U.S. jobs up, but many gigs are not 40 hours

Employers kept hiring in June, adding a better-than-expected 195,000 jobs, but many of them were part-time or temporary positions, hinting at a hollow economic recovery.

The number of part-timers who said they would prefer full-time work soared 322,000 to 8.2 million — the most in eight months, according to the Labor Department's monthly jobs report. These people were working part time because their hours had been cut or because they were unable to find a full-time job, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

The growing number of part-time workers may be related to the across-the-board federal budget cuts and the associated cutbacks and furloughs of federal employees, said Michael D. Goodman, associate professor and chairman of the Department of Public Policy at UMass Dartmouth.

And some employers may be reluctant to hire full-time workers because they would have to offer them health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, which starts to go into effect next year.

"Obamacare pretty much does discourage full-time work by withholding subsidies from a large majority of full-time workers and by penalizing employers who don't offer health insurance," said Casey B. Mulligan, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago.

But while there are incentives built into the Affordable Care Act that will lead some companies to hire part-timers over full-timers, that is not as important as sufficient demand for goods and services, said Robert A. Nakosteen, professor of economics and statistics at the UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Management.

"We still have a 'demand-deficient' economy — not enough spending in the aggregate, "Nakosteen wrote in an email, "and until this problem comes to an end, companies will not hire in sufficient quantities, and/or will hire part-timers, to bring our labor market to full employment."

Because more people started looking for work, the unemployment rate remained at 7.6 percent last month, according to the Labor Department.

"But the broadest official measure of unemployment, the so-called 'U-6', rose from 13.8 percent to 14.3 percent in June," Goodman said. "This measure includes the unemployed and workers who want to work but have given up looking and those working part-time for economic reasons. Thus, while the recovery continues, it is continuing to leave troublingly high numbers of American workers behind."

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Hyundai does luxury right

The 2013 Azera, which is slotted between Hyundai's Sonata and Genesis, is one of six sedans in the Korean automaker's 10-model lineup. I'm amazed that Hyundai offers that many models, but I shouldn't be surprised, Hyundais are everywhere you look these days. But with all those models, it's difficult to distinguish the Azera from the others.

The Azera's $33,000 base price puts the sedan in direct competition with the Ford Taurus, Nissan Maxima and Buick LaCrosse. Our test model included a technology package that hiked the price up to $37,000, which certainly doesn't make the Azera a bargain, but it remains competitive when you consider that the sedan is loaded with luxury features.

Dual-zone climate controls, heated seats throughout, and touch screen navigation with a back-up camera are all part of the Azera's standard equipment package. Power seat adjustments mounted near the door handles made it easy to see the controls and tweak the driver's seat positions. Interior space was ample with plenty of head and foot room in the backseat.

The Azera's $4,000 technology package included ventilated front seats that cooled the Azera's leather interior after it baked in the June sun. Rear and side window sunshades also helped keep the sedan cool. The shades also gave the Azera's two-tone camel and black interior an upscale feel. A panoramic tilt and slide sunroof opened up the roof for both front and backseat passengers. Xenon headlights and a powerful Infinity stereo rounded out the package. While these features were appreciated, if I were buying an Azera, I think I'd hold on to the extra $4,000.

Our test Azera was painted in a bronze metallic with plenty of chrome trim and was set on 19-inch wheels. A push-button-ignition turned over the sedan's 3.3 liter V6 engine that produced 293 horsepower. The engine and 6-speed transmission combined to return 23 mpg overall. The Azera's acceleration was smooth with a comfortable ride quality and had minimal road noise. While the Azera's front-wheel drive is welcome for winter driving in New England, it did hinder the sedan's handling.

If you're considering a Sonata, the Azera might be worth a look. The extra $10,000 gets you more room and a cabin loaded with luxury touches. Better performance and handling can be found with the rear-wheel-drive Genesis that offers a choice of a V6 or a V8 engine mated to an 8-speed automatic. The Genesis has a base price of $35,000.

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Egyptian unrest trips hike in crude oil prices

Crude oil prices surged yesterday on a better-than-expected U.S. jobs report and concern about escalating unrest and violence in Egypt.

U.S. crude oil futures hit a 14-month high, climbing more than $1.98 per barrel to close at $103.22, after hitting a peak of $103.32. Brent crude for August delivery, meanwhile, touched a three-month high of $107.88 and settled at $107.72, up $2.18.

