Jobless claims almost went under 500,000 and gave one of the lowest readings this year. Unfortunately that wasn't enough for the market because these likely need to get under 400,000 or so before unemployment will stop rising. Oil inventories took some fuel from oil, but the weak 30-Year Treasury auction and the government's budget deficit kept the six day rally from turning into a 7-day rally.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,197.47 -93.79 (-0.91%)
S&P 500 1,087.21 -11.30 (-1.03%)
Nasdaq 2,149.29 -17.61 (-0.81%)

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It's always been a tenet of mine that executive compensation should be tied to company performance. In many ways and in many companies it is. Stock bonuses and related options are generally the favored mechanism to retain good-performing executive talent and it works. At a recent Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) shareholder meeting, one of the shareholder proposals was one tied to executive compensation. Naturally, I was intrigued.

It's a shame individual and institutional shareholders don't have more of a direct voice into how the company that they partially own is run. Yes, it's true that one can't really "know" the company and its situation without being involved day to day -- or is it? So much public information is available on every public company that an informed shareholder is not a hard status to ascend to, right?

One of the recent shareholder proposals -- which was passed even with HP management voting against it -- would measure executive pay in a way that long-term compensation packages involving stock options and hefty bonuses be tied directly to company performance. This was probably seen by many, as the outlandish pay package bestowed on former HP CEO Carly Fiorina after she was booted from the CEO spot caused quite a furor over those who don't agree with the insane golden parachuted given to non-performing executives.

Make no mistake -- like most of the working class and rank-and-file worker, pay should be based on performance as the overriding factor. This is not a government job, you know. This is the private sector, and performance talks (non-performance walks).

Futures are positive in early morning trade, pointing to a higher start for stock.

Today investors will analyze the data from the retail sector, they will look at some economic indicators for an idea about employment, inflation and productivity. Strong retail sales could help the market rally, as are the falling oil prices of this morning.

This morning, some retailers have already reported same-stores sales and the market is now looking for a 3.4% rise in October for the industry, or a 4.9% increases ex-Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT). Wal-Mart said last week it is expecting a 0.5% gain in same-store sales (sales at stores that have been open at least a year). It had just reported as expected.

Already reporting sales data this morning are Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ:COST) with a 4% rise, Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE:PIR) with an over 13% decline in sales, and American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEOS) that reported an 8% jump in same-store sales last night. AEOS also raised third-quarter earnings guidance. The stock might still be under pressure as some were expecting a 10% rise in sales. Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG) Oct same-store sales rose 11.4% and J.C. Penney Co.'s (NYSE:JCP) sales rose 8.1%.

This morning, some economic data is also due out. First, weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30, but investors are waiting the main job report tomorrow. Also at 8:30, third-quarter productivity and unit labor costs will be reported. Unit labor cost could give investors a better idea about inflation, so barring any surprises, this is the number to watch out for. Finally, at 10:00, September factory orders are due. The European Central Bank makes its decision on interest rate today.

Top news stories this morning:

According to the Wall Street Journal, Tribune Co. (NYSE:TRB) said that due to low bids, it is now prepared to sell parts of the business and will consider offers.

Unilever NV/PLC (NYSE:UN, UL) reported a third-quarter profit drop of 48% after one-time gains from asset sales. Sales rose 1.6%. The figures were at the top end of market forecasts. Unilever shares were up over 4% in Europe.

Reporting today:

• Caremark Rx Inc. (CMX) - 63 cents per share for Q3.
• CVS Corp. (CVS) - 32 cents per share for Q3.
• International Paper Co. (IP) - 43 cents per share for Q3.
• Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI) - 29 cents per share for Q4.

Other stories:

Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS) reported third-quarter after the bell yesterday with profit climbing sharply to 24 cents per share on a 9% increase in revenue of $5.29. However the company said contracts for future work declined. Analysts were expecting 20 cents per share.

Apple Computer, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) new iPod Shuffle will arrives in stores this Friday, tomorrow.

Goldman Sachs upgraded Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) to neutral from sell.

General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) has signed a $300 million deal with a Chinese company to make jet engine parts for it.and French engine maker Snecma.

In the auto industry:

• New car registrations in Germany are expected to have risen in October with foreign automakers boosting their share of Europe's biggest car market to 36.1%.
• Advanced Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE:AAP) reported Q3 (ending Oct 7) net income dropped to $58.9 million, or 56 cents a share but it includes 3 cents a share in stock option expense. Revenue rose to $1.1 billion from $1 billion. Analysts expected earnings of 54 cents a share. The company also lowered Q4 guidance.

Following Baidu.com, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:BIDU) earning, yesterday I revisited rumors of Google, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) or Yahoo!, Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) buying Baidu.

Google is releasing a new version of its mobile email today.

Yahoo is going into the food business starting a site offering thousands of recipes, advice from chefs, video cooking guides and easy-to-use Web tools to help cooks answer the daily question: What's for dinner?

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) will have a fourth quarter earnings call on Thursday, Nov. 16, 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT here.

Wendy's (NYSE:WEN) is offering DVD movie kiosks at its restaurants.

In Pharma: Global pharmaceutical sales grew 5% in the 12 months to August in leading markets, the same rate as recorded a month earlier. Pfizer Inc's (NYSE:PFE) Lipitor cholesterol pill remained the top-selling drug with sales of $11.6 billion.

Russian oil output fell again in October partly because the country and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) holding back the start up of full-scale production due to differences.

XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR) and Cingular Wireless (held by AT&T (NYSE:T)) announced a partnership to stream 25 XM music channels to Cingular handsets.