The Federal Reserve warns that unemployment will remain high for the next few years because the economic recovery won’t be strong enough to support significant hiring of full-time workers.The nation’s jobless rate hit 10.2% in October only the second time since the end of World War II that the rate has reached double digits. This obviously is bad news for the economy. Persistent unemployment or fear of job loss will likely keep consumers from spending which will in turn stifle the recovery because consumer spending totals about two-thirds of gross domestic product. (See also Six Ways We're Stifling the ...

European green shoots are unlikely to blossom into new jobs for several quarters, leaving a potentially rough patch ahead for workers and staffing agencies.

  VIEW SLIDESHOW   After a long day at Minyanville we like to cut loose by collapsing in front of the TV -- or heading to the movies --and watching art imitate work. And these days it's not hard to find actors pretending to be working stiffs. The Office's Dunder Mifflin on NBC (GE) The Simpsons' Duff Beer on Fox (NWS) Iron Man's Stark Enterprises from Paramount (VIA) - all are based on real-life companies with real-life people doing real-life jobs. But which well-known corporations provide the inspiration for these hit shows and feature films? Click through our slideshow to find out.

Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Monday's session are AIG, Amylin, Gannett, GlaxoSmithKline, Humana, Mattel, Pfizer and Rio Tinto.

Was it me or did the weekend go way too fast? Anyway Asian stocks came in mixed. The Hang Seng was off more than 3% while the Nikkei was up more then 1%. European stocks are slightly lower. And here in the US we're currently trading lower.Walgreen's (WAG)The well-known drugstore chain disseminated its first-quarter numbers before the bell this morning.Here’s the scoop: The company put up $0.41 per share in the period ended November 30th. That was a nickel shy of what it earned in the comparable period last year and a nickel shy of what analysts were expecting as ...