ADP excludes government jobs. It's also notoriously volatile and has a history of big misses in forecasting the official Labor Department payroll report. But perhaps most important is that it just doesn't jibe with other recent data points -- or the recovery's pace.
Stocks closed a bit higher after flitting around breakeven on light trading for much of the day. Financials outperformed, while commodities suffered. Treasury bond yields hit their highest intraday level since June. End-of-year strangeness?
Given all that transpired globally over the Thanksgiving weekend, the idea of holding risky assets like stocks should give investors heartburn. Perhaps a strong Black Friday weekend and holiday selling season will draw traders' gazes, but that's no sure shot.
As the market takes a time out for Thanksgiving, we thought it would be a good time to reflect upon some recent good fortune. From corporate earnings to weekly jobless claims, here are six things investors should be thankful for this holiday season.
Not only did new-home sales plunge to a record low in July, the McMansion market saw no activity whatsoever -- for the second month in a row. An economist says the high-end market "is becoming nonexistent."
If you're wondering how corporations can be enjoying a sharp rebound in profits even as the U.S. economic recovery remains so weak, David Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff has your answer: They won't be enjoying it for much longer.
An economic indicator with a perfect 40-year history of predicting recessions just signaled that a double-dip is coming for sure: On Friday, the Economic Cycle Research Institute's Weekly Leading Index growth rate broke below -10%.
So much for the Dow's 2009 high. How good news about jobs became bad news for stocks
