NPR 2011-01-08

The nation's payrolls 1 expanded in December, sending the unemployment rate down almost 0.5 percent to 9.4 percent, but Danielle Karson reports the economy created fewer jobs than anaylsts were expecting.

The private sector 2 added 113,000 jobs to business payrolls last month. Overall, there were solid job growth across the board. The manufacturing sector added jobs for the first time since July - 10,000 new hires. Retail 3 and hospitality also added thousands of positions. Nomura Securities Chief Economist 4 David Resler:

"But it's a not too shabbier report. It's still disappointing that we are not generating more jobs at this stage of the business sector recovery, but we're moving in the right direction, and we think that trend is gonna continue."

Economists 5 are forecasting stronger job growth this year. They expect the labor 6 market to add more than two million jobs or just under 200,000 a month. That's more than double the pace of hiring for all of last year. For NPR News, I'm Danielle Karson in Washington.

After touring a manufacturing plant in Landover, Maryland today, President Obama acknowledged the country is digging itself out of a big hole.

"Our mission has to be to accelerate hiring and to accelerate growth. And that depends on making our economy more competitive so that we're fostering new jobs in new industries and training workers to fill them."

The president was visiting the family-owned Thompson Creek 7 Window Company which he said took advantage of his tax compromise with Republicans to hire more workers.

The foreign policy chief of the European Union says January 20th is the start date for the next round of nuclear talks with Iran. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports six world powers and Iran have agreed to hold the talks in Istanbul.

Foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is the lead negotiator for the six powers, trying to convince Iran to be more open about its nuclear program. Tehran insists it has met its legal obligations and intends only peaceful uses for nuclear energy. Ashton told reporters at a news conference in Budapest that one-and-a-half to two days of talks are due to begin January 20th in Istanbul. At the same conference, she indicated that the EU would decline Iran's invitation to have select diplomats 8 visit Iranian nuclear sites in advance of the talks. Ashton said she's encouraged by Iran's willingness to have visitors to its sites, but the role and responsibility for that should rest with the inspection 9 teams of the international agency. Turkey, Brazil and several other nations are weighing the Iranian invitation. Peter Kenyon, NPR News.

It's been a bloody 10 day in Afghanistan. A suicide bomber 11 attacked men preparing for Friday prayers, killing 12 17, and NATO says roadside bombs killed three service members.

Checking stocks, the Dow down 40 points; NASDAQ off 14; and the S&P is down five.

From Washington, this is NPR.

The House voted today to set the rules for a formal debate on repealing 14 President Obama's landmark 15 health care overhaul 16. Republicans want to scrap 17 the plan to expand coverage 18 to more than 30 million uninsured people and start over. Senate Democratic leaders have already made it clear they plan to block repeal 13.

The French government's asking its intelligence services to determine if China played a role in an industrial espionage 19 scandal at the carmaker Renault. Eleanor Beardsley reports the company fired three managers who it accuses of giving out proprietary 20 information.

The suspension of three top Renault executives has stoked fears across France about corporate 21 spying. The French state, which owns a 50% stake in Renault, has warned of an overall risk to French industry. The Renault executives are suspected of leaking information related to the high-profile electric car program to the Chinese. Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan are investing billions of dollars in electric car technology, significantly more than other world carmakers. China is pushing green vehicles heavily as part of the development of its auto 22 industry. Auto emissions 23 account for around 70 percent of air pollution in major Chinese cities. Speaking on television, the French industry minister said he could not give details, but that the term "economic warfare 24" was appropriate in describing what it happened at Renault. For NPR News, I'm Eleanor Beardsley in Paris.

New York City has gotten a dusting of snow, but a new winter storm could dump up to five inches in the metropolitan 25 area. It comes less than two weeks after the blizzard 26 that brought the city and its airports to a halt for days. Officials are promising 27 to do a better job this time, even deploying 28 what they call quality-of-life teams on the streets.

Pam Coulter, NPR News, Washington.