Job Loss By State

Posted on 29. Oct, 2009 by Founder in Blog

Here is an interesting chart of the job losses by state…

job decline by state

Alcoa Earnings Beat Estimates, Commodities Rise

Posted on 08. Oct, 2009 by Founder in Blog

Stock futures rose on Thursday as the latest earnings season got off to a positive start after Alcoa posted a surprise profit and as surging commodity prices underpinned a global equity advance.

Before the bell, shares of Alcoa Inc were up 7 percent at $15.20, a day after the Dow component posted its first profit in a year on cost savings and higher aluminum prices.

S&P 500 futures rose 9.40 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 75 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 12.25 points.

Gold prices rallied to a record for a third successive session on persistent weakness in the U.S. dollar. Spot gold touched a record of $1,058.20 an ounce and lifted silver and palladium. U.S. front-month crude jumped nearly 1 percent. On the economic front, the government is due to report weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

3rd Quarter Starts With Falling Stocks

Posted on 01. Oct, 2009 by Founder in Blog

Stocks tumbled Thursday after a bigger-than-expected rise in weekly jobless claims and a weaker-than-expected reading on manufacturing sparked worries about the pace of the economic recovery.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 141 points, or 1.5%, more than 90 minutes into the session. The S&P 500 (SPX) index lost 19 points, or 1.8%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) shed 47 points, or 2.2%.

SPX

Stocks slipped Wednesday at the end of an otherwise strong third quarter, in which the major gauges all gained around 15%. The selloff continued Thursday as investors sorted through a heavy batch of economic news.

A recent spate of weaker-than-consensus economic reports have raised concerns about the strength of the economic recovery, sending stocks lower. That trend continued Thursday.

Market Schedule This Week – NFP Friday

Posted on 03. Aug, 2009 by Founder in Blog

Another huge week for the markets coming up. Another 18% of the S&P 500 will report earnings, but the shift will move from major market leaders to second tier companies. Very few of the reports will be major market movers like we’ve seen in recent weeks. I expect the impact of earnings to diminish substantially in the coming two weeks. This is one less log on the rally fire. The economics news will be front and center including the grand daddy of ‘em all, the NFP report on Friday.

  • Monday: July ISM manufacturing survey, July construction spending, July auto sales
  • Tuesday: June personal income and spending, June pending home sales
  • Wednesday: July ISM services index, June factory orders, July ADP employment survey, weekly crude inventories
  • Thursday: weekly initial jobless claims
  • Friday: July unemployment and change in nonfarm payrolls, June consumer credit

They say the smart money transacts after 3PM  and the smart money was selling both days. We’ll see if it materializes into real selling in the coming weeks. I am having trouble finding a new catalyst for the rally. Positive earnings and an all out economic recovery are largely being priced into stocks here. Sentiment is wildly positive in the near-term. All of this makes me less than excited about buying into the market at these levels.