Stocks Rally for All the Wrong Reasons

Hype and Profiteering Driving Stocks!

Stocks have been on an upswing of late, but for all the wrong reasons. As signs pointed toward the passing of unemployment insurance extensions and the renewal of tax breaks for the rich, investors grew enthused and sent shares higher. Then this week offered a better than expected retail sales report, and traders feigned excitement. But, dear readers, be careful who you listen to, because this information is not as inspiring as the hyped up media and temptation toting traders make it sound.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

(Tickers: NYSE: XRT, NYSE: WMT, NYSE: PIR, NYSE: ETH, Nasdaq: HOFT, NYSE: HD, NYSE: LOW, Nasdaq: AAPL, NYSE: BBY, NYSE: LTD, NYSE: CHS, NYSE: ANN, NYSE: GPS, NYSE: M, NYSE: JCP, NYSE: JWN, NYSE: TJX, NYSE: KSS, Nasdaq: COST, NYSE: TGT, NYSE: WMT, Nasdaq: WTSLA, Nasdaq: HOTT, NYSE: AEO, NYSE: ARO, NYSE: ANF, NYSE: SAK, NYSE: TIF, NYSE: TLB, NYSE: LL, Nasdaq: BLDR, NYSE: FO, NYSE: LEG, NYSE: TPX, NYSE: AYI, NYSE: LZB, Nasdaq: SCSS, NYSE: ZZ, NYSE: FBN, NYSE: NTZ, Nasdaq: SHLD, NYSE: DDS, Nasdaq: BONT, Nasdaq: CPWM, Nasdaq: BKRS, Nasdaq: BEBE, NYSE: BKE, Nasdaq: CACH, Nasdaq: CMRG, Nasdaq: CATO, NYSE: CBK, Nasdaq: CTRN, NYSE: PSS, Nasdaq: DEST, Nasdaq: DBRN, NYSE: DSW, Nasdaq: FINL, NYSE: FL, Nasdaq: GYMB, NYSE: GES, NYSE: JCG, NYSE: JNY, Nasdaq: JOSB, NYSE: NWY, NYSE: JWN, NYSE: MW, Nasdaq: SYMS, Nasdaq: PLCE, NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, NYSE: QLD, NYSE: NYX, NYSE: ICE, Nasdaq: NDAQ, NYSE: BAC, NYSE: GS, NYSE: MS, NYSE: WFC, NYSE: C, NYSE: WMT, NYSE: GE, NYSE: F, NYSE: GM)

Stocks Rally for All the Wrong Reasons

Stocks are on the rise, but the chart for the Dow is deceiving. It illustrates rally through midday each day this week, but late day moves lower, including today (12/15). Thus, it depicts a market short on confidence, but looking for profits. The Dow is only up about a percentage point in reality since the December announcement of the Obama Administration, through which it declared a dastardly agreement with the GOP. The secret meeting would renew tax breaks for all Americans, including those making more than $250K, who the Democrats wanted to leave out this time around. The deal would also speed the extension of unemployment insurance, and offer the Republicans the subliminal coercive idea that a cooperative relationship might be possible between the White House and Congress over the next two years.

So, the market grew enthused, not because of robust economic growth or an improving labor market, but rather because politicians would avoid making the disastrous mistake of cutting off 2 million Americans from their sustaining government supports (unemployment checks). Also, the Dow was determined, not because of a budget balancing endeavor, but because of a budget breaking continuation of tax cuts to the rich, who are notorious for keeping the winnings to themselves. Now, one might argue that the rich reinvest and make capital available to American enterprise, but let's face it, there's no tangible reason for the rise in stocks. We all know there's no way the GOP was going to go down in history, especially ahead of Christmas, as a holdout on unemployment insurance extensions.

Tuesday's Retail Sales Report for the month of November showed activity increased 0.8%, which was a slower rate of growth than October's pace. However, the market was overjoyed that October's data was revised up to 1.7%, from the 1.2% initially reported. The popular press also focused on the fact that the result exceeded the economists' consensus view, which was set at 0.6%, even after the prior month revision (which raised the bar). Also enthusing, were the sales when excluding autos, as those figures increased 1.2% in November, against economists' expectations for 0.7%.

However, wise readers, you will recall why there has been such robust early sales activity from your reading of recent scribbling on these pages. It is because there are a ton more desperate bargain seekers out there this tired year trying to get the best bang for their Christmas buck. So, early sales activity might not offer the great news for the full season that stock investors seem to imply they expect. As this becomes apparent, expect those tricky traders to pull the rug out and run, and then the press will remember that Black Friday does not a holiday shopping season make. Investors should also be reminded that discounted goods make for a lower dollar sales tally and tighter profit margin at Macy's (NYSE: M) and friends.



This article should prove interesting to investors in NYSE: PIR, NYSE: ETH, Nasdaq: HOFT, NYSE: HD, NYSE: LOW, Nasdaq: AAPL, NYSE: BBY, NYSE: LTD, NYSE: CHS, NYSE: ANN, NYSE: GPS, NYSE: M, NYSE: JCP, NYSE: JWN, NYSE: TJX, NYSE: KSS, Nasdaq: COST, NYSE: TGT, NYSE: WMT, Nasdaq: WTSLA, Nasdaq: HOTT, NYSE: AEO, NYSE: ARO, NYSE: ANF, NYSE: SAK, NYSE: TIF, NYSE: TLB, NYSE: LL, Nasdaq: BLDR, NYSE: FO, NYSE: LEG, NYSE: TPX, NYSE: AYI, NYSE: LZB, Nasdaq: SCSS, NYSE: ZZ, NYSE: FBN, NYSE: NTZ, Nasdaq: SHLD, NYSE: DDS, Nasdaq: BONT, Nasdaq: CPWM, Nasdaq: BKRS, Nasdaq: BEBE, NYSE: BKE, Nasdaq: CACH, Nasdaq: CMRG, Nasdaq: CATO, NYSE: CBK, Nasdaq: CTRN, NYSE: PSS, Nasdaq: DEST, Nasdaq: DBRN, NYSE: DSW, Nasdaq: FINL, NYSE: FL, Nasdaq: GYMB, NYSE: GES, NYSE: JCG, NYSE: JNY, Nasdaq: JOSB, NYSE: NWY, NYSE: JWN, NYSE: MW, Nasdaq: SYMS, Nasdaq: PLCE, NYSE: RHI, NYSE: KFY, NYSE: MAN, NYSE: MWW, Nasdaq: KELYA, Nasdaq: JOBS, NYSE: JOB, Nasdaq: CECO, Nasdaq: PAYX, NYSE: ASF, Nasdaq: KFRC, NYSE: TBI, NYSE: DHX, NYSE: SFN, NYSE: CDI, Nasdaq: CCRN, Nasdaq: ASGN, NYSE: AHS, Nasdaq: BBSI, Nasdaq: HHGP, NYSE: SRT, Nasdaq: RCMT, Nasdaq: VSCP.

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Mixed Labor Data Messages Clarified

It Still Spells Trouble

Weekly Jobless Claims have produced an improving trend over the last month and continued telling that same story at latest check. However, the Labor Department's Employment Situation Report for November, published last week, still showed an increase in the unemployment rate and a moderated rate of net job addition. So what gives then? Well, keep reading...

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

(Relative Tickers: NYSE: RHI, NYSE: KFY, NYSE: MAN, NYSE: MWW, Nasdaq: KELYA, Nasdaq: JOBS, NYSE: JOB, Nasdaq: CECO, Nasdaq: PAYX, NYSE: ASF, Nasdaq: KFRC, NYSE: TBI, NYSE: DHX, NYSE: SFN, NYSE: CDI, Nasdaq: CCRN, Nasdaq: ASGN, NYSE: AHS, Nasdaq: BBSI, Nasdaq: HHGP, NYSE: SRT, Nasdaq: RCMT, Nasdaq: VSCP, OTC: ASRG.OB, OTC: MCTH.OB, OTC: IGEN.OB, OTC: STJO.OB, OTC: TNUS.OB, Nasdaq: TSTF, OTC: STTH.OB, OTC: PSRU.OB, OTC: CRRS.OB, NYSE: BAC, NYSE: JPM, NYSE: GS, NYSE: C, NYSE: MS, NYSE: WFC, NYSE: TD, NYSE: PNC, NYSE: GE, NYSE: WMT, NYSE: MCD, NYSE: AA, NYSE: AXP, NYSE: BA, NYSE: CAT, Nasdaq: CSCO, NYSE: CVX, NYSE: DD, NYSE: DIS, NYSE: HD, NYSE: HPQ, NYSE: IBM, Nasdaq: INTC, NYSE: JNJ, NYSE: KFT, NYSE: KO, NYSE: MMM, NYSE: MRK, Nasdaq: MSFT, NYSE: PFE, NYSE: PG, NYSE: T, NYSE: TRV, NYSE: UTX, NYSE: VZ, NYSE: XOM, NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, NYSE: QLD, NYSE: NYX, NYSE: ICE, Nasdaq: NDAQ, NYSE: AIG, NYSE: WPO, NYSE: VTR, NYSE: CVH, NYSE: AMT, NYSE: AER, Nasdaq: AHPI, NYSE: ABR, NYSE: BZH, NYSE: BAM, Nasdaq: CADX, Nasdaq: CEDC, Nasdaq: DISH, NYSE: DRL, Nasdaq: ENSL, NYSE: FIG, NYSE: FCN, AMEX: HH, NYSE: IAG, NYSE: IEP, Nasdaq: LINTA, Nasdaq: NATH, Nasdaq: NVAX, Nasdaq: REVU, Nasdaq: RAND, Nasdaq: ROSE, NYSE: TSG, NYSE: SUP, NYSE: TTI, NYSE: TM, Nasdaq: YRCW)

Mixed Labor Data Messages Clarified

Americans must be confused by the mixed messages offered by the Labor Department. While weekly jobless claims clearly seem to be moderating, the monthly unemployment rate just spiked again. Weekly Jobless Claims for the period ended December 4, fell 17K to 421K, down from 438K the week just prior. Still, the latest Labor Department data showed the unemployment rate increased to 9.8% in November, up from the 9.6% rate seen through the prior three months. We will clear up this inconsistency for you here so you can concentrate on logical consistencies of the day, like holiday parties and foreclosure notices.

