The Trading Day

GREEK FACTOR: MODERATELY POSITIVE

Stock futures had already turned green before the jobs report, after overseas markets reacted to the 4.3% decline in the Dow marked on Thursday. When the Employment Report hit the wire, it offered relief more than anything else, as the numbers were generally better than expected, with the usual caveats and questions. Despite the declines in indexes overseas, I see global stresses generally eased Friday, and given the deep decline coming into the day, we have assigned a moderately positive Greek Factor to the American trading morning. As the day progresses, the absolute values of the jobs data and reminders of recently weaker economic data should undermine investor confidence heading into the weekend. Whether that drives a green day into the red is uncertain here.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

The Trading Day

Employment Situation Report

Greek Factor: Positive

Relative to expectations, July’s Employment Situation Report was mostly positive, however, on an absolute basis, the figures remain deeply depressing. Given that the market has given up so much ground through the week, this report seems to lend to stabilization, if not buying.

Nonfarm Payrolls increased by 117K in July, better than the 75K tally of expectations taken by Bloomberg. Private payrolls also rose better than expected, increasing by 154K, against expectations for 108K. The private sector figure exceeded the high end of the economists’ range in fact, which was set at 150K. The market should also be enthused Friday by positive revisions to June’s payroll data. June payrolls were revised to +46K, up from the initially reported +18K. June’s private payrolls were ratcheted up to 80K from the 57K initially reported.

The Unemployment Rate improved in July to 9.1%, from June’s 9.2%. The result was within the range of expectations, but beat the consensus set at 9.2%. This is another positive data-point, except for skepticism around the result, given the labor participation rate fell. In the end, market enthusiasm may fizzle as the absolute values are understood as still weak enough given recently softer economic data that could lead to deterioration in labor.

We’ll have a more detailed analysis of the ESR in a follow up article.

Monster Employment Index

Greek Factor: Neutral

Monster World Wide (NYSE: MWW) published its Monster Employment Index (MEI) this morning for the month of July. The MEI is a measure of online job demand, and so, as should have been expected, it indicated a deteriorated situation last month. The MEI dropped 2 points when measured against June, falling to a mark of 144. The mark was still 4% better than last July’s 138 record, and that made 18 consecutive months of year-over-year improvement. Monster attributed the monthly decline to seasonal weakness, indicating it was in line with its expectations. All metro markets measured showed year-over-year improvement. The data-point is not widely followed nor assigned great weight by the market, and so its modestly positive news should have no effect on trading today given more important data released elsewhere.

CONSUMER CREDIT

Data on Tap for 3:00 PM EDT

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg are looking for credit expansion of $5.0 billion for June, following May’s expansion of $5.1 billion. Credit has been expanding for more than a year now, which is a good sign for consumer strength and speaks to expanding bank willingness to extend credit.

OVERSEAS MARKETS

Greek Factor: Neutral

Global markets declined Friday before the U.S. opened, following Thursday’s steep drop in the U.S., with the Dow shedding 4.3%. Some good news was found in easing pressure on Italian and Spanish credit spreads after a rather rough week. It’s best not to read too much into the deep drops across the major global markets, as they simply reflect US trading from Thursday. Global markets mostly follow the lead of the important US market on deep down days.

Global Markets

INDEX	VALUE	CHANGE	% CHANGE	TIME
FTSE 100 INDEX	5,288.53	-104.61	-1.94%	08:05
DAX INDEX	6,321.34	-93.42	-1.46%	08:06
NIKKEI 225	9,299.88	-359.30	-3.72%	02:28

CORPORATE EARNINGS SCHEDULE

Company

AboveNet Inc (Nasdaq: ABVT)

ACSM-AGAM SpA (ACS.MI)

Advanced Card Systems Holdings Ltd (8210.HK)

Aercap Hldg NV (NYSE: AER)

AES Corp (NYSE: AES)

Allianz SE (ALV.DE)

Ampliphi Biosciences Corp (OTC: APHB.PK)

Apco Oil and Gas International Inc (Nasdaq: APAGF)

Arbor Realty Trust Inc (NYSE: ABR)

Arch Chemicals Inc (NYSE: ARJ)

Arseus NV (RCUS.BR)

Artesian Resources Corp (Nasdaq: ARTNA)

Ascent Solar Technologies Inc (Nasdaq: ASTI)

AspenBio Pharma Inc (Nasdaq: APPYD)

Assicurazioni Generali SpA (G.MI)

Atlantic American Corp (Nasdaq: AAME)

Axcess International Inc (OTC: AXSI.PK)

Banca Finnat Euramerica SpA (BFE.MI)

Bastogi SpA (B.MI)

BBA Aviation plc (BBA.L)

Bcb Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq: BCBP)

Bennett Environmental Inc (BEV.TO)

Biesse SpA (BSS.MI)

Biostar Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq: BSPM)

Birdstep Technology ASA (BIRD.OL)

Bluefly Inc (Nasdaq: BFLY)

Boralex Inc (BLX.TO)

