TOP STORIES:
Seemingly terrific April jobs report poses strange puzzle -
(www.marketwatch.com) Funky job reports are not unusual, and the
employment data for April certainly fits the bill. How else to explain the
biggest gain in hiring in more than two years – at the same time the labor
force shrank by the second largest amount in 32 years. Let’s review. The U.S.
added 288,000 jobs in April, the biggest spike since January 2012. The increase
in employment is measured by the so-called establishment survey that quizzes
private firms, government worksites and nonprofit institutions. Yet the size of
the labor force sank by 806,000. That’s the biggest drop since a 848,000 plunge
in October and you have to go all the way back to 1981 to find another
800,000-plus decline. Labor-force changes are measured by the “household”
survey that interviews Americans directly. Typically a shrinkage in the labor
force occurs when people become so discouraged about finding a job that they
give up looking for work. Yet the April surge in hiring would suggest that more
jobs – not fewer – are available.
Boehner
spokesman leaving for insurance group supportive of Obamacare - (www.marketwatch.com)
Brendan Buck, press secretary
for House Speaker John Boehner, is trading Capitol Hill for the health
insurance industry. Buck is joining America’s Health Insurance Plans, or AHIP,
as vice president of communications after more than three years with Ohio Republican
Boehner. Boehner, and House Republicans in general, have long warred against
President Barack Obama’s health-care law, which requires individuals to buy
insurance or pay fines. AHIP, meanwhile, has had a more cooperative
relationship with the law, and has said little critical about it. In
December, for example, health insurers voluntarily extended the deadline for
individuals to pay for insurance policies they choose through the health law.
At the time, AHIP Chief Executive Karen Ignagni said insurers were taking “an
important step to give consumers greater peace of mind about their health-care
coverage.”
It's
Policy to Kick Elderly Folks Out On The Street Rather Than – (www.ml-implode.com) In 2005, at 66 years young, and getting ready
to retire or at least re-tread, he wanted to take some cash out of his home’s
equity and the nice people at World Savings were standing by ready willing and
able to put him right into an Option ARM mortgage, which I think even the most
predatory of the predatory lenders would agree would have been about the most
inappropriate choice for him in his stage of life… but, no matter. We can
always come back to that later if it makes sense. Next, we all know what
happened… the world blew up, as the housing market melted down, and the
financial crisis ended the rich histories of every single investment bank on
Wall Street. Like millions of others, soon Arthur couldn’t keep up with
his mortgage payments and faster than you could say, “don’t worry, you can
always refinance,” he found himself headed for foreclosure.
Hardship
Makes a New Home in the Suburbs - (www.nytimes.com)
The freeway exits around here
are dotted with people asking for money, holding cardboard signs to tell their
stories. The details vary only slightly and almost invariably include: Laid
off. Need food. Young children. Mary Carmen Acosta often passes the silent
beggars as she enters parking lots to sell homemade ice pops, known as paletas,
in an effort to make enough money to get food for her family of four. On a good
day she can make $100, about double what she spends on ingredients. On a really
good day, she pockets $120, the extra money offering some assurance that she
will be able to pay the $800 monthly rent for her family’s three-bedroom
apartment. Sometimes, usually on mornings too cold to sell icy treats, she
imagines what it would be like to stand on an exit ramp herself. “Everyone here
knows they might have to be like that,” said Ms. Acosta, 40, neatly dressed in
slacks and a chiffon blouse, as she waited for help from a local charity in
this city an hour’s drive east of Los Angeles. Both she and her husband,
Sebastian Plancarte, lost their jobs nearly three years ago. “Each time I see
them I thank God for what we do have. We used to have a different kind of life,
where we had nice things and did nice things. Now we just worry.”
Yes,
we're in a tech bubble. Here's how I know it - (www.cnn.com) When
tech startups are willing to offer almost anyone -- even a journalist -- shares
ahead of an IPO, a burst isn't terribly far behind. I was surprised but not
completely flabbergasted by the phone call I received a few weeks ago. A
representative of Arista Networks, a networking company I've written about recently, phoned to
inform me that the company's chief executive wanted to offer me "friends
and family" shares in Arista's upcoming initial public offering. The offer
was explicit, down to the number of shares I'd have the opportunity to purchase
at the IPO price. The caller specifically wanted me to understand this offer
came directly from CEO Jayshree Ullal. I declined. I briefly explained that it was
impossible for me to accept the gift that was being offered. I also told the
(clearly uncomfortable) Arista rep, with whom I've dealt for stories forFortune,
that it is a horrible idea to be making these shares available to me. That's
because the company must be similarly propositioning other business partners
who, like me, are neither a friend of the company nor family members of its
employees.
Fed’s
Lockhart Sees End of U.S. Stimulus Program This Year - (www.bloomberg.com)
Market divergence: Dow hits new highs, but small caps still struggling - (finance.yahoo.com)
Market divergence: Dow hits new highs, but small caps still struggling - (finance.yahoo.com)
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