US stock advanced for the third consecutive session on Thursday, helped by a rebound in overseas markets even as continuing weakness in the job market kept investors on a wait-and-watch mode.  Financials showed strength after American International Group said it expects to repay the bailout loans.  Stocks remained under pressure in the early trading but drifted higher through the afternoon as investors, encouraged by a positive reading on manufacturing front, chose to hunt for bargains.  However, volume remained light.   

US stock futures rose moderately Friday, pointing to a higher open on Wall Street as investors turn their focus towards Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke who speaks at the Jackson Hole conference.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 71 points, or 0.8% and the S&P 500 index added 11 points, or 1.1%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) rose 20 points, or 1%.  On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing stocks beat

With U.S. employers cutting fewer jobs in April and banks' stress test results throwing up less-than-expected surprises, U.S. stocks advanced helping S&P 500 erase this year's losses and tech-heavy Nasdaq recorded its ninth straight weekly gain.  Reassuring signs emerging from the employment front indicated the economy is starting to find its footing as even a $75 billion deficit in capital failed to deter investors.  Stock buyers helped broad-based S&P 500 end the week 5.9% higher - the index is up 37% from a 12-year low hit on March 9. During the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 362.24 points, or 4.4%, to 8,574.65. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a measure of market volatility, declined 9.2% to 32.05. Volume on the NYSE was a heavy 1.9 billion as advancing issues outpacing declining stocks by a five-to-one margin. Among S&P sector groupings, financials were the leading gainers

Massive unemployment? No problem! Adam Lass of the Taipan Publishing Group says that no one is buying luxury goods right now but he gives us two puts in the retail sector that are playing out well during the crisis.

He also shares a British health care conglomerate that provides aid for troubled times and “sells even better when folks are broke.”

This from Adam:

Buy into Eastern Europe’s depression or just make 114% on ours: It’s your shot to call.

In case you hadn’t noticed, retail is in a bit of a pickle these days. The Conference Board’s latest consumer poll puts their Confidence Index down another 12.4 points, to yet another all-time low at 25.

Keeping in mind that anything below 50 is considered bad, I’d have to say that a score of half that ought to be considered really bad.

No shock there, I suppose,

Stocks were surprising resilient yesterday and even with the Dow tumbling 99.66 at one point during the trading day on concerns over Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE), stocks were able to recover somewhat, with the Dow closing at 11,430.21, up 12.78 while the S&P 500 closed at 1277.72 +3.18. The Nasdaq did suffer a modest loss, closing the day at 2380.38, down 8.7 points.

The recovery in stocks was something of a surprise as oil for September delivery was up 4.8 percent on the day Thursday, closing at $121.18, up $5.62, the biggest one-day increase since June. With no major bullish news out of the stock market during the trading day, we should have seen a major move to the upside in oil and commodity stocks and equity shares moving to the downside.

With nothing slated on the economic calendar for today, 08/22/08 and Ann Taylor (ANN) the only