Dow surged 244 (closing near its highs), advancers over decliners less than 4-1 (moderate given this rally) & NAZ jumped 66. The Financial Index shot up 5 to the 208s, a 5 month high. The MLP index was down pennies to 396 while the REIT index rose 2+ to 270 (within spitting distance of its yearly high). Junk bond funds slid a little & Treasuries sold off while stocks rallied. Oil was little changed as the ECB discussed a plan involving unlimited purchases of gov debt to ease the region’s debt crisis. Gold rose to 6-month highs after the ECB offered enough detail of its proposed bond-buying program to protect the € from a deep sell-off.
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](http://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif)
Photo: Bloomberg
The pace of growth in the massive services sector rose in Aug on the back of a rebound in employment, beating expectations, though a measure of new orders declined. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its services index jumped to 53.7 last month from 52.6 in Jul, beating the forecast for a 52.5 reading. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector. The ISM gauge of employment reached its highest level since Apr, climbing to 53.8 from a Jul reading of 49.3 (the lowest level in nearly a year). However, forward-looking new orders dipped in Aug to 53.7 from 54.3 in Jul. The ISM report was the 3rd piece of economic data today, following ADP & Challenger reports on employment, that suggested the struggling US job market may have gained some traction last month. ISM's measure of exports rose to 52 from 51, while imports advanced to 49.5 from 44.5. The prices paid index for Aug reached its highest level since Feb. ISM's measure of services follows a downbeat ISM report on Tues that showed US manufacturing shrank at its sharpest clip in more than 3 years.
Services in U.S. Expanded More Than Forecast in August
Photo: Bloomberg
Amazon is updating its Kindle Fire tablet computer as it steps up competition with the iPad & refreshing its whole line of Kindle gadgets. The basic model will cost $159, down from $199 for the old model & start shipping in a week. It's also coming with high-end versions, including ones with a screen nearly as big as the iPad. AMZN also refreshed its line of stand-alone e-readers. Called Paperwhite, the new e-reader model has a black-and-white screen. The Kindle Fire is an effort to take a larger share of a tablet computer market dominated by the iPad. AMZN has been selling lower-priced tablets at thin, if any, profit margins to boost sales of digital items from its online store. The stock rose $5 (on a great day for the stock market) to within inches of its record high.
US employers laid off 32K workers last month, the fewest number of job cuts since Dec 2010, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Job cuts have now declined for 3 consecutive months, but it may be too soon to declare a trend in the labor market, says John Challenger, CEO. "Often layoffs slow down during the summer," Challenger said. "We did see heavy layoffs in Europe last month...it may be a hint that some conditions could wash ashore. But this is good news no matter how you cut." Challenger says the 3-month decline could either be evidence of an improving job market or a slowdown in activity. The majority of job cuts come in Q4, he notes, & the "light" number of layoffs show that CEOs are "standing pat" about hiring until after the outcome of the presidential election. Employers have announced more than 353K job cuts since the beginning of the year, a drop of 3%. But job cuts were 15% higher in the first half of this year compared to the same point in 2011. Challenger's firm also monitors layoffs of US workers by overseas companies. Both Sharp & Research in Motion (RIMM) have announced plans to cut 5K jobs & Sony (SNE) recently let go of 10K employees. Downsizing by foreign companies over the past few months could lead to large-scale job cuts at home, Challenger says. Moderately good news on the jobs front.
U.S. Job Cuts Hit 20-Month Low but Layoffs Heavy Overseas
First things first, the jobs news was generally favorable ahead of the big jobs report tomorrow before the markets open. The jobs report should be decent although the details will better define what it really means. The bond buying program by ECB is more iffy. Markets responded by approving. Solving today's problems today is important, tomorrow will take care of itself. But nobody knows how successful it will be. There have been programs before & the euro debt mess is still with us. Next week the FOMC has its big meeting & today's good news may put intervention thoughts on hold. Dow will need another 100 gain to reach the high in its 7 month trading range. Breadth was weak & gold (contrary bets) was strong.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
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Treasury yields:
U.S. 3-month | 0.101% | |
U.S. 2-year | 0.258% | |
U.S. 10-year | 1.674% |
| CLV12.NYM | Crude Oil Oct 12 | 95.48 |  0.12 (0.1%) |
The pace of growth in the massive services sector rose in Aug on the back of a rebound in employment, beating expectations, though a measure of new orders declined. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its services index jumped to 53.7 last month from 52.6 in Jul, beating the forecast for a 52.5 reading. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector. The ISM gauge of employment reached its highest level since Apr, climbing to 53.8 from a Jul reading of 49.3 (the lowest level in nearly a year). However, forward-looking new orders dipped in Aug to 53.7 from 54.3 in Jul. The ISM report was the 3rd piece of economic data today, following ADP & Challenger reports on employment, that suggested the struggling US job market may have gained some traction last month. ISM's measure of exports rose to 52 from 51, while imports advanced to 49.5 from 44.5. The prices paid index for Aug reached its highest level since Feb. ISM's measure of services follows a downbeat ISM report on Tues that showed US manufacturing shrank at its sharpest clip in more than 3 years.
Services in U.S. Expanded More Than Forecast in August
Photo: Bloomberg
Amazon is updating its Kindle Fire tablet computer as it steps up competition with the iPad & refreshing its whole line of Kindle gadgets. The basic model will cost $159, down from $199 for the old model & start shipping in a week. It's also coming with high-end versions, including ones with a screen nearly as big as the iPad. AMZN also refreshed its line of stand-alone e-readers. Called Paperwhite, the new e-reader model has a black-and-white screen. The Kindle Fire is an effort to take a larger share of a tablet computer market dominated by the iPad. AMZN has been selling lower-priced tablets at thin, if any, profit margins to boost sales of digital items from its online store. The stock rose $5 (on a great day for the stock market) to within inches of its record high.
Amazon (AMZN)
US employers laid off 32K workers last month, the fewest number of job cuts since Dec 2010, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Job cuts have now declined for 3 consecutive months, but it may be too soon to declare a trend in the labor market, says John Challenger, CEO. "Often layoffs slow down during the summer," Challenger said. "We did see heavy layoffs in Europe last month...it may be a hint that some conditions could wash ashore. But this is good news no matter how you cut." Challenger says the 3-month decline could either be evidence of an improving job market or a slowdown in activity. The majority of job cuts come in Q4, he notes, & the "light" number of layoffs show that CEOs are "standing pat" about hiring until after the outcome of the presidential election. Employers have announced more than 353K job cuts since the beginning of the year, a drop of 3%. But job cuts were 15% higher in the first half of this year compared to the same point in 2011. Challenger's firm also monitors layoffs of US workers by overseas companies. Both Sharp & Research in Motion (RIMM) have announced plans to cut 5K jobs & Sony (SNE) recently let go of 10K employees. Downsizing by foreign companies over the past few months could lead to large-scale job cuts at home, Challenger says. Moderately good news on the jobs front.
U.S. Job Cuts Hit 20-Month Low but Layoffs Heavy Overseas
First things first, the jobs news was generally favorable ahead of the big jobs report tomorrow before the markets open. The jobs report should be decent although the details will better define what it really means. The bond buying program by ECB is more iffy. Markets responded by approving. Solving today's problems today is important, tomorrow will take care of itself. But nobody knows how successful it will be. There have been programs before & the euro debt mess is still with us. Next week the FOMC has its big meeting & today's good news may put intervention thoughts on hold. Dow will need another 100 gain to reach the high in its 7 month trading range. Breadth was weak & gold (contrary bets) was strong.
Dow Jones Industrials
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