Business and Finance

Beauty products maker Coty Inc. is raising its buyout offer for direct-seller Avon Products Inc. by about 6.5 percent to almost $10.7 billion.

Avon, whose brands include Skin-So-Soft, Anew and mark, said Thursday that Coty told it in a letter that it was raising its offer to $24.75 per share from $23.25 per share.

The revised bid is a 15 percent premium to Avon’s Wednesday closing price of $21.60. Avon shares rose 1.3 percent to $21.87 in premarket trading Thursday.

Avon had rejected Coty’s $10 billion offer last month, but Coty has remained interested. It said in the letter to Avon that it wants to look at Avon’s books to confirm estimates and learn more about Avon’s ongoing bribery investigation and litigation.

Coty says it will withdraw its latest bid if it doesn’t receive a response by the close of business Monday.

Coty’s letter indicated Avon has said it is not interested in reviewing any proposal until after newly installed CEO Sherilyn McCoy has completed a review of all of Avon’s business operations.

On Thursday, Avon said its board will consider Coty’s letter in due course.

Founded in 1886, Avon became a fixture in households across the country as its legions of “Avon ladies” went door to door selling makeup to family, friends and acquaintances.

Now, Avon is in transition. McCoy, a long-time Johnson & Johnson executive, has been in place less than a month easy payday loans. She replaced CEO Andrea Jung, who had come under fire for failing to stem the company’s declines and wrap up the bribery investigation, which started in China in 2008 and has spread to other countries.

The company’s profit has shrunk over the past three years. It has frequently missed analysts’ earnings expectations and posted weak sales in some of its largest markets, including Brazil and Russia. Avon said last week that its first-quarter net income fell 82 percent, hurt by a bigger restructuring charge and higher commodity and labor costs.

Rumors of other possible bids for the New York company have been swirling. A media report last week said private equity firm Richmont Holdings is structuring an offer for Avon, but so far nothing has materialized.

Coty is controlled by German holding company Joh. A. Benckiser GmbH, which also operates consumer products company Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC. Reckitt’s brands include Air Wick air freshener and Clearasil skin care products. Benckiser is one of Coty’s financing sources, along with BOT Capital Partners and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

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Don’t panic yet. The government reported Friday that the economy got off to a tepid start this year, but that doesn’t foreshadow a repeat of the near-standstill that happened in 2011.

“The economy is firmly on a growth trajectory,” said Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at California State University’s Smith School of Business. “The first-quarter slowdown will be temporary.”

Still, the January-March report was discouraging.

Economists had expected gross domestic product _ the broadest gauge of economic output _ to expand at a 2.5 percent annual rate for the first three months of the year. Instead, the Commerce Department said it was 2.2 percent, mainly because of government budget-cutting and a slowdown in business investment.

And some of the January-March growth, meager as it was, probably came at the expense of the current quarter. An unseasonably warm winter pulled car buyers into showrooms earlier than usual.

The same was true for housing construction. That’s one reason it jumped at a 19 percent pace from January through March.

Economists doubt consumers can keep spending as freely as they did in the first three months of this year: an annual pace that was 2.9 percent faster than in the previous quarter and the fastest in more than a year. They probably can’t afford to. Americans’ after-tax income rose just 0.6 percent in the first three months compared with a year earlier. That was the puniest pay increase in two years.

People spent more in part because they socked away less. The savings rate fell to 3.9 percent of after-tax income. That was down from 4.5 percent. Economists worry that people won’t keep spending more unless their income grows.

Stock prices rose Friday despite the report of weaker growth. David Rosenberg, chief economist at Gluskin Sheff, said investors might have bid up stocks because they think the Federal Reserve is more likely to pursue another round of bond buying to stimulate the economy.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke “has created the impression that if the economy stumbles, he’ll be there to hold your hand,” Rosenberg said.

The lackluster first-quarter growth follows government reports that hiring slowed sharply in March and the number of people seeking unemployment benefits reached a three-month high.

With 12.7 million people unemployed, today’s economy needs much faster growth to boost hiring. Growth would have to be roughly 4 percent for a full year to lower the unemployment rate, now 8.2 percent, by 1 percentage point.

