The Labor Department's report Friday showed that companies are still adding to their ranks — albeit at a slower pace — even as deepening troubles in the housing and credit markets are weighing heavily on national economic activity.

Employers added a net 94,000 new jobs to their payrolls last month. That was down from a surprisingly strong gain of 170,000 jobs in October, but was still sufficient to prevent the unemployment rate from rising. The jobless rate has held steady at 4.7 percent for three months in a row.

Still, fallout from the housing collapse was painfully evident. Construction companies slashed jobs last month. So did mortgage companies, banks, real-estate firms and manufacturers. Those losses, however, were more than offset by hiring gains elsewhere, including in health care, retail, hotels and motels, temporary help firms, computer services and the government.

———

SAN FRANCISCO — TV Guide magazine's already fuzzy future looks even more uncertain now that the magazine is part of a proposed $2.8 billion sale to security software specialist Macrovision Corp.

Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc.'s intellectual property and interactive programming were the magnets for Macrovision's proposal Friday to buy Gemstar — raising questions about whether there will be a place for a 54-year-old magazine that has been losing money and readers.

Macrovision Chief Executive Fred Amoroso didn't provide any definitive answers in a conference call with analysts, saying he didn't know much about publishing and needed more time to assess how TV Guide could fit into his strategy.

But some industry observers think the one-time household staple will soon land in the trash bin of publications that couldn't adapt to the digital age.

———

NEW YORK — Wall Street paused from its big rally Friday, with stocks closing narrowly mixed after the government's November labor report showed tepid job growth as well as a pickup in inflation. The major indexes ended the week higher, with the Dow Jones industrials having gained nearly 900 points over nine trading days.

The Labor Department report at least temporarily chilled a rally that has left the Dow only 538 points, or 3.8 percent, below the record close it reached on Oct. 9.

On the plus side, the report did give the Fed more room to lower rates. The debate now centers on whether the central bank will drop rates by a quarter percentage point when it meets on Tuesday, or finish the year with a half-point cut. However, Nolte noted that it would be easier to make a case for a larger cut if the November employment report had been weaker.

The week's trading saw investors growing in confidence about the overall health of the economy and the nation's ability to generally weather the months-long credit crisis.

———

NEW YORK — Rupert Murdoch installed his own leadership team at Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. on Friday, a week before his acquisition of the company is expected to close. He also tapped his son James as heir apparent to his media empire News Corp.

Les Hinton, who has spent his career at News Corp.'s newspapers, will become CEO of Dow Jones next week, following a vote of the company's shareholders on Dec. 13. Hinton currently oversees News Corp.'s papers in the United Kingdom, including The Times, The Times Literary Supplement, The Sun, and News of the World.

Robert Thomson, editor of The Times, will become publisher of the Journal. Dow Jones also owns Dow Jones Newswires, Barron's and a news database business called Factiva.

Murdoch's takeover of Dow Jones triggered several other executive changes, including the departures of Dow Jones' CEO Richard Zannino; Wall Street Journal publisher Gordon Crovitz and general counsel Joseph Stern.

———

NEW YORK — Delphi Corp. can begin soliciting votes for its plan to exit bankruptcy, the company's lawyer said on Friday, a major step toward letting the auto parts maker proceed with a restructuring that would shed thousands of jobs in plants across the country.

Delphi attorney Jack Butler said bankruptcy judge Robert Drain verbally approved the order on Friday and that if all changes the judge requested meet his requirements, he would enter an order on Monday.

Delphi's reorganization plan includes shrinking its unionized work force to a fraction of its former size and shifting manufacturing overseas.

Its proposal would ultimately eliminate 27,000 of 33,000 union jobs and would sell or close 20 factories across the nation and one in Mexico. Remaining and future workers are left with a two-tier wage structure, with new United Auto Workers members earning wages of $14- to $18.50-an hour, down from $27 per hour.

The company expects to begin sending voting material to about 500,000 creditors Dec. 15 and has scheduled a hearing to begin Jan. 17 to confirm its plan. Unsecured creditors — who would receive 100 percent on their claims as stock and rights to purchase discounted shares — have until Jan. 11 to decide.

———

WASHINGTON — Consumer confidence barely budged from a two-year low as housing troubles, a credit crunch, high energy prices and turbulence on Wall Street continue to make people uneasy about the economy and their own financial situations.

The RBC Cash Index showed confidence clocking in at 65.9 in early December. That hovered close to a reading of 64 in November, which marked the worst showing since the devastation wrought by the Gulf Coast hurricanes in 2005.

Economists said a host of factors were to blame for the still gloomy mind-set of consumers. The collapse of the housing market, which has dragged down home values, has made people feel less wealthy. Home foreclosures have shot up to record highs. Harder-to-get credit has made it difficult for some to make big-ticket purchases. High energy prices are squeezing wallets and pocketbooks. And, Wall Street's gyrations have made some worry about the value of their nest eggs.

Over the past year, consumers' confidence has deteriorated sharply, reflecting the toll of the problems facing the economy. Last December, confidence stood at a solid 86.9. The index is based on the results of the international polling firm Ipsos.

———

NEW YORK — Oil futures retreated Friday, giving back much of the previous session's big gain after the government's November jobs report wasn't as robust as some traders had hoped.

Retail gas prices, meanwhile, declined again, dropping 1.1 cents overnight to $3.023 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Gas prices have fallen nearly 9 cents, or 3 percent, since mid-November and are expected to retreat below $3 a gallon as long as oil prices generally keep falling.

The report quashed the hopes of some oil investors that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by a half percent instead of the more widely expected quarter percent when it meets Tuesday, said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp., in Chicago.

Some analysts think volatility is becoming a central feature of a market whose sentiment seems to be changing from bullish to bearish. Several analysts said it was difficult to find reasons to explain Thursday's price run-up, or Friday's declines.

———

LONDON — British investment group Olivant outlined details of its rescue offer for mortgage lender Northern Rock PLC on Friday as U.S. investment firm JC Flowers reportedly pulled out of the bidding process.

The offer from Olivant, which includes immediately repaying up to 15 billion pounds ($30.5 billion) of the government funds propping up Northern Rock, could be a strong contender to the current preferred bid from Richard Branson's Virgin Group.

Olivant chief Luqman Arnold, a buyout veteran, said he was confident his proposal would win favor with the government and shareholders.

———

By The Associated Press

The Dow rose 5.69, or 0.04 percent, to 13,625.58, and finished the week up 1.9 percent.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.68, or 0.18 percent, to 1,504.66, but ended the week up 1.59 percent.

The technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index dipped 2.87, or 0.11 percent, to 2,706.16, but ended the week 1.70 percent higher.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery fell $1.95 to settle at $88.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising $2.74 on Thursday.

Other energy futures also fell Friday. January heating oil futures fell 4.03 cents to settle at $2.5047 a gallon on the Nymex, while January gasoline futures fell 3.23 cents to settle at $2.269 a gallon. January natural gas futures fell 17.5 cents to settle at $7.155 per 1,000 cubic feet.