Bleak

James R. Thompson, Executive Editor

Despite the best efforts of some very smart business people to put a good spin on how this year is going, it does not seem to be doing so well. As I write this, the U.S. jobs report for August just came out and reported a net gain of zero jobs for the month. One news flash said this is the first time this has happened since 1945.

The first world is obviously on the wrong track and seems, at the moment at least, to have not a clue as to what to do about it. Paper companies in the normally profitable grades, tissue and packaging, are doing OK, but caution abounds everywhere I turn.

The U.S. President is going to give a speech this coming Thursday on jobs, but it seems dead on arrival. There is little optimism that he is going to say anything new or offer any plan which will lift us from our malaise. Hang in there, it will get better eventually.

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