This post provides links to a number of interesting articles I have read over the past few days that you may also enjoy.

• Economist.com: Jobs gloom, with glimmers, November 6, 2009. America’s jobless rate passes 10% but the job market should start to improve soon.

• Paul Krugman (The New York Times): Why not a WPA? November 6, 2009. A question I’m occasionally asked at public events is, why aren’t we creating jobs with a WPA-type program? It’s a very good question. As it is, job-creation efforts are generally indirect. Tax cuts and transfers in the hope that people will spend them; aid to state governments in the hope of averting layoffs. Even infrastructure spending is routed through private contractors. You can make a pretty good case that just employing a lot of people directly would be a lot more cost-effective.

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The video clips below provide a handy summary of the reports expected on the economic, financial and corporate front around the globe during the week ahead.

US: Retailers, health care

There still are 60 S&P companies left to report earnings, but markets will kick off against a backdrop of weaker jobs and mixed data. Major retail names will release results, and there’s also key legislation from Capitol Hill.

Europe: Barclays, Vodafone, A-B InBev

As telecom operators report results, Spain will be one of the main markets investors focus on. Barclays and A-B InBev also will report third-quarter results.

Asia: Economic data front and center

Chinese economic data will be front and center in Asia. Beijing will report inflation and trade

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Avnet, Inc. (AVT) recently reported revenues of $4.36 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, down 3.1% from a year ago. Excluding the negative impact of foreign currency exchange rates, revenues declined 0.6%.

Management stated that the impact of global slowdown led to the year-over-year decline, but the business environment is improving.

On a segment basis, Electronics Marketing (EM) sales came in at $2.44 billion, down 9.8% year over year (down 8.0% when adjusted to exclude the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates). The rate of revenue decline moderated in the reported quarter and management is encouraged by pace of bookings for this segment in recent months.

Technology Solutions (TS) generated sales of $1.92 billion, up 6.9% year over year (up 10.5% when adjusted to exclude the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates), driven by growth in Americas and Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA).

The company

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Millipore Corp. (MIL) reported third-quarter earnings per share of 71 cents, well below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 93 cents per share.

Revenues for the third quarter grew 4% from the previous year, totaling $412 million. Excluding a 3% unfavorable impact from changes in foreign currency, Millipore generated organic revenue growth of 7%. On a divisional basis, excluding changes in foreign currency, Millipore’s Bioprocess Division generated organic revenue growth of  8%, while the company’s Bioscience Division generated organic revenue growth of 4% from the previous year. In the Americas, revenue grew by 4% year over year while Asia recorded a 16% growth in revenues when compared to a similar period.

Bioprocess Division is sustaining its strong momentum and generating very attractive growth. The division’s performance has returned to tracking the strong fundamentals of the biotech industry and there was also an additional benefit of an increase in vaccine productions. The

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Apparently U.N. inspectors have found 'nothing to be worried about' upon their first examination of the formerly clandestine uranium enrichment site in Qom in Iran.  'The [Obama] administration must consider whether it makes sense to grant the regime two more months of grace' says an op-ed in the Washington Post.  'Prospects for a breakthrough with Iran have narrowed dramatically since a high-level meeting in Geneva on Oct. 1', the paper adds, quoting a senior European diplomat.  Good news for Nord Stream - after considerable environmental concerns, it has received approval from both Finland and Sweden.  The construction of the Russia-Germany pipeline could spell the demise of Ukraine as a transit country, suggests the Wall Street Journal.   Lukoil has lost out on initial rights to develop Iraq's much-coveted West Qurna field, with an an Exxon ...

Nu Skin Enterprises (NUS) recently posted record results for the third quarter. Earnings per share of 41 cents topped the previous year's 26 cents and matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenue was a record $334.2 million, an increase of 8% year-over-year.

Company Description

Nu Skin Enterprises is a $1 billion direct selling company that markets and distributes premium quality personal care, nutrition and technology products through a global network of more than 750,000 active independent distributors and preferred customers. The company operates three core brands, Nu Skin, Pharmanex, and Big Planet.

The Nu Skin brand has a line of more than 100 premium skin treatment and other personal care products. With a team of more than 100 in-house scientists, Pharmanex uses a pharmaceutical approach that is setting the standard for the dietary supplement industry. Big Planet brings the benefits of technology to everyone with innovative products like Maxvault, a line

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OUTLOOK The improving economic scene, both here in the U.S. as well as worldwide, is the main driver of the current oil rally that has seen the commodity settling around the $80 per barrel level. But high levels of product inventories (particularly gasoline), along with still higher supplies, will limit any sustained crude gains, in our view. But way too many factors weigh on oil prices, from OPEC decisions and geostrategic tensions to the value of the U.S. dollar and seasonal variables, to definitively size up each one of them for their respective impact on prices.  In its latest release, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a less-than-anticipated increase in crude stockpiles, which rose by 800,000 barrels for the week ending October 23. However, current crude oil stocks, at 339.9 million barrels, still remain 9% above the year-earlier level as well as above the upper limit ...

Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) reported third quarter earnings that beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 32 cents. Fully diluted pro forma earnings per share (EPS) were $1.01, compared to 83 cents in the June quarter and 88 cents in the comparable prior-year quarter. The pro forma number excludes a foreign currency gain in the last quarter. Revenue Revenue of $781 million was up 16.8% sequentially and down 10.2% year over year. Both volumes and ASPs contributed to the sequential revenue increase in the last quarter. Total units increased 4.1% sequentially to 3.87 million, while the blended average selling price (ASP) increased 12.2% to $202.08. Strength was broad-based across geographies. North America contributed 64% of quarterly revenue (up 15.2% sequentially), Europe 30% (up 20.8%), while Asia accounted for the balance (up 13.7%). Although the company usually enjoys better pricing in Europe, the price differential between North America ...

Microchip Technology Inc.’s (MCHP) second-quarter earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2 cents. Revenues beat the consensus by 3.8%. Both revenues and EPS were significantly better than the guidance provided by management.   Revenues   Revenues of $226.7 million was up 17.5% sequentially and down 16% year over year. Revenues came in over the high-end of management’s guidance range of 206-214 million.   The microcontroller segment did extremely well in the last quarter, with all the three categories (8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit) growing very strongly on a sequential basis. Flash microcontrollers made up the bulk of the shipments in the last quarter. Associated application development systems also did extremely well, with 38,806 units sold, a record for the company. The segment generated over 81% of revenues in the last quarter.   The memory business (mainly serial EEPROMs that support the microcontroller business) was up double-digits on a ...

News Corp. (NWS) recently reported its first quarter results. Earnings of 22 cents a share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 17 cents and climbed 10% from 20 cents posted in the prior-year quarter.   Total revenues tumbled 4.1% year on year to $7,199 million due to fall in Television (down 7.7%), Direct Broadcast Satellite Television (down 4.3%), Newspapers and Information Services (down 17.7%), Book Publishing (down 1.6%) and Other (down 44.4%) segments, offset by rise in Filmed Entertainment (up 20.8%), Cable Network Programming (up 10.5%) and Integrated Marketing Services (up 3.1%) segments.   However, significant cost-cutting initiatives taken by management and robust performance at Filmed Entertainment and Cable Network Programming segments have boosted the operating income by 9.3% to $1,042 million. Management expects fiscal 2010 operating income to increase within a high-single digit to low double-digit percentage range.   Filmed Entertainment posted a record first quarter operating ...