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."

U.S. stock futures were lower Thursday morning, the last day of trading in this shortened week and ahead of the holiday weekend. Investors this morning will turn their attention to the June jobs report for clues on whether the economy can continue to recover.

At 8:30 this morning two jobs report are going to be released. The weekly initial jobless claims report and June nonfarm payroll statistics. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect employers in the U.S. probably cut an additional 365,000 jobs in June. If the data comes out as expected it would be evidence the stimulus plan has helped the labor market. In addition, the unemployment rate likely climbed to 9.6 percent, the highest since 1983. Unemployment is projected to keep rising for the rest of the year. [Update: Employers cut a larger-than-expected 467,000 jobs in June, driving the unemployment rate up to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent.]

Are mortgage rates affecting U.S. mortgage applications? The short answer most likely is yes. Mortgage applications tumbled to a 7 month low, with refinancing loans down 30%, according to Reuters. This is clearly not a good sign for the housing market.

Kenneth Rosen from the University of California says that mortgage rates are just one factor causing the drop. He adds that high unemployment, concerns for job security, and problems with buyers being unable to sell their existing homes are also affecting the market.

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.

U.S. stock futures were higher Wednesday morning as stocks were ready to start off the third quarter on a positive note. However, several key economic reports are due out this morning, including reports on manufacturing, employment and housing. Recently, manufacturing has shown improvement in other parts of the world.

Stocks finished the second quarter Tuesday on a down note, but that couldn't erase the advances indices made during the quarter with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing the second quarter up 11 percent, the S&P 500 rose 15 percent and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 20 percent.

Early estimates of a contraction in the U.K. economy were not enough. First quarter 2009 estimates were revisited, showing a 2.4% fall in gross domestic product from the last quarter of 2008 to 2009. This downward revision made the first three months of the year the worst since people wore skinny ties, hated communism, and bore nicknames like "Buzz."

In the second quarter of 1958, U.K. GDP plummeted 2.6%, though the 2.4% threshold matches the depths hit in 1979. The original 2009 Q1 estimate was -1.9%, according to the Office for National Statistics in London.

U.S. stock futures were higher Tuesday morning, indicating that on the last day of the second quarter and first half of 2009 Wall Street is poised to start on a positive tone. Seems investors were ready to extend the biggest rally stocks have staged in a quarter in about a decade . Investors this morning also await several economic indicators -- including housing and consumer confidence -- due out later this morning, hoping further signs the economy have stabilized are in the cards and a recovery is ahead in the second half of the year.

At 9:00 a.m. EDT, the Conference Board will release the June Consumer Confidence index, which is expected to have risen to 55.3 from 54.9, according to Briefing.com. The housing sector will also be in focus as at the same time the S&P/Case Shiller 20-city home price index for April is expected to show a decline from the year ago period. FInally, at 9:45 a.m., June's Chicago PMI, a regional manufacturing index, is expected to show it rose in June.

Is it 2009-2010 or 1972-1973? If you're paying college tuition this year, it may be hard to tell. Tuition is up only 4.3% for the coming school year, the lowest rate of growth in 37 years, according to a survey of 350 private schools by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. This is down substantially from the 5.9% increase for the 2008-2009 school year. Of course, this is for tuition only and does not include room and board inflation.

Before celebrating, though, remember that depressed housing prices and constrained financial markets make it tougher to dip into home equity to pay for school (a favorite strategy of the past few years), and layoffs are putting an obvious strain on household finances. So, the bargain in all this may be hard to find, even with financial aid increases of 9.2%.

U.S. stock futures edged higher Monday morning. As investors start taking toll of the first half ending tomorrow, today many will focus on the sentencing of Bernard Madoff for his multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. Investors will also gear up for several key economic reading coming later in this shortened holiday week.

The Bernard Madoff's sentencing hearing, coming six months after the scandal came to light, will take front stage today. Madoff masterminded a multibillion dollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out fortunes, ruined charities and foundations, and even pushed some investors to commit suicide. His lawyer insists 12 years in prison is enough, while prosecutors demand a 150-year sentence fort he 71-year-old.

The interest in using natural gas as an alternative to crude has helped natural gas-based companies appreciate in value. Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) has benefited from that interest, with a gain of more than 20% this year.

CHK is an interesting story in that during the craze in energy prices in 2008, the CEO of the company was forced to liquidate his entire position. That forced selling created an opportunity to buy the stock at an incredibly cheap price, even beyond the artificially low energy prices reached earlier this year.

Things will be pretty quiet again on the earnings front during this holiday-shortened week, so not much chance of fireworks there.

The one report analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters seem to have the highest hopes for is that from Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL), as people look to education to better position themselves to survive the economic slump. For its fiscal third quarter, during which a new co-CEO was named, the Phoenix, Ariz.-based educational services provider is expected to report a profit of $1.12 per share, which is 24.1% higher than a year ago. Revenue is expected to be 24.3% higher to $1.0 billion. The full-year forecast is currently for $3.97 per share (+28.5%) on sales of $3.9 billion (+24.4%). Earnings have topped expectations in the past four quarters, by as much as 13 cents per share. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 15.9%, which is double the industry average, and the forward PE ratio estimate is 15.0. The First Call consensus recommendation remains to buy APOL; InvestorPlace calls it a stock you can trust. At $68.50, shares are down 10.6% since the beginning of the year, but they peeked above the 100-day moving average at the end of this week for the first time since March.

The China miracle is back on track, and with it comes speculation for resource demand as a result of huge economic growth. Within the oil sector, the coal group has seen big gains given its use in power generation. In China, that is particularly true, with the country seeing new power plants open on a regular basis.

Yanzhou Coal Mining (NYSE: YZC) appears to be in the sweet spot. Investors seem to agree and have pushed YZC up almost 70% in 2009. China is an appealing play, but by no means certain.

Drill, baby, drill was the calling card of the Republican Party during the last presidential election.

With high oil prices and rising demand, finding new sources of oil is imperative. Given environmental concerns, offshore drilling is one space that still offers meaningful potential to increase domestic supply.

Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE: DO) operates some 45 deep water rigs that are keeping extraordinarily busy with oil prices on the rise.

You have to love OPEC. It's not uncommon for the barons of the giant cartel to voice their interest in seeing oil at such-and-such a price.

Recently, OPEC reiterated its desire to see oil prices at $80 per barrel. This, they claim, is the price needed to spur additional investment in crude projects. Apparently, anything less will result in oil sitting idle in the ground.

The first half of 2009 has whizzed by in what seems like a macroeconomic eye-blink. Wasn't President Obama inaugurated just a few weeks ago? It's a cliché but it's true: time flies.

The nation has made strides to recover from its near-decade of policy errors, but much work remains. Accordingly, then, here are three economic wishes for the United States for the second half of the year: