Friday, April 2, 2010

"What do the Markets Like About the Jobs Report?" and "Why is it Moving the Dollar?"

Typing the headline I couldn't help remembering an old cartoon:
"Where are we going and why are we in this handbasket?"
A twofer from MarketBeat:
So despite the headline number disappointment, the markets seem to be pretty pleased that the entire report was not based on Census hiring. “Private employment was up 123K. The market was concentrating on this number [excluding government workers] (given census worker distortions), and the private employment was significantly better than expected,” wrote Alan Ruskin of RBS....MORE
Jobs Report: Why is it Moving the Dollar?
While stocks won’t be trading Friday due to the Good Friday holiday, the global currency markets are still on the move. And on that count, the dollar caught a favorable bit of momentum on the jobs report, strengthening against the euro, the British pound and the yen. Brown Brothers Harriman currency strategist Marc Chandler offers his two cents...MORE