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An unprecedented outflow of New Zealand citizens last year for jobs and better pay in Australia is leaving the nation

U.S. economic growth may not top 2 percent this year and a third round of quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve would have little effect, said Martin Feldstein, a professor of economics at Harvard University.

An accounting change boosted Ford’s fourth-quarter net income, but without the gain the company fell short of Wall Street’s expectations.

Weak sales in Europe and lower production in Thailand eroded Ford’s profits.

Investors punished the stock in pre-market trading, where shares fell nearly 5 percent to $12.14.

Ford earned $13.6 billion in the fourth quarter, due to a decision to move deferred tax assets back onto its books. Without that change, the company’s pre-tax operating profit totaled $1.1 billion, or 20 cents per share, missing analysts’ forecasts of 25 cents.

The company lost money in Europe and Asia in the fourth quarter. But its North American operating profit rose 33 percent to $889 million.

“The quarter was really driven by North America,” Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth said.

Booth also said November flooding in Thailand, which affected its parts suppliers, had a greater impact than the company expected. Ford lost 34,000 units of production in Thailand and in South Africa, which relies on Thai-made parts. He said the company also saw higher costs for steel and other commodities. Ford spent $2.3 billion more on commodities in 2011 than the prior year, or $100 million more than it had forecast.

Europe’s debt crisis weighed on car sales in that region.

For the full year, the Dearborn-based company made $20.2 billion, or $4.94 per share. Without the accounting gain, it earned $8.76 billion, or $1.51 per share, its highest operating profit since 1999. Full year revenue rose 13 percent to $136.3 billion.

Analysts had forecast full-year earnings of $1.86 per share on revenue of $127.31 billion.

Based on its full-year North American results, Ford said it will make profit-sharing payments of around $6,200 each to its 41,600 U short term personal loans.S. hourly employees. Employees will get their checks in March.

Ford moved $15.7 billion worth of tax credits and other assets off its books starting in 2006 because it wasn’t making money so it couldn’t take advantage of them. The company moved most of them back onto its books in the fourth quarter because it anticipates using them now that it’s profitable.

The change will affect Ford’s tax rates going forward. Ford’s tax rate was 9 percent in 2010 because of the assets that were being held in the valuation allowance account. Ford’s new rate will be closer to 30 percent.

Booth said the change is a strong indication that the company expects to remain profitable. Another is Ford’s decision last month to reinstate a 5-cent quarterly dividend starting in March.

But Booth said the international climate remains turbulent. Ford is trying to hold the line on incentive spending in Europe, but that could cost some sales. He doesn’t expect Asia to be a solid contributor to profits for several more years, as the company tries to expand there. The South American market is also getting more competitive, he said, and Ford’s products there are older than some new entries.

Ford is cutting European production in the first quarter by 36,000 vehicles because of weak sales. It’s also making smaller production cuts in Asia and South America, but is increasing production in North America by 18,000 vehicles.

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A government watchdog says U.S. taxpayers are still owed $132.9 billion that companies haven’t repaid from the financial bailout, and some of that will never be recovered.

The bailout launched at the height of the financial crisis in September 2008 will continue to exist for years, says a report issued Thursday by Christy Romero, the acting special inspector general for the $700 billion bailout. Some bailout programs, such as the effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure by reducing mortgage payments, will last as late as 2017, costing the government an additional $51 billion or so.

The gyrating stock market has slowed the Treasury Department’s efforts to sell off its stakes in 458 bailed-out companies, the report says. They include insurer American International Group Inc., General Motors Co. and Ally Financial Inc.

If Treasury plans to sell its stock in the three companies at or above the price where taxpayers would break even on their investment _ $28.73 a share for AIG, $53.98 for GM _ it may take a long time for the market to rebound to that level, the report says. AIG’s shares closed Wednesday at $25.31, while GM ended at $24.92. Ally isn’t publicly traded.

It will also be challenging for the government to get out of the 458 companies as the market remains volatile and banks struggle keep afloat in the tough economy, it says.

Congress authorized $700 billion for the bailout of financial companies and automakers, and $413.4 billion was paid out. So far the government has recovered about $318 billion. The bailout is called the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

“TARP is not over,” Romero said in a statement. She said her office will maintain its commitment to protect taxpayers for the duration of the program.

Treasury spokesman Matt Anderson said the department “has made substantial progress winding down TARP and has already recovered more than 77 percent of the funds disbursed for the program, through repayments and other income.”

“We’ll continue to balance the important goals of exiting our investments as soon as practicable and maximizing value for taxpayers,” Anderson said.

The government has unwound its investments in four of the companies that received the most aid: Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Chrysler Group LLC and Chrysler Financial, the automaker’s old lending arm.

