By Agnes T. Crane
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

The sluggish economic recovery hasn’t been kind to the female population in the U.S. workforce. They’ve nabbed only 43,000 of the 1.4 million net new nonfarm jobs created since June 2009. Though painful, this gender rebalancing makes some sense. Men disproportionately suffered the worst of the post-crisis mega-bust – so much so, in fact, that the high incidence of unemployment was given its own awkward moniker: “Mancession.”

Moreover, female-dominated work areas are still in the dumps. Government jobs are a case in point. Tough talk and action to tighten belts at the federal, state and local levels have been hard on women, who accounted for nearly two-thirds of the job cuts, even though they represented only 57 percent of the bureaucratic staffers.

By Agnes Crane and Neil Unmack
The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions expressed are their own.

Finance directors may start giving finance ministers a run for their money. The woeful state of national balance sheets will push risk-averse investors into highly rated companies like Microsoft and other cash-rich issuers best positioned to withstand uncertain times. Corporate bonds could prove more attractive than even top quality sovereigns.

By Agnes Crane
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

The New York Times Co has regrouped since flirting with oblivion three years ago. The company looks ready for a deeper digital dive. But before it can take that plunge, the firm may need to pay its dues to its controlling family.
 
The Ochs-Sulzberger clan has stood by the Gray Lady in her time of need. But it has been nearly three years since the company paid a dividend – a flow that in 2007 poured nearly $25 million into the various family members’ coffers. The Times’ fortunes, though still challenging, have taken a turn for the better. It paid off an onerous $250 million loan ahead of schedule, shed assets like a stake in the Boston Red Sox, and plans to unload 16 regional newspapers.

By Agnes T. Crane
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Agnes T. Crane
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is working to improve its monetary policy communications. But its key role as a crisis lender is also now in the spotlight. Ben Bernanke’s Fed would get less flak if it managed this message better as well.

By Agnes T. Crane
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

Warren Buffett’s well-known aversion to tech stocks got Twitter feeds chirping about his disclosure on Monday that Berkshire Hathaway had amassed a $10.7 billion stake in IBM. But the move says more about the evolution of Big Blue’s investment profile than it does Buffett’s.

By Agnes T. Crane
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

U.S. money market funds have played a supporting role in the euro zone crisis – they’re short-term lenders to European banks. Before that, they lent to the likes of Lehman Brothers. The regulators of the $2.5 trillion market, meanwhile, want to end the fiction that they are just rebadged savings accounts.

By Agnes T. Crane
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

The Avon lady needs to look in the mirror. Andrea Jung may be a powerful figure in U.S. business, but the chief executive of the $8 billion Avon Products has twice failed to turn the cosmetics company around. Never mind the federal probe into possible wrongdoing, Avon’s performance has been dismal.

By Agnes T. Crane
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

There’s a growing chorus among U.S. legislators to get the government out of the housing business. That’s understandable given the possible $311 billion bill that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may rack up for taxpayers, according to a Federal Housing Finance Agency estimate on Thursday. But the recent failure of PMI Group’s mortgage insurance business is a reminder that chunks of housing’s private sector need fixing, too.

By Agnes T. Crane and Christopher Swann
The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions expressed are their own.

There seems to be no end to bad news for bankers. They’re already on the defensive. Third-quarter earnings look set to be shoddy. Another 10,000 job cuts may be in the offing. And protesters are ready to camp outside Jamie Dimon’s house. Yet financials still haven’t shrunk enough, suggesting more pain is to come.