Daily Data Flow: Ford to Add Jobs; Stocks Fluctuate; Oil Slips during Otherwise Strong Week

Ford to Add 2,200 U.S. Salaried Jobs This Year (Detroit Free Press)
Ford is adding 2,200 U.S. salaried jobs this year — the most white-collar hiring the automaker has done in more than 10 years. The automaker will hire people for product development, manufacturing and information technology. Openings will be posted on the Ford Careers website at www.careers.ford.com. “As we expand our product lineup of fuel-efficient vehicles, we need more people in critical areas — such as in a range of engineering activities, vehicle production, computer software and other IT functions,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of the Americas.

U.S. Stocks Fluctuate on Inflationay Fears in China as Wells Fargo Slumps (Bloomberg)
Following an ascent to a five-year high by the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, U.S. stocks fluctuated; banks slumped due to Wells Fargo (WFC) & Co.’s latest results, and higher Chinese inflation raised fears that officials may curb stimulus. “The good news about China is that it is in a trajectory of improvement,” said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at the private-banking unit of KeyCorp in Cleveland. “The bad news is that it may also boost inflation. In the U.S., people will be focused on earnings. It’s not great yet, but it certainly has the potential for improvement as we get further into the year.”

Oil Futures Slip Today But Gain for the Week (MarketWatch)
Easing back from gains seen in the previous session, oil futures settled lower Friday, as traders gauged signs of Chinese demand. “Reports of lower Saudi production might offer a glimpse of what Saudi Arabia knows — that demand is worse than the consensus perception,” said Matthew Parry, senior oil-market analyst at the International Energy Agency. He also noted that “today’s heightened Chinese inflationary figure limits the scope for too much additional government support.”