US Jobless Claims Leap

The number of new jobless claims continues to rise rapidly as US companies continue to cut jobs at a furious pace.

US workers filing new claims jumped 62,000 last week to 589,000, compared to analysts expectations for an increase of only 26,000.

The total matches a 26-year high reached four weeks ago.

The number of people continuing to seek benefits is now 4.6 million, up sharply from 2.7 million a year ago.

The dollar had a little wobble shortly after the data was released, although it is clearly apparent that this isn't exclusively an American problem. Many large corporations such as Sony, Intel and Ericsson have announced global job losses in the last few days.