On Wednesday, Treasury announced that it had sold the final batch of securities under its $368 million Small Business Administration loan program under TARP.

In Romero’s quarterly report to Congress, she said her office has uncovered and prevented fraud related to TARP. Investigations by her office have resulted in criminal charges against 10 people and three convictions, the report notes.

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Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh left his battered nation Sunday on his way to the U.S. for medical treatment after passing power to his deputy and asking for forgiveness for any “shortcomings” during his 33-year rein.

But in a sign that Saleh’s role as Yemen’s top power broker is likely far from over, he said he would return to Yemen before the official power transfer next month to serve as the head of his ruling party.

Saleh’s departure marks a small achievement in the months of diplomatic efforts by the U.S. and Yemen’s powerful Gulf neighbors to ease the nearly year-old political crisis in the Arab world’s poorest country. An active al-Qaida branch there has taken advantage of the turmoil, stepping up operations and seizing territory.

After months of diplomatic pressure and mass protests calling for his ouster, Saleh signed a deal in November to transfer authority to his vice president in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Still, Saleh continued to exercise power behind the scenes, sparking accusations he sought to scuttle the deal and cling to power.

His departure could help the deal go forward.

Presidential spokesman Ahmed al-Soufi told The Associated Press that Saleh left Yemen’s capital Sanaa late Sunday on a plane headed for the Gulf sultanate of Oman. He did not say how long Saleh would remain there, but added that he would make “another stop before heading to the United States of America.”

A senior administration official said Ali Abdullah Saleh would travel to New York this week, and probably stay in the U.S. until no later than the end of February. U.S. officials believe Saleh’s exit from Yemen could lower the risk of disruptions in the lead-up to presidential elections planned there on Feb. 21.

The Obama administration faced a dilemma in deciding whether to let Saleh enter the U.S. after he requested a visa last month. It has long seen getting Saleh out of Yemen as an important step in ensuring the power transfer goes forward.

But some in the administration worried that welcoming Saleh would spark charges from the Arab world that the U.S. was harboring an autocrat responsible for deadly crackdowns on protesters.

To protect against this, the administration has sought assurances that Saleh will not seek to remain in the U.S.

An official close to Saleh said Sunday the president would undergo medical exams in Oman before heading to the U.S. The U.S. has forbidden him from any political activity in the U.S., the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorize to disclose diplomatic talks.

Saleh is likely seeking treatment for injuries sustained in a blast in his palace mosque last June 3 that left him badly burned. After the attack, Saleh traveled to Saudi Arabia for treatment, leaving many to suspect his power was waning. A few months later, however, he made a surprise return to Yemen and resumed his post.

Under the power transfer deal signed in November, Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is to be rubber-stamped as the country’s new leader in presidential elections. The political parties that signed the deal agreed not to nominate any other candidates.

In a farewell speech Friday reported by Yemeni state media, Saleh said he was passing his powers to Hadi, whom he promoted to the rank of marshal.

Saleh portrayed himself as a patriot who “gave his life in the service of the nation,” called for reconciliation and apologized for any mistakes.

“I ask for forgiveness from all sons of the nation, women and men, for any shortcomings during my 33 years in office,” Saleh said according to Yemen’s state news agency.

He also called on Yemen’s youth, who have spearheaded the mass protests calling for his ouster and often faced deadly crackdowns by Saleh’s security forces, to go home.

“I feel for you and call on you to return to your homes and turn a new page with a new leadership,” he said.

Yemen expert Gregory Johnsen of Princeton University said Saleh’s departure could help the power transfer deal progress, though it will do little to address protesters’ demands for a fundamental change of how politics in Yemen works.

Throughout his rule, Saleh has put close members of his family and tribe in charge of key state institutions and security forces, Johnsen said. Leaving that network intact could allow Saleh to continue to shape events in Yemen, even without the title of president.

“I don’t think we have seen the last of President Saleh,” Johnsen said.

Inspired by popular uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world, Yemenis took to the streets nearly a year ago to demand Saleh’s ouster and call for democratic reforms. Saleh’s security forces have met them with often deadly crackdowns, killing more than 200 protesters. Many others have been killed in violent clashes between armed groups that support the protesters and security forces.

Al-Qaida’s active Yemeni branch has also taken advantage of the security collapse to seize territory in the country’s south, even taking control of a town 100 miles from the capital Sanaa earlier this month.

The protests have continued despite the power transfer deal, which many say falls far short of their demands. They also reject the immunity clause, saying they want to see Saleh tried for his alleged role in the protester deaths.