Brammer PLC (BRAM.L)

Broadwind Energy Inc (Nasdaq: BWEN)

Brookfield Office Properties Inc (BPO.TO)

Brookfield Real Estate Services Inc (BRE.TO)

Buckeye Partners LP (NYSE: BPL)

Buongiorno SpA (BNG.MI)

Buzzi Unicem SpA Senza Vincoli Di Rappresentazione Grafica (BZU.MI)

Cadiz Inc (Nasdaq: CDZI)

Capital Southwest Corp (Nasdaq: CSWC)

Cell Biotech Co Ltd (049960.KQ)

Centrale del Latte di Torino & C SpA (CLT.MI)

Cinemark Holdings Inc (NYSE: CNK)

Citizens And Northern Corp (Nasdaq: CZNC)

Companhia Energetica De Sao Paulo (Cesp) (CESP3.SA)

Companhia Energetica do Ceara (COCE3.SA)

Constellation Energy Partners LLC (NYSEArca: CEP)

Corporacion Dermoestetica SA (DERM.MC)

Cowen Group Inc (Nasdaq: COWN)

Crosstex Energy Inc (Nasdaq: XTXI)

Crosstex Energy LP (Nasdaq: XTEX)

Crude Carriers Corp (NYSE: CRU)

CTC Media Inc (Nasdaq: CTCM)

Cubic Corp (NYSE: CUB)

Cumulus Media Inc (Nasdaq: CMLS)

Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq: CYCC)

Denison Mines Corp (DML.TO)

Diana Containerships Inc (Nasdaq: DCIX)

DMX Technologies Group Ltd (5CH.SI)

Dresser Rand Group Inc (NYSE: DRC)

Dril Quip Inc (NYSE: DRQ)

Drillisch AG (DRI.DE)

Duro Felguera SA (MDF.MC)

East Capital Explorer AB (ECEX.ST)

Edgar Online Inc (Nasdaq: EDGR)

Electro Rent Corp (Nasdaq: ELRC)

Emak SpA (EM.MI)

Emera Inc (EMA.TO)

Enbridge Inc (ENB.TO)

Endesa Costanera Sociedad Anonima (CECO2.BA)

Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO)

Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SpA (ENG.MI)

Entorian Technologies Inc (OTC: ENTN.PK)

Erg SpA (ERG.MI)

Esprinet SpA (PRT.MI)

Etablissements Delhaize Freres Et Cie Le Lion SA (DELB.BR)

Evergreen Solar Inc (Nasdaq: ESLR)

Female Health Co (Nasdaq: FHCO)

Flint Energy Services Ltd (FES.TO)

Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (OTC: FRVHF.PK)

Fresenius SE & Co KGaA (FRE.DE)

Gabetti Property Solutions SpA (GAB.MI)

Galapagos NV (GLPG.BR)

Generac Holdings Inc (Nasdaq: GNRC)

General De Alquiler De Maquinaria SA (GALQ.MC)

Genesis Energy LP (NYSE: GEL)

GenMark Diagnostics Inc (Nasdaq: GNMK)

Global Unichip Corp (3443.TW)

GMP Capital Inc (GMP.TO)

Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co Inc (OTC: GAPTQ.PK)

Great Plains Energy Inc (NYSE: GXP)

Green Bankshares Inc (Nasdaq: GRNB)

Grill Concepts Inc (OTC: GLLC.PK)

Halozyme Therapeutics Inc (Nasdaq: HALO)

Helix Biomedix Inc (OTC: HXBM.OB)

Hilltop Holdings Inc (NYSE: HTH)

HollyFrontier Corp (NYSE: HFC)

HOMEQ Corp (HEQ.TO)

Icagen Inc (Nasdaq: ICGN)

Icahn Enterprises LP (NYSE: IEP)

iGate Corp (Nasdaq: IGTE)

IMA Industria Macchine Automatiche SpA (IMA.MI)

Imperial Sugar Co (Nasdaq: IPSU)

Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper Tbk PT (INKP.JK)

Integra Bank Corp (OTC: IBNKQ.PK)

Interline Brands Inc (NYSE: IBI)

International Bancshares Corp (Nasdaq: IBOC)

Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP.MI)

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq: IRWD)

Italmobiliare SpA (ITM.MI)

Itway SpA (ITW.MI)

Kearny Financial Corp (Nasdaq: KRNY)

Kulmbacher Brauerei AG (KUL.MU)

LAB Research Inc (OTC: LSHCF.PK)

Lee Enterprises Inc (NYSE: LEE)

Life Partners Holdings Inc (Nasdaq: LPHI)

Light SA (LIGT3.SA)

Logica PLC (LOG.L)

Magna International Inc (MG.TO)

Manitoba Telecom Services Inc (MBT.TO)

Mediacontech SpA (MCH.MI)

MetroGAS SA (METR.BA)

MFS Technology Ltd (5BM.SI)

MGE Energy Inc (Nasdaq: MGEE)

NASB Financial Inc (Nasdaq: NASB)

