Unlike the stock market, the bond market thrives on "bad" news. Why is this? The main reason is the money trail. Investors are quick to move their money from stocks into bonds when something bad happens.

Yesterday we had plenty of bad news. The U.S. job market lost 467,000 jobs, a 26-year high. Now to add fuel to the fire, wages are dropping due to layoffs and shortened work weeks (WSJ subscription required). Fewer people are working, which means less money that consumers have to spend. That signals a slower economy.

Yesterday, automotive parts supplier Lear (NYSE: LEA) announced that it is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company has also lined up financing to fund operations while it is under court protection.

LEA's subsidiaries outside of the United States and Canada will not be a part of the bankruptcy filing. According to the company, its "operations outside the United States and Canada are well-capitalized, well-positioned and have a strong backlog of new business."

TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO - option chain) stock is falling today after the U.S. Court of Appeals granted the request of EchoStar (NASDAQ: SATS) to stay the contempt order imposed by the U.S. District Court pending the outcome of SATS's appeal. TIVO says it is confident that it will win the appeal.. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on TIVO.

This morning, TIVO opened at $9.13. So far today the stock has hit a low of $9.05 and a high of $9.79. As of 11:45, TIVO is trading at $9.22, down $1.55 (-14.4%). The chart for TIVO looks neutral and S&P gives TIVO a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Bad news! Another 467,000 jobs were lost according to the latest report. This is much worse that last month's loss of 322,000, and brings into question whether the stimulus programs are working to jump-start the economy. Obviously they are not doing the job. The unemployment rate rose to 9.5% from 9.4%.

Analysts had expected a much better report. Alan Ruskin of RBS Greenwich Capital said: "if you were betting on the U.S. driving a vigorous recovery, think again. ... The unemployment report can largely be taken at face value, and the face value story is a labor market that is not improving nearly as rapidly as the May data suggested."

BloggingStocks is a family site, so I will simply note the Reuters headline for this story: Probe fingers 1,800 American Apparel (AMEX: APP) workers.

Now that you have had a moment to make your own joke, we continue with the news -- although I will say that when I saw this headline, I thought that CEO Dov Charney was back to his old tricks.

Anyway, a United States federal probe found that about one-third of the company's LA-area factory workers were not authorized to work in the United States.

This is unbelievable! California (my home state) is going to issue I.O.U.'s to seniors, disabled and welfare recipients starting tomorrow because our State Legislature cannot agree on a budget. This is outrageous beyond belief!

Next time someone refers to California as the "Golden State" the laughter from all corners of the nation will be deafening. They say that California Bonds and Schools will not be affected.

What I want to know is whether the politicians will be getting paid in I.O.U.'s. There are many people in the land of the petition and ballot initiative that would be in favor of a law that says the politicians do not get paid for twice the time it takes to settle the budget beyond yesterdays (June 30) deadline.

Late yesterday, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) announced the discontinuation of the SUN 1122 Phase III trial of Sutent. The drug is for treating colorectal cancer, and the study was terminated because it failed to achieve its primary end point in the study. An independent committee (the Data Monitoring Committee) found that adding sunitinib to the chemotherapy regimen FOLFIRI would be unable to demonstrate "a statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of progression-free survival compared to FOLFIRI alone."

The company's vice president of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs Dr. Mace Rothenberg noted, "We are disappointed with this result, but trial successes and failures are an integral part of cancer drug development and contribute to a growing body of knowledge on improving patient care."

How does the consumer feel about the economy? In a word, lousy. The Conference Board, an industry group, reported that consumer confidence dropped to 49.3 in June, from a reading of 54.8 in May. Economists had expected it to be 55.

Here's another piece of bad news. Only 17.4% of consumers felt that more jobs would appear in the coming months, also down from 19.3% in May.

Schnitzer Steel (NASDAQ: SCHN - option chain) stock is falling today after the company reported a third-quarter loss this morning of $1.53 million, or 5 cents per share. Analysts had expected the company to report a profit of 16 cents per share. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on SCNH.

This morning, SCHN opened at $56.99. So far today the stock has hit a low of $52.40 and a high of $57.00. As of 12:00, SCHN is trading at $52.88, down $7.33 (-12.2%). The chart for SCHN looks bullish.

Elan Corp (NYSE: ELN - option chain) stock is falling today after Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB) reported another serious brain infection in a patient being treated with Tysabri. Tysabri is a MS drug whose revenues are shared by BIIB and ELN. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on ELN.

This morning, ELN opened at $7.37. So far today the stock has hit a low of $6.87 and a high of $7.49. As of 11:15, ELN is trading at $6.88, down 48 cents (-6.5%). The chart for ELN looks neutral and S&P gives ELN a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT) said today that its State Street Bank & Trust Co. unit received a Wells Notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The notice, which indicates that civil charges may be brought against the company, relates to disclosures and management of certain fixed-income strategies during 2007 and previous periods.

Some investors have accused State Street of misleading them about the risks involved in mortgage-related investments. A legal reserve fund worth $625 million was established in 2007 to cover investor claims, and $418 million has already been paid out. The firm says it is currently cooperating with the SEC, as well as state and other regulators.

The motel chain Red Roof Inn hit the roof this week with a thud, defaulting on over $350 million of mortgage payments. The chain, purchased by Citigroup Inc.'s (NYSE:C) Global Special Situations Unit and Westmont Hospitality Group from Accor SA two years ago for $1.3 billion, has suffered a drop in overnights of over 10% since the acquisition.

Red Roof Inn was started in 1972 by Jim Trueman. (Trueman is better remembered as the car racing fan, who provided the opportunity for star driver, Bobby Rahal, to start his career.) The company was based in Columbus, OH until its sale to Accor, and returned there after its most recent sale. The chain has grown to 345 locations, in 36 states. 133 of these Inns are owned by franchisees. 131 of the company-owned Inns were put up as collateral for the four mortgages the chain received. Total debt, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), approaches $1.2 billion.

Boeing (NYSE: BA - option chain) stock is falling today after the company postponed the first flight of its 787 Dreamliner again to reinforce an area within the side-of-body section of the aircraft. The maiden voyage of the plane is already two years behind its original schedule. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on BA.

This morning, BA opened at $44.39. So far today the stock has hit a low of $42.52 and a high of $44.50. As of 12:25, BA is trading at $42.77, down $4.13 (-8.6%). The chart for BA looks neutral and S&P gives BA a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Matrixx Initiatives (NASDAQ: MTXX), maker of the allegedly scent-stealing Zicam nasal swabs, tumbled to a new annual low this morning on news that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is launching an informal inquiry. The SEC is requesting documents and other information regarding the warning letter issued to Matrixx by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Last week, the FDA told consumers to stop using certain nasally administered Zicam products after the agency received more than 130 complaints from users who lost their sense of smell. Matrixx has defended its homeopathic, over-the-counter offerings, calling the safety concerns "erroneous," but the firm settled hundreds of lawsuits in 2006 with consumers making the same allegations.

Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court of the District of Delaware.

Reports have private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors as the likely buyer of the company. A flailing brand image and lousy consumer spending combined with the company's $426.7 million debt load helped to drag the company into insolvency. In the first quarter of 2009, the company lost $44.5 million.