“Employers are moving to aggressively cut jobs and reduce costs in the face of the nation’s economic crisis, preparing for what many fear will be a long and painful recession,” says The Washington Post.

The labor market has been weak all year, with a slow drip of workers losing their jobs each month. But the deterioration of the job market is now emerging as a driver of economic distress, according to a wide range of data and anecdotal reports from corporate America.

In September, there were more mass layoffs — instances in which employers slashed 50 or more jobs at one time — than in any month since September 2001, the Labor Department said yesterday. And nearly half a million Americans have…

And a Happy Friday to one and all! It’s been 3 weeks since I last started a Friday with that note. I hit every red light this morning on my way to work, which led me to think aloud in the parking lot, that this isn’t going to be a Fantastico Friday… And when I turned on the currency screens, after reaching my desk, I could see why I thought those negative thoughts… It’s getting ugly…

Questioning the Fed’s moves… Euros slow down… Aussie hits 25-year high… Oil hits $135!