August Jobs Report: A Beat or a Miss?
by Lee Adler, Wall Street Examiner
Friday's monthly nonfarm payrolls data from the BLS should easily beat consensus expectations. Click Read more >> to learn why.
What We Read Today 05 September 2013
Econintersect: Click Read more >> below graphic to see today's list.
The top of today's reading list is an acerbic review of what the neocon transformed America has become ........ and the last article discusses why Microsoft has become too big to manage.
A Quiet And Leisure Stroll Down Market Lane Ends The Day
Closing Market Commentary For 09-05-2013
The entire afternoon session was in a tight narrow band except towards the end where apparent weakness melted the averages down slightly.
By 4 pm the volume for the day was lighter than usual as it appears the markets are consolidating for a big move - but, which way? $VIX has moved up to 15.77 at the closing and most savvy investors continue to sit on their hands for several reasons.
Rail Week Ending 31 August 2013: Rail Come on Strong After Last Week's Soft Data
Econintersect: Week 35 of 2013 ending 31 August shows same week total rail traffic (from same week one year ago) was mixed according to data released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). Railcar count is down, and intermodal count is up.
- Weekly overall data is up, and up even stronger ignoring coal and grain;
Averages Slide Sideways - Consolidation?
Midday Market Commentary For 09-05-2013
Noontime show indices off the morning highs by a smidgin (0.10%) and generally sliding along in a very tight range bound zone of +- 0.05%. Volume has fallen off and appears to be approaching anemic levels.
The upper resistance was penetrated slightly and then melted down to the new support but didn't move through it and that is where we find the averages at 12:00. Could be we are seeing another consolidation in progress.
Beware Spyware: Wikileaks Exposes Surveillance Industry Trackers
A huge new revelation from Wikileaks this hour has exposed a sweeping surveillance industry, which has been developing spyware for governments to track and control their citizens.
August 2013 ISM Services Index Again Well Above Expectations
Written by Steven Hansen
The August 2013 ISM non-manufacturing (aka services) index continues its growth cycle, improving from 56.0 to 58.6 (above 50 signals expansion) - and the internals were even stronger.
Read more >>
July 2013 Manufacturing Declines
Written by Steven Hansen
US Census says manufacturing new orders declined in July. Our analysis concurs, with the decline occurring in a single sector.
Read more >>
Markets Open Up, Attempt To Break Through Resistance
Opening Market Commentary For 09-05-2013
Volatile futures set this morning's pace where the oils were up then headed down along with Dr. Copper and gold. The US dollar was moving upward breaking out of yesterday's confined trading zone.
At the opening, markets broke up and out of yesterday's range bound trading just below a weak resistance and was not unexpected. Some gaps were formed but notably the SP500 did not have one as has been the case in prior sessions. Volume started out moderate and has slide lower to anemic levels.
By the 15 minute mark the markets had leveled off at +0.25%. By 10 am the averages started to melt downwards but is not an indication of a failing market, but one of uncertainty.
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Nonfinancial Leverage NFCI Deteriorates Marginally w/e 30 August 2013
The Nonfinancial leverage subindex of the National Financial Conditions Index increased slightly (less good) this week but still remains well inside of economic expansion territory. Econintersect focuses on non-financial tools to monitor the economy.
This index remains on a "less good" trend line, and is believed to be a good forward indicator a recession is coming. A value above zero is a recession warning.
Productivity 2Q2013 (Final): Productivity Up
Written by Steven Hansen
A simple summary of this release is that the rate of productivity growth is up , whilst the rate of growth of unit labor costs is now unchanged year-over-year.
Read more >>
31 August 2013 Unemployment Claims 4 Week Average Improves
Blue Line 4 Week Average
The market was expecting 333,000 to 335,000 vs the 323,000 reported. The more important (because of the volatility in the weekly reported claims and seasonality errors in adjusting the data) 4 week moving average
improved, moving from 331,250(reported last week) to 328,500.
Read more >>
August 2013 ADP Jobs 176,000, Continuing Job Growth Improvement
Written by Steven Hansen
ADP reported August 2013 non-farm private jobs growth at 176,000 - which is showing jobs growth improvement trend is continuing.
Read more >>
August 2013 Challenger Job Cuts Surprise Surge
2013 Layoffs-to-date are now only slightly under the previous year's levels.
Stratfor: U.S. Military Action in Syria May Benefit Iran
from Stratfor
Conventional wisdom says that a weakened Syria would undermine Iran's regional influence, but aU.S. military intervention in the country could actually benefit Tehran.
Read more >>
Infographic of the Day: 11 Untranslatable Words From Other Cultures
'Words are but symbols for the relations of things to one another and to us; nowhere do they touch upon the absolute truth." - Friedrich Nietzsche.
Jobs, Darn Jobs, and Steve Jobs
Written by Frank Li
Labor Day just passed by. Let's focus on jobs. Here are my three succinct positions:
Black Swans in the Oil Patch
by Robert Rapier, Investing Daily
The petrochemical industry deals with flammable materials that are often hot and under pressure. Keeping those materials controlled and contained is imperative if accidents are to be prevented. One of the most important aspects of my job as an engineer has always been to identify, quantify, and then reduce the risk so that energy is produced and delivered without harm to employees or the general public.
Global Banking End Game
Making the World Safe for Banksters: Syria in theCross-hairs
by Ellen Brown, Web of Debt
Iraq and Libya have been taken out, and Iran has been heavily boycotted. Syria is now in the cross-hairs. Why? Here is one overlooked scenario . . .
In an August 2013 article titled 'Larry Summers and the Secret 'End-game' Memo,' Greg Palast posted evidence of a secret late-1990s plan devised by Wall Street and U.S. Treasury officials to open banking to the lucrative derivatives business. To pull this off required the relaxation of banking regulations not just in the US but globally. The vehicle to be used was the Financial Services Agreement of the World Trade Organization.
Business Services Sector Continues to Grow in Recovering Economy
Article of the Week from About Small Cap Stocks
Written by Allen Caron
The business services sector encompasses a wide variety of enterprises that help other businesses grow and become more profitable. These organizations may vary from accounting firms to cloud-based IT service companies. The one thing they have in common is they provide a mechanism for businesses to outsource tasks and services that are necessary for their businesses to function smoothly but are not core to their revenue-generating activities.
Windows 8 Surpasses Apple's OS X
by Felix Richter, Statista.com
Windows 8 continues to slowly climb up the ranks of the world's most used operating systems. After Microsoft's radical Windows redesign had surpassed its unpopular ancestor Windows Vista in June, it overtook the combined installed base of Apple OS X in August.
