AP - The U.S. trade deficit in November rose to the highest level in 14 months, reflecting record foreign crude oil prices. The deficit with China declined slightly while the weak dollar boosted exports to another record high.

Strong euro reflects European economy: Barroso (AFP)

AFP - European Union Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso tied Saturday the euro's current strength to that of the European economy, ahead of celebrations marking Malta's entry into the eurozone.

Through your questioning, there's a good chance the sacked employee will say something you can use against her in a unlawful layoff suit. The employer should handle the lay off notification the same way in all three cases. What to know when firing employees. Step 1-Before you even sit down the worker to begin the verbal termination process, you should prepare an employee separation notice notification that officially tells them you have terminated them. When you go to court, the judge will rule the agreement invalid and you manipulated the helpless worker. Terminating workforce is an emotional minefield not only for the employee, but also for you. Smart owners and business managers use an employee separation form to help them conduct a termination meeting. These may be items like firm computers, cell phones, credit cards, ID badges or a business car.

At times we have an employee who gets the job done but is hard to work with. The perfect reprimand letter is obviously states the problem behavior of the jobholder. o Have you thoroughly detailed the company reason for the worker's job elimination and is it unlikely you'll refill this position within the next year? You should have severance packages, layoff letters, explanations of benefits, and all other relevant documents prepared and ready to go. Since sacking an employee requires following several key steps, your terminating workforce manual should thoroughly cover each one. We briefly covered gathering papers using escalating discipline and investigations in the last chapter. These should include violations like arriving to work drunk, using drugs or alcohol at work, physically fighting with another co-employee, theft, threats of violence to the boss or other co-employees, or misrepresentation of themselves.