The first thing you must understand is that weekly jobless claims will occur even in the best of economic environments. There will always be a business failing, or downsizing or consolidating for whatever reason. In order to see the unemployment rate change for the better, we need a weekly flow of jobless claims somewhere short of 400K, or closer to 300K.

The size of the labor force is always increasing also, raising the bar so to speak as America's youths graduate into working age and begin seeking employment. Considering the tough environment, we also have pressure from retirees returning to work these days. When it comes down to it, we need economic growth to increase demand for employees. That can come from increased consumer spending, but also from the growth of business and industry where opportunity may lie untapped. This is why President Obama places so much hope in alternative energy. It can be a replacement industry for coal and pick up the slack from a mature US auto industry. Further, the auto industry, as well as all US manufacturing can benefit from a fairer international trade playing field, another of the administration's good goals (note South Korean trade deal and pressure on the Chinese with regard to their currency).

The four-week moving average of weekly initial jobless claims illustrates the favorable trend we outlined above. The claims average slipped another 4,000 this last week, to 427,500, the lowest it has been in two years. Furthermore, the seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate improved anther two-tenths of a point, to 3.2% for the period ended November 27. This is the kind of data that gave economists the confidence they exhibited in setting their non-farm payroll forecasts for November at +168,000, based on Bloomberg's survey. This is precisely the reason why the market was so surprised on Friday when payrolls instead measured +39,000.

The good news relayed by the weekly claims data seems to be that companies are laying people off at a slower rate, but that message was absent in the latest monthly layoff data. Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that announced corporate layoffs surged to an 8-month high in November, reaching 48,711. It was the highest announced job-cut total since March, when companies announced layoffs of 67,611. Seasonal influence to the November disaster may have played a role according to Challenger, but given that this year's period was just 3.3% short of the prior year count, we are not so sure. It is more likely that there is a cyclical factor at play, and the good news is that it's a lagging indicator.

Government and nonprofit employers were at the forefront of firing in November, announcing 10,761 layoffs through the month. In fact, while overall announced layoffs dropped 60% this year to date, the government and non-profit sector have led the full year's downsizing, cutting 138,979 jobs. Obviously, this is the direct result of heightened pressure on governments, municipal, state and federal, to cut costs to balance budgets or otherwise positively impact deficits.

Flying within radar, but not often spoken of is the decrease in charitable contributions that follows downturns in economic activity. Layoffs in this sector should lag general economic decline, and the same goes for government, which is reactionary. One step the government might take in providing stimulus is by instituting a firing freeze at all government levels. These can be controlled at the federal level, and subsidized otherwise. Keep people working, and you keep them sharp and spending at normal rates.

We could call the lag in government and charitable layoffs good news, if these same two factors played important roles in the increased unemployment rate in November. Indeed, government job decline of 11,000 affected November's data, but the reasons for the sharp miss were much broader. That said, Challenger noted a historical tendency for late-in-the-year cuts, and also said increased hiring announcements offered some offset. To me this sounds like the data-minder was simply molding its qualitative reporting to fit the positive consensus outlook for the Labor Department data, which was yet to be disproved (reported two days later).

Inspection of the Employment Situation Report showed big reductions in Retail Trade (-28.1K), Manufacturing (-13K), Financial Activities (-9K) and Construction (-5K), complementing the government (-11K) and other services (-8K) drops. The big retail industry shrinkage was a shocker to many, but understood within short time. Retailers had added to staff earlier this year, in order to best exploit the intensified deal-seeking community. There were earlier-than-Black Friday deals run, and extended hours offered on Black Friday and after, which needed to be staffed for. This reported decline might reflect a temporary lull in part-timers, who could be rehired before Christmas (heard first here). The moderation in manufacturing, at this point, has been well-documented here, and it goes on within ongoing catastrophic environments in the finance and construction fields. Look for increasing M&A activity to drive change for Wall Street in 2010, barring a problematic war with Iran.

We like to look into the bottom line numbers to get to the truth. When we do that for November's employment data, we discover that the unemployed count (numerator) increased by 276K, to 15,119,000. The Civilian Labor Force (denominator) also increased, as it should, but by only 103K, to 154,007,000. Oftentimes in the past, change in the unemployment rate has been impacted by suspect change in the size of the labor force.

Biased Data Producers Should Be Audited!

We find it funny that no matter what party controls the White House, economic data seems to favor its needs. You will recall how economic data (especially with regard to jobs), while bad, fell off a cliff almost immediately after George W. Bush lost the presidential election. We have to wonder if the data flow was held up in Atlas-like fashion by biased Bush-backers running these agencies. A lot of these jobs are filled by politicos, or active supporters of the candidates post election. This time around, just as President Obama needed populous support to get tax breaks cut off for the rich, and while the GOP held hostage unemployment insurance extensions, unemployment unexpectedly spiked sharply and nonfarm payrolls severely missed forecasts. The result was intensified pressure on the government to extend unemployment insurance further, which favored the President and the Democrats, considering the GOP's positioning. Hey this seems to happen on both sides, and I'm just saying… Someone needs to look into this.

Under-Employment

The underemployment rate offers a better forecasting tool than unemployment for the American economy, because it shows how stressed American consumers really are. The under-employment rate takes into account part-time workers, who would rather be working full-time (and oftentimes once were). These people are thus spending a lot less as they seek to sustain their old lifestyles, meaning homes they cannot really afford and cars that do not fit their current income. The part-timers count declined last month by 182K; the impact to the labor rates here depends on whether the part-timers replaced their hours with full-time work or hit the jobless line instead. Since unemployment increased, the latter seems to be the case this time around. Job losses may have been driven here by the declines in weak sectors this month. Companies fire part-timers first, just as they hire them first. Temporary workers increased in numbers in November though, by 40K.

The under-employment rate also adds back into the calculation the group of folks that the government deems removed from the labor force, simply due to long-term unemployment induced depression that leads them to stop job search activity over a short span of weeks. We think they still count, and we know they are impacting GDP.

Thus, if we add back the 2.531 million (previously 2.602 mln.) displaced workers to the labor market, and include the 8.972 million (previously 9.154 mln.) underemployed part-timers in the unemployed count, adjusted unemployment reaches ((15.119M + 2.531M + 8.972M) / (154.007M + 2.531M)) * 100 = 17.0 %. That's equal to October's rate, and compares to September's 17.1% rate, 16.7% in August; 16.5% in July and June; 16.6% in May; 17.1% in April; 16.9% in March; 16.8% in February; and 16.4% in January. You can see clearly here that the factors that impact underemployment but not unemployment shifted to the unemployed pool, which factors in both calculations. Thus underemployment held steady, while unemployment increased.

In conclusion, while some comfort can be taken from the fact that we seem to have stopped bleeding jobs, we remain at risk of reopening the wound. Furthermore, the burden of a large pool of long-term unemployed Americans acts as a major drag to economic growth. It thus becomes a leading factor, versus the lagging indicator it is often labeled. Thus, the mixed message provided by the two labor reports is consistent with reality. Neither data-point is reporting in error or misleading economic forecasters. Rather, both offer insight into a complex labor situation. To put it simply, we're still troubled.

FYI:
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Nov. 20 were in Alaska (6.1 percent), Puerto Rico (5.5), Oregon (4.4), Nevada (3.9), Pennsylvania (3.9), California (3.7), Idaho (3.7), Montana (3.7), New Jersey (3.7), Arkansas (3.6), Wisconsin (3.6), and Connecticut (3.5).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Nov. 27 were in Wisconsin (+7,545), Iowa (+2,789), Idaho (+1,810), Indiana (+1,667), and Washington (+1,260), while the largest decreases were in Texas (-8,742), California (-8,320), Florida (-7,027), Georgia (-5,823), and North Carolina (-4,171).

