ef U.S. economist at Capital Economics. The bad news for workers and good news for companies is that hourly compensation increased just 1.5 percent,toms outlet, Ashworth noted. That was a key reason labor costs rose at about a 2 percent rate in the first quarter, slower than the 2.7 percent increase in the fourth quarter. Lower labor costs should eventually help push inflation below the Federal Reserve's target rate of 2 percent, Ashworth noted. That would leave the Fed more room to stick with its plan to keep interest rates near zero at least through 2014. Productivity grew last year at the slowest pace in nearly a quarter century after rising sharply in 2010. The main reason productivity soared in 2010 was that it followed the worst recession in decades,toms shoe store, when employers laid off millions of workers. Economists said the trend is typical during and after a recession. Companies tend to shed workers in the face of falling demand and increase output from a smaller work force. Once the economy starts to grow, demand rises and companies eventually must add workers if they want to keep up. It was the first drop since a 0.3 percent fall in the April-June quarter of last year and was the largest since a 1 percent drop at the start of 2011. Economists expect productivity growth will remain weak this year. Economists at JPMorgan are forecasting productivity will rise 0.7 percent this year as companies add more workers. Hiring slowed in March after a strong start this year. The economy added just 120,000 workers half the monthly average from December through February. The government will report on April job growth Friday. Economists expect employers added 163,000 last month, according to a survey by FactSet. The unemployment rate is expected to stay unchanged at 8.2 percent. With so many people out of work and looking for jobs, there is little chance that wage pressures will get out of hand, economists note. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,cheap toms shoes, rewritten or redistributed. Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ. An insider's guide to politics and policy, available on the iPad or as a PDF download.
LAS VEGAS (AP) MGM Resorts International said Thursday its first quarter loss ballooned as higher costs and some one-time charges overshadowed a huge jump in sales. MGM shares dropped nearly 4 percent in morning trading. The Las Vegas casino and hotel operator lost $217.3 million, or 44 cents per share, in the January-March quarter, compared with a loss of $89.9 million, or 18 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts predicted a smaller loss of 17 cents per share, according to FactSet. The one-time charges during the quarter were related to a dividend tax for MGM China and for paying down some long-term debt earlier than expected. Revenue jumped 51 percent to $2.29 billion. Analysts forecast $2.26 billion. Revenue from rooms at MGM resorts rose 3 percent across all the com Related articles:

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