More on Nonfarm Payrolls: In addition to March's 50K revision higher, February's job gain is revised 64K higher to 332K. Average workweek down 0.2 hours to 34.4. Average hourly earnings +$0.04 to $23.87. Labor force participation rate of 63.3%, flat from March, was 63.6% a year ago. Notable in individual industries is Constructio falling 6K after sizable gains in February and March. Government jobs contract again, -11K after falling 16K in March. [View news story]
Looking for unemployment rate to drop to 6% by year end.
California may face its biggest regional power shortages since the days of Enron this summer, as the state grid will be operating without Edison's (EIX) San Onofre nuclear power plant and two natural gas-fired units, while hydroelectric output will be at a three-year low. Even bigger shortages may await in the next decade as state environmental regulations force more plants to shut down. [View news story]
They need to "step up" the conversion to natural gas and other clean energies.
Red Lobster will reverse a policy instituted last year which saw new servers hired at a lower pay scale and increased the number of tables each server handled at a time in order to cut costs for Darden Restaurants (DRI -1.5%). The company admits customer service complaints rose to a level that it couldn't ignore any longer. [View news story]
The gold bear market/correction continues with the metal sliding to $1,537/oz., the lowest since last summer. Looking at a longer-term chart, gold has bounced off the low-mid $1,500 level a few times over the last 18 months. A drop below that would break what the technicians like to call "long-term support." The pattern in silver is similar. GLD -1.6%, SLV -2.2% premarket. [View news story]
Gold and silver were the investment choice for all Conservatives, Glen Beck was the #1 salesmen along with Fox News.
Gasoline prices this Easter weekend are at their lowest level in recent years, according to AAA; on average, a gallon of gasoline set back U.S. drivers $3.64 Friday, vs. $3.93 last Easter and $3.86 in 2011. Meanwhile, the Obama administration announced new rules Friday meant to reduce sulfur in gasoline and tighten emissions standards for cars and trucks, which could push up prices by as much as $0.09/gallon. [View news story]
President Obama has done a good job expanding domestic energy.
Exxon Mobil (XOM) says a crude oil pipeline has ruptured in Arkansas spilling thousands of barrels of oil into a subdivision. The EPA has classified the event as a "major spill" and more than 20 homes have been evacuated.[View news story]
Its President Obama's fault,Conservatives would say.
Airlines around the world have gone to great lengths in recent years to reduce the weight they carry, with an eye to decreasing fuel requirements and increasing profit. So if weight is such a key concern for airlines' operations, why not charge for overweight passengers as well as overweight baggage? At least one economist thinks it's a great idea. [View news story]
Overweight people should pay more for almost everthing, flying-health insurance-fast foods-federal taxes. US could increase GDP by about 1% with this insensitive for good health.
"iRadio is coming. There's no doubt about it," a music industry source tells The Verge's Greg Sandoval. After months of tough negotiations with studios, Apple (AAPL) is said to be aiming for a summer launch. The company's reported plan to limit the service to Apple hardware stands to affect its popularity with customers who listen to music on both Apple and non-Apple gear. Sandoval adds the music industry has "a love-hate relationship" with Pandora (P), believing (in spite of Pandora's gripes about royalty rates) it "chokes off demand" for more profitable services. [View news story]
AAPL is still overpriced, I'm still staying with IBM.
Wal-Mart (WMT -0.3%) may be losing sales due to a thin workforce unable to keep store shelves stocked, according to a growing number of anecdotal reports from unhappy shoppers. While the company increased its store count 13% over the last five years, the number of employees fell 1.4% - leading to less customer service and some stores tipping toward the disorganized side. It's a trend that may be working in the favor of Costco (COST +0.2%) and Target (TGT -0.3%). [View news story]
WallMart employees are non-union, most receive federal food stamps and Medicaid.
More on Cyprus: EU finance ministers approve deal. Bloomberg says deposits above €100K at Bank of Cyprus could incur losses up to 40% while deposits above the €100K threshold at Cyprus Popular Bank (Laiki) may be wiped out entirely. Deal may not need to be approved by the Cypriot parliament. [View news story]
Guns are overpriced, by summer they will be down 20%.
By a 75-24 margin, the Senate has passed a non-binding vote of approval for a bill allowing states to collect sales taxes from online retailers with $1M+ in annual sales and no presence within a given state's borders. The margin of victory suggests a filibuster shouldn't be a problem when a binding vote is made. Amazon (AMZN) and eBay (EBAY) have already begun collecting in a number of large states, and many investors have already assumed collections will expand in time. (previous) [View news story]
Conservatives always clamed little people pay low taxes,so this new bill/tax gets the Republican vote.
The IMF will slash its forecast for U.S. economic growth in its next World Economic Outlook report, according to Reuters and Italian news agency ANSA. Investors should expect the U.S. economy to grow at just 1.7% in 2013, well below the historical average and 0.3% less than previously forecast. On the bright side, the IMF said last month it could cut its outlook by as much as 0.5% so, in theory, it could have been worse.[View news story]
GOP has done everthing in their power to make President Obama and American people suffer.
Looking at who was behind the massive GLD redemptions early this year, Commerzbank concludes the selling might be about done. Estimating quick-moving hedge funds accounted for about 10% of GLD holdings, Commerzbank reckons they've pared down positions to the point where, if anything, they're buyers at this level. [View news story]
Crisis on. S&P 500 futures -1% and the euro -1.2% as Brussels "faced with a drowning member state, instead of throwing the Cypriot people a lifebuoy, (throws) a millstone around its neck." EU leaders risk triggering bank runs in Cyprus (and elsewhere?) by going after bank depositors to fund the country's bank bailout. [View news story]
Short sell-off for a few days until President Obama calms the markets and they shoot up.
