Headline Roundup: 2009/01/10

一不小心就星期六了。按照最近养成的习惯WSJ，FT，GOOGLE READER一个接一个地打开准备看新闻然后总结，没想到因为周末都没什么新内容。考试我算是考糊涂了。不过，无论如何，有两条新闻值得分享。

Jobless Rate Hits 7.2%, a 16-Year High（New York Times)

The nation lost 524,000 jobs in December, reflecting a pervasive fear among employers that if they fail to shed workers quickly their companies may go under in a recession poised to become the worst since the 1930s.

The unemployment rate, meanwhile, jumped to a 16-year-high of 7.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statisticsreported on Friday. The growing army of the unemployed, at 11.1 million, is nearly 50 percent bigger than at the start of the recession a year ago.

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来自周末的坏消息。不知道中国目前的数据多少，前一段时间曾有沸沸扬扬的14%的数据，颇惊悚。据说是把下岗，待业之类的据说不被官方数据包括在内的失业人数算在内的数据，号称2000多万人待就业。另外，据说有很多无地农民工将滞留在城市内无所事事，形成安全治安隐患。

还有，对于奥巴马的经济刺激方案，有经济学家指出刺激方案主要目标应该是提高生产力并通过此增加就业，而不是单纯地为了制造就业而创造就业机会。的确，如果这样，那么将是资源的极大浪费，我们必然会走出这个经济衰退，我们现在所做的应该是让其代价最小。中国面临的人口压力和外部竞争条件让我们不得不考虑一些纯粹增加工作岗位的刺激计划，但美国也许不需要吧。

Citi (C) and Morgan Stanley (MS) Talk Brokerage Merger（CLUSTERSTOCK）

So say David Faber's sources. The deal would start as a JV, but might eventually results in all of Smith Barney (Citi's brokerage unit) coming under Morgan Stanley (MS) ownership. The idea is that MS would buy more and more of it each year. (The Journal has since just corroborated the report)

Obviously it's sketchy now, but it's a way for Morgan Stanley to take advantage of some consolidation, while Citi raises cash. As the once-trendy cash cows of Wall Street dissipate, Morgan Stanley has talked up its traditional low-margin brokerage, and the more of this business it can get, the more stable it becomes.

From the CNBC rush transcript: THE DEAL WOULD BE STRUCTURED AS A JOINT VENTURE, BUT  WOULD INVOLVE A PAYMENT FROM MORGAN STANLEY TO CITI OF AN UNDISLOSED SUM THAT WOULD GIVE IT THE LARGER STAKE IN THE JV., WHICH WOULD BE COMPRISED OF MORGAN'S BROKERAGE UNIT WITH 8 THOUSAND BROKERS AND SMITH BARNEY, WHICH HAS 11 THOUSAND BROKERS. IT WOULD CREATE THE NATION'S LARGEST SINGLE BROKERAGE, BSTING B OF A'S MERRILL UNIT WHICH HAS 16 THOUSAND BROKERS.

MORGAN STANLEY WOULD HAVE THE RIGHT OVER A PERIOD OF YEARS TO INCREASE ITS STAKE IN THE JV AND ULTIMATELY BUY ALL OF IT, ACCORDING TO SOURCES.

THE DEAL, IN EFFECT BECOMES A LONG TERM SALE OF SMITH BARNEY TO MORGAN STANLEY.

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为什么不称这个为第六次并购浪潮呢？一次因原有金融体系和信用体系崩溃，公司大范围面临流动性危机，而产生的并购浪潮。第六次第六次第六次。这就应该是第六次！

周末愉快！