On Friday, the Labor Department revealed the latest jobs report and the picture was not pretty. Their broadest measure of unemployment and underemployment has reached its highest level in decades, and if their statistics went back so far, it would most certainly be at its highest level since the Great Depression.

One out of every six workers, or 17.5%, were unemployed or underemployed in October 2009. The previous record high was set in December 1982 at 17.1%. WIthout an end in site to our economic woes, the figures could go even higher in the coming months.

That 17.5% figure includes the officiall unemployed, which are those who have looked for work in the last four weeks. It also includes discouraged workers who have looked in the past year, and millions of part-time workers wanting to be full-time.

The official jobless rate is at 10.2% for October, and remains lower than the early 80's peak at 10.8%. But again, this latest figure continues the upward trend, and isup from 9.8% in September 2009. It is highest in those states which had big housing bubles, such as Arizona and California, and those with large manufacturing sectors, including Ohio, South Carolina, Rhode Island, and Oregon.

Since January, first-time homebuyers have been getting tax credits of up to $8,000 as part of an economic stimulus package put into place earlier this year. That program, which left those who are not first-time home buyers out in the cold, was set to expire at the end of November 2009. On Wednesday, the Senate voted to extend and expand the tax credit to include many buyers who already own homes. Now it just needs to get through Congress, where a vote will take place Thursday.

Buyers owning their current homes at least five years will be eligible for tax credits up to $6,500. First-time homebuyers or those who haven't owned a home in the last three years would get up to $8,000. Both groups would have to sign a purchase agreement by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010 in order to be eligible.

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia), said, "This is probably the last extension."

Also included in the bill passed in the Senate is a plan to extend unemployment benefits for those without a job for more than a year, and a clause that would allow companies now losing money to recoup taxes paid on profits earned in the previous five years.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said:

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According to the billionaires over at Google, the recession is over and things are improving. During the opening moments of a New York City press conference, Google CEO Eric Schmidt used the time to reinforce a message he has been giving for a few months now: that Google thinks the worst is behind us, things are looking up now, and that the company is spending accordingly:

"We are clearly seeing aspects of recovery, and what is notable is that we’re seeing aspects of recovery not just in the United States but in Europe. I had been in error in assuming that there would be a lag, that it would the US first and Europe second. Asia, of course, was never significantly hit in the first place. So that means from a Google perspective that.. we never stopped hiring, but we told our team internally and again, we’ve said to many other people tht we are increase are hiring rate and our investment rate in anticipation of a recovery."

Google co-founder Sergey Brin was also present. During the hour long press conference they covered quite some ground.

Gmail users will happy to learn that Brin was upset by the recent Gmail outages. He said that Google is now working to both prevent future failutres as well as to react more quickly if and when they do happen. He noted, however, that conventional email systems fail much more frequently (Gmail uses cloud computing).

Previously, Schmidt has said that he expected Google to begin making an acquisition per month. At today's press conference, he noted that those would likely be small, 5 to 10 person companies, and that it is unlikely they would be in the market for something similar in size to their YouTube acquisition. Google paid $1.65 billion for YouTube. Reading between the lines, Schmidt is saying that we shouldn't expect them to offer up billions for Twitter.

Further speaking on acquisitions, Schmidt commented:

"I think that DoubleClick and YouTube will be two of our best acquisitions. DoubleClick is already close to paying back, and YouTube will get there soon. But bear in mind that any major acquisition now will involve a regulatory review, because of our size and because our competitors will make sure of that."

While much of the financial industry is lucky to even have a job, the folks over at Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) can expect to receive their biggest bonus payouts in the firm's 140-year history after an amazing first half of the year. This news, however, has sparked concerns that the big investment banks that have survived the credit crunch will ultimately derail financial regulation reforms.

Due to a lack of competition combined with a surge in revenues from trading foreign currency, bonds and fixed-income products, profits at Goldman Sachs have soared. Last week, the firm's London staff were briefed on the company's prospects and were told to look forward to bumper bonuses, if it completed its most profitable year ever, as it is predicted they will.

Figures to be released next month which will detail the firm's second quarter earnings are anticipated to show a bigger jump in profits. They've already paid off $10 billion in TARP funds from the government. Financial genius Warren Buffet, who purchased $5 billion of Goldman Sachs' shares in January, has already made an impressive $1 billion gain on his investment.

