A Disappointing Jobs Report & 4 More Stories You Can't Miss Today

¶ JOBS DAY – Like every first Friday of the month (er, ok 2nd on this occasion), the eyes of world markets are on the US this morning, which just announced non-farm payrolls up 74,000 in December, far below analysts' expectations of nearly 200,000 jobs created or the estimates of 238,000 announced by payroll-processing firm ADP on Wednesday. Yet, thanks to the magic of statistics, the unemployment rate is still down 0.3 points to 6.7 percent. That's partly due to a drop in the workforce participation rate (62.8 percent), at its lowest since... March 1978 (and also October). That means some people have gone back to school, retired – let's not forget the US population is getting older – or just stopped trying.

¶ CHINA SLOWS BUT STILL WINS – Chinese exports growth slowed to +4.3 percent in December (year-on-year), a major markdown from the 12.7 percent growth in November. BUT, and that's a big but, with even this relatively minor gain, it's looking like China is now the biggest trader in the world, with a volume of $4.16 trillion in exports and imports in 2013. Final US numbers aren't out yet but it seems they won't be able to compete.

¶ HE WHO SMELT IT DEALT IT – Crisis management 101: Never repeat an accusation. "I'm not a crook." "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." And now, "I'm not a bully," courtesy of Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor whose staff stands accused of having closed lanes on the George Washington bridge to provoke traffic jams in a political rival's town. Christie fired a senior aide and a top campaign adviser over it. In a news conference yesterday, he insisted he knew nothing of the plot but also took responsibility and apologized. Opponents say even if he knew nothing, Christie created a toxic work culture that made such misbehavior possible. Hence the quote that will follow him to his obituary.

¶ WILL YOU BE MY FRIEND? – Google is trying another trick to get you to use its social network Google +, loved by a devoted few but which has failed to appeal to the general public. Gmail will now suggest Google+ connections, and not just known emails, as you start typing a name in the address field. Incredibly convenient when you're the sender, potentially intrusive if you're the addressee. That rock star you've been dying to propose to? Add them to a circle on Google+ – a one-way street – and your proposal will land in their inbox (small consolation: if they haven't added you back, the email will be found in their Social tab rather than the main inbox). The privacy-inclined are concerned... which should last a minute and a half. Google is being very mindful of this and not allowing you to repeat your message if you haven't heard back. Learn to love your settings page, all of this is opt-out.

¶ IF YOU READ JUST ONE STORY – The New York Times' Floyd Norris dived into the documents federal prosecutors released this week in their case against JPMorgan Chase. The bank is accused of not having raised the alarm when suspicious money moves occurred on Bernard Madoff's bank account. Norris tells a gripping tale of corporate bureaucracy, or how when no one individually does anything technically wrong, something terribly wrong can still happen. "A combination of turf wars and incompetence combined to facilitate the biggest Ponzi scheme ever," he writes. A masterful lesson in leadership and personal responsibility.