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Strategies & Market Trends : Can you beat 50% per month? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Smiling Bob who wrote (9194)	1/5/2006 10:37:23 AM
From: Smiling Bob	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 19256

Plenty of opportunity to brew coffee and change bedpans in America. But these jobholders won't be leading the next consumer stampede. DOW red now @ 10877 - A dip to 10820 in store today Stocks Higher on Service Sector Growth Thursday January 5, 10:22 am ET By Ellen Simon, AP Business Writer Stocks Edge Higher on Service Sector Growth, Low Unemployment Claims NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks edged higher in early trading Thursday as the service sector showed better than expected growth and unemployment claims fell to their lowest level since 2001. Investors were cheered as the Institute for Supply Management's index of service sector activity came in at 59.8 for the month, topping the 59 reading forecast on Wall Street as well as November's 58.5 reading. In addition, the Labor Department reported that first-time claims fell by 35,000 to 291,000 last week, a five-year low. With better economic news in hand, investors appeared willing to extend the previous two session's gains, which saw the Dow Jones industrials rise more than 129 points Tuesday and the Standard & Poor's 500 index reach a 4 1/2-year high Wednesday. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 20.57, or 0.19 percent, to 10,900.72. Broader stock indicators also moved higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 2.63, or 0.21 percent, to 1,276.09, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 11.48, or 0.51 percent, to 2,274.94. Bonds were little changed, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note steady at 4.35 percent from late Wednesday. The dollar rose against most major currencies, while gold prices lost ground. Crude prices slipped ahead of the Energy Department's weekly inventory data, due later Thursday morning. A barrel of light crude was quoted at $63.25, down 17 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Retail sales were modestly higher overall, though a few big names disappointed investors. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. fell 22 cents to $46.10 after reporting that its sales for stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales, rose just 2.2 percent in December, at the low end of analysts' estimates. Sears Holding Corp slid 21 cents to $115.80 after it saw same-stores sales tumble 11 percent in December. The company blamed a lack of promotions and flagging customer interest in its clothing lines. Other retailers fared better last month, with Target Corp. gaining 25 cents to $54.90 after posting a 4.7 percent same-store sales hike, slightly better than Wall Street's forecasts. Costco Wholesale Corp. lost 15 cents to $49.93 despite a better-than-expected 7 percent increase in sales. In other news, Google Inc. slid $2.16 to $443.08 after The Wall Street Journal reported the company plans to announce a plan to sell video downloads from the National Basketball Association and CBS, a direct challenge to Apple Computer Inc.'s new video sales for its iPod music players. Apple fell 71 cents to $74.26 on the news. Wine and spirits maker Constellation Brands Inc. dropped 92 cents to $25.30 after posting a 13 percent rise in third-quarter profits, due in part to recent acquisitions. However, the company missed Wall Street profit forecasts by 4 cents per share. Constellation's fourth-quarter earnings projections also fell below analysts' expectations. Advancing issues were about even with decliners on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 189.6 million shares, compared with 204.9 million traded at the same point on Wednesday. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 0.22, or 0.03 percent, to 689.03. Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.39 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 was unchanged, Germany's DAX index slipped 0.08 percent, and France's CAC-40 was flat. New York Stock Exchange: nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: nasdaq.com