Phew, Only 11,500 Jobs To Go

The corporate ax cut another 11,500 jobs on Tuesday from a wide cross-section of the U.S. economy, CNNMoney.com reports. It's a considerably better tally than Monday, but the steady announcements of factory closings and layoffs are adding up to one bloody January. "In January alone, companies have announced more 211,500 job cuts," CNNMoney.com writes. Tuesday's hatchet jobs occurred at ceramics maker Corning Inc., oil field services company Baker Hughes, Volvo Trucks North America, and forest product company Weyerhaeuser. According to the Associated Press, retail chain Target also announced on Tuesday it would cut about 9 percent of its headquarters staff and close a distribution center as the retail sector dramatically slims down following a dismal Christmas and even harsher outlook for 2009. The bleak jobs picture was brought into focus on Tuesday as the Labor Department released its most recent report showing unemployment rates increased in states across the country, underscoring "how the recession has spared few industries or regions," the Wall Street Journal writes.

With the economy souring so quickly, President Obama made a trip to Capitol Hill to push his stimulus package, now weighing in at nearly $900 billion in the Senate, the WSJ calculates. A big vote looms today in the House. "The day was marked by Democratic deal-making. The Obama administration indicated it would agree to a $69 billion Senate proposal to shield tens of millions of middle-income Americans from the so-called alternative minimum tax, a priority of Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee," the newspaper writes. But a word of caution to the K Street suits: New Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned he will crack down on lobbying regarding the stimulus package, setting "new limits intended to prevent political interference with decisions about which companies received bailout money," the New York Times writes.

One area that's flourishing in the downturn is the prosecution of white-collar crime. The business pages are full of reports today dissecting the proliferation of financial frauds—or "mini-Madoffs," as the NYT calls them—that have emerged in recent weeks. The new names to join Bernie Madoff on the mug shot lineup include once-well-respected money managers such as Arthur Nadel, Nicholas Cosmo, George L. Theodule, and Joseph S. Forte, all accused of bilking millions from unsuspecting investors. The sinking economy, a battered stock market, and a more alert client base following the revelation of the Bernie Madoff-type caper have combined to unmask at least a half-dozen Ponzi schemers in the past month, the WSJ writes. According to the NYT, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission "has experienced a doubling of reported leads to possible Ponzi schemes in the last year, and its enforcement caseload has risen this year." Reuters, on its DealZone blog, neatly breaks down how the fraudsters operate and how their plans unraveled—three of the biggest six scams so far involved faked deaths.

There was a little comfort for Ponzi victims on Tuesday, however. Spain's Santander offered a $1.82 billion settlement to clients who lost money with Madoff in "a settlement that may pressure banks worldwide to reimburse customers blindsided by the alleged Ponzi scheme," Bloomberg writes. According to the Financial Times, the offer was extended to individual, but not corporate, clients in agreement that they withdraw any lawsuits against Santander. José Antonio Alvarez, Santander finance director, told the FT the offer is meant to preserve Santander's suddenly fragile reputation with these high-net-worth clients. "We have significant business with those private clients and we are trying to preserve this business."

Good news for Yahoo—now there's a phrase you don't hear that often. Despite posting a net loss of $303.4 million, or 22 cents a share, and seeing fourth-quarter revenue fall 1.4 percent, shares in Yahoo soared 6.7 percent in after-hours trading after beating analysts’ estimates, Bloomberg reports. The pressure is still on as the "bleak advertising market will continue to hurt sales, intensifying the pressure on new Chief Executive Carol Bartz to turn around the Internet giant," the WSJ reports. And even while growing online advertising offers hope, "Yahoo's share of the market is slipping and many of its new investments—including a new homepage design and a new service that eases the process of buying and selling display ads—are unproven or in a very early phase," it writes. Nevertheless Yahoo is not for sale, Bartz made clear. In an earnings call to analysts, the CEO said "she doesn't rule out selling off some operations, such as all or part of its search advertising business [but] expects to chart a firmly independent course for the company," BusinessWeek reports.

Life got a bit tougher for some 1.2 million Floridians after the state's largest insurer, State Farm, decided to "pull the plug" on covering existing homeowner policies, CNNMoney.com reports. The decision by State Farm Florida comes just two weeks after state insurance regulators "rejected the company's request to raise rates by more than 47%." The insurer complains that it has paid out $1.21 in claims for every dollar of premiums it has collected since 2000. In particular, it suffered billions in losses after the 2004 hurricane season. Elsewhere in the country the economic winds are wreaking havoc for homeowners. According to the new S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, house prices in 20 metro areas fell by an eye-popping 18.2 percent in November, BusinessWeek reports. The index looks back at average prices over a three-month period and so is a good barometer of "the impact of the financial crisis following Lehman Brothers' collapse in September," the news weekly writes.

And, finally, has your significant other lost his well-paid Wall Street job, putting an emotional and financial strain on the relationship? Then there is help, the NYT advises today. It's called Dating a Banker Anonymous, "a support group founded in November to help women cope with the inevitable relationship fallout from, say, the collapse of Lehman Brothers or the Dow’s shedding 777 points in a single day, as it did on Sept. 29." You can start with these easy first steps: "Step 1: Slip into a dress and heels. Step 2: Sip a cocktail and wait your turn to talk. Step 3: Pour your heart out. Repeat as needed."