Global financial meltdown creates danger of lost generation

There is now a danger that the biggest fallout from the credit crisis is the creation of a lost generation of young people who never make the transition from school to work.

The US job figures for December weren't good and much worse than most commentators had expected. Payrolls fell by 85,000 last month after a gain the previous month.

About 1.7 million Americans left the workforce from July through December, a 1.1 percent drop and the biggest six-month decrease since 1961.