Dow Industrials Down

Today's Coffee covers more employment data, the Productivity and Costs Report, and international, corporate and Washington drivers. The Dow is down 2.5% at the hour of publishing, mostly on concerns over Europe.

"The Greek" earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. While writing for Wall Street Greek and others, he presciently predicted the financial crisis and housing and banking failures of the Great Recession. Visit the front pages of Wall Street Greek now to see our current coverage of business news, global financial markets, real estate, shipping, fine art, technical analysis and global affairs.

(Tickers: NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, NYSE: QLD, Nasdaq: NDAQ, NYSE: ICE, NYSE: NYX)

Dow Industrials Down

Elections today in the United Kingdom may offer more than just a new Prime Minister. The final tally may offer insight into earth-moving change that seems set to spread over the whole of Europe. Radical representation has already been gaining more space in governments within the European frame. The success of UK Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg is but another reference point for European leaders to use in ensuring their policies do not damage the political stability of Europe. Angela Merkel faces the next challenge. So you would think the least ECB Chief Jean-Claude Trichet could do today would be to cut the target rate. Well, he did not. Also, GDP expectations were revised lower for Europe, and as the Greek Parliament votes on new austerity measures, Greeks are planning more defiance.

US Economic Data

Retail Chain Store Sales

If you have been reading The Greek, then you should not have been surprised to learn that the earlier falling of Easter this year hampered April's same-store sales. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers Index of 30 retailers, same-store sales rose 0.8 percent, versus a 2.7 percent decline a year ago. April's modest gain followed a 9 percent rise in March that benefited from the earlier Easter by as much as 5 percentage points. For the March and April months combined, the index rose 4.9 percent, which was higher than the average pace of 4.1 percent since January.

Results were somewhat mixed against expectations, so that retailers are adjusting guidance today in both directions. Still, several retailers reported a price-giving atmosphere, where discounting was not employed as much as recent times. Those shops, including Target (NYSE: TGT), Gap (NYSE: GPS), J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) and Macy's (NYSE: M), are raising estimates today.

The biggest winners were again found in discount operators, while teen retailers fared poorly.

• Costco (Nasdaq: COST): +11%
• BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ): +4.6%
• Target: -5.9% (+3.0% March-April)
• Macy's: +1.1%
• J.C. Penney: -3.3%
• Gap: -3%
• Saks (NYSE: SKS): +3.2%
• Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN): +7.5%
• Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF): -7%
• American Eagle (NYSE: AEO): -6%
  

Weekly Jobless Claims

Weekly Jobless Claims have stuck around the same mark for quite some time, and the latest data did not stray. New unemployment benefit filers amounted to 444K in the period ended May 1. The result measured 7K short of last week's revised count of 451K. The four-week moving avergae tells the story best, as the figure stood at 458,500. Insured unemployment stuck at 3.6% again this week, which is of no aid to the down Dow Industrials today.

We share the Department of Labor data that follows for those of you interested in regional conditions. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending April 17 were in Alaska (6.6 percent), Puerto Rico (6.0), Oregon (5.8), Nevada (5.1), Wisconsin (5.1), California (5.0), Michigan (4.9), Montana (4.9), Pennsylvania (4.9), Idaho (4.7), and North Carolina (4.7).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 24 were in California (+6,418), Massachusetts (+4,526), Oregon (+3,117), Kentucky (+1,800), and Louisiana (+993), while the largest decreases were in Florida (-2,766), North Carolina (-2,650), New York (-2,601), Wisconsin (-2,522), and Georgia (-2,197).

Online Job Demand

One labor metric that has improved steadily has been the Monster Worldwide (NYSE: MWW) Employment Index (MEI). The MEI tallies online job demand, and it improved by 8 points in April, to 133, from 125. The MEI is up 16.7% from January.

Monster Worldwide said 27 of 28 major metro markets saw increases in online job demand. Growth was truly broad-based, as 17 of 20 measured industry sectors and 21 of 23 occupational categories measured posted increased online job availability. Increased demand for basic materials drove hiring in mining and raw materials industries. Monster also noted improvement in retail and construction, yes that space where ADP reported a sad state of affairs just yesterday. Monster noted one of the same soft-spots seen in ADP data though; the public sector, where tight budgets have municipalities laying off employees.

Productivity & Costs Report

First Quarter Nonfarm Productivity increased 3.6% in the first quarter, versus economists' expectations for a 2.6% gain. The market anticipated a slower pace than Q4's 6.9% increase, so the higher result than forecast was decidedly good news. GDP growth eased in Q1, to 3.2%, offering a forewarning of this data. As productivity rises, Unit Labor Costs decrease. Unit Labor Costs came down by 1.6% in Q1, versus versus 5.9% in Q4. The best news was perhaps found in the hours worked data, since it seems to us investors need to see improvement in labor conditions before rewarding stocks further. The manufacturing sector posted a 4.9% increase in hours worked, the first increase since Q2 2007. Overall, hours increased by 0.8% in Q1.

Washington Drivers

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke addressed the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank's 46th Annual Conference on Bank Structure in the early morning. Former Treasury Chief Hank Paulson and Bear Stearns boss Jimmy Cayne testified before the Financial Crisis Commission. Toyota Motors' (NYSE: TM) US sales chief testified before a House subcommittee.

Natural Gas Inventory

For the period ended April 30, natural gas stores increased by 83 Bcf, the same as the week before. Nat Gas inventory stood 315 Bcf above the five-year average for this time of year.

