Early last month, we suggested that it would be more instructive if the media began reporting U3 and U6 Unemployment together. (Unemployment Reporting: A Modest Proposal (U3 + U6) 

Northern Trust's Asha Bangalore appears to have been thinking along the same lines, for her NFP post-mortem includes the following:

CreditSights remains guardedly optimistic about the US loan market for the second half of the year and still believes that the market most likely bottomed out in February.

The recent court order directing Google (GOOG) to hand over data to Viacom (VIA) about every YouTube video ever watched strikes many people as an absurd overreach of the law into the privacy of anyone who has ever used YouTube (i.e., almost everyone on the Internet). Google should definitely keep fighting the ruling if it can.

But if it can’t, perhaps it should comply with it in a creative way. The data in question are data logs containing the records of every video watched on YouTube, by whom, and at what times. The court is also ordering that Google hand over all videos that have ever been taken down for any reason. The logs alone take up 12 terabytes. Google should print them out and deliver them on paper.

SFO Magazine has another trading psychology issue available, and there are several articles worthy of a look. Here is the link to my article in that issue.

The theme of the issue, as titled on the magazine cover, is "Contain Your Emotions". Here is a sampling of quotes from articles included in the feature:

Happy July 4th!

A reader asked for my two cents on foreign country selection.

This quote from a Deutsche Bank report on the differing approaches to rate-setting in the EU and in the U.S. is fascinating and instructive:

Recent and prospective differences between the Fed and the ECB in the conduct of monetary policy have been striking. The ECB has launched a Martian frontal assault on inflation while the Fed has opted for a more cautious and patient Venusian approach.

Take Care of the Essentials

While many investors dream of making a killing on the stock market, they should first take care of three essentials, said Cramer. First, credit card debt should be paid off so they don’t waste their gains on expensive interest. Second, all investors need health insurance, since medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy. Third, disability insurance is essential, since any gains made on stocks will be wiped out by unexpected medical bills.

By Brad Zigler

The United States shook off an imperial yoke and now stands as a ...

Before taking a look at the monthly jobs data, let's take a look at weekly claims. The US Department of Labor is reporting Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims continue to rise.

Seasonally Adjusted

David Coffin co-wrote this article.

In the 1970s, Baby Boomers were swelling job ranks and women were moving out of the home and into the paid workforce in most of the industrialized world.  At the same time, OPEC pushed crude oil prices through the roof to overturn what it viewed as a predatory system of resource transfer set up by colonial powers.   

Chindex International (NSDQ: CHDX) received SFDA approval for two medical devices: the daVinci S Surgical System and the AlexLaser. Although Chindex was pleased to receive the approvals, its announcement was full of complaints about the length of time required for the SFDA to process the applications.

The news release from Chindex contained words like “finally,” “many months,” “long-awaited” and “significant delays” as the company’s characterization of the process. Chindex stated it believes these delays are “unfortunately very common in the medical device approval process in China today.”

As the markets continue their decline, there are a few stocks I think are now priced at a great value.

Nvidia

I would say that things are downright scary, but I am afraid that would be a colossal understatement at this point. 2008 has been pretty much what we expected and then some. A couple of themes have emerged during the first half of this year that require our attention and careful consideration as we gear up for the second half of the year.  

Action, Not Words 

Incorrect forecasts by brokerage analysts are contributing to the current downturn in the equity markets.

Energy, finance and technology are the three biggest components of the large-cap index, and analysts have been constantly revising their estimates on oil and banking companies. Last week's miss by Research in Motion (RIMM) and cautious guidance by Oracle (ORCL) raised the possibility of technology earnings being a bit light in the second-half of the year.

Yesterday Hansen was smacked down to $25, so I thought I'd take a look into it and see if there is good reason for the drop. The stock is at a new 52 week low and it actually hasn't been at these levels since 2006. I already own a bundle of Hansen stock, but an opportunity is an opportunity and I'm willing to increase my position if one is presented.

