By Jason Simpkins Associate Editor Payrolls tumbled for the sixth consecutive month in June, bringing the total number of job losses in the first half of the year to 438,000. Such a steep drop in employment could easily cause consumer spending to falter in the months ahead and drag the economy into a recession. After shedding 62,000 jobs in May, U.S. employers slashed another 62,000 jobs in June, the Labor Department said last week. Builders reduced payrolls by 43,000 after cutting 37,000 employees in May. Financial firms cut 10,000 jobs in June after losing 3,000 the month prior. And factory payrolls dropped by 33,000 after declining 22,000 in May. The national unemployment rate has gone up by a full percentage point in the past year, hitting 5.5% in May. The country added 91,000 on average in 2007, but has lost an average of ...

By Jason Simpkins Associate Editor High oil prices, a steep drop in consumer confidence, declining home values and a weak dollar conspired to drive the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its lowest point in two years, and made for the benchmark index’s worst June since the Great Depression. After falling more than 300 points last Thursday and extending losses on Friday, the Dow lost 4.2% in the week ended closing at 11,346.51 - its lowest level since September 2006. All totaled, the Dow plunged 9.5% in June - its worst mid-year performance since the 18% drop in the 1930s. Story continues below… Sign up right now, and we’ll send you an important new report for free: “The Three Best Investments in Asia.”...