatile and unusual week on a strong note today, with the Dow Jones industrials gaining more than 146 points on the trength of a positive job creation report and a sharp drop in oil prices.

Wall Street surged higher for the third trading session in a row today as stocks gained momentum from a benign reading of consumer inflation.

THE euro hit a new record high against the dollar, rising above the former record achieved last February of $1.2927 as traders trundled out of the dollar and into the European currency.

Investors extended their blue chip sell-off today as oil prices neared their all-time highs, renewing Wall Street’s concerns that high energy costs would deflate third-quarter earnings. Only the Nasdaq composite index managed a minimal gain.

Oversold tech shares led Wall Street higher today as investors brushed off high oil prices and brokerage downgrades of General Motors and focused on strong earnings.

US orders for durable goods in May unexpectedly fell 1.6%, a second consecutive fall.

Wall Street struggled to reach at least a temporary bottom to its slide today, closing mixed as investors overcame some of their dejection over interest rates.

Wall Street stumbled today as investors wrestled with mixed economic data and news that Pakistani troops had cornered a key al Qaida leader.

First-time jobless claims in the US rose a second straight week, the US Labour Department has reported, but cites inclement weather conditions for distorting the data.

Stocks surged higher on Wall Street yesterday as investors overcame their initial disappointment with the January employment report.

Official data released today showed that US January job growth was strong but not quite as strong as expected.

The US Labour Department reports that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits were unchanged, as shown by latest figures.

The number of US workers filing for unemployment benefits over the past four weeks fell to a nearly three-year low, according to the U.S. the Labour Department's latest figures.

Number of applications for unemployment benefit fell for the first time by 15,000 to 355,000 for the week ended November 15, the US Labour Department has said.

The US Labour department has said the number of Americans seeking state unemployment benefits held steady just below the 400,000 level last week.

The number of workers filing for state unemployment benefits remained under the key 400,000 level n the US again last week, a strong indication that lay-offs there have slowed, the US Labour Department reported.

The US Labour Department has said the average number of jobless workers filing for initial state unemployment benefits over the past four weeks rose by 1,000 to 426,750 for the week ending July 5.

Wall Street waded through another disappointing session today, dropping for the fourth straight day as investors looked in vain for firm indications that US business is improving and corporate accounting can be trusted.

The US Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Enron Corporation, whose employees lost billions when the company barred them from selling plummeting Enron shares from their retirement accounts.

Economists say the latest US unemployment figures provide hope that the economy is about to recover.