Oil has been on a fairly strong, bullish trend over the past two weeks, according to Addison Armstrong, senior director of market research at energy investment advisors Tradition Energy in Stamford, Conn.

"(The) unemployment report was just another in a recent series of good macro-economic data about the U.S. economy, which also helps support the view that demand for oil will increase," Armstrong told the Herald.

The job growth suggests a stronger economy makes it more likely the Federal Reserve will slow its bond purchases, which have kept interest rates low, boosting investments such as stocks and oil.

In Egypt, meanwhile, protests over the ouster of Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi turned violent.

Those headlines also helped to support the bullish momentum, Armstrong said.

Egypt is not an oil-producer, but its control of the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, gives it a crucial role in maintaining global energy supplies.

But, Armstrong added, "I don't think professional traders have any expectation of serious disruption of oil from the Middle East because of the potential closure of the Suez Canal."

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Set loft-y goals in sunny JP unit

Carved out of a former carriage factory in Jamaica Plain, this authentic-looking loft has brick walls throughout and gets lots of light from a wall of front-facing windows.

Unit 9 at 172 Green St. is one of 14 units in a former brick carriage factory built by Hub entrepreneur Patrick Meehan in 1880 in the Brookside industrial area of Jamaica Plain, near the Green Street Orange Line T station.

The building was converted into condos in 1999-2000 in a way that preserved much of the original brick-and beam look, but with new windows and systems.

The 1,677-square-foot loft, which has a walled-off bedroom and a granite and cherrywood kitchen added in 2006, is on the market for $699,000.

The unit is dominated by one long room with areas for a living room, dining space and a home office. The 10-foot ceilings and columns feature original wood beams and the refinished floors are dark-stained maple.

This open area gets lots of light from 10 front-facing windows and three side windows, all with brick arches overhead.

The living room has a center gas fireplace fed by a metal duct, part of a network of ductwork across the ceiling.

A set of wood beams sets off a dining area with contemporary lighting overhead.

And there's another area in the large room currently used as a home office.

Off the dining area is the unit's large full bathroom with granite floors, a Corian-topped vanity and a one-piece Fiberglas shower.

Adjacent is a laundry/utility room with a stacked Kenmore washer and dryer. There's also a good amount of pantry and storage space in this room that also holds the unit's forced-hot-air-by-gas heating and an electric central air-conditioning system added in 2004.

Perpendicular to the home office area is the kitchen, redone in 2006. The kitchen has cherrywood cabinets, some with glass fronts, and absolute black granite counters, including an area with a breakfast bar. There's overhead and pendant lighting and refinished maple floors.

The owners also added stainless-steel appliances, including a high-end DCS gas stove, an LG refrigerator and a Bosch dishwasher.

Off the kitchen, the current owners built a wall with custom woodwork in 2006 to create a private 16-by-13-foot bedroom whose entrance features two glass doors with transom windows and track lights above. The bedroom has brick walls and two front-facing windows. There's also a double-door closet.

An added amenity is that the unit comes with a good-sized private storage room in the building's basement.

There's a common outdoor patio in the back of the building, where there's also parking. The unit comes with one deeded parking space.

Broker: Denise Smigielski of McCormack & Scanlan Real Estate at 617-905-2098

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Mills joins 22 other states in letter to Google

AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine's attorney general is urging Google to put in place more and better transparency and privacy controls.

Janet Mills joined 22 other state's attorneys general in a letter to Google CEO Larry Page this week that says they will be monitoring Google's activities related to consumer privacy.

In the letter, the attorneys general express concern that "consumers have no one place they can go view and manage the vast amounts of information that Google collects and analyzes about them across different products."

Mills says in a statement that she is encouraged by some improvements Google has made in areas like notifying consumers about their privacy controls and how to access them. Those changes were made after 36 state attorneys general sent a letter to Page last year.

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Asian markets up on Europe, US policy optimism

BANGKOK — Optimism that easy European and U.S. monetary policy will continue boosted Asian stock markets Friday as investors awaited a key American jobs report later in the day.

The prospect of continued monetary stimulus helped offset worries earlier in the week of a Chinese slowdown, European debt woes re-emerging and disruption of energy markets due to the military ouster of Egypt's president.

