Jobs Report: Largest Drop in Five Years

More news on a busy morning: The U.S. economy lost 159,000 non-farm jobs last month, which was more than the 100,000 that economists were predicting. The employment rate held steady at 6.1 percent. But even as the jobs number appeared to spell more gloom for a rapidly deteriorating economy, investors seem relieved that the numbers weren't worse -- with less than an hour before the opening bell stock futures were actually trading up.

-- Michael S. Rosenwald