Top 10 News Items 7/5-7/8: Friday Jobs Report Shocks the Street Following Strong ADP Report; Deficit Talks Dominate Headlines; Retail Sales Rise in June
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Here is a recap of the top news items from this week on Wall Street:
1. One of the most disappointing payroll reports in recent history shocked traders on the Street Friday. Following a much better-than-expected ADP reading on Thursday (came in at 157,000, compared to an estimate of just 70,000), traders began getting giddy about the Friday report. Moreover, analysts began raising estimates for nonfarm payrolls following the ADP report. The Labor Department reported a measly 18,000 jobs were added in June, well below the 105,000 economists had been expecting. Private sector payrolls totaled 57,000, compared to an estimate of 132,000. The unemployment rate rose to 9.2%.
2. Deficit talks continued to dominate headlines, with Obama and congressional leaders set to meet over the weekend. Regulators will decide whether political support is possible for a sweeping plan to curb entitlements and make major tax-code changes. Obama has set a goal of cutting the federal deficit by $4 triillion or more over the next decade.
3. Retail sales for the month of June came in this Thursday. Redbook said retail sales for last month were up 0.9 percent from May and 5.2 percent from the same month last year. As always, check out our Retail Sales category to see all the retail sales data.
4. China's central bank announced Wednesday it will raise interest rates again to combat inflation. The People's Bank of China raised benchmark deposit and lending rates by 0.25 percentage points. One-year deposit rates will move from 3.25 percent to 3.50 percent and one-year lending rates will move from 6.31 percent to 6.56 percent. This is the country's third increase this year and the fifth increase since it started its rate raising cycle.
5. Speaking at an event at the company's headquarters in Palo Alto, California Wednesday afternoon, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a couple of interesting new features for the world's largest social networking platform. Working with Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Skype, Facebook will now offer free video calling and multi-person chatting.
6. Crude has been moving higher and surpassed the price levels seen at the time of the SPR release a few weeks ago. NYMEX oil rose nearly 5 percent from Tuesday to Thursday, but sold off on Friday amid the extremely concerning jobs report. Oil closed around $96.30 per barrel.
7. Gold is continuing to rally as the phrase "double dip recession" has been heard around the Street. The commodity rose about 4 percent this week and is once again nearing all-time highs. Gold closed around $1,544 per ounce this week.
8. Shares of Immucor (Nasdaq: BLUD) rose 30 percent on Tuesday of this week after TPG Capital agreed to buy the company at $27 per share in cash, or about $1.97 billion.
9. National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) and Ameron (NYSE: AMN) announced an agreement where NOV will purchase AMN for $85 per share in cash, or about $772 million in total. Ameron shares jumped 28 percent on Tuesday.
10. The flagship fund of John Paulson's Paulson & Co. fell 11 percent in June following Muddy Waters negative report on Sino-Forest (OTC: SNOFF). Year to date, the fund is down about 18 percent.
1. One of the most disappointing payroll reports in recent history shocked traders on the Street Friday. Following a much better-than-expected ADP reading on Thursday (came in at 157,000, compared to an estimate of just 70,000), traders began getting giddy about the Friday report. Moreover, analysts began raising estimates for nonfarm payrolls following the ADP report. The Labor Department reported a measly 18,000 jobs were added in June, well below the 105,000 economists had been expecting. Private sector payrolls totaled 57,000, compared to an estimate of 132,000. The unemployment rate rose to 9.2%.
2. Deficit talks continued to dominate headlines, with Obama and congressional leaders set to meet over the weekend. Regulators will decide whether political support is possible for a sweeping plan to curb entitlements and make major tax-code changes. Obama has set a goal of cutting the federal deficit by $4 triillion or more over the next decade.
3. Retail sales for the month of June came in this Thursday. Redbook said retail sales for last month were up 0.9 percent from May and 5.2 percent from the same month last year. As always, check out our Retail Sales category to see all the retail sales data.
4. China's central bank announced Wednesday it will raise interest rates again to combat inflation. The People's Bank of China raised benchmark deposit and lending rates by 0.25 percentage points. One-year deposit rates will move from 3.25 percent to 3.50 percent and one-year lending rates will move from 6.31 percent to 6.56 percent. This is the country's third increase this year and the fifth increase since it started its rate raising cycle.
5. Speaking at an event at the company's headquarters in Palo Alto, California Wednesday afternoon, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a couple of interesting new features for the world's largest social networking platform. Working with Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Skype, Facebook will now offer free video calling and multi-person chatting.
6. Crude has been moving higher and surpassed the price levels seen at the time of the SPR release a few weeks ago. NYMEX oil rose nearly 5 percent from Tuesday to Thursday, but sold off on Friday amid the extremely concerning jobs report. Oil closed around $96.30 per barrel.
7. Gold is continuing to rally as the phrase "double dip recession" has been heard around the Street. The commodity rose about 4 percent this week and is once again nearing all-time highs. Gold closed around $1,544 per ounce this week.
8. Shares of Immucor (Nasdaq: BLUD) rose 30 percent on Tuesday of this week after TPG Capital agreed to buy the company at $27 per share in cash, or about $1.97 billion.
9. National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) and Ameron (NYSE: AMN) announced an agreement where NOV will purchase AMN for $85 per share in cash, or about $772 million in total. Ameron shares jumped 28 percent on Tuesday.
10. The flagship fund of John Paulson's Paulson & Co. fell 11 percent in June following Muddy Waters negative report on Sino-Forest (OTC: SNOFF). Year to date, the fund is down about 18 percent.
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