Traders clearly found much to be positive about in their weekend readings for markets, which begun the week on a very positive note Monday. Key European bourses reversed Friday’s losses and the S&P 500 hit another new high, lifted by solid gains in industrials, utilities and consumer cyclicals after the release of further Street-beating earnings reports and some positive broker commentary. And to top it off, Bloomberg is reporting that PIMCO, the world’s biggest bond fund, is considering starting up a stock fund. Apple (AAPL) was the star of the show after the bell eclipsing the expected $1.42 EPS with a $1.82 print. The stock was up 8% after hours.

The positive tone seen in equity markets has carried through to other markets. Commodities are up across the board, perhaps helped by Monday’s comments from China suggesting that data due later this week will affirm that it is on track to achieve its growth target of 8% for this calendar year. Credit spreads have narrowed and the VIX has closed at a new low. In FX markets we have seen a further general weakening in the Dollar, with the stand-out performers being the Kiwi and the Aussie Dollars. The former is up an especially impressive 2.2% over the last 24 hours and is now up 52.9% against the US Dollar since risk attitudes turned positive in early March.

How is this relevant to the employment situation? Adecco Group's euphemism of a business description - human resource services - is known colloquially as a temp agency.

They have mostly recovered since then, as is often the case for stocks that experience a sudden reaction to news. The five largest companies in the field (by market cap) are shown in the price chart below. [click to enlarge]

Adecco SA (ADO) : As a veritable leader among temp staffers, Adecco has most Fortune 100 companies as clients -- its size mustn't be overlooked. But its recent focus on profitability/margin expansion could leave revenue numbers gasping for air. Growth will depend on new markets, which won't be easy precisely because Adecco's footprint can already be found just about everywhere. Right now, debt accounts for nearly 40% of total capitalization, something we feel could be improved. We don't see any near term catalysts, and neither does the Street -- there is only one buy rating among analysts.