Highlights from this month's issue:

• The economy continues to deteriorate. As a result, all sorts of bailouts for troubled businesses and consumers are being discussed
• Employment has contracted sharply in recent months. The unemployment rate in October was 6.5%, the highest level in 14 years
• Retail sales remain dismal. Inventories are rising for many retailers
• Combined sales of new and existing homes have been declining for nearly three years
• Similar to retailers, inventories are backing up for manufacturers. Their factory utilization rate is off 6.3 percentage points from its 2007 peak. And corporate after-tax profits are down
• Most forecasts for the current quarter call for another decline in real gross domestic product (GDP). Economic activity isn’t expected to pick up until much later in 2009
• The global economy is slowing, which is affecting U.S. exports

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Read the full update attached below.