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November jobs report likely to give Fed go-ahead to raise interest rates
The Federal Reserve appears hell bent on raising interest rates for the first time in a decade and only a lousy U.S. jobs report could put a freeze on its plans. Don’t bet on it, though. With job openings near a record peak and hiring at an 11-month high, employment gains in November will likely be good enough to allow the Fed to act before year end. Economists polled by MarketWatch project a 205,000 increase in newly hired workers, following a gain of 271,000 in October. That month’s tally, the biggest of 2015, eased worries after hiring briefly slowed at the end of the summer. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, ... (full story)