Article should interest investors in Paychex (Nasdaq: PAYX), Manpower (NYSE: MAN), Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI), 51Job Inc. (Nasdaq: JOBS), Monster World Wide (NYSE: MWW), Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY), Administaff (NYSE: ASF), Kforce (Nasdaq: KFRC), TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI), Dice Holdings (NYSE: DHX), Kelly Services (Nasdaq: KELYA), SFN Group (NYSE: SFN), CDI Corp. (NYSE: CDI), Cross Country Healthcare (Nasdaq: CCRN), On Assignment (Nasdaq: ASGN), AMN Healthcare Services (NYSE: AHS), Barrett Business Services (Nasdaq: BBSI), Hudson Highland Group (Nasdaq: HHGP), StarTek (NYSE: SRT), RCM Technologies (Nasdaq: RCMT), VirtualScopics (Nasdaq: VSCP), American Surgical (OTC: ASRG.OB), Medical Connections (OTC: MCTH.OB), iGen Networks (OTC: IGEN.OB), St. Joseph (OTC: STJO.OB), General Employment Enterprises (NYSE: JOB), Total Neutraceutical (OTC: TNUS.OB), TeamStaff (Nasdaq: TSTF), Stratum (OTC: STTH.OB), Purespectrum (OTC: PSRU.OB), Corporate Resource Services (OTC: CRRS.OB), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), TD Bank (NYSE: TD), PNC Bank (NYSE: PNC), General Electric (NYSE: GE), Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Alcoa (NYSE: AA), American Express (NYSE: AXP), Boeing (NYSE: BA), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), DuPont (NYSE: DD), Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), IBM (NYSE: IBM), Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Kraft (NYSE: KFT), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), 3M (NYSE: MMM), Merck (NYSE: MRK), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), AT&T (NYSE: T), Travelers (NYSE: TRV), United Technologies (NYSE: UTX), Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM). Today’s EPS report list highlights news from American International Group (NYSE: AIG), Washington Post (NYSE: WPO), Ventas (NYSE: VTR), Coventry Health Care (NYSE: CVH), American Tower (NYSE: AMT), AerCap Holdings (NYSE: AER), Allied Healthcare (Nasdaq: AHPI), Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE: ABR), Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH), Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM), Cadence Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: CADX), Central European Distribution (Nasdaq: CEDC), Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH), Doral Financial (NYSE: DRL), Entech Solar (Nasdaq: ENSL), Fortress Investment (NYSE: FIG), FTI Consulting (NYSE: FCN), Hooper Holmes (AMEX: HH), IAMGold (NYSE: IAG), Icahn Enterprises (NYSE: IEP), Liberty Media (Nasdaq: LINTA), Nathan’s Famous (Nasdaq: NATH), Novavax (Nasdaq: NVAX), Princeton Review (Nasdaq: REVU), Rand Capital (Nasdaq: RAND), Rosetta Resources (Nasdaq: ROSE), Sabre Holdings (NYSE: TSG), Superior Industries (NYSE: SUP), TETRA Tech (NYSE: TTI), Toyota (NYSE: TM) and YRC Worldwide (Nasdaq: YRCW).



Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Is the Estate Tax Fair?

Topic of Debate

We just published an article on the logic of the estate tax, which we suggest for your reading. It is our theory that a great majority of Americans would view (and vote) estate taxes unfair if they applied to all. However, they only apply to estates of $1 million or more, and so relative bias comes to play. The deal reached by President Obama with Congressional Republicans proposes the estate tax exemption threshold be raised to wealth of $5 million. What is your opinion on the taxable threshold?

At a 55% rate, how do you feel about the prospect of paying estate taxes on your wealth, which you likely worked hard to establish and to maintain through your life? We expect most of us intend to leave a legacy to our heirs, for their better lives. Is the new 35% proposed estate tax rate fair, or do you think there should be no estate tax whatsoever, as in 2010? Perhaps you feel like I do that these taxes should not apply to immediate family, or at a lower rate than 55% if so (perhaps a tiered rate based on family relationship). Please let your voice be heard, as we are curious about the general view on this topic:

Is the Estate Tax Fair?

DEBATE TOPIC ARCHIVE

Article should interest investors in: H&R Block (NYSE: HRB), Intuit (Nasdaq: INTU), Jackson Hewitt Tax Services (NYSE: JTX), NYSE: BAC, NYSE: GS, NYSE: AIG, NYSE: WFC, NYSE: MS, NYSE: C, NYSE: BID, NYSE: JWN, NYSE: TIF, NYSE: ZLC, Nasdaq: NILE, NYSE: BMJ, NYSE: MOV, NYSE: BC, NYSE: LVS, NYSE: MGM, Nasdaq: WYNN, NYSE: MTN, Nasdaq: MATW, NYSE: HI, NYSE: PPD, NYSE: MCG, NYSE: MCO, NYSE: TD, NYSE: PNC, AMEX: GLE, NYSE: BCS, NYSE: GLD, NYSE: XLE, NYSE: XLF, NYSE: BJV, NYSE: SZI, NYSE: BPD, NYSE: IEL, NYSE: PBN, NYSE: CGW, NYSE: LVL, NYSE: FRI, NYSE: PBP, NYSE: RSU, NYSE: RMM, NYSE: REA, NYSE: RFL, NYSE: RHM, NYSE: RTG, NYSE: RSW, NYSE: RMS, NYSE: REC, Nasdaq: PDOWX, Nasdaq: XDPOX, Nasdaq: XDPDX, Nasdaq: NDUAX, Nasdaq: NDUBX, Nasdaq: IDJAX, Nasdaq: NJCRX, Nasdaq: UDPIX, Nasdaq: UDPSX, Nasdaq: UWPIX, Nasdaq: RYLDX, Nasdaq: RYIDX, Nasdaq: RYCWX, Nasdaq: ONEQ, Nasdaq: QCLN, Nasdaq: QQEW, Nasdaq: QQXT, Nasdaq: QTEC, Nasdaq: NASDX, Nasdaq: NDXKX, Nasdaq: POTCX, Nasdaq: DXQSX, Nasdaq: DXQLX, Nasdaq: FNCMX, Nasdaq: INQAX, Nasdaq: MOTAX, Nasdaq: XQQQX, NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, NYSE: QLD, NYSE: NYX, Nasdaq: NDAQ, NYSE: ICE, Nasdaq: SERAX, Nasdaq: SERBX, Nasdaq: SERCX, Nasdaq: SERNX, Nasdaq: FEUFX, Nasdaq: FEEEX, Nasdaq: FAEAX, Nasdaq: FBEAX, Nasdaq: FIEUX, Nasdaq: FECAX, Nasdaq: IERAX, Nasdaq: XRNEX, Nasdaq: PBEUX, Nasdaq: UEPIX, Nasdaq: UEPSX, Nasdaq: PEUGX, Nasdaq: RYAEX, NYSE: CEE, NYSE: RNE, NYSE: PEF, NYSE: GUR, NYSE: EPV, NYSE: VEA, NYSE: DFE, NYSE: DEB, NYSE: IEV, Nasdaq: ANEFX, Nasdaq: CNGAX, Nasdaq: HNEAX.

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Estate Tax Logic

On the eve of the revival of the estate tax, proposed by the President to be set at 35% in 2010, up sharply from the tax free status that the friends of the freshly perished enjoyed this year (though well off the 55% rate that robbed riches before the recent temporary freeze), we thought we might explore an aspect of the estate tax that has remained relatively undiscussed in the popular press – Estate Tax Logic.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

(Relevant Tickers: NYSE: JTX, Nasdaq: INTU, NYSE: HRB, NYSE: BAC, NYSE: GS, NYSE: AIG, NYSE: WFC, NYSE: MS, NYSE: C, NYSE: DB, NYSE: CS, NYSE: UBS, NYSE: MCG, NYSE: MCO, NYSE: TD, NYSE: PNC, NYSE: STD, AMEX: GLE, NYSE: BCS, NYSE: GLD, NYSE: XLE, NYSE: XLF, NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, NYSE: QLD, NYSE: NYX, Nasdaq: NDAQ, NYSE: ICE, Nasdaq: SERAX, Nasdaq: SERBX, Nasdaq: SERCX, Nasdaq: SERNX, Nasdaq: FEUFX, Nasdaq: FEEEX, Nasdaq: FAEAX, Nasdaq: FBEAX, Nasdaq: FIEUX, Nasdaq: FECAX, Nasdaq: IERAX, Nasdaq: XRNEX, Nasdaq: PBEUX, Nasdaq: UEPIX, Nasdaq: UEPSX, Nasdaq: PEUGX, Nasdaq: RYAEX, NYSE: CEE, NYSE: RNE, NYSE: PEF, NYSE: GUR, NYSE: EPV, NYSE: VEA, NYSE: DFE, NYSE: DEB, NYSE: IEV, Nasdaq: ANEFX, Nasdaq: CNGAX, Nasdaq: HNEAX, NYSE: BJV, NYSE: SZI, NYSE: BPD, NYSE: IEL, NYSE: PBN, NYSE: CGW, NYSE: LVL, NYSE: FRI, NYSE: PBP, NYSE: RSU, NYSE: RMM, NYSE: REA, NYSE: RFL, NYSE: RHM, NYSE: RTG, NYSE: RSW, NYSE: RMS, NYSE: REC, Nasdaq: PDOWX, Nasdaq: XDPOX, Nasdaq: XDPDX, Nasdaq: NDUAX, Nasdaq: NDUBX, Nasdaq: IDJAX, Nasdaq: NJCRX, Nasdaq: UDPIX, Nasdaq: UDPSX, Nasdaq: UWPIX, Nasdaq: RYLDX, Nasdaq: RYIDX, Nasdaq: RYCWX, Nasdaq: ONEQ, Nasdaq: QCLN, Nasdaq: QQEW, Nasdaq: QQXT, Nasdaq: QTEC, Nasdaq: NASDX, Nasdaq: NDXKX, Nasdaq: POTCX, Nasdaq: DXQSX, Nasdaq: DXQLX, Nasdaq: FNCMX, Nasdaq: INQAX, Nasdaq: MOTAX, Nasdaq: XQQQX)

Estate Tax Logic

The divide with regard to the estate tax is clear. The rich, who are burdened by it stand mostly against it, barring a few uber wealthy emperors without heirs, or with disowned pesks. The less fortunate among us stand of course for the estate tax and the redistribution of wealth that it drives. However, logically speaking, we suggest both groups and those in between should view the subject similarly, as an unfair duplicate taxation and a means for government to add to its coffers. That said, perhaps it is a necessary evil when taken in moderation.

The factors that have allowed for the estate tax are complex, and only through the understanding of them can one justify the law at all. After all, we are taxed all of our lives on our income and on our purchases, and also on some of our assets, especially real estate. Therefore, taxing the paper that survived through the shredder of government construct upon the tragic death of its creator is paradoxical. This is especially true when the beneficiary is a close blood relative or group of relatives.

