As our trading session ended Friday, the Labor Department reported that the national unemployment rate jumped to 8.1 percent, the greatest since the end of 1983, as the nation's employers slashed 651,000 jobs. During the week, the Dow and the S&P posted their lowest closes in more than a decade. Insurance giant AIG added to general jitters after the company received a $30 million injection from the government and federal chief Ben Bernanke said to Congress that a return to economic health will depend upon the government's ability to halt the market's free-fall.

"The economy is in a tailspin. Businesses are shedding workers at breakneck pace and there's no reason to expect that to change," said Richard Yamarone, chief economist at Argus Research in New York. "A million job losses a month have moved from possible to probable." However, the drop in payrolls was not as high as some had anticipated. "The 'whisper' numbers were calling for the change in non-farm payrolls to come in as low as minus 800,000," said Kevin Giddis, head of fixed-income trading at Morgan Keegan in Memphis, Tenn. "Markets, being forward-looking, will turn before the broader economy, and the economy itself will improve before we begin seeing signs of stability in employment patterns."

The Journal Record Index shed weight in the double-digit range, losing 61.84 points, or 11.42 percent, and closing at 479.75. Declining issues outpaced advancing issues by a 10-to-1 margin.

Apco Argentina dropped by $7.97, or 49.84 percent last week, notching new 52-week lows on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. APAGF came off its low and ended at $8.02. Apco Argentina was the top dollar and percentage loser for the week.

Shares of Orchids Paper rose $1.39, or 15.96 percent last week and ended at $10.10. Orchids Paper extended the employment of the company's current chief financial officer, Keith Schroeder. Schroeder has been Orchids' CFO since 2002. Orchids was the top dollar and percentage gainer last week.

GMX Resources faltered after investment firm SMH Capital cut its rating on GMXR to "neutral" from "accumulate." GMXR lost $7.69, or 44.58 percent, and ended at $9.56.

Arena Resources gained 69 cents, or 3.22 percent after the company reported a 44-percent increase in fourth-quarter profit. Arena earned net income of $13.6 million, or 35 cents per share, compared to net income of $9.4 million, or 26 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. Revenue was down 6 percent, to $33 million. This year's income results include a one-time gain of $4.7 million for an oil derivative. Arena ended the week at $22.11.

Originally published by Margot Crabtree.

(c) 2009 Journal Record - Oklahoma City. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.