Track Markets Live NowDJIA Reflects Jobs Data
September 9, 2010
451,000 new jobless claims were filed last week, a drop from the 473,000 new claims filed the week before, probably due to the lack of Census Workers falling off Government payrolls.
The NASDAQ opened up 13.75 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened up 56 points, and the S&P 500 was up 8 points. The US has slid to 4th place in the world global economic competitiveness.
The number of people receiving unemployment benefits remained unchanged, and the number of people receiving extended benefits actually rose. Jobs in the private, non farm sector need to improve drastically if America wants to climb out of the recession. Consumer confidence is low, and spending is low. People are worried about their finances and they are worried about the security of their jobs, especially since it has come to light that Wall Street is set lose 80,000 jobs in the next 18 months.
Crude oil prices for October delivery yesterday reached $75 a barrel. September is traditionally the end of the summer driving season. Prices of crude oil and gasoline are expected to remain steady or even drop slightly through the holiday driving season.
The economy is still quite weak, hiring very anemic, and private payrolls are not adding nearly enough jobs to stimulate a recovery from the worst recession seen in America since the 1930’s. Health care costs are expected to go up significantly through 2011, and this is expected to spur more firings and more layoffs.
Healthcare stocks are being increasingly turned to by investors and traders, along with Treasury bonds, because they are considered safe investments, unlike more volatile stocks, like GM, who only very recently began to trade publicly after having been bailed out by the Government in 2009.
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