Awwal 01, 1432, Feb 04, 2011, SPA -- Stocks rose slightly on Thursday as investors considered remarks about the U.S. economy from Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Ben Bernanke, who said a weak labor market continues to limit the recovery. Investors also were anticipating the U.S. government's January jobs report to be released Friday morning. Economists expect that the U.S. economy added 148,000 jobs last month, up from 103,000 in December. They expect the unemployment rate to rise to 9.5 percent from the current 9.4 percent. In U.S. economic news, factory orders rose 0.2 percent in December, the service sector grew sharply in January, and slightly fewer-than-expected people applied for jobless benefits last week. --More
