suzanne pratt reports. >> reporter: for many of the world's largest economies, this is the direction that interest rates are going. central banks in china and europe are hiking rates to battle inflation pressures because that's their primary agenda. but, higher rates across the pond and in asia will also mean slower growth for those economies, and perhaps america too. don't forget china has been the world's economic engine at a time when the u.s. and parts of europe are still struggling. on top of the eurozone is a big market for u.s. multinational firms. so, it's no wonder that economist bruce kasman says it's really bad timing for a rate hike in europe. >> the euro area as a region delivers less in terms of growth as it could in helping the global economy, and then finally it adds risks and vulnerabilities to the really tough adjustments going on in greece and other peripheral countries right now. to be sure, a quarter of a percentage point increase in european rates tomorrow is likely to have only a nominal effect on u.s. growth. the concern is that the european central bank will

suzanne pratt looks at whether apple will remain delicious for investors. >> reporter: apple users are pretty passionate about their gadgets. stop an iphone, ipad or mac owner on the street and you get this: >> the diverse range of things that you can do on it is fanstastic. i mean, it's everything i ever needed it for. >> i love my laptop. i can't live without it! >> reporter: that enthusiasm, however, is less evident lately in the performance of apple stock. sure the shares are up a respectable 16% this year to an all-time high, but in the previous two years, when the stock was the apple of wall street's eye, the shares more than tripled. experts say investors today are concerned about leadership at apple, with company founder steve jobs still on medical leave. analyst colin gillis also points to the lack of new gadgets. >> there's a little bit of concern about no new hardware. right? outside of the ipad 2, we did not get a new iphone in june and historically we've gotten one every year in the june timeframe. >> reporter: apple is expected to release a new iphone this fall, and exper

suzanne pratt take a look at what's ailing the stock. >> reporter: citi may do business from some of new york's tallest buildings, but lately its stock has been short on performance. no doubt, 2011 has not been a good year for most bank stocks. that's due to a horrific hangover from the financial crisis and surprising weakness in the global economy. citi stock, however, has fared worse than many of its peers. since january, the shares are down a hefty 19%. in may, the company did a one- for-10 reverse split, turning citi into a double-digit stock. banking analyst erik oja says that move has been a negative. >> reverse splits generally are not a great sign. it's maybe a sign of desperation where a $4 stock has to get converted into a $40 stock. >> reporter: citi has said its split was not a desperate act, but an effort to attract institutional shareholders such as pension funds. those investors often aren't allowed to buy stocks that trade for less than $5. but, here's the rub: it looks like reverse splits really don't work. n.y.u. professor april klein studied the performance of 1,60

suzanne pratt, "nightly business report," new york. >> susie: first it was chrysler, then ford. and today it was general motors' turn to kick off contract talks with the united auto workers union. chairman and c.e.o. dan akerson and u.a.w. president bob king shook hands at a gathering inside g.m.'s hamtramick assembly plant. this is the company's first contract negotiation with the union since it emerged from bankruptcy two years ago. both sides pledged to work together during the talks. as diane eastabrook reports, that spirit of cooperation is helping g.m. launch one of its most significant products in decades. >> reporter: these workers aren't just building cars, they're reinventing general motors. the orion township, michigan, plant is making the chevrolet sonic, a $14,000 subcompact that will hit showrooms this fall. it's the first subcompact g.m. has ever built in the u.s. and the significance isn't lost on plant manager alicia boler- davis. >> it's very unique. we're the only ones doing it, and we have a commitment to be successful and do it here. >> reporter: a decade ag

and as suzanne pratt reports, experts are now concerned about the recovery in the final months of this year. >> reporter: stuck in the mud. a snail's pace. or how about flat-lining? all are perfect metaphors for the state of the economy. it's bad enough that g.d.p. limped to annual rate of 1.3% in the second quarter, but today the government revised its previous first-quarter estimate down to a paltry 0.4%. on top of that, the government said today the great recession was even worse than originally thought. economist milton ezrati calls it a depressing snapshot. >> well, it was disappointing and i'm sure that these numbers are going to renew talk about a double dip and they're going to renew talk about a qe3 from the fed. >> reporter: here on new york's busy 5th avenue, it may be hard to imagine the economy is treading water. not only are the streets buzzing with tourists, but stores are brimming with shoppers. still, on main streets across the country, it's been nervous consumers that are holding the economy back. economist julia coronado blamed the lack of supply from japan due to th

we start with suzanne pratt and a look inside the employment report. >> reporter: what's the state of the u.s. job market? in a word "awful." sure, businesses added some workers to their payrolls last month. but, two years post-recession, the economy should be making hundreds of thousands of new jobs a month, not a fraction of that. economist stuart hoffman says even the pessimists didn't think it would be this bad. >> i think what's most disappointing in this report is all of it. there's really no silver lining in the month of june in terms of hours, in terms of wages, in terms of either measure of jobs. >> reporter: here's a look inside the report. more than 14 million americans remain unemployed. of those, nearly half have been out of work for more than six months. on top of that the unemployment rate for teens and blacks is much higher than the national average. and, government payrolls dropped for the eighth straight month. still, economist steve gallagher doesn't think the u.s. is headed for another recession. >> double dip fears are unfounded in the type of data that we're seei