NEW YORK (AP) -- Treasury prices fell Wednesday after a report showed workers producing at a stronger-than-forecast pace and labor costs in check at the end of 2007.
The Labor Department said productivity grew by an annual rate of 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter. The result was down significantly from the 6 percent advance seen in the third quarter, but well above the 0.5 percent gain projected in a Thomson/IFR analysts poll.
Unit labor costs, a key inflation gauge monitored by the Federal Reserve, advanced 2.1 percent in the final quarter, below the 3 percent rise projected by Thomson/IFR.
Productivity usually drops off when the economy slows down because companies are left with too many workers for the amount of work on hand. Some economists will use the news to support a case that the economy has entered a recession.
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http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080206/bonds.html?.v=8
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