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The granddaddy of monthly economic reports is the federal reading on the employment situation. To call this a single report is deceptive. It actually has a bunch of moving parts that, on their own or as a group, can move stock and bond markets.
It's easy to think of the report in four parts. The first is non-farm payrolls, which tracks the month-over-month change in the number of jobs in the U.S. that don't involve milking cows or picking lettuce. Then comes the unemployment rate, which is the percentage of unemployed people as it relates to the total workforce.
The third component is the average hourly earnings change, which tracks how much more or less money U.S. workers are making. Finally, there's the average work week, which counts the number of hours non-farmers work.
Like most data reports, the unemployment one has its flaws. For one thing, it tracks non-farm payrolls, which means that a lot of folks who work off the land -- or, more to the point, are not currently working off the land -- are excluded. Also, if you¿re a consultant or small-business owner (a big part of the current economy), you¿re not counted. On the flip side, you can be double-counted if you hold down two jobs. That's one of the reasons why it's common to see non-farm payrolls drop (suggesting higher unemployment) but the unemployment rate shrinking (suggesting higher employment).
The impact of the Employment Situation report often depends on the mood of the markets. Take the wage component. If stock and bond traders are worried about inflation, an unexpected rise in hourly earnings suggests wage inflation and, ergo, can scare people. But, that same spike could be welcome if traders are more worried about a slowdown in consumer spending. Higher earnings mean more spending power.
Look for the employment report on the first Friday of every month at 8:30 a.m. EST.
Home / Markets / Innovation
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Yahoo Wants to Protect you From Fraudsters When Surfing the Web
Donna Fuscaldo
FOXBusiness
Next time you do a search on Yahoo (YHOO), you’ll know if the Web site is out to harm you or your computer.
Amid the rancor surrounding Microsoft’s (MSFT) failed bid to buy Yahoo, Yahoo announced a new partnership with Internet-security software company McAfee (MFE) to warn users using Yahoo Search if they are about to click on a link that carries a threat of spyware, adware, phishing or spam. The move is designed to set Yahoo apart from other search engines like Google (GOOG) or Microsoft’s (MSFT) MSN and comes at a time when Web users are falling prey to Internet scams.
“We heard from [users] that there’s real concerns about the threats on the Web,’’ said Priyank Garg, director of product management for Yahoo Search. With all the scams on the Internet the tool will be able to warn about the risks and let people surf the Web “with confidence,” he said.
Users searching the Web with Yahoo Search will see a red exclamation point and a warning next to the Web site if McAfee deemed it to carry a threat. Clicking on the warning will provide more information about the threat. Yahoo is also removing Web sites' links that attempt to automatically install malicious codes on the computers of visitors to the Web page. Those Web sites won’t come up when doing a search.
According to Garg, sites that offer free downloads are one area that has a lot of threats lurking behind the links. Risks are “most prevalent on websites that offer free screen savers and ringtones,’’ said Garg, as an example. “There could by spyware, adware and Trojan software.”
While most consumers worry about getting viruses or attacks via e-mail, there’s also a lot of risk when visiting Web sites. Many Web surfers think they are safe as long as they don’t give away personal information, but don’t realize sites can install spyware that tracks their Internet usage or adware that displays unwanted advertisements. Malicious sites can also infiltrate a computer and use it to attack other computers.
“People think that if they don’t give out their bank account number they're probably OK -- they don’t understand or discount the danger and wander fairly freely on the Web,” said Roger Kay, founder of consulting firm Endpoint Technologies Associates.
“Filtering is becoming part of life. People need to be protected.” Kay noted that there is third-party software that can be downloaded that do the same thing and that browsers like Microsoft’s Internet Explorer have their own filtering technology built in.
Yahoo’s announcement comes on the heels of its move to reject Microsoft’s $47.5 billion offer to buy the Sunnyvale, Calif., Internet company. Part of Microsoft’s motivation was to bolster its search business to take on the dominant leader: Google. While Yahoo’s new service could send the message that the company is beefing up its search engine instead of standing still, analysts discount the impact the new feature will actually have.
“It’s a nice feature but not a game-changing thing,’’ said Sandeep Aggarwal, an analyst at Collins Stewart. “We view this as a normal enhancement.”
The problem for Yahoo and other search engines is the popularity of Google. Searching via Google has actually become a verb and no matter what services companies like Yahoo offer, it won’t change the fact that most Web surfers go to Google to search, said analysts.
“The best thing Google has done is not give anyone a reason to switch,’’ said Colin Gillis, an analyst at Canaccord Adams. “It delivers accurate results and delivers them quickly. Once you have habits…it's hard to break.” Gillis, who has a buy rating on Google’s stock and a sell rating on Yahoo’s stock, said the new feature won’t carry the day for Yahoo search.
“It’s not material,” he said.
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