The Trusted Choice for the Wall Street Voice http://www.minyanville.com 2007 Minyanville Publishing and Multimedia, LLC. All Rights Reserved Editor's Note: The following was posted in real time on our premium Buzz & Banter (click for a free trial). It's being shared here for the benefit of the Minyanville community. About a month ago I showed a flipped-over chart of the S&P 500 which garnered a lot of response -- most of you could see the possibility of a head-and-shoulders top in that flipped-over pattern (translating to inverse head-and-shoulders bottoming pattern in the real SP-500 chart). I followed that chart with a long note on how support hadn’t been materially violated and -- while it was important to ... http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/23398 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 16:30:00 EST Let’s talk jobs: Today the non-farm payroll data and the unemployment rate were released and the results weren’t great. For the month of June non-farm payrolls were down 467 000 compared to estimates of -394k. The unemployment rate actually came in better than expected at 9.5%; the estimates called for 9.6%. Today on the Buzz and Banter Minyanville Professor Tom Fant gave his thoughts on the numbers. “The employment situation continues to deteriorate. I would point out a couple things inside the worse than expected headline number. Net revisions to prior months were essentially flat. Temporary help declined 38 ... http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/23396 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 16:10:00 EST Editor's Note: James Quinn is a senior director of strategic planning for a major university. James has held high-level financial positions with a retailer homebuilder and a university in his 22-year career. He can be found online at www.theburningplatform.com. The assumptions used in the bank stress tests were stress-free. The stress-test timeframe ended in 2010. William Black former bank regulator and author of The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One concludes:“There were no real examinations. Banks continue to overstate asset quality. The bankers pressured Congress which extorted the Financial Accounting Standards Board which gutted the ... http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/23397 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 15:55:00 EST US job losses continued to mount in June giving more weight to the notion that any recovery from this recession will be long and arduous. The Department of Labor said today the nation lost 467 000 jobs last month which was significantly above consensus estimates of a loss of 350 000. Meanwhile the unemployment rate -- already at 25-year highs -- continued to creep higher to 9.5% but that was slightly below estimates of 9.6%. Compounding pressures on the consumer the average work week fell to 33 hours -- a record low according to the Wall Street Journal. In ... http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/23395 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 14:50:00 EST Children as young as 6 or 7 are now as familiar with the computer and the Internet as they are with their toy cars and dolls. With popular social networking sites such as Webkinz Club Penguin and MinyanLand drawing in ever-younger kids parents are often left scratching their heads as to how to regulate an entertainment medium that just didn’t exist when they were young.Although you may be confident that you've installed parental controls and that your pre-teens can’t stumble across anything too objectionable you may still be looking for a “code of conduct” when it comes to how ... http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/23220 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 13:50:00 EST Monday July 6Economics 10:00 ISM Services 46.0 cons.Earnings Before: CMEDAfter: VIMCAuctions 3-Month Bill Auction 1:00 PM ET6- Month Bill Auction 1:00 PM ET10-YR TIPS Auction 1:00 PM ETEventsPresident Obama Visits Russia Tuesday July 7Economics Earnings Before: GBX. ISCAAfter: RTAuctions 4-Week Bill Auction 1:00 PM ET3-YR Note Auction 1:00 PM ETTreasury STRIPS 3:00 PM ETWednesday July 8Economics 10:30 Crude Inventories 03:00 Consumer Credit -7.5b cons.Earnings Before: FDO PBGAfter: AA WDFCAuctions 10-YR Note Auction 1:00 PM ET cons. EventsG8 Annual SummitFTI APC at Morgan Stanley Energy Deepwater ConferenceThursday July 9Economics 08:30 Initial Claims10:00 Wholesale Inventories -1.0%Earnings Before: COMS CHTT FCSX HELE ... http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/23389 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 13:45:00 EST With the "PC versus Mac" debate now approaching its fourth decade the arguments from each side have necessarily become rather stale. How many times can we hear "Macs are too expensive " or "Windows always crashes " before it starts sounding like "Pepsi tastes better " or "Picard had more dignity"? But in recent years a new argument has emerged to rival the fervor of the operating-system zealots. It has more sides more participants and even more details to nitpick. It transcends age class familiarity with computers and yes -- even operating systems.Prepare for comment threads to stretch into the ... http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/23392 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 13:45:00 EST Jack Lavery is the former Global Chief Economist at Merrill Lynch and author of The Lavery Insight economic newsletter offered exclusively on Minyanville. For a free 14 day trial click here.Non-Farm Payrolls Drop More Than ExpectedNon-farm payrolls fell 467 000 in June worse than my forecast of a decline of 420 000 and considerably worse than market/consensus expectations of 365 000.  