- Commentary -

November 5, 2009 (FinancialWire) (By Philip Holmes) — Stocks finished mixed on Wednesday on economic news that was rather, uh, mixed. But hey, cable operator Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) sees the economy as improving. Do the unemployed maintain cable service?

The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 9,802.14 on Wednesday, up by 30.23 points, while the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index rose by 1.09 points, to finish at 1,046.50. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 1.80 points, to close at 2,055.52.

Earlier gains were largely wiped out later in the day, after the Fed announced that it would hold its benchmark interest rate at near zero. The move, which comes at the end of the Federal Open Market Committees’ two day meeting, allays fears of tightening, but at the same time signals that an already weak recovery will likely remain weak.

The Institute for Supply Management nonmanufacturing index dropped to 50.6 for October, down from 50.9 in September. A report from ADP shows private payrolls down by a higher-than-expected 203,000 in October. Stay tuned Friday for U.S. jobs data for October.

What we see thus far in the week is that recovery is sputtering along at best. Jobs, though a trailing indicator, aren’t roaring back. Consumer spending - which better not be a trailing indicator - isn’t improving much, either. The banks are still in bad shape. Talk of a second stimulus is in the air, but it will likely get even less political support than the first one did.

What to do?

[Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=philip+holmes to see more commentaries by Philip Holmes.]

The FirstAlert(tm) Economics Calendar lists Chain Store Sales for October, Initial Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m.), Productivity & Costs Index for Q3 (8:30 a.m.).

The FirstAlert(tm) Events Calendar showcases ANR, NX, PCX at Davenport Metals & Mining Conference; BAC, RF, BBT, STI at BancAnalysts Association of Boston Conference; BGCP, NYX, EVR, CME at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Securities Brokerage & Market Structure Conference; CTXS, CVLT, SYNA, EBAY at Lazard Capital Markets Technology & Media Best Ideas Investor Day; JBLU, PAY, ALGT, ABM at Imperial Capital Global Opportunities Conference; KMT, ITW, RTN, GMR at Goldman Sachs Global Industrials Conference; MA, CBZ, TRAK, XRPT at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Business and Government Services Unconference.

FirstAlert(tm) Website of the Day: http://retirementjobs.com/

Quote of the Day: “There is something insane about a lack of doubt. Doubt, to me anyway, is what makes you human, and without doubt even the righteous lose their grip not only on reality but also on their humanity.” Tilda Swinton

Today is: National Men Make Dinner Day.

Happy Birthday: Will Durant, Joel McCrea, Roy Rogers, Myron Floren, Ike Turner, Elke Sommer, Art Garfunkel, Peter Noone, Bill Walton, Bryan Adams, Tilda Swinton, Tatum O’Neal, Famke Janssen, Sam Rockwell, Johnny Damon, Ryan Adams.

Today in History: St. Felix’s Flood destroyed the city of Reimerswaal in the Netherlands in 1530. Gunpowder Plot: A plot in 1605 led by Robert Catesby to blow up the English Houses of Parliament was thwarted when Sir Thomas Knyvet, a justice of the peace, found Guy Fawkes in a cellar below the Parliament building. A French-American force under Colonel LaBalme was defeated by Miami Chief Little Turtle in 1780. In defiance of the law, suffragist Susan B. Anthony voted in 1872 for the first time, and is later fined $100. George B. Selden was granted the first U.S. patent for an automobile in 1895. Forty-five year old George Foreman became boxing’s oldest heavyweight champion in 1994 when he knocked out Michael Moorer.

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