The Labor Department said U.S. employers cut 247,000 non-farm jobs in July, far less than the 320,000 expected and the smallest decline in a year, suggesting the recession was abating. Also, the July unemployment rate eased to 9.4 percent in the prior month, the first time the rate has fallen since April 2008.
Treasurys came under selling pressure, driving yields higher, and the dollar finished the week firmer. In the week ahead, investor focus will be on the Treasury market and dollar as much as the Fed's 2 day meeting midweek and a heavy calendar of economic reports. Retail sales are released Thursday, and there are just a few major earnings reports, including Wal-Mart and several other chain stores.
Although there has been a lot of talk about all the money waiting on the sidelines, possibly coming in to stocks and driving the markets higher, I would expect some kind of pull back before that would happen. There is current speculation that the market could return to 12,000 but I wouldn't expect that to happen until sometime next year at the earliest.
For the coming week, I'll be buying shares of MLP, Markwest Energy Partners LP (MWE) for their 11%+ yield and adding to my stake in AT&T (T) in my IRA account.
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