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Charles Payne
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Wall Street Strategies has been providing independent stock market research since 1991 to individual, retail and institutional clients through a balanced approach to investing and trading. Charles Payne, our founder and chief analyst, is routinely sought after for his stock market, political,... More
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  • Mixed Job Signals 0 comments
    Oct 6, 2010 1:52 PM | about stocks: COST
    Just a couple of days away from the big jobs number and you could cut the tension with a knife. The message this morning was mixed. Challenger, Gray & Christmas saw announced job layoffs climb 7% month to month, but off 44% year over year. In fact, the second quarter saw the lowest quarterly result since 2Q00. The message is clear: corporations have reached the end of their mass firing phase. The question is when will big businesses start to hire?

    Challenger, Gray & Christmas
    ADP

    The ADP report on employment was disappointing, although not a surprise. The increase in service jobs jibes with the ISM, but goods-producing seems to be losing jobs at a fast clip. Construction has lost 2,297,000 jobs since January 2007, and has hemorrhaged jobs for three years. It's not a coincidence that financial services, which lost 13,000 last month, are also down for three years.
     
     
     
     
    Costco Brings it on Home, for the Most Part
    By: Brian Sozzi, Equity Research Analyst

    Per the usual, market expectations on Costco Wholesale (COST) were high pre-earnings. This time around, however, expectations were in the top row bleacher seats (super high) instead of the luxury box (sort of high), as the stock caught a strong bid in September. As we pointed out in our note yesterday, Costco had to deliver a solid 4Q10 EPS beat and end the FY with an increased cash and S/T investment pile to signal a dividend increase and a new share repurchase program were likely outcomes. Costco basically jumped over the market's high hurdle, explaining why the stock was up approximately 3% in the pre-market, it has since fallen into the red.

    Please visit www.wstreet.com to read remainder of the piece.

    Final Note

    The market is indecisive, and is drifting lower as the dollar is drifting higher. I'm not sure what the catalyst would be today as buyers seem resigned to sit this one out. The sellers seem reluctant to take action as well.


    Disclosure: None
    Themes: Afternoon Market outlook, COST, Economic Data, ADP, Challenger Gray Stocks: COST
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