We might agree that the distribution of the wealth should be counted as taxable income for an unrelated party beneficiary, but old world rules and customs dictate that family legacy is earned reward (or burden), and oftentimes the sole purpose of the wealth creator. Is it not the goal of most to make the lives of our children an easier go than our own? Thus, to tax such wealth distribution at a 55% rate seems criminal from that perspective. I would go so far as to say we are robbing history when we tax it at such a rate. So why and how does it occur then?

You might think that the wealthy minority is simply overrun by the greater citizen representation that resides below the class line. However, if we stopped our thought so prematurely we would be neglecting the power of the pools of wealth lobbying for the interests of the industrial slaves to the affluent. Wall Street and other penny counters across the globe have a lot of pull in Washington, despite the small numbers of the elite, and so they act as important advocate. After all, they earn a percentage of that pot of gold when they represent it as agent. So then if the power of money has a strong say, then why does estate taxation occur?

Well, contrary to popular belief, every once in a while a few fortunate folks decide they have enough money. Not every rich man seeks to enter the race to richest. If a heart or two still exists then on the diamond studded hills of gated communities and island mansions, we can see why there is often a willingness among the rich, or even a need, to give back. Warren Buffet, as he often has in his life, provides yet another model to follow here as well. In 2006, Mr. Buffet, then the world's richest man, pledged to give the Gates Foundation, founded by Bill Gates and his wife, shares of stock worth approximately $30 billion dollars at the time – that's billion with a B.

One of the positive results of estate taxes is the push it gives to philanthropy. Now I'm not saying rich people wouldn't give to charity otherwise, but I am relatively confident they would give a whole lot less without the tax benefits of gift giving. You see wealthy people tend to detest the government taking their money and putting it to bad use, or perhaps into corrupt pockets. So instead, cancer research, overseas orphanages, and homeless shelters find ample flows of capital. Looking at the tax from this perspective makes it a bit more palatable, wouldn't you say? Not every Scrooge has the fortune of midnight hour visits from the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, so perhaps many curmudgeons have the tax man instead to thank for their detour to heaven.

Thus, in the end we see that a major issue of debate is not as black and white as it seems to the various parties of argument. Once again, like so many times before, the answer is somewhere in the middle, where it grays from the influence of both sides. President Obama's working plan with the Republicans is scheduled to bring the estate tax back next year at a 35% maximum rate, versus the 55% level that tore at the hearts of wealthy families in the past. The middle-rich, or those with wealth tied to a single asset like real estate (or farm) will like that the threshold for exemption to estate taxes is planned to increase to $5 million, up from $1 million. In the past, a Manhattan brownstone owner with property worth a hypothetical $5 million, whose mother passed on, might have had to sell his property in 9 months time (distressed sale) just to pay the estate taxes. Thank you Mr. President for considering the gray matter and thinking outside the box, thereby finding a way for all of us. Thank democracy as well.

A close friend of mine, Staz Tsiavos, a guy with a heart about as big as his bear hugs, has arranged for an estate planning seminar this evening (and TBA in January) at 7:00 PM at Kellari Parea at 36 East 20th Street in New York City. He tells me dinner will be served, and you might attend if you have a net worth of a measly $4 million or so; because that's about the point of wealth where you will benefit from the insights of the professor and lawyer invited to speak on the subject. You will want to find the private room downstairs or ask for the event at the door. Staz should be reached first for RSVP purposes, or to answer other estate and retirement questions, at 917-815-0416.



Article should interest investors in: H&R Block (NYSE: HRB), Intuit (Nasdaq: INTU), Jackson Hewitt Tax Services (NYSE: JTX), NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, NYSE: QLD, NYSE: NYX, Nasdaq: NDAQ, NYSE: ICE, Nasdaq: SERAX, Nasdaq: SERBX, Nasdaq: SERCX, Nasdaq: SERNX, Nasdaq: FEUFX, Nasdaq: FEEEX, Nasdaq: FAEAX, Nasdaq: FBEAX, Nasdaq: FIEUX, Nasdaq: FECAX, Nasdaq: IERAX, Nasdaq: XRNEX, Nasdaq: PBEUX, Nasdaq: UEPIX, Nasdaq: UEPSX, Nasdaq: PEUGX, Nasdaq: RYAEX, NYSE: CEE, NYSE: RNE, NYSE: PEF, NYSE: GUR, NYSE: EPV, NYSE: VEA, NYSE: DFE, NYSE: DEB, NYSE: IEV, Nasdaq: ANEFX, Nasdaq: CNGAX, Nasdaq: HNEAX, NYSE: BAC, NYSE: GS, NYSE: AIG, NYSE: WFC, NYSE: MS, NYSE: C, NYSE: DB, NYSE: CS, NYSE: UBS, NYSE: MCG, NYSE: MCO, NYSE: TD, NYSE: PNC, NYSE: STD, AMEX: GLE, NYSE: BCS, NYSE: GLD, NYSE: XLE, NYSE: XLF, NYSE: BJV, NYSE: SZI, NYSE: BPD, NYSE: IEL, NYSE: PBN, NYSE: CGW, NYSE: LVL, NYSE: FRI, NYSE: PBP, NYSE: RSU, NYSE: RMM, NYSE: REA, NYSE: RFL, NYSE: RHM, NYSE: RTG, NYSE: RSW, NYSE: RMS, NYSE: REC, Nasdaq: PDOWX, Nasdaq: XDPOX, Nasdaq: XDPDX, Nasdaq: NDUAX, Nasdaq: NDUBX, Nasdaq: IDJAX, Nasdaq: NJCRX, Nasdaq: UDPIX, Nasdaq: UDPSX, Nasdaq: UWPIX, Nasdaq: RYLDX, Nasdaq: RYIDX, Nasdaq: RYCWX, Nasdaq: ONEQ, Nasdaq: QCLN, Nasdaq: QQEW, Nasdaq: QQXT, Nasdaq: QTEC, Nasdaq: NASDX, Nasdaq: NDXKX, Nasdaq: POTCX, Nasdaq: DXQSX, Nasdaq: DXQLX, Nasdaq: FNCMX, Nasdaq: INQAX, Nasdaq: MOTAX, Nasdaq: XQQQX.

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Unemployment Benefits Not Extended

Merry Christmas!

The US Congress, led by a pompous opposition, gifted to Americans some coal this holiday season. Indeed, it shall be a blue Christmas without their unemployment checks this year. Congress did not extend unemployment benefits through the midnight deadline of November 30. Republican voices argue that this is an unfunded program that is feeding into the budget deficit, which everyone concedes as fact. Even so, I expect this to be only a temporary delay, and the process might even help the economy a bit. If not, I'll see you at the welfare office this New Year's Eve...

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

(Relative Tickers: NYSE: RHI, NYSE: KFY, NYSE: MAN, NYSE: MWW, Nasdaq: KELYA, Nasdaq: JOBS, NYSE: JOB, Nasdaq: CECO, Nasdaq: PAYX, NYSE: ASF, Nasdaq: KFRC, NYSE: TBI, NYSE: DHX, NYSE: SFN, NYSE: CDI, Nasdaq: CCRN, Nasdaq: ASGN, NYSE: AHS, Nasdaq: BBSI, Nasdaq: HHGP, NYSE: SRT, Nasdaq: RCMT, Nasdaq: VSCP, OTC: ASRG.OB, OTC: MCTH.OB, OTC: IGEN.OB, OTC: STJO.OB, OTC: TNUS.OB, Nasdaq: TSTF, OTC: STTH.OB, OTC: PSRU.OB, OTC: CRRS.OB, NYSE: BAC, NYSE: JPM, NYSE: GS, NYSE: C, NYSE: MS, NYSE: WFC, NYSE: TD, NYSE: PNC, NYSE: GE, NYSE: WMT, NYSE: MCD, NYSE: AA, NYSE: AXP, NYSE: BA, NYSE: CAT, Nasdaq: CSCO, NYSE: CVX, NYSE: DD, NYSE: DIS, NYSE: HD, NYSE: HPQ, NYSE: IBM, Nasdaq: INTC, NYSE: JNJ, NYSE: KFT, NYSE: KO, NYSE: MMM, NYSE: MRK, Nasdaq: MSFT, NYSE: PFE, NYSE: PG, NYSE: T, NYSE: TRV, NYSE: UTX, NYSE: VZ, NYSE: XOM, NYSE: DE, NYSE: TIF, NYSE: CO, NYSE: FRO, NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, NYSE: QLD, NYSE: NYX, NYSE: ICE, Nasdaq: NDAQ)

Unemployment Benefits Not Extended

The argument goes that the extension of unemployment benefits for another year will cost $60 billion that the government does not have. Meanwhile, the GOP would like tax breaks to be extended for the nation's highest earners, the cost of which is estimated upward of $700 billion. Those high-end tax breaks have been shown to have little impact on economic growth, while Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) estimates the failure to extend unemployment payments, money quickly spent when received, could cut 0.5% off GDP, which supports employment.

Legislation Delay a Positive, Cancellation a Negative

Sit down for a second and consider this unpopular idea, and please read the entire article. There is a possibility that this inaction could have some unintended benefit, as it may provide impetus to a fringe group of jobless people that will happily sit idle for as long as the money flows. Perhaps a fire is lit under some to be more aggressive and self-propelled. More small businesses might develop, and an increased number of people might take lower wages and more menial work then they would prefer. While I'm relatively certain this GOP block is a political ploy to gain the party some leverage on tax and other issues, if it does not last long, it might prove helpful. There is a small group of jobless that actually enjoy what most consider an incredibly anxious situation. It's a small group, but they are out there just the same.

