A Modest Proposal

The economy added only 80,000 new jobs to the nation’s nonfarm payrolls in June, according to the Labor Department. Many economists were expecting stronger growth in the jobs market, especially following ADP’s jobs report on Thursday that said private businesses added 176,000 new jobs in June. The Labor Department’s calculation is frequently at odds with ADP’s assessment and can be adjusted in a later report. The unemployment rate remained at 8.2% in June…. Read more:  A modest proposal

Waiting for jobs

New claims for unemployment benefits fell last week by 14,000 to 374,000, the lowest level in six weeks, according to the Labor Department. The four-week moving average of claims edged lower by 1,500 to 385,750. Also, Automatic Data Processing, a firm that processes payrolls for many companies, reported in its monthly announcement that businesses added 176,000 workers to their payrolls in June, a number that exceeded expectations.

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Waiting for jobs

Tablets and the next tech bubble

On the last day of the second quarter, the major indexes tracked global markets sharply higher today after a two-day summit in Brussels resulted in a plan to ease borrowing costs in Europe. The Dow rose 277 points, the Nasdaq gained 85, and the S&P 500 added 33. Twenty-nine of the Dow’s 30 components gained ground, with JPMorgan Chase (JPM) the sole laggard, slipping 0.42%. Volume was moderate, and advancers led decliners by about six to one on both the NYSE and the Nasdaq. The prices of Treasuries fell, while gold futures added 3.4% to $1,604.20 an ounce. Oil futures spiked 9.3% to $84.96 a barrel.

 

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Tablets and the next tech bubble

Supreme Court sustains health care act

The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act. The decision was five to four, with Chief Justice John Roberts voting with four of the court’s more liberal justices. Their ruling found that the law’s controversial “individual mandate” clause, which requires individuals to buy health insurance or pay a fee, is constitutional. The administration called the fee a “penalty,” but the court said today that the fee is not a penalty, which would be unconstitutional, but rather a “tax,” which is constitutional. Wall Street estimated the decision would help hospital companies and insurance companies that focus on Medicaid.

 

 

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Supreme Court sustains health care act