According to the ADP Employer Services Report, the private sector added 201,000 new jobs in March, basically in-line with 203,000 new jobs that analysts had been expecting to see.

February's figures were revised downwards to 208,000 from a previously estimated 216,000 new jobs.

March's employment gains bring the four-month average of new jobs to 211,000, more than enough to keep the labor track on path. Analysts estimate that the economy needs to add 125,000 new jobs each month in order to keep up with population growth, so any jobs over that figure result in a lower unemployment figures.

Continue reading Labor Market Continues to Show Signs of Improvement

Labor Market Continues to Show Signs of Improvement originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Discount retailer Family Dollar Stores Inc. (FDO) reported its fiscal second quarter results this morning, topping analyst estimates and sending the stock higher in premarket trading.

For the quarter, Family Dollar reported it earned 98 cents per share, topping analyst estimates by a penny. During the same period last year, the company earned 81 cents per share.

Continue reading Family Dollar Earnings Top Estimates, Sending Shares Higher

Family Dollar Earnings Top Estimates, Sending Shares Higher originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Women Top the Home Foreclosure List: Here's What to Do

Women Top the Home Foreclosure List: Here's What to Do originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The housing market got a bit of bad news Monday morning, with pending home sales falling faster than expected in January.

Consumer confidence has been on the rise over the past couple of months, but that boost in confidence did not carry over to pending home sales, which were down 2.8% during the month of January.

Continue reading Pending Home Sales Down in January

Pending Home Sales Down in January originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Recessions are a good time for discount retailers. Dollar General (DG) is a retailer of low priced goods, which are in demand during this period of high unemployment. Consumers have less to spend and gravitate to stores like Dollar General.

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that Dollar General's fiscal third-quarter profit rose to $128.1 million or 37 cents a share, up from $75 million or 24 cents a share a year earlier. Sales rose 10% to $3.22 billion and were 4.2% higher on a same-store basis. Compared to prior years, sales were up 13% and 9.2% respectively.

Continue reading Dollar General's Net Earnings Soar, Shares Fall

Dollar General's Net Earnings Soar, Shares Fall originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Fewer business start-ups are being launched, reports the the Wall Street Journal. The Labor Department said that the number of companies with at least one employee fell by 100,000, or 2%, in the year ended March 31. That was the second worst performance in 18 years -- the worst one was a drop of 3.4% the previous year.

Why are these numbers important? In past recessions small business start-ups were the key to spurring the economy. In the three quarters that ended in March, newly formed companies created only 2.6 million jobs, 15% fewer than in the first three quarters of the last recovery.

Continue reading Fewer Small Business Start-Ups Mean Fewer Jobs

Fewer Small Business Start-Ups Mean Fewer Jobs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 21 Nov 2010 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While the stock market has moved up nicely in the last three months, it's hardly moved stocks above reasonable valuations. IBM (IBM) sells at 12.77 times earnings. Intel (INTC) goes for 11.67 times. Microsoft (MSFT) has a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 11.74. Google (GOOG) sports one of 22.8, but even that isn't too noteworthy when many of these stocks at one time or another traded at 50 to 100 times their earnings. Of course, those were days when there was only up, and everyone was on Ecstasy. Thankfully, every stock, and everyone, is back on earth.

Those relatively benign valuations come from the reality of a slow global economy. In the U.S. it's more like a smashed-into-a-brick-wall economy. No matter the degree of the economic slowdown, all investors are cautious, not willing to bid up stocks when they believe things will only get worse, that profits will only decrease.

Continue reading Comfort Zone Investing: Why the Next Rally Could Be a Monster

Comfort Zone Investing: Why the Next Rally Could Be a Monster originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 02 Oct 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Federal Reserve has posted some data that shows the extent of economic decline in the second quarter. Here are some key numbers, as reported by Reuters.

• Household wealth fell by $1.5 trillion in the second quarter to $53.5 trillion. This sharply lower than the $64.2 trillion at the end of 2007.
• Stock losses amounted to $14.9 trillion, a drop of $1.95 trillion.

Continue reading Household Wealth Falls by $1.5 Trillion in Q2

Household Wealth Falls by $1.5 Trillion in Q2 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Silver has surged to $20.74, prices that haven't been seen since 1980, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

Let's take a walk down memory lane. Around 1979, the Hunt brothers from Texas tried to corner the silver market by buying up and hoarding tons of physical silver. That period also saw inflation rising to 18%. The Federal Reserve under Paul Volcker raised short-term rates to the 18% level.