I know as well as anyone that this does not describe the majority of the unemployed, who have spent lifetimes and significant funds to acquire a skill, expertise or education. Most Americans have ambition and a certain level of pride that keeps them pushing forward. Those folks see their economic situation clearly and understand the psychological impact of their unemployment as well. Let's not forget also that they have families to feed and established lifestyles burdening them.

I'm certainly not judging. I know you need your checks, because I had to live without them after my own unemployment income ran out and before this blog could pay my electric bill. I do not and did not ever qualify for unemployment extensions. There are many hardworking Americans out there who lost their job before the threshold date to qualify for extensions. Those folks are having just as hard a time to find work as you have been, though they have not been receiving checks. They have lost assets, and their families have fallen apart as a result. What you are tasting now is what they have been chewing on for a few years of serious hardship. So, I say to the government, remember those people as well! Their homes are in foreclosure; they are starving; and this bill does nothing to help them!

It's not the first time Republicans (I've converted to Independent) have picked the wrong battle to wage. You would have thought they might have learned, but the GOP again wages war on this same field of battle. You will recall when Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning obstructed extension legislation earlier this year. It was insulting then, and it is insulting now! Besides the obvious reasons to continue paying, it is just the completely wrong time to stop, unless you want to see an increase in holiday suicides this year. And the fact remains that there are about 2 to 3 million jobs available on the market for a pool of job seekers that includes 15 million unemployed.

If this continues for more than a few days, Congress can expect a good portion of the 2 million folks they are cutting off to come knocking on their doors; and they won't be there to sing Christmas carols. They'll be there to collect their own money, paid in taxes over the course of years. Whatever the case, I'll see you at the food bank and welfare office this New Year's Eve if this bill is not passed soon…



Article should interest investors in Paychex (Nasdaq: PAYX), Manpower (NYSE: MAN), Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI), 51Job Inc. (Nasdaq: JOBS), Monster World Wide (NYSE: MWW), Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY), Administaff (NYSE: ASF), Kforce (Nasdaq: KFRC), TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI), Dice Holdings (NYSE: DHX), Kelly Services (Nasdaq: KELYA), SFN Group (NYSE: SFN), CDI Corp. (NYSE: CDI), Cross Country Healthcare (Nasdaq: CCRN), On Assignment (Nasdaq: ASGN), AMN Healthcare Services (NYSE: AHS), Barrett Business Services (Nasdaq: BBSI), Hudson Highland Group (Nasdaq: HHGP), StarTek (NYSE: SRT), RCM Technologies (Nasdaq: RCMT), VirtualScopics (Nasdaq: VSCP), American Surgical (OTC: ASRG.OB), Medical Connections (OTC: MCTH.OB), iGen Networks (OTC: IGEN.OB), St. Joseph (OTC: STJO.OB), General Employment Enterprises (NYSE: JOB), Total Neutraceutical (OTC: TNUS.OB), TeamStaff (Nasdaq: TSTF), Stratum (OTC: STTH.OB), Purespectrum (OTC: PSRU.OB), Corporate Resource Services (OTC: CRRS.OB), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), TD Bank (NYSE: TD), PNC Bank (NYSE: PNC), General Electric (NYSE: GE), Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Alcoa (NYSE: AA), American Express (NYSE: AXP), Boeing (NYSE: BA), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), DuPont (NYSE: DD), Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), IBM (NYSE: IBM), Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Kraft (NYSE: KFT), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), 3M (NYSE: MMM), Merck (NYSE: MRK), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), AT&T (NYSE: T), Travelers (NYSE: TRV), United Technologies (NYSE: UTX), Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM).

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Should Unemployment Insurance Extension Benefits be Renewed Through the November 30, 2010 Deadline?

Should We Extend Them Again?

As the President returns from overseas and as the freshman Congressional class arrives in Washington D.C., first up on the legislative agenda is the decision to extend and renew unemployment insurance extension compensation or not. The current legislation allows for extended benefits only until November 30th.

(Relative Tickers: NYSE: RHI, NYSE: KFY, NYSE: MAN, NYSE: MWW, Nasdaq: KELYA, Nasdaq: JOBS, NYSE: JOB, Nasdaq: CECO, Nasdaq: PAYX, NYSE: ASF, Nasdaq: KFRC, NYSE: TBI, NYSE: DHX, NYSE: SFN, NYSE: CDI, Nasdaq: CCRN, Nasdaq: ASGN, NYSE: AHS, Nasdaq: BBSI, Nasdaq: HHGP, NYSE: SRT, Nasdaq: RCMT, Nasdaq: VSCP, OTC: ASRG.OB, OTC: MCTH.OB, OTC: IGEN.OB, OTC: STJO.OB, OTC: TNUS.OB, Nasdaq: TSTF, OTC: STTH.OB, OTC: PSRU.OB, OTC: CRRS.OB, NYSE: BAC, NYSE: JPM, NYSE: GS, NYSE: C, NYSE: MS, NYSE: WFC, NYSE: TD, NYSE: PNC, NYSE: GE, NYSE: WMT, NYSE: MCD, NYSE: AA, NYSE: AXP, NYSE: BA, NYSE: CAT, Nasdaq: CSCO, NYSE: CVX, NYSE: DD, NYSE: DIS, NYSE: HD, NYSE: HPQ, NYSE: IBM, Nasdaq: INTC, NYSE: JNJ, NYSE: KFT, NYSE: KO, NYSE: MMM, NYSE: MRK, Nasdaq: MSFT, NYSE: PFE, NYSE: PG, NYSE: T, NYSE: TRV, NYSE: UTX, NYSE: VZ, NYSE: XOM, NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, NYSE: QLD, NYSE: NYX, NYSE: ICE, Nasdaq: NDAQ)

Some politicians and economists believe we may be approaching a point where this extraordinary and important aid acts as a crutch we've grown too used to. Before the Republican Party regained balance, there were voices emanating from it to ease back unemployment benefits to normal flow. There is an active viewpoint regarding a theorized negative impact of unemployment insurance, which argues that it acts as a support to the lazy. Given their fiscal concerns, this could be a point of argument for Tea Party Republicans and even Blue Dog Democrats, and so another extension of benefits is not guaranteed.

Our friends in the United Kingdom recently implemented rules to penalize welfare recipients who are not accepting work opportunities. We already have these guards in place, but enforcement is suspect; that's likely due to the size of the task at hand these days and a lack of human capital and funding to get the job done.

Do you think unemployment insurance keeps people from seeking work? I know people who have avoided taking part-time work because it would not match their income earned for sitting idle. I know still more others who realize that taking a part-time job could limit their critical income if laid off, as it would set new basis for their benefit calculation.

I think there are clear solutions to solving these conundrums, and they can be employed by creating a more critical unemployment insurance calculation, and by making it widely known to the American public. As is always the case, painted black and white issues offer opportunities for better measure in the gray area in between.

I recently wrote about the importance of the fourth quarter to the American economy, and that no matter what, the extension of benefits should run at least through the critical period. Where do you stand on this subject? Are we spending too much to support slackers or is this spending necessary to keep Americans from foreclosure, bankruptcy and fiscal demise, and the economy with it?

Should Unemployment Insurance Extension Benefits be Renewed Through the November 30, 2010 Deadline?

Article should interest investors in Paychex (Nasdaq: PAYX), Manpower (NYSE: MAN), Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI), 51Job Inc. (Nasdaq: JOBS), Monster World Wide (NYSE: MWW), Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY), Administaff (NYSE: ASF), Kforce (Nasdaq: KFRC), TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI), Dice Holdings (NYSE: DHX), Kelly Services (Nasdaq: KELYA), SFN Group (NYSE: SFN), CDI Corp. (NYSE: CDI), Cross Country Healthcare (Nasdaq: CCRN), On Assignment (Nasdaq: ASGN), AMN Healthcare Services (NYSE: AHS), Barrett Business Services (Nasdaq: BBSI), Hudson Highland Group (Nasdaq: HHGP), StarTek (NYSE: SRT), RCM Technologies (Nasdaq: RCMT), VirtualScopics (Nasdaq: VSCP), American Surgical (OTC: ASRG.OB), Medical Connections (OTC: MCTH.OB), iGen Networks (OTC: IGEN.OB), St. Joseph (OTC: STJO.OB), General Employment Enterprises (NYSE: JOB), Total Neutraceutical (OTC: TNUS.OB), TeamStaff (Nasdaq: TSTF), Stratum (OTC: STTH.OB), Purespectrum (OTC: PSRU.OB), Corporate Resource Services (OTC: CRRS.OB), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), TD Bank (NYSE: TD), PNC Bank (NYSE: PNC), General Electric (NYSE: GE), Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Alcoa (NYSE: AA), American Express (NYSE: AXP), Boeing (NYSE: BA), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), DuPont (NYSE: DD), Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), IBM (NYSE: IBM), Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Kraft (NYSE: KFT), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), 3M (NYSE: MMM), Merck (NYSE: MRK), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), AT&T (NYSE: T), Travelers (NYSE: TRV), United Technologies (NYSE: UTX), Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM).

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Is a Republican Congress Good for Stocks?

Most experts believe the Republicans will at least gain control of the House of Representatives on this coming election day. Some believe the GOP might even take control of the Senate. We wanted to test your opinion to see what our readers think the repercussions might be for stocks. Is a Republican victory good for stocks?