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Fiat SpA (F), PSA Peugeot Citroen (UG) and Renault SA (RNO) led a fourth consecutive year of car sales declines across Europe as consumer confidence fell and unemployment remained at record levels.

Ben Bernanke presided over his first meeting as Federal Reserve chairman in March 2006 believing the nation could achieve a “soft landing” from falling home prices. Three months later, Bernanke had begun to grasp that he and others might have underestimated the risk housing posed to the economy.

Newly released transcripts of Fed meetings during Bernanke’s first year as chairman show that, among Fed officials, he often expressed the most concern about housing. But no official, according to the transcripts, recognized the extent of the damage a housing bubble would cause Payday advance. A year later, its collapse helped send the nation into the worst recession since the Great Depression.

In fact, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, then a Fed official, expressed confidence in September that “collateral damage” from housing could be avoided.

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy meet today for the first time in 2012 as they seek to craft a master plan for rescuing the euro over the next three months.

The two leaders gather in Berlin to flesh out a new rulebook for fiscal discipline negotiated at a Dec. 9 summit that seeks to create a

Employment grew solidly last month and the jobless rate dropped to a near three-year low of 8.5 percent, offering the strongest evidence yet of an acceleration in economic activity.

Nonfarm payrolls increased 200,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday, the most in three months and way above economists’ expectations for a 150,000 gain.

The economy needs to sustain the current pace of job creation to signal a robust recovery is finally under way.

The unemployment rate dropped from a revised 8.7 percent in November, which was previously reported as 8.6 percent. The jobless rate is now the lowest since February 2009.

“This highlights that the U.S. economy is on its way to recovery even as strains in Europe persist,” said David Watt, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital in Toronto.

Stocks index futures extended gains on the data, while prices for Treasury debt fell. The dollar rose against the euro.

Signs the labor market is gaining traction could offer some comfort for the Obama administration, whose economic policies are constantly attacked by the Republicans.

The state of the labor market could determine whether President Barack Obama gets re-elected in November.

The report cemented views that growth in the fourth quarter accelerated after a tepid performance in the first 9 months of the year.

A string of better-than-expected U.S. economic indicators in recent weeks has highlighted a contrast between the recovery in the world’s biggest economy and Europe, which is already widely believed to be in recession and probably faces worse to come.

Though the payrolls count for October and November was revised to show 8,000 fewer jobs created than previously reported, there is no denying the labor market is recovering.

The separate household survey, from which the jobless rate is derived, showed gains in employment and a modest decline in the labor force, helping to lower the jobless rate.

A broad measure of unemployment, which includes people who want to work but have stopped looking and those working only part time but who want more work, dropped to an almost three-year low of 15.2 percent from 15.6 percent in November.

Still, the economy needs even faster pace of job growth over a sustained period to make a noticeable dent in the pool of the 23.7 million Americans who remain either out of work or underemployed since the end of the 2007-09 recession business card design.

With the labor market still far from healthy, the debt crisis in Europe unresolved and tensions over Iran threatening to drive up oil prices, the U.S. economy faces stiff headwinds.

Economists predict the recovery will lose a step early this year after expanding in the fourth quarter at what is expected to be the fastest pace in 1-1/2 years.

This should keep alive the possibility of the Federal Reserve embarking on a third round of asset purchases, or quantitative easing, to spur stronger growth.

GOVERNMENT A DRAG

All the job gains in December came from the private sector, where payrolls rose 212,000 - the most in three months. Government employment contracted 12,000.

For all of 2011, the private sector added 1.9 million jobs, while government employment fell 280,000.

A measure of the share of industries that showed job gains during the month rebounded after falling sharply in November.

There were job gains in construction, where unseasonably mild weather has boosted groundbreaking for new homes. Construction payrolls increased 17,000 after falling 12,000 in November.

Transportation and warehousing also got a boost from the mild temperatures, with employment jumping 50,200.

The bulk of the transportation increase came from the courier and messenger industry, which rose 42,000, probably reflecting gains from online purchases during the holiday season.

Manufacturing jobs rose 23,000, the largest gain since July. Factory employment rose 225,000 last year.

Retail employment rose 27,900 after hefty gains in November as retailers geared for a busy holiday shopping season.

Healthcare and social assistance increased 28,7000 after rising 20,200 in November. But temporary hiring - seen as a harbinger of future hiring - fell 7,500 in December after gaining 11,200.

Even though employment picked up last month, hourly earnings rose a modest four cents, indicating that most of the jobs being created are low paying. The high unemployment rate also means wages cannot grow much.

This is a potentially troubling sign for consumer spending, which has been largely supported by a reduction in savings.

The average workweek rose to 34.4 hours from 34.3 hours in November.

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