First, let's do a quick summary of the company's 1Q 2008 results. Net sales increased 27.9% to $212.2 million, net income increased 42.6% to $28.8 million ($0.29 per share) from $20.2 million ($0.21 per share) in 1Q 2007. The Monster brand remains strong and the new drinks in the Monster and Java Monster lines are proceeding as planned. Plans to expand the Monster line into the U.K. are going along as expected.$159.11 million in cash with no debt. One thing that isn't pleasing to see is that cash flow decreased to $25.93 million from $48.03 million in 1Q 2007. In the 10-Q, the decrease is explained a bit more:

Japan's Mellow Mood Fills ETF And Outlook

The Short Story

China Medical Technologies (CMED) is a fast growing Chinese in-vitro diagnostic [IVD] company that possesses a compelling business model and low cost operations to take advantage of China’s continuing urbanization and rising incomes.

This company has adept management and strong ties to various research institutions in China that allowed it to develop a high margin and recurring revenue product base that bodes well for growth not only in China but also in other areas throughout Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States. In its young history China Medical exhibited devotion to shareholders by paying an increasing annual dividend. This notion is buttressed by the fact that chairman, CEO and founder Xiaodong Wu owns over 25 percent of the company. Any investment in this company is not without risks as China’s economy may be overheating and inflation may diminish future economic growth.

With his chances to take full control of the Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) board of directors somewhere between slim and none, Carl Icahn's best bet to have a say in the Internet company's future lies in getting a few seats on the board. It's something we brought up last month, but the prospect is beginning to pick up steam.

The tapped-in Kara Swisher is reporting at All Things Digital that Icahn and Yahoo! are in talks about just that. Yahoo!'s impetus for making such a deal is to avoid the messiness that typically surrounds proxy fights. Icahn's goal would be to get some representation so he can have more oversight on his sizable investment in the company. The two sides apparently are negotiating on the number of seats Icahn could get.

One of the key questions facing Nortel (NT) is where/if its next high-growth market will emerge.

A year ago, Nortel was bullish on Wi-Max but the recent joint venture with Alvarion (ALVR) made it abundantly clear that the Wi-Max market is not growing as quickly as Nortel would have liked. Hence, the decision to put its R&D dollars into LTE.

In the investment world it is easy to overlook some lucrative opportunities, especially ones that sell below their net asset value [NAV].

ASA (Bermuda) Ltd (NYSE:ASA) is an employee owned investment manager with approximately $537 millions in assets under management. The firm manages close ended funds for its clients.

I've been a long term owner of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) since March 2000. I bought one A share for $52,500 in a taxable account.

Here are some things I like about it:

June sales tallies from retailers are set to be released on July 10, and in our view there will be a two part story. Right off the bat, we must say that investors should not foresee strong sales readings by any stretch of the imagination as June weather conditions were skewed towards unfavorable (there were pockets of warmth in key regions, though one must keep in mind the Midwest flooding and cool down in temperatures at month’s end).

So, the first part of the story will be second quarter earnings guidance. Retailers held their guidance ranges steady on the May sales releases as they awaited more appropriate temperatures in June. We expect a host of earnings warnings from specialty apparel retailers as they were quite aggressive in terms of promotional inducing measures during May and June. Department stores should follow in similar fashion to their smaller counterparts; we observed meaningful clearance sales at the likes of JC Penney (JCP) and Macy’s throughout the month. Big box retailers, such as Wal-Mart (WMT) and BJ’s Wholesale (BJ), could very well raise third quarter guidance due to their exposure to consumable goods and limited product markdowns.

As in the Jean-Paul Sartre play “No Exit,” venture capitalists are facing an existential dilemma.

They are funding and developing companies with no immediate path to reward their limited partner investors. In the second quarter not a single venture-backed company staged an initial public offering, the first time in 30 years that there was a complete shutout, according to the National Venture Capital Association.

by Eric Roseman

It seems Vietnam just borrowed a page from the U.S. financial-history books - by suspending all gold imports in June.