The movement of the Dow since late August seems to say it is. The stock market has always favored Republicans, or so it seems anyway. After all, they are tax friendly and pro-business, but after all that has occurred under Republican rule, is the President right in pleading with Americans not to put the bad drivers back behind the wheel? If the economy fell into such mess under Republican rule and the treasury budget deficit grew into a monstrous state, then perhaps old rules no longer apply? I believe the market will reward Republican victory, if it has not already, and will penalize a Democratic Party win. But we want to know what you think.

Is a Republican Congressional Victory Good for the Stock Market Anymore?

DEBATE TOPIC ARCHIVE

(Relevant Tickers: NYSE: PIZ, NYSE: PIE, NYSE: PDP, NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, NYSE: NYX, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, NYSE: QLD, NYSE: IWM, NYSE: TWM, NYSE: IWD, NYSE: SDK, NYSE: ICE, Nasdaq: QQQQ, Nasdaq: HTOAX, Nasdaq: HTOTX, Nasdaq: HTOBX, Nasdaq: JTCIX, Nasdaq: JTCNX, Nasdaq: JTCAX, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: GS, NYSE: MS, NYSE: BAC, NYSE: JEF, NYSE: C, NYSE: JPM, NYSE: DB, NYSE: CS, NYSE: STD, NYSE: MGH, Nasdaq: TROW)

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Did Obama Leak Employment Data in his Bowie Stump Speech?

President Obama gave a stump speech today in support of Democratic candidates at Bowie State University in Bowie, Maryland. Within it he discussed the streak of gains in private nonfarm payrolls. Is he implying something about September's result, which will be reported Friday morning? He must already know the numbers...

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

(Tickers: NYSE: RHI, NYSE: MAN, NYSE: MWW, NYSE: KFY, NYSE: JOB, Nasdaq: JOBS, Nasdaq: CECO, NYSE: PFE, Nasdaq: MSFT, Nasdaq: AMGN, Nasdaq: WYNN, NYSE: TER, Nasdaq: ESRX, NYSE: NOC, NYSE: IPG, NYSE: GE, NYSE: WMT, NYSE: ATK, NYSE: BAC, NYSE: NOC, NYSE: COL, NYSE: RTN, NYSE: HON, NYSE: GR, NYSE: F, NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, NYSE: QLD, NYSE: NYX, NYSE: ICE, Nasdaq: NDAQ)

Did Obama Leak Employment Data in his Bowie Stump Speech?

At his campaign speech for Maryland Democrats at Bowie State University, the President may have revealed something about the Employment Situation Report for the month of September. President Obama noted that private sector jobs have grown eight months in a row, which measures through August. Those were his words. Since its December 2009 low, the private sector has added 763K jobs on net, and so we know it has grown from the low each month. The count reaches eight through August's report, and so he has not told us directly what September will show. But what does he imply by bringing the subject up one day ahead of the latest data?

The President must be aware by now of the Employment numbers for September. There are two ways to look at his statement today. Either he highlighted his point about private sector job growth because he knows it continued in September, it's on his mind, and he will talk about it again tomorrow, or he said it because he realized this would be his last chance to make the point (if September marks a decrease in private payrolls). I would lean toward the first point, because if September's data alters the trend, then his point renders mute to the people he spoke to today. However, the likelihood of a broader audience hearing the news was slim (until now), so perhaps strategists just banked on an unsophisticated audience not noticing any change should it be pending...

ADP's estimate for the private sector job market indicates its expectations for a 39K decrease in September, which would end that eight month streak. If the Labor Department's report shows growth, it would not be the first time the tally did not closely match ADP's estimate.

So the question is then, what does the President know, and how did it affect his speech today.

What do you think?

More on his Speech

The President's stump speech keyed on a choice. He noted to the college crowd that the Republican candidates would like to reduce spending for education, and he pointed out Maryland's nation leading education record (for its public schools).

In response to his statement about the Republicans, and in telling fashion, the President declared that for as long as he is President and the Democrats control Congress, he will not cut education spending while allowing the tax breaks for the rich to continue. So he offered voters a choice, tax breaks for the wealthy (vote Republican) or education support (vote Democrat). Given the target audience was dominated by a college crowd, it has now been well geared to vote Democrat.

So the Democratic political argument is centered on where spending will be reduced, while the Republican party calls the tax cut an economic stimulant (despite little spending effect) and focuses on the general accusation of a spend happy Democratic Party and fiscal imprudence.

I have to say that the President was on top of his game, delivering a powerful and convincing stump speech, well directed and well said. He was both personal and convincing.

I remind you that I am an Independent voter.



Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Political Fervor Taints Consumer Confidence Numbers

Tainted Tea & the Confidence Numbers

While The Greek is concerned about the significant decline in consumer confidence, something we have been warning would threaten the housing market and the general economy, we also smell a rat in the survey. Consumers have good reason to be troubled, don't get me wrong, but seasonal factors may be playing a role now as well. One such seasonal is of the irregular sort, and of political taint.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

(Tickers: NYSE: XRT, NYSE: WMT, NYSE: PIR, NYSE: ETH, Nasdaq: HOFT, NYSE: HD, NYSE: LOW, Nasdaq: AAPL, NYSE: BBY, NYSE: LTD, NYSE: CHS, NYSE: ANN, NYSE: GPS, NYSE: M, NYSE: JCP, NYSE: JWN, NYSE: TJX, NYSE: KSS, Nasdaq: COST, NYSE: TGT, NYSE: WMT, Nasdaq: WTSLA, Nasdaq: HOTT, NYSE: AEO, NYSE: ARO, NYSE: ANF, NYSE: SAK, NYSE: TIF, NYSE: TLB, NYSE: LL, Nasdaq: BLDR, NYSE: FO, NYSE: LEG, NYSE: TPX, NYSE: AYI, NYSE: LZB, Nasdaq: SCSS, NYSE: ZZ, NYSE: FBN, NYSE: NTZ, Nasdaq: SHLD, NYSE: DDS, Nasdaq: BONT, Nasdaq: CPWM, Nasdaq: BKRS, Nasdaq: BEBE, NYSE: BKE, Nasdaq: CACH, Nasdaq: CMRG, Nasdaq: CATO, NYSE: CBK, Nasdaq: CTRN, NYSE: PSS, Nasdaq: DEST, Nasdaq: DBRN, NYSE: DSW, Nasdaq: FINL, NYSE: FL, Nasdaq: GYMB, NYSE: GES, NYSE: JCG, NYSE: JNY, Nasdaq: JOSB, NYSE: NWY, NYSE: JWN, NYSE: MW, Nasdaq: SYMS, Nasdaq: PLCE, NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, NYSE: QLD, NYSE: NYX, NYSE: ICE, Nasdaq: NDAQ, NYSE: BAC, NYSE: GS, NYSE: MS, NYSE: JPM, NYSE: C, NYSE: WFC)

Political Fervor Taints Consumer Confidence Numbers

Consumer Confidence sank to a mark of 48.5 in September, according to the Conference Board, which reported the news this morning. The data marked a new low, down from 53.5 in August. In fact, the index has shed 14.2 points since May. Economists were shocked by the degree of depression, with Bloomberg reporting the consensus expectation for the data point at 52.0. Considering that consumer confidence and spending is critical to the US economy, you should be paying close attention to this news.

The Horrible Truth

Consumers have had plenty good reason to sour, including a stagnant and sad labor market. With little new hiring occurring, surely the unemployed are growing increasingly depressed. Depression is certainly a good describer of just how hopeless the survey participants seem to be feeling. Their view of current conditions deteriorated in this latest check, with the Present Situation Index slipping to 23.1, from 24.9 in August. Still, it is their view of the future that should bother you more. The Expectations Index dropped precipitously, to 65.4, from a higher ledge of 72 last month.

The Director of the Conference Board said, "Overall, consumers' confidence in the state of the economy remains quite grim. And, with so few expecting conditions to improve in the near term, the pace of economic growth is not likely to pick up in the coming months." Regarding the present situation, those viewing business conditions as "bad" increased to 46.1%, from 42.3% previously. Only 8.1% said business conditions were "good." With regard to the job market, the number claiming jobs were hard to get depicted a dire environment as well.

Expectations

The American household outlook is indeed grim, and we can find no better descriptor. The percentage of people expecting business conditions to worsen increased, as did the number anticipating fewer job opportunities. This future outlook can have a dramatic impact on spending, because as Americans worry about income and wealth, they will spend cautiously.

Seasonal Impact?

Indeed, back-to-school shopping can have a way of reinforcing the inadequacy of an unemployment check. As such, we expect survey participants were a little more stressed than usual in September.

Conspicuously, we wonder what degree of impact political passions had in influencing the responses of Republican respondents during this special fall month. While things are bad, we can understand easily how worse they can seem by turning on C-SPAN to catch Republican House Leader John Boehner giving a speech. Or, you could switch on Fox television. Active Republican election campaign staffers and simple backers are surely included in the 5,000 households surveyed by the Conference Board, and so as we near November elections, their fervor is no doubt intensified. Perhaps they are also captured in these numbers...

I would assume any self-respecting Republican would express their complete discontent with the state of the economy now, given the other party runs the show today. So, while we see good enough reason for further deterioration in confidence, we warn that there may also be a taint to the tea in this particular reading.