Continue reading Silver Surges to a New Two-Year High

Silver Surges to a New Two-Year High originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This is a market for boring stocks. By that I mean, given that objective economic events seem to diametrically alter the investing landscape every few days or so, you need a few "totally un-sexy" plays that perform despite the aforementioned tumult.

And auto parts giant O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY), which I first wrote about here on May 18, 2009 at a price of $37.02, fits the bill.

O'Reilly's 2010 revenue should increase 9% to 12%, including revenue from an acquisition. Same store sales should increase 5% to 7%. Margins will likely increase.

Continue reading O'Reilly Automotive: A Stock That's Right for the Times

O'Reilly Automotive: A Stock That's Right for the Times originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The study showed that unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates didn't change when compared to June. In areas where the workforces are dependent upon agriculture, mining, wholesale trade, and finance, the economic stress eased. Unfortunately, retail and real estate employees saw higher distress during July. The study shows that roughly 54% of the 3,141 counties in the U.S. saw economic stress decline (24 of the 50 states).

Continue reading Economic Struggles Continued in July

Economic Struggles Continued in July originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The U.S. lost fewer jobs than expected in August. Here are the key stats, as reported in the New York Times:

• The economy lost another 54,000 jobs last month.
• Private companies added 67,000 jobs.
• The unemployment rate rose to 9.6% from 9.5%.
• The government lost 121,000 jobs in August.
• State and local governments cut 10,000 jobs and another 114,000 temporary census positions.

Continue reading U.S. Lost Fewer Jobs Than Expected in August

U.S. Lost Fewer Jobs Than Expected in August originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Are we in a recession or a depression? A recession usually means a temporary dip in an otherwise growing economy. A depression is much worse, feeding on itself and dragging the economy lower and lower. A recession carries hope. A depression is pure hopelessness.

We have all kinds of forecasts, from extreme optimism to bleak pessimism. Government officials and the mainstream media are touting this as a dip in a long-term growth cycle.

Continue reading Are We in a Recession or a Depression?

Are We in a Recession or a Depression? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: No Double-Dip Recession

Chasing Value: No Double-Dip Recession originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Like Warren Buffett, I like the rails. Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), which I first discussed here on May 1, 2009, at a price of $37.47, fits the bill, despite the stock's side-ways action summer.

Look for Canadian Pacific to register an impressive 7% to 10% revenue increase in 2010, as end markets continue to recover from 2009 lows. Meanwhile, increases in CP's railroad efficiency add to the positive story.

Continue reading Canadian Pacific Railway: Slowing Economy Dictates Caution

Canadian Pacific Railway: Slowing Economy Dictates Caution originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wednesday morning got off to a slow start for the market as a whole, and the July home sales report didn't going to help matters much. According to the Commerce Department, new home sales plummeted 12.4% in July compared to June.

The drop brings the seasonally adjusted annual sales pace to 276,600, far short of the expected pace of 330,000. Not only is this pace short of the expected result, but it is the slowest pace on record, which dates back to 1963.

Continue reading New Home Sales Fall to Record Low in July

New Home Sales Fall to Record Low in July originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Existing Home Sales Plunge

Existing Home Sales Plunge originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said Friday that it revised its statistics on the U.S. recession. Its revisions were nearly all made downward, meaning that the recession was worse than first reported.

Here are some examples:

• From the fourth quarter of 2007 to the second quarter of 2009 our economy shrank 4.1%, compared with the 3.7% previously reported.
• Household spending fell 1.2% in 2009, twice as much as previously projected.

Continue reading Recession Was Deeper Than Previously Reported

Recession Was Deeper Than Previously Reported originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It seems as if everyone is worried about the economy going into a double-dip recession these days. Worry in and of itself can be very destructive, both to your mental state and to the economy overall. Besides pulling out your hair, causing acid reflux and other health problems, worry can actually become self-fulfilling prophecy and cause the very thing you are most afraid of.

A number of years ago when I read Dale Carnegie's book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, one method he suggested was just to accept the worst case scenario and then move on with life from there.

So accept it: THE ECONOMY IS DOOMED! it's going to be 10 years of economic nightmare!

Now what?

Continue reading The Economy Is Doomed! Now What?

The Economy Is Doomed! Now What? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 01 Aug 2010 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This recession is very different from any since the Depression. Normal events just aren't happening, ones like a rebound in housing prices, shorter unemployment periods, interest rates bouncing back. The severity of the economic slowdown continues to grind on, and investors who thought along the lines of a "normal" recovery have been disappointed so far as there's nothing normal happening.

Continue reading Comfort Zone Investing: Unconventional Thinking Needed

Comfort Zone Investing: Unconventional Thinking Needed originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.