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Hard upon the release of Friday morning’s non-farm payrolls the Wall Street Journal’s online headline proclaimed “Private Sector Adds 67 000 Jobs.” In fact 40 000 of the 60 000 non-Census jobs gained in August were in the HES Complex (health education and social services) and Core Government Operations (excluding the post office). These jobs are overwhelmingly funded out of the public exchequer not private resources. And in today’s red-ink-ridden world this means these incremental payroll slots were in fact deficit financed. So last month -- just like since the beginning of the alleged jobs recovery in December -- the

This article was co-authored by J.W. Jones and Chris Vermeulen. They offer more content at their site TheGoldAndOilGuy.com.For most equity traders the S&P and/or the Dow are watched quite closely. While these indices are usually just as important to option traders the volatility index is generally closely monitored as well. There are a variety of volatility indices to watch but most traders look at the S&P volatility index which is commonly referred to as the VIX.I spend a lot of time watching the S&P E-mini’s as well as watching the VIX. Recently I've been using a variation of what most

AFP - European rivals are "wasting their time" trying to claw back the 'Thatcher rebate' that returns billions of euros annually to London in place of farm payments to France and Germany, a minister warned on Tuesday.

This article originally appeared in The Daily Capitalist.Last Friday the latest employment numbers came out and revealed that private employment was up by 67 000 jobs but overall unemployment was up to 9.6% from 9.5% because of government worker layoffs (mainly Census workers). This means that 14.9 million people are unemployed (under the narrower U-3 definition).The broadest measure of unemployment the U-6 measure -- which includes "marginally attached" workers such as those that haven't looked for a job in the last four weeks or that have given up looking but want jobs or temp workers who would like full-time jobs

Reuters - China wants to quell tensions with the United States through quiet talk, not shouting matches, a top diplomat told White House advisers on Tuesday, aiming to pave the way for a visit by President Hu Jintao early next year.

Reuters - China wants to quell tensions with the United States through quiet talk, not shouting matches, a top diplomat told White House advisers on Tuesday, aiming to pave the way for a visit by President Hu Jintao early next year.

Below are some of the most-discussed charts on Minyanville's Buzz & Banter presented without bias claim or injury. For in-depth commentary analysis and trading ideas in these stocks and much more take a free two week trial to Buzz & Banter.Goldman Sachs (GS)Click to enlargeStarbucks (SBUX)Click to enlargeChiptole Mexican Grill (CMG)Click to enlargeFormFactor (FORM)Click to enlargeCrude Oil ETF (USO)Click to enlargeFollow the markets all day every day with a FREE 14 day trial to Buzz & Banter. Over 30 professional traders share their ideas in real-time. Learn more.

AP - The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warned Tuesday an American church's threat to burn copies of the Muslim holy book could endanger U.S. troops in the country and Americans worldwide.

Editor's Note: This article was written by Richard Suttmeier chief market strategist at ValuEngine.com which is a fundamentally-based quant research firm in Princeton New Jersey that covers more than 5 000 stocks every day. 10-Year Note -- (2.706) My annual value levels are 2.813 and 2.999 with a daily pivot at 2.684 and monthly weekly quarterly and semiannual risky levels at 2.562 2.507 2.495 and 2.249. (CBOE Interest Rate 10-Year T-Note (^TNX) last traded at 2.64.)Source: Thomson / ReutersComex Gold -- ($1248.2) Weekly semiannual quarterly and annual value levels are $1223.7 $1218.7 $1140.9 and $1115.2 with daily semiannual and monthly

Today is the first day of school for many children in the US and as parents wave goodbye to their kids most are likely wondering how they'll pay the mortgage let alone pay for college. Who could blame them for worrying -- the economy is dragging. But it may be time to look at the next 10-15 years instead of the next 10-15 months. To do this look no further than companies that pay dividends higher than the return in the credit markets; they're attractive because of record-low interest rates potential profit growth of 36% and a slowing economy. According

Politico - Conservative corners of the Internet are buzzing over a Los Angeles school named after former Vice President Al Gore that was built on toxic soil and, some say, poses a health risk to students. (See, Obama: "They Talk About Me Like a Dog")

Stocks snapped a three week losing streak with the S&P 500 posting its best five day performance since early July and Dow Industrials turning positive again for 2010 after August employment exceeded expectations. Still the President who promised us a Rose Garden stood in the White House’s and warned there will be “no quick fix” to what ails the labor market. Indeed September is off to a mixed start for two who joined the ranks of America’s idle within 72 hours of each other last month. Mark Hurd late of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) quickly found a new gig at Oracle (ORCL).

Editor's Note: Read more from Jeb Handwerger at Gold Stock Trades. Point and figure charts are one of the oldest and purest charting methods in the field of technical analysis. They're not as commonly studied and practiced by technicians today as in the past however I use them as simple indicators of areas of supply and demand and to indicate new trends. Warren Buffett said “There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.” Especially in the field of technical analysis analysts seem to love making complex formulas when in reality it's completely unnecessary.

The Upshot - A small group associated with a fringe Christian church in Florida is planning to burn Qurans on Sept. 11 -- and is now the subject of outraged protests in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan warned that the anti-Islamic action could hurt troops in the volatile region. "It could endanger troops and [...]

Editor's Note: This article was written by energy journalist and government energy adviser Darrell Delamaide of OilPrice.com which offers free information and analysis on energy and commodities. The site has sections devoted to fossil fuels alternative energy metals oil prices and geopolitics.Oil prices continued to move basically sideways as bullish and bearish news buffeted prices up and down in a narrow range.The benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures contract settled Friday at $74.60 a barrel off its lows for the day and slightly lower than the $75.17 close a week earlier.While stocks welcomed the new month with four days of gains

"The European Union is dying -- not a dramatic or sudden death but one so slow and steady that we may look across the Atlantic one day soon and realize that the project of European integration that we've taken for granted over the past half-century is no more."With these dramatic words begins a eulogy of the European Union in a Washington Post article.The problem isn’t just economic but more political; a re-nationalization of political life with countries reclaiming the sovereignty they once willingly ceded for the collective eurozone ideal.Economically at least on the surface things seem to be looking up

The Upshot - Politicians are expected to give the official nod to their party nominees, but Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is doing no such thing in his home-state Senate race. The Republican governor said over the weekend that he will not be endorsing Republican Sen. David Vitter for reelection this year. "Voters can make up their own minds," [...]

Some of the best analysis about China’s yuan policy might begin with the oft-used doggerel “Here I sit broken-hearted…” After China grudgingly acceded to a yuan revaluation in July 2005 and allowed the currency to trade higher in straight-line fashion for nearly three years it ceased and desisted without announcement in July 2008.But in a concession to the US we can summarize as “If I do it will you shut up already?” they let it be known by late March 2010 they would begin a revaluation at a time of their choosing; we discussed the market for yuan forwards in

Time.com - The President is coming up with programs and plans that sound just like additional stimulus. Just don't call it stimulus!

Time.com - Nine weeks before the midterm elections, Barack Obama finds himself on the wrong side of the polls. Where did all that adoration go -- and is a Republican sweep next?