FeedPosted Feb 9th 2010 8:11AM by Melly Alazraki (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, International Markets, Coca-Cola (KO), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Market Matters, Electronic Arts (ERTS), Economic Data

U.S. stock futures advanced Tuesday, a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished below the 10,000 mark for the first time since early November. With investors encouraged by signs the EU could bail out Greece, bargain hunters searched for deals following the selloff.
U.S. stocks dropped Monday for the third time in four sessions, with the S&P 500 falling 0.9% and the Dow industrials falling over 100 points, or 1%. Concerns about European debt weighed on Wall Street as was the outlook for the U.S. economy, especially in light of reports that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will begin laying the groundwork for credit tightening later in the year.
Continue reading Before the Bell: Futures Advance on Hopes of Greece's Rescue
Posted Feb 8th 2010 8:07AM by Melly Alazraki (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, International Markets, Magazines, CIT Group (CIT), CVS Corp (CVS), Hasbro Inc (HAS), Economic Data, Oil

U.S. stock futures were
lower higher Monday morning as concerns about the debt situation in Europe continued to weigh on sentiment. The Dow industrials, it seems, for now will continue to flirt with the 10,000 level, following general declines in U.S. stocks markets last week.
[Update: So far this morning futures have changed direction several times as investors try to find a firm footing.]
Stocks slumped last as worries mounted over debt problems in Greece, Portugal and Spain and a mixed bag of economic indicators in the U.S. Meanwhile, concerns over Greece abated somewhat as the government worked Monday on a
tax overhaul aimed at getting its deficit under control.
Continue reading Before the Bell: Futures Pointing to a Higher Start
Posted Feb 5th 2010 2:00PM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: International Markets, Competitive Strategy, Market Matters, Economic Data, Commodities
Several factors converging on the metals markets are causing a sell off.
First, China has taken steps to curb bank lending. Much of the Chinese stimulus money has gone into the purchase of raw materials. Now, with things cooling down, traders are less willing to stockpile base metals.
Second, U.S. payrolls fell by 20,000 last month, indicating sluggishness in the U.S. economy.
Continue reading Copper Leads a Sell Off in Base Metals
Posted Feb 5th 2010 11:20AM by Mark Fightmaster (RSS feed)
Filed under: Economic Data
Well, this was a nice surprise ... the unemployment rate fell to 9.7% in January from 10% in December, according to the Labor Department. This is good news, as expectations were for the unemployment rate to hold at 10% -- so some people are finding some jobs somewhere.
That said, the number of nonfarm payrolls dropped by 20,000 while expectations called for a gain of 25,000. With stock futures limiting some of their early morning losses, it looks as if investors and analysts are holding on to the unemployment rate news rather than the news that more jobs were lost than expected.
Continue reading Surprise Drop in the Unemployment Rate Is No Reason to Celebrate
Posted Feb 5th 2010 9:00AM by Melly Alazraki (RSS feed)
Filed under: Employees, Economic Data

Unemployment rate in the U.S.
unexpectedly declined in January to 9.7%, while the U.S. economy shed 20,000 more jobs during the month. Since the Labor Department released the mixed jobs data, futures recovered from their losses and now point to a higher open.
First, the good news. The 9.7% unemployment rate is the lowest level since August. Economists had expected the unemployment to remain at 10% or rise to 10.1%. The so-called underemployment rate -- which includes part-time workers who'd prefer a full-time position and people who want work but have given up looking -- also fell to 16.5% from 17.3%.
Continue reading Unemployment Rate Falls, but Payrolls Drop
Posted Feb 5th 2010 8:15AM by Melly Alazraki (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, International Markets, Market Matters, Aetna Inc (AET), Tyson Foods'A' (TSN), Economic Data, Oil