Now that bankruptcy proceedings are in action, things are moving along pretty swiftly at General Motors Corp. An individual briefed on the deal now says that GM has a tentative agreement to sell its Hummer brand to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. in China. GM announced earlier on Tuesday that they had in place a memorandum of understanding to sell the brand, but did not disclose the buyer.

A formal announcement is expected to be made this afternoon.

GM also says that they have 16 buyers interested in purchasing their Saturn brand, and three parties interested in purchasing the Swedish Saab brand.

Sichuan Tengzhong primarily deals in plastics, resins, road construction, and other industrial products. The person who was briefed on the deal notes that Hummer would be its first venture into the automotive business.

Things are beginning to move along pretty quickly for General Motors Inc. (NYSE: GM). According to a Friday report in the Washington Post, the Detroit automaker is expected to file bankruptcy as early as late next week, but could snag up to $30 billion in additional federal bailout funds.

The Post's sources on this story are those familiar with the discussions between GM and President Obama's administration, who state that the government will push them into filing either late next week or during the first week in June.

As for the extra $30 billion in federal funds, that would bring the government's total investment in the company up to a staggering $45 billion, and would give them a 50 percent stake in the automaker.

Another struggling Detroit automaker, Chrysler LLC, may emerge from bankruptcy as early as next week. They were the first of Detroit's "Big Three" to file for bankruptcy.

Both GM and Chrysler have accepted billions in federal bailout funds. They've also both announced that they would be cutting loose nearly 1,900 dealerships. The only member of the Big Three not to have accepted federal bailout money is Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F).

On Thursday the White House's auto recovery leader said that the federal government will give $50 million in grants to car manufacturing communities to be used to train laid-off workers for jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors. In addition, the funds will provide job counseling and placements services.

Ed Montgomery, President Obama's director of recovery for auto communities and workers said:

"American workers are the best in the world, and they have been hard hit by changes in the auto industry. This funding will help workers gain new skill sets that build upon their manufacturing experience."

The $50 million is a part of the $500 million which has been provided by the federal stimulus law.

In order to qualify for the money, a community must have a motor vehicle manufacturer or supplier and have experienced significant layoffs. Details of the program, including application deadlines, are expected to be released in June.

Montgomery is currently touring the state of Ohio with stops in Dayton and Toledo on Thursday, and Twinsburg on Friday.

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland said of the stimulus money:

As talks with debtholders have broken down, Chrysler LLC will become the first of the "Big Three" American automakers to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The White House all but confirmed the impending action Thursday morning announcing that President Obama and members of the auto task force would address the fate of the company at noon.

According to individuals briefed on the talks, last minute efforts by the Treasury Dept. to win over Chrysler debtholders failed Wednesday night. Barring a last minute agreement, Chrysler is now expected to seek Chapter 11 protection, and most likely in New York.

Chrysler is also in talks with the Italian automaker Fiat. They would, however, file for bankruptcy first, and then subsequently would present an agreement with Fiat to the court for approval. This could possibly take place on Monday, according to the sources speaking with the media.

Chrysler's bankruptcy filing could serve as a preview as to what a General Motors filing might look like. GM, like Chrysler, received federal assistance last year and now faces a June 1 deadline for restructuring.

David Kellermann, who was the acting Chief Financial Officer of Freddie Mac, was found by police this morning after is appeared he had taken his own life by suicide. Kellerman has been in the position since 2008. The AP reports:

Mary Ann Jennings, director of public information for the Fairfax County, Va., Police Department, said Kellermann was found dead in his Reston, Va., home. The 41-year-old Kellermann has been Freddie Mac's chief financial officer since September.

Jennings said that a crime scene crew and homicide detectives were investigating the death, but that there didn't appear to be any sign of foul play.

McLean-based Freddie Mac has been criticized heavily for reckless business practices that some argue contributed to the housing and financial crisis. Freddic Mac is a government-controlled company that owns or guarantees about 13 million home loans. CEO David Moffett resigned last month.

Kellerman was brought into the role overseeing the company's finances after the government took over the company last year.