The first of three jobs reports due this week wasn’t as good as what had been forecast, leaving stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs) trading in a narrow range as investors sort out what it could mean.
Job cuts in November were down for the eighth consecutive month, which is encouraging. But the markets were disappointed that the cuts were not as big as expected, reports Stephen Bernard for the Associated Press. The ADP National Employment Report said 169,000 private sector jobs were lost in November; economists expected 160,000 cuts. The report is seen as a harbinger of Friday’s monthly unemployment from the Labor Department. Economists expect it to remain flat at 10.2%.
The media industry, which has long grumbled about Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) news search finally received a concession from the search giant. Google is going to allow publishers of paid content to limit the number of free articles that can be accessed through the search engine, reports the Associated Press. Publishers can limit users to five articles a day without subscribing. Will it be enough to lift the PowerShares Dynamic Media (NYSEArca: PBS) ETF, though?
Gold prices once again hit another record this morning, touching on $1,216.75 an ounce in Europe. Investors were betting on higher prices due to weakness of the dollar and more buying by central banks, says Jan Harvey for Reuters. The dollar is steady so far today, but investors believe that low interest rates and a growing desire for risk will push the currency lower. ETFS Gold Trust (NYSEArca: SGOL) is up about 1.5% today. (Metal ETF opportunities).
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