Archived IMT (2008.11.07)

US October payrolls dropped 240K from a decline of 284K (revised from -159K), with the unemployment rate soaring to 6.5% from 6.1%, the highest since March 1994. The upward revisions in the August and September payroll declines amounted to 419K, not seen in at least the last 25 years. Dollar drops across the board with the exception of the yen as equity futures edge higher on the relief that payrolls' decrease did not show a 300K print. Nonetheless, the pace of downward revisions and rapid rise in the unemployment rate raises chances of 8.% print by end of 2009.