In 2011, a series of setbacks struck the economy. Gas prices rose sharply. An earthquake in Japan shuttered factories there and cut off supplies to U.S. manufacturers. A standoff in Washington brought the federal government to the brink of default, rattling investors and consumer confidence. And Europe’s debt crisis threatened to diminish U.S. exports and further spook investors.

The economy slowed to an annual rate of just 0.4 percent in the first quarter of 2011. Unemployment, which had been falling, rose again last summer.

But most economists think the U.S. economy is more resilient this year.

The job market, household finances and businesses are all in better shape than they were a year ago. Supplies are flowing freely. Political bickering has eased. And the fears about Europe have subsided at least temporarily.

“People are less concerned that the eurozone crisis could engulf the whole world,” says Nigel Gault, an economist with IHS Global Insight.

A 55-cent run-up in gasoline prices (to an average $3.83 a gallon) isn’t hurting as much this year. In part, that’s because drivers are getting used to paying more. And families’ finances are sturdier after another year of paying down debts.

In addition, some factors that held back growth in the first quarter aren’t expected to last. Businesses splurged on software and equipment at the end of 2011 because of an expiring tax break. That stole economic activity, in effect, from the first quarter. Companies will probably resume spending again later this year.

And economists say government spending will probably rebound _ or at least stop falling _ because state and local governments are collecting more tax revenue as their economies slowly recover.

“Their budget holes are getting a lot smaller,” says Jay Bryson, global economist for Wells Fargo.

Most of all, the job market is stronger than it was last year. Unemployment has fallen from 9.1 percent in August to 8.2 percent in March. The economy has added nearly 1.9 million jobs over the past year. More hiring is creating more pay and more spending _ a cycle in which hiring and consumer spending reinforce each other and grow.

Economists note that Friday’s report isn’t the final word on first-quarter growth. It is just an initial estimate. The government will revise the figures in May and again in June.

Then in July, the growth figures will be tweaked yet again. That’s when the government will revise its estimates of growth from 2009 through the first quarter of this year.

The picture could look brighter after the revisions. Two months ago, the government revised income and savings for the second half of last year. It showed Americans had earned and saved more than previously thought. That meant they had more money to spend.

Some economists expect a similar revision this year because job gains suggest that incomes might be higher.

This was the 11th quarter since the Great Recession officially ended in June 2009. The fastest rate of economic growth has been 3.9 percent in the first quarter of 2010. Normally, a much bigger bounce would follow a deep recession like the one the United States sank into in December 2007.

When the economy emerged from the recession of 1981-1982, for instance, growth hit an 8 percent annual pace for four straight quarters in 1983 and 1984.

The gross domestic product measures the output of all goods and services produced in the United States, from cars to electricity to manicures. GDP growth drives job creation, pay, corporate profits and stock prices.

As disappointing as the first-quarter numbers were, the U.S. economy still looks a lot stronger than most of the rest of the developed world. It’s expected to grow perhaps 2.5 percent for the full year.

By contrast, Britain’s economy will only grow 0.8 percent and Japan’s about 2 percent, according to forecasts from the International Monetary Fund. Things are even worse in Europe. The 17 countries that use the euro as their currency are expected to see growth shrink 0.3 percent.

“Growth is an increasingly rare commodity in the global economy,” says Jason Conibear of Cambridge Mercantile, which specializes in trading currencies. “But the US has got it.”

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U.S. stocks finished near the highs of the day Wednesday, as investors digested comments from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and cheered strong corporate results from big companies including Apple and Boeing.

All three major indexes rallied right out of the gate, on the back of stronger-than-expected financial results, but pulled back slightly leading up to Bernanke’s news conference.

The indexes regained momentum after the Fed chief said that the central bank remains "entirely prepared to take additional balance sheet actions…should the economy require additional support."

But the Fed was also more positive with its outlook, boosting its economic growth projection for the year and lowering its unemployment rate target.

"The Fed sounded a bit more upbeat on the economy than I was expecting," said Frank Fantozzi, CEO and President of Planned Financial Services. "It doesn’t have evidence to take any further stimulus action, and wants the economy to keep healing and improving on its own. But it also reserves the right to step in if the economy stalls or reverses course."

The Dow Jones industrial average () rose 89 points, or 0.7%, with a 5.3% jump in shares of Boeing (, Fortune 500) leading the gains. The aerospace and defense company reported earnings that trounced Wall Street’s expectations. Caterpillar (, Fortune 500) was the biggest loser on the blue-chip index, after it reported revenue that fell short of forecasts.

The S&P 500 () gained 19 points, or 1.4%, and the Nasdaq () added 68 points, or 2.3%.

Apple’s (, Fortune 500) nearly 9% pop made it one of the biggest gainers on both indexes Wednesday. The world’s most valuable company reported that its net income nearly doubled, on much stronger-than-expected iPhone sales.

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Apple shares had been struggling ahead of its quarterly results, losing nearly 12% over an 11-day stretch. But Wednesday’s rally helped push the stock back above $600 a share, and just 5% away from its all-time high.

"Apple’s earnings are certainly having a big impact," said Dave Hinnenkamp, CEO of KDV Wealth Management. "Apple is a bellwether for the technology industry, and investors are influenced by positive reports from market leaders."

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Shares of companies that make chips or accessories for iPhones also rode the good-news wave, including Cirrus Logic (), Skyworks Solutions () and Triquint (). ARM () and Qualcomm (, Fortune 500), two semiconductor companies, also gained traction.

Shares of Omnivision (), which makes camera sensors for the iPhone, jumped, while Zagg (), a popular maker of iPhone accessories like cases and screen protectors, also rallied.

U.S. stocks finished mixed Tuesday. Better-than-expected earnings boosted the Dow and S&P, while Netflix () weighed down the Nasdaq.

Economy: The Fed also left its key interest rate unchanged near zero and reiterated that low rates are likely to remain through late 2014.

The central bank also expects the economy to grow between 2 business card.4% and 2.9% in 2012, which would be an improvement over 1.7% growth last year. The Fed also revised its forecasts for the labor market, predicting the unemployment rate will fall to between 7.8% and 8% by the end of the year.

Before the market open, the Commerce Department’s durable goods report came in weaker than expected, with new orders for big-ticket items falling 4.2% — worse than the 1.7% drop forecast by economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

New orders for nondefense capital goods, excluding aircraft, fell 8.9%. That reading in the report is taken as a barometer of business investment.

The Mortgage Bankers Association also reported a 3.8% decline in new mortgage applications for last week, despite the exceptionally low rates on home loans.

Companies: In addition to Apple and Boeing, Wednesday also brought more strong corporate results for investors to consider, including telecom giant Sprint Nextel (, Fortune 500), health insurer Wellpoint (, Fortune 500), and glass-maker and tech supplier Corning (, Fortune 500).

Sprint shares were slightly lower even after the wireless provider posted a loss that was narrower than forecasts. Wellpoint’s were higher than expected, while Corning, whose Gorilla glass is used in Apple’s iPhones and iPads, also topped expectations.

Harley-Davidson (, Fortune 500) shares jumped after the motorcycle maker boosted its full-year production forecast.

DuPont (, Fortune 500) shares rose after the company boosted its dividend by 5%.

Shares of Tyson Foods (, Fortune 500), one of the biggest U.S. beef processors, dipped slightly after at least one major South Korean retailer suspended the sale of U.S. beef Wednesday, one day after after authorities confirmed a case of "mad cow disease" in the carcass of a dairy cow in central California. But Korean authorities have not halted imports of U.S. beef. South Korea is the No. 2 importer of U.S. beef.

World markets: European stocks finished higher, despite a reading on gross domestic product in the United Kingdom that indicated Britain has fallen back into recession. London’s FTSE 100 () edged up 0.1%, while the DAX () in Germany added 1.6% and France’s CAC 40 () gained 2.2%.

Germany’s auction of €3 billion worth of 30-year bonds was under-subscribed Wednesday morning, with only €2.7 billion in bids being received. That sent yields on the German debt higher.

Asian markets ended mixed, with the Shanghai Composite () rising 0.8% and Japan’s Nikkei () up nearly 1%, while the Hang Seng () in Hong Kong slid 0.2%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar lost ground against the euro, but rose versus the Japanese yen and the British pound.

