The U.S. economy lost 190,000 jobs in October, higher than the 175,000 expected. Unemployment rate went up to 10.2%, the highest since 1983. This continued labor market weakness even in the face of an otherwise growing economy (the economy grew 3.5% in the third quarter) remains a major headwind at this stage of the economic cycle.  On the positive side, the number of jobs lost in October was the lowest since August 2008. Also, the previously reported August and September 2009 job loss numbers were revised upwards – a total of 91,000 fewer jobs were lost than originally reported.  The deceleration in job losses is clearly evident in the recent monthly payroll numbers, including this one, indicating that we may be nearing a turnaround in the labor market. My sense is that towards the end of the first quarter or the start of the second quarter of 2010, ...

A drop in the number of newly laid-off workers and upbeat remarks from bellwether Cisco Systems injected confidence about an economic recovery ahead of this morning’s highly expected October jobs report, propelling the Dow average to its first close above 10,000 in two weeks. 

Cisco Systems’ (NASDAQ:CSCO) CEO John Chambers said he now sees a global economic recovery, fueling a rebound in the company’s sales this quarter.  The Dow average jumped 203 points, or 2%, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ, riding high on Cisco’s forecast, bolted up 50 points or about 2.4%. 

All ten S&P 500 industry groups ended in the green, with banking shares advancing 2.6% as analyst Dick Bove of Rochdale Securities noted the group will double by the end of 2010.  Technology shares advanced 2.2%.  Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) jumped 5.4% to $43.85 and Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MCHP) gained 3.9% to $25.37 after it was raised to “buy"

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 6, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Ambercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF), Costco (COST), Target (TGT), Walgreen Co. (WAG) and Rite Aid (RAD).

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Here are highlights from Thursday’s AnalystBlog:

Easy Comps Help Retail Sales

Among teen retailers, Ambercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) posted weaker-than-expected results, with same-store sales down 15%. Among discounters, Costco (COST) had strong numbers, beating expectations; while Target’s (TGT) 0.1% decline was below the flat-results. Walgreen Co. (WAG)

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Easy comparisons and relatively favorable weather helped increase same-store sales in the typically weak month of October for retailers, up 1.8% from the year-earlier level but below the 2% growth expectation. Results for this series, which tracks data for stores open at least a year from 30 major retailers, had come ahead of expectations the last two months. As a result of the financial crisis last fall, conditions were extremely bad in October of last year, when retail sales were down 4.1%. October is typically a weak month for retailers, sandwiched as it is between the active shopping periods of back-to-school and the holiday season. The monthly sales numbers do not include data from Wal-Mart (WMT), which stopped giving monthly sales numbers earlier this year. Results were mixed among the major retail categories, particularly department stores and teen retailers. Sales at Macy’s (M) and ...

Qualsec recently announced that VitaminSpice has secured an agreement with Cabo Foods Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, VitaminSpice’s vitamin-enhanced spices will be introduced to Cabo Foods’ West Coast distribution networks and major retail chains. VitaminSpice is a pioneer in the emerging foodceutical industry selling sells vitamin-, mineral- and antioxidant-infused spices and food products.

As a leading gourmet chip manufacturer, Cabo Foods currently has several high-end retail accounts, including Ralph’s Grocery, Albertsons, Whole Foods Market, Inc. Costco, Henry’s Farmers Market, Mother’s Market & Kitchen and Sprouts. This distribution agreement includes the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas and Utah.

Ed Bukstel, chief executive officer of VitaminSpice, stated, “We are excited to work with Cabo Foods and their innovative line of healthy natural products.” Mr. Bukstel continued, “We should begin to further accelerate our sales with this new arrangement.”

Let us hear your thoughts below:

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 28, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Family Dollar (FDO), Costco (COST), Macy’s (M), JC Penney (JCP) and L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. (LLL).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s AnalystBlog:

Consumer Confidence Crumbles

As for expectations about the future, there are still more people out there who expect things to get better over then next six months rather than deteriorate, but the margin is closing. In October, 20.8% expected to see things get better versus 18.3% who thought things will

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The Conference Boards Index of Consumer Confidence dropped to 47.7 from 53.4 in September. While this is much higher than the readings in the low 20’s earlier this year, it is a very disappointing reading. Both the current situations index, and the expectations for conditions over the next six months dropped. The present situation index fell to 20.7 from 23.0 and now stands at its lowest point since February of 1983, when it hit 17.5. The expectations component had seen a much larger recovery earlier this year, but it dropped from 73.7 last month to 65.7 in October. The number of people who see business as bad increased to 47.1% from 46.3% in September, while the percentage who saw business as good fell to 7.7% from 8.6% in September (where are those 7.7% of people located I wonder -- North Dakota?). The main factor weighing on consumer ...

ProLogis (PLD), a leading global provider of distribution facilities, recently leased about 188,000 square feet of its development portfolio in Japan to global customers, thereby strengthening its position in the market.   About 95,000 square feet were leased to Caterpillar Logistics Services Inc., the logistics division of Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), the world’s largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. The lessee will occupy space at ProLogis Parc Narita III near Tokyo, Japan.   The company has also leased 93,000 square feet at ProLogis Parc Ichikawa I, a distribution facility near Tokyo, to an unnamed global supplier of office products. This is the sixth such leasing agreement with the lessee, who now occupies approximately 1.2 million square feet across the U.S., Mexico and Japan.   ProLogis owns and manages interests in over 2,500 distribution facilities, service offices and properties ...

Consumers are showing a willingness to spend, even as they watch their budgets.

This morning, the Commerce Department said that retailers saw sales rose 0.5% last month, excluding motor vehicles and parts. Furniture & home furnishing stores, health & personal care stores, general merchandise stores and gasoline stations all saw increases of 0.8% or better.

(The hangover from the Cash for Clunkers program resulted in an 11.8% drop in sales at auto dealers. This skewed the overall change in retail sales down to -1.5%.)

The increase may seem surprising given the economic backdrop. After all, unemployment is rising towards 10% and another wave of foreclosures could be forthcoming as adjustable rate mortgages reset. On the other hand, the majority of Americans are employed and the improving economic data is probably giving consumers some confidence, even if the sentiment surveys are less clear.

Plus, the Commerce Department's data is backed up

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Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST), the fifth largest general retailer in the U.S., has reported better-than-expected fourth quarter fiscal 2009 results with net income of $374 million or 85 cents per share, compared to $398 million or 90 cents in the year-earlier quarter. The quarterly earnings well surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 77 cents per share. For fiscal year 2009, net income was $1.09 billion or $2.47 per share compared to $1.28 billion or $2.89 per share in the previous fiscal year. The year-over-year decrease in the fiscal results was primarily due to the continuing softness in the U.S. economy, higher employee benefit costs and negative impact of foreign currency translation. Net sales during the quarter totaled $21.89 billion compared to $22.63 billion in the year-ago quarter, while net sales in fiscal 2009 were $69.89 billion compared to $70.98 billion in fiscal 2008. Although both the ...