U.S. stock futures were lower this morning, as investors anxiously awaited January's jobs report. Following
Wall Street's worst day in more than nine months, and as overseas markets skidded on global economic recovery fear and debt issues at some European countries, investors fretted ahead of key U.S. employment data.
[
Update: Stock futures recovered after the jobs data and now point to a higher start on Wall Street. The jobs data showed an unexpected decline in the unemployment rate to 9.7%, but payroll fell by 20,000.]
At 8:30 a.m., the Labor Department will report January figures on nonfarm payroll. Job losses during the Great Recession have been huge and they're about to get bigger. Economists expect the report to show 5,000-15,000 jobs created during the month. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 10%.
Continue reading Before the Bell: Futures Higher After Mixed Employment Report
Posted Feb 4th 2010 5:20PM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: International Markets, Products and Services, Management, Indices, Market Matters, Money and Finance Today, Economic Data, Personal Finance, Commodities, Oil, Headline News, DJIA, Recession
This morning the big news of the day was the drubbing of European stock markets as fear spread throughout the region. Fear was generated by concern that some European countries could default on their sovereign debt. Among them are Greece, Spain, and Portugal.
Greece's budget gap is 12.7% of GDP Greece has to slash spending and may need IMF assistance.
Investors sold investment deemed risky such as commodities, gold and stocks and moved their money into bonds. This started a selling frenzy in commodities with oil falling $3.14 per barrel to $73.14 per barrel. Brent crude fell $3.79 per barrel to $72.13 per barrel.
Continue reading Oil Plunges 5% on Fears That European Economies May Falter
Posted Feb 4th 2010 1:00PM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Industry, Market Matters, Economic Data
The Commerce Department reported that factory orders for December rose more than expected. Here are the numbers:
- Orders for durable goods rose 1%. The government had estimated a rise of 0.3% for December. Durables last for several years.
- Bookings for capital goods, a measure of future business investment, rose 2.2%, after a rise of 3.2%.
- Shipments of those goods rose 2.1%. These shipments are used to calculate GDP.
- The economy expanded 5.7% in the fourth quarter, the fastest pace in six years.
- Purchases of equipment and software increased 13%, the highest since 2006.
- On the negative side, new claims for unemployment rose to 480,000.
- The Institute for Supply Management report showed manufacturing in January expanded at the fastest pace in five years.
- Greater demand for notebooks and desktop computers fueled record sales for hard drives.
While these numbers are tame, the fact that we have slow, steady progress increases business and consumer confidence.
Much of the change in the economy is psychological. As we see steady improvement quarter over quarter, confidence gets restored, business replenishes inventories and consumers are buying again.
Do you believe that we are on the road to recovery?
Posted Feb 4th 2010 10:00AM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Employees, Economic Data, Politics, Recession
Initial claims for unemployment rose by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 480,000 in the week ended January 30. This surprised economists polled by Reuters who anticipated a drop in claims falling to 460,000 from a previously reported 470,000. A reason given for the rise was the backlog in filings due to short staffing at some state offices.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average of new claims rose 11,750 to 488,750 last week. The number of workers still receiving aid after one week jumped 2,000 to 4.6 million for the week ended January 23. This too, was above expectations of 4.58 million. The percent of insured in the labor force was unchanged at 3.5%
Continue reading Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Jumped by 8,000
Posted Feb 4th 2010 8:25AM by Melly Alazraki (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, International Markets, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Pfizer (PFE), Market Matters, Burger King Hldgs (BKC), Economic Data, Unilever ADR (UL), Visa Inc. (V)

U.S. stock futures were lower Thursday following declines in overseas markets as worries about Europe's sovereign debts resumed. Despite Cisco Systems' upbeat report concerns about the economic recovery ahead of the jobs report continued to affect investors' sentiment.
Already on Wednesday, several weak economic readings, including a service sector gauge, and disappointing results from Pfizer (PFE) pushed stocks lower. But Wall Street is bracing for the nonfarm payroll report due out Friday morning to get a better feel for the state of the economic recovery and employment.
Continue reading Before the Bell: Stocks to Struggle at the Open
Posted Feb 3rd 2010 9:30AM by Mark Fightmaster (RSS feed)
Filed under: Economic Data

Private-sector firms in the United States
cut 22,000 jobs in January, according to ADP data. This is the 24th straight monthly decline in job losses. The 22,000 jobs lost was the fewest since January 2008, when 22,000 jobs were added. Digging into the report, the service sector actually added 38,000 jobs, while good-producing industries slashed 60,000. ADP added that 7.5 million private-sector jobs have been lost thus far during the recession.
This data comes two days before the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports its estimate of January nonfarm payrolls. Forecasts call for an addition of 25,000 jobs, but the unemployment rate is expected to stay at 10%.
Continue reading Private Sector Jobs Drop to Two-Year Low
Posted Feb 3rd 2010 8:06AM by Melly Alazraki (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, International Markets, Time Warner (TWX), Pfizer (PFE), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Market Matters, News Corp'B' (NWS), Economic Data

U.S. stock futures were nearly flat Wednesday morning, indicating Wall Street may have trouble extending the rally following the prior session's gains. This morning, the parade of earnings reports continues as jobs data is set to take center stage.
[Update: Futures fell slightly after the jobs data, despite ADP reporting the smallest job losses in January in two years.]
On Tuesday, stocks finished the day higher after strong housing data and solid earnings reports helped pushed the Dow industrials to its second straight day of triple digit gains.
Continue reading Before the Bell: Futures Fall After Jobs Data
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