Oil for June delivery rose 57 cents to settle at $104.12 a barrel.

Gold futures for June delivery lost $1.50 to settle at $1,642.30 an ounce, but trading amount is up from earlier lows.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slipped, pushing the yield up to 1.99% from 1.96% late Tuesday.  

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U.S. investors thought they were buying access to a stock-picking robot named “Marl.” Instead, they paid millions to teenage twin brothers in England who now face civil fraud charges for an alleged penny-stock swindle.

The robot didn’t exist.

The stocks picked were companies that paid hefty fees to Alexander and Thomas Hunter, just 16 when the alleged scheme began in 2007, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday. As stock prices jumped, the Hunters’ clients dumped their shares for a profit.

“While touting their supposed breakthrough investment technology on two websites, the Hunters were racking up fees as stock promoters through a third,” said Thomas Sporkin, chief of the SEC’s office of market intelligence, in a statement.

The SEC filed a civil suit against the Hunters, who are now 20, in U.S. District Court in Manhattan Friday.

Officials are asking the court to block the twins from the securities industry and order them to return the money they collected from investors. They are also seeking additional financial penalties.

It all began with a website called daytradingrobot.com, according to a narrative sketched out by the SEC.

The Hunters drew roughly 75,000 investors, who were promised stock tips generated by a sophisticated program. The investors, most of them in the United States, paid at least $1.2 million for newsletters revealing the robot’s insights and a “home version” of the robot software.

“The longer Marl is allowed to run on a computer … The More Advanced He Becomes!” one of the Hunters’ websites crowed, according to the SEC complaint. The Marl “home version” cost an additional $97. For that, investors got a program that grabbed ticker symbols fed in by the Hunters.

The twins collected an additional $1.9 million from companies seeking Marl’s endorsement, the SEC said. On the site equitypromoter.com, Thomas Hunter wrote that his websites attracted thousands of visitors each day, many of whom followed his investing recommendations.

“One email to this list of people rockets a stock price,” the website said, according to the SEC complaint.

In 2008, after they promoted a music publishing company called UOMO Media Inc., its share price doubled to 69 cents. Another round of promotion in 2009 lifted UOMO’s stock to $1.06. UOMO has not traded above a penny since September 2010.

For another promotion, Alexander Hunter purchased 21,000 shares for 16 cents, pumped the price up to 51 cents and sold the shares for a profit of less than $6,000. He videotaped the trading and used the footage to promote the newsletter, the SEC said.

Marl, the fictional robot’s name, was a combination of the names of its supposed creators: Michael Cohen and Carl Williamson. The Hunters claimed that Cohen had developed a Goldman Sachs trading model that generated more than $4 billion in annual trading profits.

Goldman never employed a Michael Cohen for that kind of work, the SEC said.

The Hunters’ skills apparently did not include computer programming. In 2007, they advertised for programmers who could make “a small software program which will appear to the user that once running it is analyzing thousands of penny stocks,” according to the SEC’s complaint.

In a note marked “IMPORTANT,” they added: “This software does not actually find stocks at all. . . . Basically this is almost a `fake’ piece of software and needs to simply appear advanced.”

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Disney movie studio boss Rich Ross is stepping down, a month after the family entertainment giant booked a huge loss on the movie “John Carter.”

Two and a half years ago, Ross took over for then-studio chair Dick Cook.

Ross said in a memo to staff Friday that the role of chairman of Walt Disney Studios was no longer the right professional fit for him.

A month ago, Disney booked a $200 million loss on “John Carter,” the sci-fi epic based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs book series cash advance loan. The loss will pull the entire studio into a loss of $80 million to $120 million in the quarter through March.

The Walt Disney Co. did not name a successor.

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SATURDAY

Email marketing — SCORE St. Louis is holding a workshop on using email and search engines effectively to reach your customers.

— 9 a.m. at the St. Charles Economic Development Center, 5988 Mid Rivers Mall Drive, St. Peters.

— $30. Register: www.stlscore.org or 314-539-6600

MONDAY

Workplace wellness — Regional and national experts will discuss wellness trends and practical ideas for area employers in a “workplace wellness” summit.

— 7:30 a.m. at the Spencer Road Branch Library, 427 Spencer Road, St. Peters.

— Free. Register: 636-441-6880

TUESDAY

Corporate networking — The Jewish Federation of St. Louis will host a “meet and greet” corporate and professional networking session paperless payday loans.

— 9 a.m. at the Hard Rock Café, St. Louis Union Station.

— Free. Register: 314-442-3731 or kweintraub@jfedstl.org

THURSDAY

Business leadership — The Walker Speaker Series presents a panel discussion on “Leadership Lessons from the Corner Office.”

— 5:30 p.m. at the East Academic Building, Webster University, 545 Garden Avenue, Webster Groves.

— Free. Register: www.webster.edu/speakers or 314-246-5973

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The British government’s intention to tax the humble Cornish pasty, a cheap pastry savory snack much beloved by workers and students, has opened a new front in the country’s never-ending class war.

In his U.K. budget last week, Finance Minister George Osborne announced he would close a loophole which allowed some fresh-baked takeaway items _ including pies, sausage rolls and pasties (PASS-tees) _ to escape a 20 percent sales tax.

The move, however, has caused a media storm, with tabloid headlines portraying the new tax as an attack by the Conservative-led government on working class life.

This Tuesday, Osborne faced questions from a parliamentary committee on aspects of his budget _ which included such macroeconomic measures as a cut in the top rate of income tax, a lowering in the personal tax allowance for retired people and reduction in corporation tax. But is was the levy on the lowly pasty _ a mixture of meat and vegetables encased in pastry that was first baked for tin miners of 17th century southwest England _ that generated all the headlines.

“I can’t remember the last time I bought a pasty in Greggs,” Osborne told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday, referring to a low-price snack shop chain.

“That kind of sums it up,” responded Labour Party lawmaker John Mann, a former union official.

The storm rolled into Wednesday when, at a press conference to discuss London’s readiness for the Olympics with International Olympic Committee chairman Jacques Rogge, Prime Minister David Cameron was compelled to pledge allegiance to the pasty.

“I am a pasty eater myself,” he declared to reporters.

Cameron said he last ate one in Leeds, though not at a Greggs. “I have a feeling I opted for the large one, and very good it was, too,” the Oxford-educated prime minister said.

Greggs bakeries, a purveyor of fast-food, including 140 million sausage rolls per year, saw its shares slump 5.5 percent last week on news of the new tax.

Greggs chief executive Ken McMeikan met Treasury officials on Tuesday to plead his case and afterward said the government had “lost touch” on the issue.

“For ordinary, hardworking families, putting 20 percent on to a product that is freshly baked actually is going to make a severe dent in their pockets,” he said in a BBC interview.

The opposition Labour Party has often charged Cameron’s government with being “out of touch” with the average Briton, a message party leader Ed Miliband repeated while standing outside a Greggs shop.

Even a Conservative legislator, Nadine Dorries, has said Cameron and Osborne “don’t know what it’s like to go to the supermarket and have to put things back on the shelves because they can’t afford it for their children’s lunchboxes. What’s worse, they don’t care either.”

The National Federation of Fish Fryers jumped into the debate, calling the present tax provision “an utter mess” and wondering why their hot food taxed when the bakery next door was exempt.

The government expects the levy on sausage rolls and pasties, effective Oct. 1, to raise 105 million pounds ($167 million) in the first full year. A Treasury consultation paper drily noted that the change would only hit “individuals and households that purchase products that are affected by this change.”

Under current law, shops like Greggs’ have to charge sales tax _ called Value Added Tax _ on hot takeaways including soup and hot sandwiches. Pasties and sausage rolls are exempt because after baking they are left to cool in unheated cases.

Extending the tax to rolls and pasties is no simple change. According to the finance ministry, the tax now applies to food “heated for the purposes of enabling it to be consumed at a temperature above the ambient air temperature and which is above that temperature” when purchased.

The proposed change would tax any food hotter than the ambient temperature, but could pose difficult issues: do you check the temperature of the inside of the sausage roll or pasty, or the cooler crust? Might the buyer ask to have it cooled to get it tax-free?

Osborne denied that the government would be poking a thermometer into every pie and roll. Tax officials and bakers would simply agree on the portion of total sales which would be affected, he said.

