Slipping: ExxonMobil’s profit tumbled with crude prices down about 15% from where they were last year, though a $300 million boost from a tax-related item helped. ExxonMobil this morning reported net income of $3.17 billion, or 75 cents per share. Those per-share earnings were 68 cents if one-time benefits are removed, topping expectations by 4 cents. But it’s about half of last year’s $6.24 billion, or $1.46 per share. Revenue was $65.05 billion, down 15% from last year’s $76.61 billion. Read the full report.
Bookworms: Louisiana is hosting its annual state book festival celebrating readers and writers for a 16th year tomorrow at the Capitol downtown from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. More than 230 writers and other presenters will participate in 100 book-themed programs across the day, along with book signings. Tulane University professor and author Richard Campanella will receive the Louisiana Writer Award on the morning of the festival. Find more information online.
Employment: U.S. employers added a solid 128,000 jobs in October, a figure that was held down by the now-settled strike against General Motors that caused tens of thousands of workers to be temporarily counted as unemployed. The unemployment rate ticked up from 3.5% to 3.6%, still near a five-decade low. And for a second straight month, average hourly wages rose a decent if less-than-robust 3% from a year ago. Read the full jobs report.
