What is the Philly/Fed Index and why is it important? The Philly/Fed Index measures manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area. While it measures only one area of the country, over the years it has been a leading index for manufacturing overall.

Why bother measuring the manufacturing sector? The main reason is that manufacturing accounts for 12% of our GDP. Growth in manufacturing indicates that orders are picking up. If orders are picking up, the next step is to hire more workers. Hiring more workers speeds the growth of our economy and at the same time puts unemployed persons back to work.

ADC Telecommunications (ADCT - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company posted a fourth-quarter loss last night of $19.8 million, or 20 cents per share, on revenue of $183.9 million. ADCT also forecast a first-quarter adjusted loss of 10 to 0 cents per share on revenue of $250 million to $275 million. Analysts are forecasting a profit of 11 cents per share on revenue of $274 million. 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 ADCT.

This morning, ADCT opened at $5.46. So far today the stock has hit a high of $5.93 and a low of $5.35. As of 12:05, ADCT is trading at $5.71, down 93 cents (-14.0%). The chart for ADCT looks bullish and S&P gives ADCT a positive 5 STARS (out of 5) strong buy ranking.

After-hours traders punished Dell (DELL) stock Thursday, following a weak third quarter earnings report from the technology giant.

Going into the afternoon earnings release, analysts had been expecting to see the company show earnings of 28 cents per share. Actual earnings came in much lower at 23 cents per share.

Who is Paolo Pellegrini? Pellegrini is a Rome-born analyst who helped hedge fund operator John Paulson make tons of money in the subprime crash of 2007-2008.

It was Pellegrini who led the number crunching on mortgages and home prices and came to the conclusion that housing prices were about to collapse. Paulson's hedge fund took advantage of this data and proceeded to make $3.5 billion on his trades.

Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ) tagged a new 52-week peak Tuesday morning in the wake of its latest earnings report. The solar company announced that it raked in a third-quarter profit of $25.3 million, or 69 cents per share, while revenue dipped 16% to $213.1 million. The results handily exceeded analysts' consensus expectations for a profit of 54 cents per share on $210.9 million in revenue.

Shipments for the recently concluded quarter more than doubled on a sequential basis, arriving at 102.6 megawatts (MW). For 2010, Canadian Solar said it expects shipments to range between 600 MW and 700 MW, compared to the current 2009 forecast for shipments of 295 MW to 305 MW.

Ann Taylor (ANN) was upgraded Monday, according to TheStreet.com. Jesup & Lamont calls the stock a buy now instead of a hold. You're never far from the analyst game when you trade on Wall Street. Question is, what should you do about this retailer? Should you give it a position in your own portfolio?

I'm not the biggest fan of Ann Taylor. I don't like the fundamentals. I made this amply clear back in August when I discussed the company's second quarter.

Illinois Tool Works (ITW - option chain) shares are rising today after the company reaffirmed its fourth-quarter EPS guidance of 54 to 66 cents. ITW also said it expects Q4 revenue growth between -1% and 5%, or roughly $3.64 to $3.86 billion. Analysts are expecting the company to post EPS of 62 cents on $3.68 billion. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on ITW.

ITW opened this morning at $49.70. So far today the stock has hit a low of $49.58 and as of 12:00, the stock is trading right near a new 52-week high at $51.11 up $2.13 (4.3%). The chart for ITW looks neutral and S&P gives ITW a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

For a quick "economic upper," check out the recent Columbia University forum on business and the U.S. economy featuring Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, which will undoubtedly be re-broadcast on CNBC during the holiday season. Amey Stone of DailyFinance has a good summary of the event.

One key takeaway: Gates, whose company Microsoft (MSFT) invented computer operating systems and software that revolutionized the business world, is now forecasting that alternative sources of energy will soon be discovered. These are not only cheaper than current energy forms, but also environmentally friendly.

The price of oil has risen from about $30 per barrel at the height of the economic recession to the present $77 per barrel. Much of the increase is due to the weakness in the U.S. dollar. Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil (XOM) told CNBC: "If you put the price of oil, which is priced in dollars around the world, and if you look at what some effects are with the weak dollar -- in our view that is contributing $20 to $25 dollars per barrel to the price."

Globally, Tillerson said, oil is well supplied with historic high inventory levels, especially in the U.S. This is causing the market to be a "bit soft," according to Tillerson.

On the heels of last week's better-than-expected earnings results from retailers Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF), Kohl's Corp. (KSS), Macy's Inc. (M), Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) -- as well as disappointing numbers from Blockbuster Inc. (BBI) and JCPenney Co. Inc. (JCP) -- the coming week will bring results from more shopping- and strip-mall favorites.

TJX Companies Inc. (TJX), which operates T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores in the U.S., settled a class action, announced share buybacks and raised its guidance in the third quarter. For the three months that ended in October, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect TJX to report earnings of $0.80 per share, up from $0.57 in the same period of last year. Revenue is expected to total $5.3 billion, or 10.2% higher than a year ago. So far, the full-year forecast is for a profit of $2.59 per share (+22.3%) on $20.0 billion (+5.5%) in sales.

The federal budget year ended in October. The October deficit number set a record of $176.4 billion, which was higher than the $150 billion economists had predicted.

For the budget year 2009, the deficit reached $1.42 trillion. That too was an all-time record. This year's deficit was $958 billion above the 2008 deficit. October was the 13th straight month to show a deficit.

Semiconductor maker Applied Materials (AMAT) reported its fiscal fourth quarter numbers this afternoon following the market close, and the company easily outpaced analyst estimates.

Going into this afternoon's earnings report, analysts had been expecting to see the company show earnings of 3 cents per share, but the company surprised to the upside by posting actual Q4 earnings of 13 cents.

Disney (DIS), a media business that competes with Viacom (VIA), CBS (CBS), News Corp. (NWS), and General Electric's (GE) NBC Universal, will be talking up its fourth-quarter numbers on Thursday after the bell. Are you a shareholder? If so, are you excited? Well, don't get too excited, because we might not be getting any growth, even if the Mouse beats on the bottom line. According to Earnings.com, the call is for 40 cents per share versus the 43 cents per share made in the comparable period.

You know what, though? For the most part, I'm not so concerned with exactly how much Disney makes this quarter. I'm a shareholder, and I want to see management at least come in at the estimate, of course, but I'll be more interested in the conference call. Way more interested this time around, in fact.

We can now say that the current recession has sunk to a level even worse than the horrible early 1980s recession, as measured by one indicator: The broadest measure of U.S. unemployment -- which includes unemployed and underemployed Americans, as well as discouraged workers -- rose to 17.5% in October, according to data compiled by the U.S. Labor Department. The previous high was 17.1% in December 1982, The New York Times reported.

The index, statistically known as "U-6," totaled 17.0% in September and 16.8% in August; that's up from 12.0% a year ago, in October 2008.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global energy use is going to fall this year. That said, the group also believes that energy use will resume its upward trend, should government policies remain the same.

Looking far ahead, the IEA believes that the world's demand is projected to rise by 40% between now and 2030, when demand is estimated to hit 16.8 billion tons of oil equivalent.