“There are perfectly sensible ways of working this out,” Osborne said.

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Stock futures are declining as strong earnings from U.S. companies are being overshadowed by a week’s worth of disquieting economic reports from China and Europe.

The Dow Jones industrial average futures are down 27 points to 12,974 and Standard & Poor’s 500 futures are off 1.6 points to 1,387.3. Nasdaq 100 futures are down less than a point at 2,730.50.

The Commerce Department is expected to report Friday that for the fifth time in six months, more Americans bought new homes cash advance in one hour. On three days so far this week, housing reports have suggested that the worst is over in a sector that has dragged heavily on the U.S. economy.

But investors can’t seem to shake the thought of a hard landing for China, or of an slow recovery in Europe.

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World stock markets were mixed Monday as doubts about Greece’s ability to follow through with tough economic reforms required under an international bailout overtook good news about the U.S. economy.

Benchmark oil rose fell below $107 per barrel while the dollar was higher against the euro but lower against the yen.

Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.4 percent to 5,941.15. Germany’s DAX dropped 0.6 percent to 7,114.64 and France’s CAC-40 lost 0.7 percent to 3,568.63.

Wall Street was poised to fall, with Dow Jones industrial futures down 0.3 percent to 13,130 and S&P 500 futures slipping 0.3 percent to 1,294.30.

Debt-loaded Greece recently qualified for a second multibillion dollar bailout after its private creditors took significant losses on their bond holdings to avoid losing even more money in a Greek bankruptcy. Now, new doubts are emerging about whether Greece will be able to deliver on austerity promises that were part of the bailout deal.

“Officials remain concerned about the ability of Athens to politically deliver on the tough economic-overhaul policies, especially considering that the forthcoming elections in Athens may mean new leaders aren’t as committed to reforms,” Stan Shamu, market analyst with IG Markets in Melbourne, Australia said in an email.

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1 percent to 21,115.29 as falling home prices in China and its weak trade in the first two months of 2012 kept investors’ verve in check.

New home prices dropped in 45 Chinese cities in February, the official Xinhua News agency said, the result of government policies intended to cool property speculation.

Evergrande Real Estate Group lost 3.7 percent, and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the world’s biggest bank by market value, lost 1.5 percent.

Further evidence from the U.S. last week that its economic recovery is gaining strength buoyed stocks elsewhere in Asia. The U.S. is a crucial market for the region’s exporters.

The Dow Jones industrial average is up 8.3 percent this year, and the Nasdaq on Friday broke through 3,000 for the first time since the dot-com days more than a decade ago.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 finished higher for the fifth session in a row and recorded its highest close since a disastrous earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. The index gained 0.1 percent to 10,141.99.

South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.6 percent to 2,047 and Australia’s S&P ASX/200 rose 0.3 percent to close at 4,290.80. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia fell.

In mainland China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2 percent to 2,410.18. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1.1 percent to 993.75.

Benchmark oil for May delivery was down 32 cents to $106.74 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.95 to finish at $107.06 per barrel.

The euro fell to $1.3153 from $1.3171 late Friday in New York. The dollar fell to 83.08 yen from 83.36 yen.

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Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson

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First-time claims for unemployment benefits ticked higher last week, slightly dimming prospects for Friday’s employment report.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that 362,000 people filed for initial unemployment benefits in the week ended March 3, up from the previous week’s revised 354,000 claims.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had predicted 355,000 new claims would be filed.

About 3.4 million people filed for their second week of unemployment benefits or more in the week ended Feb. 25, the most recent data available.

Jobless claims are considered a key indicator of the job market’s strength. The number can be volatile from week to week, so economists often look to the four-week moving average as a broader gauge.

Lately, that figure has been on a gradual decline. But last week it rose slightly to 355,000, up from the previous week’s average of 354,750.

The worse-than-expected report on initial claims comes one day before the government’s monthly employment report is scheduled to be released.

A CNNMoney survey of 19 economists predicts that the economy added 210,000 jobs in February, down from January, when 243,000 jobs were added to payrolls.

Most of the gain will likely come from the private sector, where the prediction is for an addition of 225,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 8.3%  

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