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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lucretius who wrote (77702)	3/9/2001 8:34:37 AM
From: UnBelievable	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Feb Jobs Data Show Sharp Rise In Avg Wages ====================================================== February Employment Report !Surprise: Yes ! Feb Jan !Trend: May Be ! Payrolls +135K +224Kr !Inflationary ! Unemployment Rate 4.2% 4.2% !Consensus ! Hourly Earnings $14.10 $14.03r !Payrolls +75K ! ====================================================== By Joseph Rebello and Rebecca Christie Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The U.S. unemployment rate held steady in February as businesses hired an unexpectedly large number of workers, suggesting the economy may not be weak enough to warrant a big interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve this month. Non-farm businesses added 135,000 workers to their payrolls in February, down from 224,000 in January, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate remained at a 16-month high of 4.2%, but average hourly wages climbed 0.5% in the biggest increase in three months. Those numbers surprised Wall Street, which expected payrolls to increase just 75,000 and average hourly earnings to rise just 0.3%. Stock and bond prices are likely to decline as a result as investors reassess their expectations for interest-rate cuts this month. Futures contracts show that investors have been expecting the Fed to cut its key federal funds rate by at least half a percentage point this month. The Fed cut the rate a full percentage point to 5.5% in January, saying the prospect of the first U.S. recession in a decade warranted a "rapid and forceful response of monetary policy." Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan told lawmakers last month that the economy may be headed for a patch of below-average growth "even after the policy actions we took in January." The employment report for February, however, suggested that the country's economic performance may not warrant deep interest-rate cuts. The slump in payroll growth in February, for example, mostly reflected a slump in construction activity, which had been boosted in January by unseasonably warm weather. At 135,000, payroll growth in February was well above the average of 103,000 for the last five months. The report suggested, moreover, that the U.S. labor market remains tight enough to generate risks of inflation. The Labor Department said the growth of average hourly wages accelerated in February after stagnating in January. Average hourly wages rose seven cents to $14.10 in February. Over the last 12 months, average hourly wages have risen 4.1%. Other statistical reports this month have suggested the economy isn't as sickly as analysts expected it to be. The National Association of Realtors, for example, revised its estimate of existing-home sales in January, saying sales rose rather than fell. Existing-home sales were up 3.8%, compared with an initial estimate of a 6.6% decline. And sales growth at U.S. chain stores continued to grow in February despite a slump in consumer confidence. Many economists, as a result, are beginning to doubt that the economy actually began to contract this year. The Labor Department attributed much of the slump in payroll growth to a hiring slump in the construction industry. Construction payrolls rose just 16,000 in February after a 158,000 increase in January. In addition, the department said a decline in manufacturing employment offset gains in services and other industries. Manufacturing payrolls dropped 94,000 and the factory work week declined 0.3 hours to the lowest level since the spring of 1991. The services-producing industry added 210,000 jobs, of which 95,000 jobs were in the services sector. The government revised its estimates of growth in payrolls and average hourly earnings in January. Payrolls grew just 224,000 in January, down from the initial estimate of 268,000. Average hourly earnings grew one cent from December to $14.03 in January, compared with the initial estimate of $14.02. -By Joseph Rebello and Rebecca Christie; 202-861-9279

To: Lucretius who wrote (77702)	3/9/2001 8:39:24 AM
From: yard_man	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

hohoho cisco ...wellwellwellIntel ...looks like you guys have things in hand I'll go back to sleep ...

To: Lucretius who wrote (77702)	3/9/2001 9:06:26 AM
From: IceShark	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 436258

Oh, I don't think toast, there has been a remarkable job of holding up the techs overnight. You know, intc was well sub 30 bucks a week ago and things sure haven't improved much in the last week. We will never LLCF anymore, I guess ..... poot holders should just be happy intc isn't trading at 45 this morning and it wouldn't shock me if it closed close to unched by the end of the day. By all rights, POS should trade at 30 today, but I would be happy to see it just get a sub 40 handle on it. -g- Someone is still buying it like crazy and I don't expect that to change anytime soon.