澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-01-09（在线收听）

US employers have unexpectedly cut 85,000 jobs in December but the unemployment rate is holding steady at 10%. The construction sector bore the brunt of the job losses shedding 53,000 positions. In manufacturing, 27,000 positions were lost. It's a setback from the November figures showing a net gain of 4,000 jobs, making November the first positive month after 22 months of losses.

That weak employment report dashed hopes of a quick recovery in the labor market although losses were slight. The Dow closed just 0.3% down as forecast for a stronger reporting season for aluminium giant Alcoa offset losses. In London, the FTSE closed slightly higher led by banks and miners on the back of positive broker sentiment. And the dollar is up. It's buying 92.4 US cents. 

China has overtaken Germany to become the world's largest exporter. Data released in Frankfurt shows Germany exporting 1,050 billion dollars worth of goods in the first 11 months of last year. That's 20 billion short of China's own reported figures. If confirmed, the development would consolidate China's global position. The country is expected to replace Japan as the world's second largest economy this year.

And that's ABC Business News.