PODCAST: Facing the Facebook IPO, changing labor laws

Let’s get to Facebook, which filed late yesterday its plans to sell stock to the public. Analysts have been waiting for months, maybe even years, for this announcement.

The number of folks applying for unemployment benefits last week dipped. Another sign of a recovering jobs market. Now the number of planned layoffs in January was at a four month high. Bank downsizing and the end of seasonal hiring by retailers sent the number of planned layoffs up, according to Challenger, Gray and Christmas.

Workers were more efficient in the final three months of last year, but their gains in productivity were slower than during previous three months. Slower productivity growth can be a good sign for hiring if economic growth picks up.

There’s word this morning that two companies you may never have heard of want to join forces and become one 80 billion dollar company. That would be the commodities trading company Glencore and the commodities mining company Xstrata. Analysts say a merged company would be a stronger competitor against its rivals BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto — two other companies you may never have heard of.

And Happy Groundhog Day!