Expectations for June likely worsened after yesterday’s ADP National Employment Report. With today’s release of the June data came revisions to the April and May employment numbers. May’s payroll employment decline had been estimated initially by the Bureau ... http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/23394 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 13:25:00 EST Hot dogs and the 4th of July go together like -- well -- like hot dogs and America itself.In the words of the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council: “While the hot dog is a popular entree across the country consumption does vary by region. According to sales data for 2008 New York City spent more money on hot dogs in retail stores ($107 million) than any other market in the country. Residents of Los Angeles came in second with $91 million spent on hot dogs and -- with an impressive third-place ranking -- the combined Baltimore-Washington area spent ... http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/23391 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST Ten Movie Moments That Killed the American SuburbEven if you think reports of the death of suburbia have been greatly exaggerated there’s no denying it's inspired some unforgettable onscreen moments. Here are 10 of the best.By Tal Pinchevsky10 Most Profitable Moments in Bikini History Minyanville takes a cheeky look at 10 of the most memorable -- and most lucrative -- moments in the history of strategically bared skin.By Mike Schuster Nine Ways to Vote With Your DollarsAs we celebrate Independence Day it seems worth noting that only about 54% of eligible Americans actually vote. But every American loves to ... http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/23382 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 11:55:00 EST   VIEW SLIDESHOW The person who coined the phrase "sex sells" might as well have added "water's wet" and "mud's muddy." While there's no question that a gorgeous gal in a 2-piece is likely to garner a bigger audience some instances of strategically bared skin are more lucrative than others -- and some transcend such mercenary concerns.In honor of National Bikini Month Minyanville takes a cheeky look at the most memorable -- and profitable -- bikini moments. For more of Minyanville's Independence Day salute to capitalism independence and pinups click here. http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/23379 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 11:30:00 EST I can’t wait till later. The plan is to go to a local baseball game with the family eat one too many hot dogs and see some fireworks. And tomorrow I’m doing something I almost never do: I'm sleeping in. It’s like a mini vacation where all that's missing are the umbrella drinks. Major Asian markets ended in the red. The Hang Seng was down 1.09% and the Nikkei was off 0.64%. European stocks were in negative territory earlier this morning as well. And here in the US we're currently trading lower.Here’s what my eyes are seeing this morning:Cisco (CSCO): ... http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/23388 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 11:25:00 EST In America the rewards are yours for the taking so long as you work hard play by the rules and are good at what you do. But not too good. If you're too good you risk “blowing up” in a way that our society seems determined to punish. For celebrities that can mean achieving the kind of fame that leads down a dark alley of paparazzi-fueled paranoia toward a drug-induced demise. For businesses and corporations being too good means raising the ire of government regulators quick to put them in their place for the sake of preserving competition. Right ... http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/23381 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST View the list If you’re like us then you know that 4th of July fireworks aren’t always confined to the skies. Given the hot dogs beer and suburban angst it’s the holiday most likely to see a major family blow-up. We’re only now realizing that the problem might not be America’s independence but suburbia’s downward spiral. Long considered a safe pleasant escape from the rigors of big-city living the devolution of these little communities -- and any accompanying holiday outbursts -- have been documented in film for over 3 decades. Over time that characterization has gone from trouble in paradise to ... http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/23380 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 10:35:00 EST   VIEW SLIDESHOW Surely you’ve seen the myriad bumper stickers hats T-shirts and rally placards bearing slogans along the lines of “I’m a teacher. And I vote!” Or “I’m a gun owner. And I vote!” Or “I’m union. And I vote!” As we celebrate Independence Day it seems worth noting that only about 54% of eligible Americans actually vote.Some groups prefer to make their point by demonstrating their combined buying power to the world at large -- in a way that is almost guaranteed to be passed on and on and on and on…something that isn’t possible with your MasterCard ... http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/23334 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 10:20:00 EST