National Western Life Insurance Co (Nasdaq: NWLI)

New Century Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq: NCBC)

New Frontier Media Inc (Nasdaq: NOOF)

New Oriental Energy & Chemical Corp (OTC: NOEC.PK)

Newcastle Investment Corp (NYSE: NCT)

Newlead Holdings Ltd (Nasdaq: NEWL)

NN Inc (Nasdaq: NNBR)

Northgate Minerals Corp (NGX.TO)

Northwest Pipe Co (Nasdaq: NWPX)

Norwood Financial Corp (Nasdaq: NWFL)

Novatek Microelectronics Corp (3034.TW)

Novavax Inc (Nasdaq: NVAX)

Old Mutual PLC (OML.L)

Ore Holdings Inc (OTC: ORXE.PK)

Orexigen Therapeutics Inc (Nasdaq: OREX)

Osiris Therapeutics Inc (Nasdaq: OSIR)

OYO Geospace Corp (Nasdaq: OYOG)

Pabrik Kertas Tjiwi Kimia Tbk PT (TKIM.JK)

Panhandle Oil And Gas Inc (NYSE: PHX)

Paradise Co Ltd (034230.KQ)

PC Group Inc (OTC: PCGR.PK)

Pixart Imaging Inc (3227.TWO)

Platinum Capital Ltd (PMC.AX)

Plumas Bancorp (Nasdaq: PLBC)

PMC Commercial Trust (AMEX: PCC)

PNM Resources Inc (NYSE: PNM)

Portland General Electric Co (NYSE: POR)

Power Corp Of Canada (POW.TO)

Power Financial Corp (PWF.TO)

PPL Corp (NYSE: PPL)

Preformed Line Products Co (Nasdaq: PLPC)

Premier Foods PLC (PFD.L)

Presidential Life Corp (Nasdaq: PLFE)

Princeton Review Inc (Nasdaq: REVU)

Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE: PG)

Prudential PLC (PRU.L)

Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd (Nasdaq: QIHU)

Raser Technologies Inc (UA8.F)

Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc (RBA.TO)

Rodman & Renshaw Capital Group Inc (Nasdaq: RODM)

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS.L)

Sadi Servizi Industriali SpA (SSI.MI)

Sartorius AG (SRT.F)

Seaboard Corp (AMEX: SEB)

Searchmedia Holdings Ltd (AMEX: IDI)

Sedona Corp (OTC: SDNA.PK)

Senomyx Inc (Nasdaq: SNMX)

Shanghai International Airport Co Ltd (600009.SS)

Shanxi Xishan Coal And Electricity Power Co Ltd (000983.SZ)

Shenandoah Telecommunications Co (Nasdaq: SHEN)

Silverbirch Energy Corp (SBE.V)

Singapore Land Ltd (S30.SI)

Sirona Dental Systems Inc (Nasdaq: SIRO)

Smith And Nephew Plc (SN.L)

Snc Lavalin Group Inc (SNC.TO)

Societa Cattolica di Assicurazione Sc (CASS.MI)

Sound Global Ltd (E6E.SI)

Southern Union Co (NYSE: SUG)

SP Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq: SPBC)

Springsoft Inc (2473.TW)

Sprott Resource Lending Corp (SIL.TO)

Stanley Gibbons Group Ltd (SGI.L)

Stefanel SpA (STEF.MI)

Stonemor Partners LP (Nasdaq: STON)

Suffolk Bancorp (Nasdaq: SUBK)

Sun-Rype Products Ltd (SRF.TO)

Superior Industries International Inc (NYSE: SUP)

TELUS Corp (T.TO)

Tetra Technologies Inc (NYSE: TTI)

Tianjin Tianlian Public Utilities Co Ltd (8290.HK)

Tipp24 AG (TIM.DE)

Tiscali SpA (TIS.MI)

TMX Group Inc (X.TO)

Tod S SpA (TOD.MI)

Transdel Pharmaceuticals Inc (OTC: TDLPQ.PK)

Trasy Gold Ex Ltd (8063.HK)

TXT e Solutions SpA (TXT.MI)

UMH Properties Inc (AMEX: UMH)

UniTek Global Services Inc (Nasdaq: UNTK)

US Concrete Inc (Nasdaq: USCR)

US Gold Corp (NYSE: UXG)

Viasat Inc (Nasdaq: VSAT)

VisionChina Media Inc (Nasdaq: VISN)

Warner Chilcott Ltd (Nasdaq: WCRX)

Warwick Valley Telephone Co (Nasdaq: WWVY)

Washington Post Co (NYSE: WPO)

Waterstone Financial Inc (Nasdaq: WSBF)

Weight Watchers International Inc (NYSE: WTW)

William Hill PLC (WMH.L)

Willis Lease Finance Corp (Nasdaq: WLFC)

Winbond Electronics Corp (2344.TW)

Windstream Corp (NasdaqGS: WIN)

WOM World Of Medicine AG (WOM.DE)

Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric Co Ltd (3898.HK)

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.