Employers cut 539,000 jobs in April, the lowest total in six months, but the Labor Department said the unemployment rate still soared to 8.9%, from 8.5% in March. While some analysts viewed the latest report as a sign of a nascent economic recovery, the unemployment numbers are almost certain to head higher before the recession is declared over.

“The data we have are accurate reflections of the financial conditions of those banks,” says Fed head Ben Bernanke regarding the stress test results… Hmmm…

Bernanke Sees Late-09 Turnaround; Canadian Dollar Hits Six-Month High; Kraft Beats 1Q Estimates; South Africa Unemployment Hits 23.5%; Service Sector Gains Ground; AIG’s First Quarter Loss Expected to Shrink; Some Traders Oppose Up-Tick Rule; Chile’s Peso Rallies to 7-Month High Against Dollar

This could get ugly. Another month, another 600k+ jobs expected to be lost. This would mark the 16th straight month of job losses, just one month short of the longest streak in history.

In the currency market, the dollar fell against the euro. Late Wednesday, the euro was trading at $1.3001 vs. $1.2957 on Tuesday.

The U.S. economy shed 651,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported Friday, the third-largest monthly total since the government began compiling data in 1939.

More tough news for U.S. jobs… what you need to know in today’s BLS employment report…Dow setting records left and right… two historic looks at just how lousy 2009 has been…Chris Mayer on the next megatrend… far bigger than the current crisis…Chuck Butler explores “a strange thing happening in currencies”…Plus, a reader exposes our “simple-minded,” “right-wing babbling” for what it is… at last…

651K jobs lost in Feb…  Dec. and Jan Job losses revised up…  Talking Norway, Canada, Australia… Brazil stealthlike for 3 months… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

In sports, championship-caliber teams all have at least one characteristic in common: They’re able to focus on the fundamentals.

Gold rose in Europe on Friday, building on the previous session’s near 3 percent gains, as Wall Street’s slide to 12-year lows curbed appetite for equities and the dollar tumbled ahead of U.S. jobs data later this session.