Investors spent most of last week waiting for the August employment report to be released and, when it finally arrived, it proved to be a disappointment. Payrolls in the month rose by just 96,000 and a growing number of people have exited the job market because they can't find work. Despite the anemic employment news the stock market held on to the big gains on Thursday and finished the week with a solid move to the upside. The Dow Industrials rose 1.65 percent and the blue chip index is just 6.1 percent below an all-time high. Put together three more weeks like the past one and the Dow will be back above the 14,164 level hit on Oct. 9, 2007.
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This week the waiting game will focus on the two-day meeting of the Fed's open market committee on Wednesday and Thursday. There are plenty of rumors circulating about what Bernanke and his buddies will or won't do, but we'll find out at 9:30 a.m., Pacific Time, on Thursday. That's when the Fed will issue a statement about the outcome of the meeting and any new steps to shore up the economy. Then, at 11 a.m., Pacific Time, Bernanke will hold a press conference to discuss the Fed announcement. This should be interesting. Almost every time there is a Fed announcement due out the markets get all excited and filled with anticipation. About 90 percent of the time it winds up being a non-event. We'll see what happens this time.
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It will be a somber day on Wall Street tomorrow as it observes the anniversary of the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The trading floor at the NYSE will pause for a minute of silence at 9:25 a.m., Eastern Time, the moment the first plane crashed into the towers at the World Trade Center. That will be followed by the opening bell with representatives from MyGoodDeed, a nonprofit group that organizes the annual 9/11 Day Observance. The proximity of the NYSE to the site where the towers once stood is eerie and is a reminder of the true intent of the attackers -- to bring the U.S. economy to a complete halt. It is scary how close they came to succeed. Few people acknowledge that, even today, we are still feeling the effects of those frightening events. I watched several programs on the History Channel and National Geographic this weekend about the events of 9/11 and they served as a reminder of how horrible things were that day and in the days that followed. To this day, the first thing I do each morning when I wake is turn on the news and hold my breath in anticipation another attack has occurred.
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The Conference Board reported this morning its Employment Trends Index rose in August as fewer people said jobs were hard to find and more employers were having a hard time filing job openings. Of course, the group's economist found a way to put a negative spin on the good news. "Despite this month's rise, the index has barely increased since February, suggesting that slow job growth will continue in the short-term," said Gad Levanon.
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Rory McIlroy can now lay claim to the title of best golfer in the world. He won his fourth title of the year this past weekend -- and second tournament in a row -- at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Indiana. Rory edged out Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood -- who played just good enough to lose, again -- by two strokes. Tiger Woods was close by, too, just three strokes behind McIlroy. The pros take a week off now before the final round of the FedEx Cup where the winner picks up a cool $10 million.
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It seems hardly a day goes by without some company announcing a new smartphone or tablet device. The honor today goes to Toys 'R' Us with the new Tabeo, a tablet targeted to youngsters. The tablet comes with 50 pre-installed apps that were "carefully selected to entertain and educate children." The Tabeo is priced at $149 and will be available exclusively at Toys 'R' Us stores in October, although shoppers can pre-order the device online. The idea is to avoid the problem that other products have experienced where shoppers go into stores to test devices and then go online to finds the best deals. The Tabeo also allows parents to control the content available to children using the tablet.
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