This article should prove interesting to investors in NYSE: PIR, NYSE: ETH, Nasdaq: HOFT, NYSE: HD, NYSE: LOW, Nasdaq: AAPL, NYSE: BBY, NYSE: LTD, NYSE: CHS, NYSE: ANN, NYSE: GPS, NYSE: M, NYSE: JCP, NYSE: JWN, NYSE: TJX, NYSE: KSS, Nasdaq: COST, NYSE: TGT, NYSE: WMT, Nasdaq: WTSLA, Nasdaq: HOTT, NYSE: AEO, NYSE: ARO, NYSE: ANF, NYSE: SAK, NYSE: TIF, NYSE: TLB, NYSE: LL, Nasdaq: BLDR, NYSE: FO, NYSE: LEG, NYSE: TPX, NYSE: AYI, NYSE: LZB, Nasdaq: SCSS, NYSE: ZZ, NYSE: FBN, NYSE: NTZ, Nasdaq: SHLD, NYSE: DDS, Nasdaq: BONT, Nasdaq: CPWM, Nasdaq: BKRS, Nasdaq: BEBE, NYSE: BKE, Nasdaq: CACH, Nasdaq: CMRG, Nasdaq: CATO, NYSE: CBK, Nasdaq: CTRN, NYSE: PSS, Nasdaq: DEST, Nasdaq: DBRN, NYSE: DSW, Nasdaq: FINL, NYSE: FL, Nasdaq: GYMB, NYSE: GES, NYSE: JCG, NYSE: JNY, Nasdaq: JOSB, NYSE: NWY, NYSE: JWN, NYSE: MW, Nasdaq: SYMS, Nasdaq: PLCE, NYSE: BAC, NYSE: JPM, NYSE: GS, NYSE: MS, NYSE: C, NYSE: PNC, NYSE: WFC.

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Jobless Claims Continue 07-29-10

Today's Coffee

A quiet day on the economic data front still produced the regular Weekly Jobless Claims Report, but we might have preferred the Labor Department skip the release. After all, it only offers the same story week after week, month after month... Charlie Rangel is still trying to cut a deal, but the charges against him have been read by the House Ethic Panel. The day also produced the EIA's Natural Gas Inventory data and a slew of earnings reports. Catch our summary below.

"The Greek" earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. While writing for Wall Street Greek and other major publishers, he presciently predicted the financial crisis and housing and banking failures of the Great Recession. Visit the front pages of Wall Street Greek now to see our current coverage of business news, the global economy & financial markets, real estate, shipping, fine art & antiquities and global affairs.

(Tickers: NYSE: RHI, NYSE: MAN, NYSE: MWW, NYSE: KFY, NYSE: JOB, Nasdaq: JOBS, Nasdaq: CECO, NYSE: PFE, Nasdaq: MSFT, Nasdaq: AMGN, Nasdaq: WYNN, NYSE: TER, Nasdaq: ESRX, NYSE: NOC, NYSE: IPG, NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, NYSE: QLD)

Jobless Claims

Thursday's coffee covers the two regular economic reports and more. Weekly Jobless Claims continue around the 450K mark, where they have hovered for as long as we can remember. The month's Labor Market data to-date portends trouble for next week's Employment Situation Report.

Weekly Jobless Claims

The Department of Labor's Weekly Jobless Claims report was published at 8:30 this morning. The data covering the period ended July 24 showed claims at 457K, down 11,000 from last week's count of 468K (revised from 464K). Economists were looking for a reading of 460K, but they never stray too far from the prior week's result. And for good reason!

Weekly Jobless Claims have not strayed far from this level for what seems like forever now. You can see evidence of this in the four-week moving average, which only fell 4,500 to 452,500. We caught a guru on Bloomberg Radio saying 300K would be normal for a growing economy. So, we put a call in to the Department of Labor after hours, and were told to call back tomorrow. Look for an update to this article Friday with some information about what a normal unemployment line looks like.

The coming week offers the Monthly Employment Situation Report. Last month's data had the unemployment rate falling to 9.5%, however, nonfarm payrolls decreased by 125K. As census jobs disappear, and as more folks hit the unemployment line, we think there's a good chance the rate will increase in July. The economists' consensus is not yet available at Bloomberg.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate increased to 3.6% for the reported July 17 period. An apropos topic these days given the debate over unemployment benefit extensions, they were available in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin during the week ending July 10.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending July 10 were in Puerto Rico (6.9 percent), Pennsylvania (5.1), Oregon (5.0), New Jersey (4.8), Nevada (4.6), Wisconsin (4.6), California (4.5), Connecticut (4.5), Massachusetts (4.5), and Alaska (4.4).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending July 17 were in California (+19,809), South Carolina (+5,115), North Carolina (+4,512), Illinois (+3,183), and Tennessee (+3,066), while the largest decreases were in New York (-19,552), Indiana (-5,146), Michigan (-4,491), Pennsylvania (-3,390), and Florida (-2,138).

Natural Gas Inventory

The EIA reported on Natural Gas stores Thursday. The report for the period ended July 23 showed natural gas inventory increased by 28 Bcf. At the latest level, natural gas storage stood 239 Bcf above the 5-year average mark for this time of year. This latest difference is less than the week before, and inventory was 94 Bcf less than last year. We expect extreme high temperatures for July have increased air conditioner and electricity usage, which is partly powered by natural gas fueled power plants. We expect to see more pressure on nat gas inventory alongside pricing. Coming off a spike in June, prices seem to us on a rising trend since mid-March.

Rangel Cutting a Deal?

Must-see TV was nearly canceled today, as Charlie Rangel almost cut a deal keeping him from appearing before the House Ethics Panel for charges against him. The charges have been read, but word is that Rangel still hopes to avoid the trial by cutting some sort of a deal. Whatever the case, significant damage has been done to Rangel's political career.

