WASHINGTON -- U.S. recession fears mounted Friday as employment fell in February at its fastest rate in five years, suggesting that the housing and credit crunch is gripping the broader economy.

The data further cemented Wall Street expectations for additional Federal Reserve rate cuts when officials meet in less than two weeks and in the months that follow. Financial markets even raised their already aggressive rate-cut forecasts in the wake of the report.

San Antonio Business Journal - by Tricia Lynn Silva

A multimillion-dollar revitalization project in North Central San Antonio has attracted another noted name.

Aloft, an edgy, urban hotel concept, is making its way to the Park North project.

The announcement of Aloft was made Thursday during a real estate symposium sponsored by the San Antonio chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW).

Park North is located off of Loop 410, between Blanco Road and San Pedro Avenue. The project -- which could ultimately span some 1 million square feet -- is being developed on the site of the former Central Park Mall.

CPS Energy is seeking a rate increase on customers' electric and gas bills in order to help foot the bill on several major power plant projects.

CPS Energy officials say the proposed rate increases are necessary to keep pace with San Antonio's energy needs. If adopted by the utility's board of trustees and ultimately City Council, monthly utility bills would go up nearly 5 percent. This translates to an additional $6 or $7 per month on a typical residential customer's bill.

Source: http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/othercities/sanantonio/stories/2008/03/03/daily32.html 

San Antonio area employers lost 11,200 jobs in January, or 1.3 percent of its total employment. However, what was lost over the last month has been offset by a net gain of 24,200 jobs, or 3 percent, since January 2007.

That's according to information released Thursday by Alamo WorkSource.