More on Nonfarm Payrolls: In addition to March's 50K revision higher, February's job gain is revised 64K higher to 332K. Average workweek down 0.2 hours to 34.4. Average hourly earnings +$0.04 to $23.87. Labor force participation rate of 63.3%, flat from March, was 63.6% a year ago. Notable in individual industries is Constructio falling 6K after sizable gains in February and March. Government jobs contract again, -11K after falling 16K in March. [View news story]
Sturm Ruger (RGR): Q1 EPS of $1.20 beats by $0.19. Revenue of $155.9M beats by $24.25M. (PR) [View news story]
California may face its biggest regional power shortages since the days of Enron this summer, as the state grid will be operating without Edison's (EIX) San Onofre nuclear power plant and two natural gas-fired units, while hydroelectric output will be at a three-year low. Even bigger shortages may await in the next decade as state environmental regulations force more plants to shut down. [View news story]
Red Lobster will reverse a policy instituted last year which saw new servers hired at a lower pay scale and increased the number of tables each server handled at a time in order to cut costs for Darden Restaurants (DRI -1.5%). The company admits customer service complaints rose to a level that it couldn't ignore any longer. [View news story]
The gold bear market/correction continues with the metal sliding to $1,537/oz., the lowest since last summer. Looking at a longer-term chart, gold has bounced off the low-mid $1,500 level a few times over the last 18 months. A drop below that would break what the technicians like to call "long-term support." The pattern in silver is similar. GLD -1.6%, SLV -2.2% premarket. [View news story]
Gasoline prices this Easter weekend are at their lowest level in recent years, according to AAA; on average, a gallon of gasoline set back U.S. drivers $3.64 Friday, vs. $3.93 last Easter and $3.86 in 2011. Meanwhile, the Obama administration announced new rules Friday meant to reduce sulfur in gasoline and tighten emissions standards for cars and trucks, which could push up prices by as much as $0.09/gallon. [View news story]
Exxon Mobil (XOM) says a crude oil pipeline has ruptured in Arkansas spilling thousands of barrels of oil into a subdivision. The EPA has classified the event as a "major spill" and more than 20 homes have been evacuated. [View news story]
Airlines around the world have gone to great lengths in recent years to reduce the weight they carry, with an eye to decreasing fuel requirements and increasing profit. So if weight is such a key concern for airlines' operations, why not charge for overweight passengers as well as overweight baggage? At least one economist thinks it's a great idea. [View news story]
"iRadio is coming. There's no doubt about it," a music industry source tells The Verge's Greg Sandoval. After months of tough negotiations with studios, Apple (AAPL) is said to be aiming for a summer launch. The company's reported plan to limit the service to Apple hardware stands to affect its popularity with customers who listen to music on both Apple and non-Apple gear. Sandoval adds the music industry has "a love-hate relationship" with Pandora (P), believing (in spite of Pandora's gripes about royalty rates) it "chokes off demand" for more profitable services. [View news story]
Wal-Mart (WMT -0.3%) may be losing sales due to a thin workforce unable to keep store shelves stocked, according to a growing number of anecdotal reports from unhappy shoppers. While the company increased its store count 13% over the last five years, the number of employees fell 1.4% - leading to less customer service and some stores tipping toward the disorganized side. It's a trend that may be working in the favor of Costco (COST +0.2%) and Target (TGT -0.3%). [View news story]
More on Cyprus: EU finance ministers approve deal. Bloomberg says deposits above €100K at Bank of Cyprus could incur losses up to 40% while deposits above the €100K threshold at Cyprus Popular Bank (Laiki) may be wiped out entirely. Deal may not need to be approved by the Cypriot parliament.
[View news story]
By a 75-24 margin, the Senate has passed a non-binding vote of approval for a bill allowing states to collect sales taxes from online retailers with $1M+ in annual sales and no presence within a given state's borders. The margin of victory suggests a filibuster shouldn't be a problem when a binding vote is made. Amazon (AMZN) and eBay (EBAY) have already begun collecting in a number of large states, and many investors have already assumed collections will expand in time. (previous) [View news story]
The IMF will slash its forecast for U.S. economic growth in its next World Economic Outlook report, according to Reuters and Italian news agency ANSA. Investors should expect the U.S. economy to grow at just 1.7% in 2013, well below the historical average and 0.3% less than previously forecast. On the bright side, the IMF said last month it could cut its outlook by as much as 0.5% so, in theory, it could have been worse. [View news story]
Looking at who was behind the massive GLD redemptions early this year, Commerzbank concludes the selling might be about done. Estimating quick-moving hedge funds accounted for about 10% of GLD holdings, Commerzbank reckons they've pared down positions to the point where, if anything, they're buyers at this level. [View news story]
http://bit.ly/Yvb0lJ
Crisis on. S&P 500 futures -1% and the euro -1.2% as Brussels "faced with a drowning member state, instead of throwing the Cypriot people a lifebuoy, (throws) a millstone around its neck." EU leaders risk triggering bank runs in Cyprus (and elsewhere?) by going after bank depositors to fund the country's bank bailout. [View news story]