Jobs Jobs Jobs

Only one thing mattered this morning and that was jobs, jobs, jobs. As it turned out, the US economy did not lose as many jobs as economists expected. The private sector created 67,000 jobs last month while the prior month was revised upward to 107,000 from 71,000. Overall 54,000 jobs, including the public sector, were lost versus expectations of 100,000. On the news, European and Asian markets finished the week on a strong note, while North American stock indexes look to do the same. Another piece of positive economic news is shipments are rising again at US trucking companies, signaling the economic recovery remains intact. The 'Cass Shipments Index' rose 8.3% in August from the prior month, the second highest reading in two years.

On the other side of the economic fence was a disappointing ISM Non-Manufacturing report, showing the US service economy growing at a slower pace; The number came in at 51.5 versus expectations of 53.5. The August number is the lowest since January, but still indicates growth. The index bottomed at 37.2 in November 2008. While the news initially took some of the steam out of stocks, North American indexes look to keep their winning streak alive.
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