Hong Kong and Taiwanese stocks posted the biggest gains in morning trade and most other major indexes were in positive territory after the European Central Bank kept its policy interest rate at a record low to combat a persistent recession and its President Mario Draghi said the rate will remain there "for an extended period of time."

The European statement plus indications that the U.S. economy is growing — but probably not fast enough for the U.S. Federal Reserve to rush into tapering off its purchases of $85 billion in bonds each month to keep interest rates low — boosted markets that had been spooked in recent weeks at the prospect of such stimulus ending.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was up 1.3 percent to 14,194.39. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.4 percent to 20,753.62 and Taipei's TAIEX was up 1.4 percent to 8,003.77. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.7 percent to 4,829.10. Seoul's KOSPI was in negative territory, edging down 0.1 percent to 1,837.32.

The Asian gains followed a strong rally in Europe that was sparked by the ECB's statement and the Bank of England's announcement that speculation it would raise rates was unwarranted.

Britain's FTSE 100 index jumped 3.1 percent to close at 6,421.67 while Germany's DAX rose 2.1 percent to 7,994.31. France's CAC 40 gained 2.9 percent to 3,809.31. Wall Street was closed Thursday for the Independence Day holiday.

Investors were also waiting for a U.S. government jobs report due Friday. Earlier in the week, Wall Street rallied after ADP, a payrolls processor, said that businesses added more jobs last month than analysts had expected. If the U.S. government confirms that Friday, it offers hope that the American recovery is continuing.

The strength of the jobs report may also offer clues to what the Federal Reserve will do next.

Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at Interactive Investor, noted that while physical exchanges were closed in the U.S. on Thursday, futures were still trading, and they indicate Wednesday's rally could continue, with Dow Jones Industrial Index futures now trading above 15,000. The index closed at 14,988.50 Wednesday.

"Whether this can be sustained will clearly be reflected by what's happening on a global basis," he said in a market commentary. "The situation in Egypt remains hugely sensitive, whilst resurgent eurozone woes could knock sentiment."

The price of oil this week passed $100 per barrel due to events in the Middle East: Egypt's military overthrew Mohammed Morsi, the country's first democratically elected president, after he defied calls to resign despite the demands of millions of protesters.

Egypt is not an oil producer but its control of the Suez canal — one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, which links the Mediterranean with the Red Sea — gives it a crucial role in maintaining global energy supplies.

High energy costs act as a drag on economic growth, but oil has eased somewhat from its Wednesday highs and on Friday was down 18 cents to $101.06 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In currencies, the euro was down slightly at $1.2899. The dollar rose to 100.28 yen from 100.23 yen late Thursday.

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Toby Sterling in Amsterdam contributed to this report.

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China says private banks possible

BEIJING — China on Friday promised sweeping changes to its state-run banking system — including allowing the creation of private lenders — to support its credit-starved entrepreneurs and curb what regulators worry are growing financial risks.

Analysts including the World Bank say an overhaul of a Chinese banking system that lends little to the private sector is urgently needed to keep economic growth strong. Communist leaders who took power last year have promised to support entrepreneurs who generate China's new jobs and wealth, but have yet to make significant changes.

Friday's statement outlined an array of areas where Beijing is promising action but gave no details or a timetable.

In a joint announcement, the central bank and banking regulators repeated earlier pledges to make interest rates and other aspects of banking more market-oriented — a move analysts say is required to channel more credit to productive activities. They pledged to increase lending to small and medium-size companies.

"We will make attempts to allow private capital to initiative the setup of financial institutions including banks," the statement said. It gave no indication how that might take place.

Such a change will be politically fraught because China's financial system is the ruling Communist Party's most powerful tool in controlling the economy and supporting politically favored state industry.

"We do not think this will lead to a significant near-term change in the banking sector, but we do view it as a step in the right direction," said Nomura economist Zhiwei Zhang in a report Friday.

The leadership is not expected to make major policy changes until after a party meeting in the autumn to decide on long-range strategy.

Friday's announcement comes amid signs China's lackluster recovery from its deepest slump since the 2008 global crisis might be faltering.

Economic growth decelerated to 7.7 percent in the first quarter from 7.9 percent the previous quarter. May retail sales fell short of forecasts and export growth slowed. A survey by HSBC Corp. showed June manufacturing activity fell to a nine-month low and was contracting.