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) had its pediatric hypertension drug reviewed by an FDA panel. Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) hosted its analysts' meeting. The earnings schedule included news from Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN), Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN), Teradyne (NYSE: TER), Express Scripts (Nasdaq: ESRX), Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), The Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG), 3D Systems (Nasdaq: TDSC), 3Par (NYSE: PAR), Abaxis (Nasdaq: ABAX), ACI Worldwide (Nasdaq: ACIW), Acme Packet (Nasdaq: APKT), Actel (Nasdaq: ACTL), AGL Resources (NYSE: AGL), Alaska Communications (Nasdaq: ALSK), Alexander & Baldwin (Nasdaq: ALEX), Alexandria Real Estate (NYSE: ARE), Altisource Portfolio (Nasdaq: ASPS), America Service Group (Nasdaq: ASGR), American Commercial Lines (Nasdaq: ACLI), AMSC (Nasdaq: AMSC), Anadigics (Nasdaq: ANAD), Anadys Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ANDS), Ancestry.com (Nasdaq: ACOM), Antigenics (Nasdaq: AGEN), AP Capital (Nasdaq: ACAP), Applied Micro Circuits (Nasdaq: AMCC), Arctic Cat (Nasdaq: ACAT), Ariba (Nasdaq: ARBA), Art Technology Group (Nasdaq: ARTG), Artio (NYSE: ART), Asset Acceptance Capital (Nasdaq: AACC), AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN), Astronics (Nasdaq: ATRO), Authentec (Nasdaq: AUTH), Automatic Data Processing (NYSE: ADP), AVEO Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: AVEO), Avon (NYSE: AVP), AXT Inc. (Nasdaq: AXTI), Baldor Electric (NYSE: BEZ), Baldwin & Lyons (Nasdaq: BWINA), Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL), Ballard Power (Nasdaq: BLDP), Banco Santander (NYSE: STD), Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX), BASF (OTC: BASFY.PK), Becton Dickinson (NYSE: BDX), Belden (NYSE: BDC), Benchmark Electronics (NYSE: BHE), Boots & Coots (NYSE: WEL), Brasil Telecom (NYSE: BRP), Brunswick (NYSE: BC), Build-A-Bear (NYSE: BBW), Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG), Cabela's (NYSE: CAB), Callidus Software (Nasdaq: CALD), Camden Property Trust (NYSE: CPT), CARBO Ceramics (NYSE: CRR), Cardiac Science (Nasdaq: CSCX), Carpenter Technology (NYSE: CRS), Carter's (NYSE: CRI), Cavium Networks (Nasdaq: CAVM), CDC Software (Nasdaq: CDCS), CDI Corp. (NYSE: CDI), CE Franklin (Nasdaq: CFK), Celanese (NYSE: CE), Celgene (Nasdaq: CELG), Cenovus Energy (NYSE: CVE), Center Fin'l (Nasdaq: CLFC), Cerus (Nasdaq: CERS), Chart Industries (Nasdaq: GTLS), Checkpoint Systems (NYSE: CKP), Chembio Diagnostics (Nasdaq: CEMI), China Lodging (Nasdaq: HTHT), Chiquita Brands (NYSE: CQB), Clearwater Paper (NYSE: CLW), Cobra Electronics (Nasdaq: COBR), Coherent (Nasdaq: COHR), Coinstar (Nasdaq: CSTR), Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL), Columbia Banking (Nasdaq: COLB), Computer Programs & Systems (Nasdaq: CPSI), comScore (Nasdaq: SCOR), Comverge (Nasdaq: COMV), Conexant Systems (Nasdaq: CNXT), ConMed (Nasdaq: CNMD), Consol Energy (NYSE: CNX), Constant Contact (Nasdaq: CTCT), Cryolife (NYSE: CRY), Cumulus Media (Nasdaq: CMLS), Curtiss-Wright (NYSE: CW), Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB), Dana Holding (NYSE: DAN), DDi Corp. (Nasdaq: DDIC), Delcath Systems (Nasdaq: DCTH), Deltek (Nasdaq: PROJ), DENTSPLY (Nasdaq: XRAY), Diebold (NYSE: DBD), Digirad (Nasdaq: DRAD), DineEquity (NYSE: DIN), Dolby Labs (NYSE: DLB), Dover Downs Gaming (NYSE: DDE), Dover Motorsports (NYSE: DVD), DPL (NYSE: DPL), Dr. Pepper Snapple (NYSE: DPS), Dresser-Rand (NYSE: DRC), DSP Group (Nasdaq: DSPG), DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE), Duff & Phelps (NYSE: DUF), Duke Realty (NYSE: DRE), Dynamics Materials (Nasdaq: BOOM), Dynamics Research (Nasdaq: DRCO), Eastman Chemical (NYSE: EMN), Eldorado Gold (NYSE: EGO), EMC Insurance (Nasdaq: EMCI), EMCOR (NYSE: EME), Empire District Electric (NYSE: EDE), Energen (NYSE: EGN), Entertainment Properties Trust (NYSE: EPR), Epicor Software (Nasdaq: EPIC), EQT Corp. (NYSE: EQT), Erie Indemnity (Nasdaq: ERIE), Essex Rent (Nasdaq: ESSX), Evans Bancorp (Nasdaq: EVBN), Exar (Nasdaq: EXAR), Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE), EZChip Semi (Nasdaq: EZCH), Federal-Mogul (Nasdaq: FDML), First Commonwealth Fin'l (NYSE: FCF), First Potomac Realty (NYSE: FPO), First Security Group (Nasdaq: FSGI), First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR), First State Bancorp (Nasdaq: FSNM), Flamel (Nasdaq: FLML), Forrester Research (Nasdaq: FORR), France Telecom (NYSE: FTE), Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN), Genoptix (Nasdaq: GXDX), Genpact (NYSE: G), Gen-Probe (Nasdaq: GPRO), Gentiva Health (Nasdaq: GTIV), Genworth Fin'l (NYSE: GNW), Geron (Nasdaq: GERN), Golfsmith Int'l (Nasdaq: GOLF), Goodrich (NYSE: GR), Goodyear Tire & Rubber (NYSE: GT), GrafTech Int'l (NYSE: GTI), Graham (AMEX: GHM), Green Plains Renewable Energy (Nasdaq: GPRE), GSI Technology (Nasdaq: GSIT), Gulf Island Fabrication (Nasdaq: GIFI), Harmonic (Nasdaq: HLIT), Harsco (NYSE: HSC), Harte-Hanks (NYSE: HHS), HCA (NYSE: HCA), HealthSpring (NYSE: HS), Helmerich & Payne (NYSE: HP), Holly Energy (NYSE: HEP), Honda Motor (NYSE: HMC), Hornbeck Offshore Services (NYSE: HOS), IMAX (Nasdaq: IMAX), Imperial Oil (AMEX: IMO), Ingram Micro (NYSE: IM), Insulet (Nasdaq: PODD), Integra Lifesciences (Nasdaq: IART), Intermec (NYSE: IN), Internet Brands (Nasdaq: INET), Internet Capital Group (Nasdaq: ICGE), Investment Technology Group (NYSE: ITG), Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM), Ixys (Nasdaq: IXYS), Kaydon (NYSE: KDN), KB Financial (NYSE: KB), KBR (NYSE: KBR), KBW (NYSE: KBW), Kellogg (NYSE: K), Kennametal (NYSE: KMT), Key Technology (Nasdaq: KTEC), KLA-Tencor (Nasdaq: KLAC), KT Corp. (NYSE: KT), LaserCard (Nasdaq: LCRD), Libbey (AMEX: LBY), Life Technologies (Nasdaq: LIFE), Linn Energy (Nasdaq: LINE), Lithia Motors (NYSE: LAD), LKQ Corp. (Nasdaq: LKQX), LodgeNet Interactive (Nasdaq: LNET), Lubrizol (NYSE: LZ), Macatawa Bank (Nasdaq: MCBC), Mack-Cali Realty (NYSE: CLI), Magellan Health (Nasdaq: MGLN), MarineMax (NYSE: HZO), Maxim Integrated (Nasdaq: MXIM), MaxLinear (NYSE: MXL), Maxwell Technologies (Nasdaq: MXWL), McAfee (NYSE: MFE), MDC Partners (Nasdaq: MDCA), Mead Johnson (NYSE: MJN), MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE: WFR), Meredith Corp. (NYSE: MDP), MetLife (NYSE: MET), Microtune (Nasdaq: TUNE), Minerals Technologies (NYSE: MTX), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (NYSE: MTU), Modine Manufacturing (NYSE: MOD), Monster World Wide (NYSE: MWW), Moody's (NYSE: MCO), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), MWI Veterinary Supply (Nasdaq: MWIV), National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV), National Penn Bancshares (Nasdaq: NPBC), Natus Medical (Nasdaq: BABY), Navigant Consulting (NYSE: NCI), Navios Maritime Acquisition (NYSE: NNA), NEI (Nasdaq: NENG), Neogenomics (Nasdaq: NGNM), Network Equipment Technologies (Nasdaq: NWK), Neutral Tandem (Nasdaq: TNDM), Nevada Gold & Casinos (AMEX: UWN), Newpark Resources (NYSE: NR), NII Holdings (Nasdaq: NIHD), NMT Medical (Nasdaq: NMTI), Noble Energy (NYSE: NBL), Northwestern (NYSE: NWE), Novamed (Nasdaq: NOVA), NTT DoCoMo (NYSE: DCM), NutriSystem (Nasdaq: NTRI), Occam Networks (Nasdaq: OCNW), Oclaro (Nasdaq: OCLR), On Assignment (Nasdaq: ASGN), Pactiv (NYSE: PTV), Palomar Medical (Nasdaq: PMTI), Panasonic (NYSE: PC), Patterson-UTI Energy (Nasdaq: PTEN), PDF Solutions (Nasdaq: PDFS), Penske Automotive (NYSE: PAG), Pentair (NYSE: PNR), Performance Technologies (Nasdaq: PTIX), Pinnacle Entertainment (NYSE: PNK), Planar Systems (Nasdaq: PLNR), Portfolio Recovery Associates (Nasdaq: PRAA), Potash Corp. (NYSE: POT), Potlatch (NYSE: PCH), Power-One (Nasdaq: PWER), Preferred Bank (Nasdaq: PFBC), Pride Int'l (NYSE: PDE), Provident Financial (Nasdaq: PROV), Quest Software (Nasdaq: QSFT), Quidel (Nasdaq: QDEL), RadioShack (NYSE: RSH), Rayonier (NYSE: RYN), Raytheon (NYSE: RTN), RealNetworks (Nasdaq: RNWK), Rediff.com (Nasdaq: REDF), Reed Elsevier (NYSE: RUK), Regal Entertainment (NYSE: RGC), Reliv Int'l (Nasdaq: RELV), Repsol (NYSE: REP), Republic Services (NYSE: RSG), Revlon (NYSE: REV), Rochester Medical (Nasdaq: ROCM), Rovi (Nasdaq: ROVI), Ruddick (NYSE: RDK), Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE: SFE), Saia (Nasdaq: SAIA), Sally Beauty (NYSE: SBH), Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY), SCANA (NYSE: SCG), Siemens (NYSE: SI), Sierra Wireless (Nasdaq: SWIR), Silicon Motion Technology (Nasdaq: SIMO), Sonic Automotive (NYSE: SAH), Sony (NYSE: SNE), Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), Stamps.com (Nasdaq: STMP), Standard Pacific (NYSE: SPF), StarTek (NYSE: SRT), State Auto Financial (Nasdaq: STFC), Statoil (NYSE: STO), Steven Madden (Nasdaq: SHOO), Stewart Information Services (NYSE: STC), Strayer Education (Nasdaq: STRA), Sturm Ruger (NYSE: RGR), Sun Healthcare (Nasdaq: SUNH), Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU), Sunoco (NYSE: SUN), Support.com (Nasdaq: SPRT), SureWest Communications (Nasdaq: SURW), Synaptics (Nasdaq: SYNA), Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM), TAL International Group (NYSE: TAL), Talecris Biotherapeutics (Nasdaq: TLCR), Taylor Capital (Nasdaq: TAYC), Tele Norte Celular (NYSE: TCN), Telecommuncations Systems (Nasdaq: TSYS), Teledyne (NYSE: TDY), Telefonica SA (NYSE: TEF), Telemar (NYSE: TNE), Telenav (Nasdaq: TNAV), Tennant (NYSE: TNC), Tenneco (NYSE: TEN), Tessera Technologies (Nasdaq: TSRA), The Advisory Board (Nasdaq: ABCO), The Brinks Co. (NYSE: BCO), McClatchy (NYSE: MNI), The PMI Group (NYSE: PMI), Timken (NYSE: TKR), Thermadyne (Nasdaq: THMD), Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI), Thoratec (Nasdaq: THOR), TomoTherapy (Nasdaq: TOMO), Town Sports Int'l (Nasdaq: CLUB), TransAlta (NYSE: TAC), TransCanada (NYSE: TRP), Transcend Services (Nasdaq: TRCR), TranSwitch (Nasdaq: TXCCD), Tree.com (Nasdaq: TREE), Trident Microsystems (Nasdaq: TRID), Trinity Biotech (Nasdaq: TRIB), Tyco Int'l (NYSE: TYC), Ultralife (Nasdaq: ULBI), Unifi (NYSE: UFI), United Stationers (Nasdaq: USTR), Valassis Communications (NYSE: VCI), Vale SA (Nasdaq: VALE), Varian Semiconductor (Nasdaq: VSEA), Ventas (NYSE: VTR), Volcom (Nasdaq: VLCM), Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (NYSE: WRE), Waste Management (NYSE: WM), Wayside Technology (Nasdaq: WSTG), Williams Cos. (NYSE: WMB), Williams Partners (NYSE: WPZ), Wisconsin Energy (NYSE: WEC), WPCS Int'l (Nasdaq: WPCS), Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) and Zoll Medical (Nasdaq: ZOLL).



Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.