The Canadian economy added 19,200 new jobs in April, with construction and hospitality industries leading the way, according to the monthly Labour Force Survey released by Statistics Canada. Despite the rise in employment, the addition of 23,800 people to the labour force during the month was enough to nudge up the unemployment rate to 6.1% from 6% a month earlier. Analysts were expecting to see 10,000 new jobs in April with the jobless rate holding steady at its March level.

Meanwhile, crude oil broke records for the fifth straight day, touching $126.25 at the New York Mercantile Exchange.

North American stocks were also under pressure after AiG reported a first-quarter loss of $1.41 excluding items per share, for a total loss of $7.81 billion. The loss was the largest on record for the largest insurer in the United States, which plans to raise $12.5 billion in capital. AiG is the largest insurer in the United States.

Canada's merchandise trade surplus came in $1 billion above expectations in March, soaring to $5.5 billion mainly on the strength of high energy prices. Analysts had expected the trade surplus to be $4.5 billion, down from a revised $4.9 billion in February. Exports rose $639 million to $40.1 billion while imports were down $104 million to $34.5 billion. Energy exports jumped 6.6% to $10.6 billion, surpassing the $10 billion mark for the first time. Energy exports were up 36.9% from last year.

The U.S. monthly trade deficit narrowed to $58.21 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. Economists had been expecting a deficit of $61.4 billion. March's total exports of goods and services came in at $148.51 billion, down from $151.19 billion, while imports came in at $206.72 billion, down from $212.81 billion.

Despite concerns over potential job losses, American consumer attitudes lifted slightly in May after a six-month slide, an RBC survey shows. "The survey, which measured the attitudes of 1,000 consumers earlier this week, found respondents more positive about their future economic prospects, but still worried about job security," the bank reported. The RBC Consumer Attitudes and Spending by Household Index (CASH) survey rose 10 points in May to 39, up from its previous all-time low of 29.5 in April.

Canadian Industry Minister Jim Prentice confirmed today that the federal government will block the $1.3 billion sale of a Canadian space technology firm to U.S.-based Aliant Techsystems (ATK). A release issued by the minister early Friday said he had written to ATK to say that, pursuant to paragraph 23(3)(b) of the Investment Canada Act, he was confirming that he is "not satisfied that its application to acquire control of the Information Systems Business of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) is likely to be of net benefit to Canada." Critics of the deal had called upon Prentice to block the sale of MDA, which owns the taxpayer-funded Radarsat 2 satellite, a piece of technology thought by some to be of strategic importance to Canadian sovereignty given its ability to monitor Canada's north.

Earlier in the day, the European Central Bank's Bank Lending Survey for April reported a net tightening of corporate credit in the first quarter of 2008 compared to Q4 in 2007, as well as a tightening of credit standards for household and consumer loans. Demand for loans to households for house purchases also declined in the first quarter. However, net loan demands to consumers and households for other purposes remained essentially unchanged.

Following the release of the Bank Lending Survey, the Bundesbank stated that credit standards were not as restraining in Germany as in the euro zone as a whole. "All in all, the changes in the credit conditions of surveyed banks in Germany were again considerably less restrictive than in the euro region overall," the Bundesbank said. The Bundesbank also noted that credit standards for households and consumers were expected to loosen in the second quarter of 2008 while credit standards for loans to firms were forecast to rise.

Also on Friday, the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) reported that German wholesale prices rose 0.6% in April on a monthly basis, up from the 0.5% increase expected by economists but lower than March's growth rate of 1.6%. Annually, wholesale prices rose 6.9%. Economists had forecast the growth rate to slow to 6.7% following March's 7.1% rise.

Annual industrial production rose 1.0%, lower than the 1.6% growth rate forecast by economists. The previous month had seen a 2.3% year-over-year rise in output, revised up from an initial reading of 2.0%.

INSEE also announced that French manufacturing production fell by 1.5% in March, following the previous month's rise of 0.5%. Economists had expected a less severe decline of 0.5%. February's rise was revised up from 0.3%. Year-over-year, manufacturing output increased 0.4%, significantly lower than the expected 1.7% growth rate and the previous month's 2.3% rise. February's reading was revised up from 1.9%.

The number of UK mortgage possession claims, regarded as the first stage of the repossession process, rose 16% over the first quarter of 2008 in year-over-year terms, the country's Ministry of Justice (MOJ) said on Friday. Its figures state that there were 38,688 claims over the first quarter compared with 33,344 in the corresponding period of 2007. MOJ further said that 27,530 mortgage possession orders were made in the first three months of the year, 17% higher than in the first quarter of 2007 and 9% higher than in the fourth quarter of 2007.

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