Corporate Resource Services News Release (11/12/13)

Corporate Resource Services Inc., a diversified technology, staffing, recruiting, and consulting services firm, has announced that it has closed on the acquisition of U.K.-based Flex Recruitment Plus Ltd. “This acquisition will act as our platform company in Europe, and we will be utilizing the existing management team at FlexPlus to build our European business both organically and through acquisitions,” says Mark Levine, Corporate Resource Services’ chief operating officer.

Reuters (11/12/13) Jonathan Spicer

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart says that U.S. monetary policy should stay “very accommodative” to create jobs despite weak growth, warns that inflation is too low, and says that the government shutdown may diminish the reliability of economic data through December, possibly delaying policy action from the U.S. Federal Reserve in December.

Lockhart’s comments, usually seen as indicative of consensus among senior Fed officials, will bolster expectations that the Fed will continue its asset purchase program into next year. The Fed will stop buying bonds when unemployment hits 6.5%, but may ease its purchasing earlier if data on growth and hiring merits it. The Fed also may offset negative reactions to its taper by reducing the unemployment threshold to 6%.

The Conference Board (11/12/2013)

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index declined in October. The index now stands at 113.65, down from a downwardly revised 114.68 in September. The ETI figure for October is 4.9% higher than a year ago.

“Like many other economic indicators, the October decline of the Employment Trends Index was partially due to the government shutdown,” says Gad Levanon, director of macroeconomic research at the Conference Board. “The latest job numbers do in fact show some strengthening in the employment trend. But as domestic demand was weaker than expected in the third quarter, we might see some moderation in employment growth in the coming months.”

October’s decline in the ETI was driven by negative contributions from four of its eight components. The decreasing indicators—from the largest negative contributor to the smallest—were initial claims for unemployment insurance, consumer confidence survey percentage of respondents who say they find “jobs hard to get,” ratio of involuntarily part-time to all part-time workers, and job openings.