Dow jumped 56, advancers over decliners better than 2-1 & NAZ went up 34. The MLP index shot up 4+ to the 464s (inches from a new record high) & the REIT index crawled fractionally higher to 274. Junk bond funds climbed & Treasuries were also bid up. Oil & gold had modest gains.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Payrolls in the US rose less than projected in Jan as retailers cut back after the holidays & gov hiring fell. The unemployment rate unexpectedly declined to 6.6%. A113K gain in employment followed a 75K increase the prior month, according to the Labor Dept. The forecast called for a 180K advance. The unemployment rate dropped to the lowest level since Oct 2008 (just after the Lehman collapse) even as more Americans entered the labor force. Retailers & gov agencies cut payrolls by the most in more than a year, while construction firms & manufacturers boosted employment. Private employment, which excludes gov agencies, rose 142K after 89K in the prior month. The estimate called for a 185K advance. Department-store chains were among companies announcing workforce reductions after the holiday-shopping season. 262K Americans were not at work because of inclement weather in Janu, little changed from the same month last year, suggesting conditions played a more limited role than in Dec. More than half the gain in employment came from the construction & manufacturing industries, while payrolls among service-producers slowed. Revisions to prior reports added 34K jobs to payrolls in the previous 2 months. The participation rate rose to 63% from 62.8% even as more people entered the labor force.
U.S. Payrolls Rise Less Than Forecast; Jobless Rate Falls
Photo: Bloomberg
German industrial output unexpectedly fell in Dec, signaling that Europe’s largest economy remains vulnerable to weakness in the rest of the region. Production decreased 0.6% from Nov, when it rose a revised 2.4%, according to the Economy Ministry. The prediction was for a gain of 0.3%. Production rose 2.6% from a year earlier when adjusted for working days. While the Bundesbank predicts Germany's economy will expand “strongly” in the first months of 2014, turmoil in emerging markets & a fragile recovery in rest of the euro area, the country’s largest trading partner, could weigh on output. German factory orders unexpectedly declined in Dec, even though business confidence is at a 2½ year high. Manufacturing output declined 0.5% in Dec from the previous month & investment-goods production fell 2.5%. Output of basic & consumer goods & construction all rose. The Economy Ministry said perspectives for industrial production in 2014 remain positive amid “lively” order intake & an improvement in business confidence.
LinkedIn forecast sales that trailed estimates as growth slows in all 3 of the professional-networking site’s businesses. Fiscal Q1 revenue will be $455-$460M. Analysts projected sales of $469M. While its shares have more than quadrupled since the IPO, is headed for its 5th straight qtr of decelerating sales growth. To expand its potential revenue base, LNKD is seeking to reach workers overseas, add mobile features & make acquisitions. The company said yesterday that it bought Bright Media, an analytics company that helps match candidates with the right employers, for about $120M in cash & stock. EPS in Q4 dropped to 3¢ from 10¢ a year earlier. Sales in the period jumped 47% to $447B, exceeding the $437M estimate. Membership climbed 37% to 277M from 202M a year ago, when the number of users increased 39%. Sales in talent solutions, LNKD main business, rose 53% to $246M, compared with growth of 90% in the same period last year. Revenue growth in the advertising business, called marketing solutions, slowed to 36% from 68% a year earlier, while the premium subscriptions unit increased revenue by 48%, down from 79% in the same period last year. Expansion in China is a key piece of LNKD’s growth strategy, CEO Jeff Weiner said. The stock tumbled $19.