Forecasts call for growth this year of 7.5 to 8 percent, barely half of 2009's explosive 14.2 percent. Reformers warn it could fall as low as 5 percent by 2015 without drastic changes.

"The financial system is safe and sound overall, but the problem of capital misallocation still exists and is not in alignment with the need for economic restructuring," the government statement said.

The proposed changes were meant to "better embrace the market's fundamental role in allocating resources" and "mitigate financial risks," it said.

The latest promise of changes came as Chinese financial markets were recovering from a credit shortage that caused a spike in interest rates paid by banks for loans from other institutions. The crunch eased after the central bank injected money into that market but analysts expect credit to be scarcer than it was previously.

The central bank is trying to cool a credit boom that it worries might run out of control. Credit grew 15.8 percent in the five months through the end of May, well above the central bank's target for this year of 13 percent.

The central bank and the bank regulator also said they will tighten control on some banking activities to reduce risk. That includes limiting use of "wealth management products" — bundles of credit card and other debt sold by banks to investors who want a higher return on their savings.

Financial analysts worry such products might be too risky for small savers. Regulators worry they allow banks to shift some of the debts they are owed off their books, allowing them to lend more and evade government-imposed credit limits.

Friday's statement promised to limit banks' use of wealth management products and prohibit them from charging hidden fees.

Earlier Friday, a deputy finance minister said the government needs to stay alert to the financial risks of companies set up by local governments to invest in building highways and other infrastructure.

A rise in debt owed by such companies as part of Beijing's effort to fend off the 2008 global crisis by pumping up infrastructure spending has fed concern state banks might face a wave of defaults. Government auditors have said potential risks can be controlled.

"We admit candidly that we still face challenges," said Zhu Guangyao, a deputy finance minister, at a government briefing. "We need to stay alert to the risks but we also are confident in the general situation."

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Mass. levied $26M in securities fines in FY13

BOSTON — Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin says his office imposed $26 million in fines for violations of security laws in the budget year that ended June 30.

In addition to the fines, Galvin said Wednesday that the Massachusetts Securities Division ordered $13 million in restitution to investors who were hurt by illegal actions. He said many of those were seniors.

The fines included a penalty imposed in March against Deutsche Bank Securities and stemmed from conflict of interest charges over the structuring and sale of debt obligations.

Galvin said money collected as a result of the fines is deposited in the state's General Fund.

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Nantucket's outdated hospital to be replaced

NANTUCKET, Mass. — Nantucket is getting a new hospital to replace the old and cramped Cottage Hospital.

Cottage Chief Executive Dr. Margot Hartmann says the current facility is 57 years old, energy inefficient and lacks adequate parking spaces. It has just one operating room and the emergency department is too small, especially when of summer residents descend on the island.

She says the 19-bed, wood-shingled hospital on a roughly six-acre campus was built at a time when "medicine was delivered in a very different way."

She tells the Cape Cod Times (http://bit.ly/12L8Vr7) a new facility on a 20-acre campus in the middle of the island is expected to cost about $75 million.

There is no timetable for the new facility to open.

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Information from: Cape Cod (Mass.) Times, http://www.capecodonline.com

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Feds: Job numbers up for June

The economy added 195,000 jobs in June and significantly more in the previous two months than had been reported, the Labor Department said today, raising hopes for a more robust economy in the second half of the year.

The hotels, restaurants and entertainment industry added 75,000 jobs last month, while retailers added 37,000. Temporary jobs rose 10,000.

Many of the new jobs, however, were part time. The number of part-timers who said they would prefer full-time work soared 322,000 to 8.2 million — the most in eight months.

Because more people started looking for work, the unemployment rate remained 7.6 percent last month, according to the Labor Department's monthly jobs report.

Pay rose, outpacing inflation over the past year. Average hourly wages rose 10 cents to $24.01, up 2.2 percent over a year ago.

Employers added 70,000 more jobs in April and May than the government had previously estimated.

Stock index futures rose after the report was released, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note increased from 2.56 percent to 2.65 percent, indicating investors believe the economy is on the upswing.

If job growth continues to accelerate and the unemployment rate declines, the Federal Reserve could scale back its bond purchases, which have kept long-term interest rates low.

Herald wire services contributed to this report.

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