Corporate News Drivers

Genzyme (Nasdaq: GENZ) is meeting with analysts, while Verizon (NYSE: VZ) holds its annual shareholder meeting. GE (NYSE: GE) CEO Jeffrey Immelt is addresing an audience at New York's 92nd Street YMCA. Questcor Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: QCOR) gets news from the FDA on its spasm treatment.

The day's corporate earnings schedule includes news from AAON (Nasdaq: AAON), Abovenet Inc. (Nasdaq: ABVT), Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), AGA Medical (Nasdaq: AGAM), Airgas (NYSE: ARG), Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK), Allied Healthcare (Nasdaq: AHCI), American Italian Pasta (Nasdaq: AIPC), American Pacific (Nasdaq: APFC), American Public Education (Nasdaq: APEI), American States Water (NYSE: AWR), Arch Chemicals (NYSE: ARJ), ARIAD Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ARIA), Aspen Technology (Nasdaq: AZPN), Asta Funding (Nasdaq: ASFI), Atlas Energy (Nasdaq: ATLS), Avista (NYSE: AVA), Bebe Stores (Nasdaq: BEBE), Big 5 Sporting Goods (Nasdaq: BGFV), BigBand Networks (Nasdaq: BBND), Biovail (NYSE: BVF), Black Hills (NYSE: BKH), Blue Nile (Nasdaq: NILE), BlueLinx (NYSE: BXC), BNP Paribus (BNP.PA), Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM), Brookfield Properties (NYSE: BPO), Brooks Automation (Nasdaq: BRKS), Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), Cadence Pharma (Nasdaq: CADX), CalAmp (Nasdaq: CAMP), California Pizza Kitchen (Nasdaq: CPKI), CareFusion (NYSE: CFN), CEC Entertainment (NYSE: CEC), Cedar Fair (NYSE: FUN), China Automotive (Nasdaq: CAAS), Chyron (Nasdaq: CHYR), CIGNA (NYSE: CI), Cincinnati Bell (NYSE: CBB), Cinemark (NYSE: CNK), Cogent Communications (Nasdaq: CCOI), Columbia Labs (Nasdaq: CBRX), COMFORCE (NYSE: CFS), Consolidated Edision (NYSE: ED), Crocs (Nasdaq: CROX), Curis (Nasdaq: CRIS), Delek US Holdings (NYSE: DK), Denbury Resources (NYSE: DNR), Diodes (Nasdaq: DIOD), DirecTV (NYSE: DTV), Dockwise (Nasdaq: DOCK), Dot Hill (Nasdaq: HILL), Dr. Pepper Snapple (NYSE: DPS), Dr. Reddy's (NYSE: RDY), Eagle Bulk Shipping (Nasdaq: EGLE), Echelon (Nasdaq: ELON), Einstein Noah (Nasdaq: BAGL), El Paso (NYSE: EP), Elizabeth Arden (Nasdaq: RDEN), Fifth Street Finance (NYSE: FSC), Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG), Fuel Systems Solutions (Nasdaq: FSYS), Gentiva Health (Nasdaq: GTIV), GNC Corp. (NYSE: GNC), Graphic Packaging (NYSE: GPK), Hansen Natural (Nasdaq: HANS), Hercules Technology Growth Capital (Nasdaq: HTGC), Hewitt Associates (NYSE: HEW), Hillenbrand (NYSE: HI), Holly (NYSE: HOC), Home Properties (NYSE: HME), Hornbeck Offshore (NYSE: HOS), Hyatt Hotels (NYSE: H), Insmed (Nasdaq: INSM), Inuvo (Nasdaq: INUV), Kaman Corp. (Nasdaq: KAMN), Koppers (NYSE: KOP), Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT), K-Swiss (Nasdaq: KSWS), Kulicke & Soffa (Nasdaq: KLIC), Lamar Advertising (Nasdaq: LAMR), Leap Wireless (Nasdaq: LEAP), Lear (NYSE: LEA), Level 3 Communications (Nasdaq: LVLT), Lifetime Brands (Nasdaq: LCUT), Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ), Magna Int'l (NYSE: MGA), Markel (NYSE: MKL), MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS), MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM), Michael Baker (NYSE: BKR), Midas (NYSE: MDS), Millipore (NYSE: MIL), Nanometrics (Nasdaq: NANO), National Fuel Gas (NYSE: NFG), NGAS Resources (Nasdaq: NGAS), Northeast Utilities (NYSE: NU), Novatel (Nasdaq: NVTL), Orion Marine (NYSE: ORN), PC Mall (Nasdaq: MALL), PerkinElmber (NYSE: PKI), Pilgrim's Pride (NYSE: PPC), Pioneer Drilling (NYSE: PDC), Playboy (NYSE: PLA), PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL), Precision Castparts (NYSE: PCP), Public Storage (NYSE: PSA), QLT, Inc. (Nasdaq: QLTI), Rangold Resources (Nasdaq: GOLD), RealNetworks (Nasdaq: RNWK), Rosetta Stone (NYSE: RST), Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE: SFE), Sapient (Nasdaq: SAPE), Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE), SCANA (NYSE: SCG), Scientific Games (Nasdaq: SGMS), Scripps Networks (NYSE: SNI), Solera (NYSE: SLH), Sotheby's (NYSE: BID), StarTek (NYSE: SRT), STERIS (NYSE: STE), Superior Well Services (Nasdaq: SWSI), Telecom Italia (NYSE: TI), Teradata (NYSE: TDC), The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE: THG), The Knot (Nasdaq: KNOT), TreeHouse Foods (NYSE: THS), US Physical Therapy (Nasdaq: USPH), Warner Music (NYSE: WMG), World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE), Youbet.com (Nasdaq: UBET) and more.

The Dow Industrials are down, but do try to keep a chin up!



Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.