LinkedIn’s Sales Forecast Trails Estimates on Slow Growth
The gut reaction by the stock market on the jobs report was favorable & chances are markets will remain higher at the close. But the advance is hardly impressive because there are mixed messages. Job growth has slowed from so-so numbers last year. The participation rate remains low as people are giving up looking for work. This data follows earnings reports which were not warmly received. Dow is still down 0.9K YTD, not good.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Treasury yields:
U.S. 3-month |
0.07% | |
U.S. 2-year |
0.30% | |
U.S. 10-year |
2.67% |
| CLH14.NYM | ...Crude Oil Mar 14 | ...98.24 |  ...0.40 | (0.4%) |
| GCG14.CMX | ...Gold Feb 14 | .....1,259.20 | ...1.60 | (0.1%) |
Payrolls in the US rose less than projected in Jan as retailers cut back after the holidays & gov hiring fell. The unemployment rate unexpectedly declined to 6.6%. A113K gain in employment followed a 75K increase the prior month, according to the Labor Dept. The forecast called for a 180K advance. The unemployment rate dropped to the lowest level since Oct 2008 (just after the Lehman collapse) even as more Americans entered the labor force. Retailers & gov agencies cut payrolls by the most in more than a year, while construction firms & manufacturers boosted employment. Private employment, which excludes gov agencies, rose 142K after 89K in the prior month. The estimate called for a 185K advance. Department-store chains were among companies announcing workforce reductions after the holiday-shopping season. 262K Americans were not at work because of inclement weather in Janu, little changed from the same month last year, suggesting conditions played a more limited role than in Dec. More than half the gain in employment came from the construction & manufacturing industries, while payrolls among service-producers slowed. Revisions to prior reports added 34K jobs to payrolls in the previous 2 months. The participation rate rose to 63% from 62.8% even as more people entered the labor force.
U.S. Payrolls Rise Less Than Forecast; Jobless Rate Falls
German industrial output unexpectedly fell in Dec, signaling that Europe’s largest economy remains vulnerable to weakness in the rest of the region. Production decreased 0.6% from Nov, when it rose a revised 2.4%, according to the Economy Ministry. The prediction was for a gain of 0.3%. Production rose 2.6% from a year earlier when adjusted for working days. While the Bundesbank predicts Germany's economy will expand “strongly” in the first months of 2014, turmoil in emerging markets & a fragile recovery in rest of the euro area, the country’s largest trading partner, could weigh on output. German factory orders unexpectedly declined in Dec, even though business confidence is at a 2½ year high. Manufacturing output declined 0.5% in Dec from the previous month & investment-goods production fell 2.5%. Output of basic & consumer goods & construction all rose. The Economy Ministry said perspectives for industrial production in 2014 remain positive amid “lively” order intake & an improvement in business confidence.
LinkedIn forecast sales that trailed estimates as growth slows in all 3 of the professional-networking site’s businesses. Fiscal Q1 revenue will be $455-$460M. Analysts projected sales of $469M. While its shares have more than quadrupled since the IPO, is headed for its 5th straight qtr of decelerating sales growth. To expand its potential revenue base, LNKD is seeking to reach workers overseas, add mobile features & make acquisitions. The company said yesterday that it bought Bright Media, an analytics company that helps match candidates with the right employers, for about $120M in cash & stock. EPS in Q4 dropped to 3¢ from 10¢ a year earlier. Sales in the period jumped 47% to $447B, exceeding the $437M estimate. Membership climbed 37% to 277M from 202M a year ago, when the number of users increased 39%. Sales in talent solutions, LNKD main business, rose 53% to $246M, compared with growth of 90% in the same period last year. Revenue growth in the advertising business, called marketing solutions, slowed to 36% from 68% a year earlier, while the premium subscriptions unit increased revenue by 48%, down from 79% in the same period last year. Expansion in China is a key piece of LNKD’s growth strategy, CEO Jeff Weiner said. The stock tumbled $19.
LinkedIn’s Sales Forecast Trails Estimates on Slow Growth
LinkedIn (LNKD)
The gut reaction by the stock market on the jobs report was favorable & chances are markets will remain higher at the close. But the advance is hardly impressive because there are mixed messages. Job growth has slowed from so-so numbers last year. The participation rate remains low as people are giving up looking for work. This data follows earnings reports which were not warmly received. Dow is still down 0.9K YTD, not good.
Dow Jones Industrials
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