By The Labor Department will release the January jobs report Friday morning.
Economists forecast that the economy added 155,000 jobs in January and that the unemployment rate stayed at 7.8 percent, the Associated Press reports, citing a Factset survey.
What is the White House likely to say about the monthly jobs report? That there are signs of growth but not enough and more needs to be done.
What are congressional Republicans likely to say? That the report shows President Barack Obama’s policies are not working.
Vice President Joe Biden and second lady Jill Biden arrive in Germany for the first stop on a swing through Europe that will also include France and the United Kingdom. On Saturday, Biden will speak at the Munich Security Conference and meet with Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Friday is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s last day on the job. Sen. John Kerry's resignation from the Senate takes effect at 4 p.m. EST, and he will then be sworn in as Clinton’s replacement. Meanwhile questions about Clinton and 2016 are bound to continue: Will she or won’t she make another run for the White House?
Also worth noting on Friday: President Obama will present 12 National Medals of Science and 11 National Medals of Technology and Innovation--the highest honors bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists, engineers and inventors.
And then there is this: Sunday marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It provides for a federal income tax.
And this: The Sunday talk shows are certain to spend a lot of time picking through the pummeling Sen. Chuck Hagel, Obama’s nominee for secretary of defense, took Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
And finally this: Former New York city Mayor Ed Koch, the combative politician who rescued the city from near-financial ruin, died Friday morning. He was 88. When President George W. Bush ran for re-election in 2004, Koch, a Democrat, crossed party lines to support him and spoke at the GOP convention.
Sources: Yahoo News’ The Ticket, Yahoo News reporter Olivier Knox, Associated Press, and Reuters.
