Initial Jobless Claims printed 500k for the 1st time since mid Nov ’09, were 22k above expectations and up from 488k last week. The 4 week average rose to 483k from 475k, the highest since early Dec ’09. Continuing Claims were 22k below expected and down 13k from the prior week but Extended Benefits rose a net 310k after a 1.33mm rise in the prior week as the extension of unemployment benefits has brought people back on the rolls. Bottom line, the labor market still remains lame as we move thru another jobless recovery. With the Nov elections just 2 1/2 months away, every single economic data point becomes more of an influence and policy cries of ‘Do Something’ will only intensify. Our response to that should be ‘Do Nothing, Less is More.’ The S&P futures went out well below fair value last night so the SPX cash will open much lower than the move this morning in the futures.
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