Nonfarm Payrolls

Probably Not What You Think

Stocks initially fell yesterday on disappointment over the Chinese effectively saying, “Another stimulus? We’re growing at 8% per year – we don’t need another stimulus.” But from there, the move down may not have been simply more of the same… i.e. more concerns about the banks, GM’s viability (did anybody really think they’d avoid bankruptcy?), Obama’s plans for health care, or worries about this morning’s numbers on job losses. No, a big reason for yesterday’s decline probably had more to do with rumors of fund blowups than anything else.

The talking heads on TV spent much of the day yammering on yesterday about the administration’s programs, the lack of confidence, and the “bargains of a lifetime” that are out there right now in some big name stocks (which is probably true unless, of course, they go lower first). And one of my colleagues even joined ...

The Trading Radar highlights key earnings and economic announcements for tomorrow's trading session:

Before Market Opens:
Economics:
8:30 ...

The Recession Has Arrived

Here's a link to listen to an Audio Version of the report:

So far at least, stocks have not followed the recent pattern of blasting higher by 400 points on Tuesday only to give it all back Wednesday through Friday. Naturally, the bulls contend that this is a good thing and that this time will be different. In short, our horned heroes have been promoting the idea that all the bad news is now out and thus, the next big move will be to the upside.

But, in reality, the lack of any downside action following another Terrific Tuesday is probably tied to the release of this morning's Big Kahuna of economic data – the March Jobs reports. In front of big economic numbers, the major indices will often times wind up positioned right at important inflection points on a chart ...

StreetInsider.com Trading Radar:

US Nonfarm Payrolls are expected at 8:30AM ET with analysts looking for -50K

Unemployment ...