Weekly Business Calendar

Our Week Ahead article lists economic report releases, important government speakers, noteworthy economic events and conferences, significant global happenings and key corporate earnings reports and events. This latest weekly business calendar should serve as a solid reference point to prepare for the week's news flow.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

Weekly Business Calendar

Monday

A business news calendar light of economic reports should allow a sweet easing into the week. The New America Foundation kicks off its two-day forum on overhauling the Federal Reserve. The CFA Institute convenes its annual conference in Edinburgh. LexisNexis publishes a report showing which states have the highest levels of mortgage fraud.

The United States and China are meeting to discuss a myriad of topics. The bilateral discussions begin Monday and run through Tuesday. Markets will be closed in Israel and Russia Monday.

In the U.S., IPO lockup restrictions expire on Inphi (Nasdaq: IPHI) and Unitek (Nasdaq: UNTK). Crocs (Nasdaq: CROX) has an analysts’ meeting scheduled, and the earnings list highlights news from AES (NYSE: AES), Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN), Airmedia Group (Nasdaq: AMCN), Alexza Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ALXA), Antares Pharmaceuticals (AMEX: AIS), A123 Systems (Nasdaq: AONE), Abraxas Petroleum (Nasdaq: AXAS), Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), American DG Energy (Nasdaq: ADGE), American Oriental Bioengineering (NYSE: AOB), American Science & Engineering (Nasdaq: ASEI), Appliance Recycling Centers (Nasdaq: ARCI), Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO), Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: AUXL), Avanir Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: AVNR), Beacon Roofing (Nasdaq: BECN), Biolase Technology (Nasdaq: BLTI), Black Diamond (Nasdaq: BDE), Blackbaud (Nasdaq: BLKB), Blackrock Kelso (Nasdaq: BKCC), Blonder Tongue (AMEX: BDR), Broadsoft (Nasdaq: BSFT), Broadwind Energy (Nasdaq: BWEN), Callon Petroleum (NYSE: CPE), Chatham Lodging Trust (Nasdaq: CLDT), Chelsea Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CHTP), China Ceramics (Nasdaq: CCCL), ChinaCache (Nasdaq: CCIH), Chindex (Nasdaq: CHDX), Churchill Downs (Nasdaq: CHDN), CKX (Nasdaq: CKXE), Clean Energy Fuels (Nasdaq: CLNE), Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE: CDE), Collector’s Universe (Nasdaq: CLCT), Compass Diversified (Nasdaq: CODI), Complete Genomics (Nasdaq: GNOM), Connecticut Water (Nasdaq: CTWS), Core Mark (Nasdaq: CORE), Cray (Nasdaq: CRAY), CVR Energy (NYSE: CVI), Daqo New Energy (NYSE: DQ), Dealertrack (Nasdaq: TRAK), Diodes (Nasdaq: DIOD), Douglass Dynamics (Nasdaq: PLOW), Dril Quip (NYSE: DRQ), DTS (Nasdaq: DTSI), Eagle Bulk Shipping (Nasdaq: EGLE), Ellington Financial (NYSE: EFC), EnergySolutions (NYSE: ES), Entercom Communications (NYSE: ETM), Essex Rental (Nasdaq: ESSX), EV Energy (Nasdaq: EVEP), FBL Financial (NYSE: FFG), Financial Engines (Nasdaq: FNGN), Full House Resorts (NYSE: FLL), Globe Specialty Metals (Nasdaq: GSM), Grand Canyon Education (Nasdaq: LOPE), GTx (Nasdaq: GTXI), Headwaters (NYSE: HW), Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL), Home Inns & Hotels (Nasdaq: HMIN), Hospitality Properties (NYSE: HPT), Innospec (Nasdaq: IOSP), Insulet (Nasdaq: PODD), Integrated Device Tech (Nasdaq: IDTI), Inter Parfums (Nasdaq: IPAR), Interval Leisure (Nasdaq: IILG), iPass (Nasdaq: IPAS), John Bean Tech (NYSE: JBT), Lionbridge Technologies (Nasdaq: LIOX), Loral Space & Communications (Nasdaq: LORL), Louisiana Pacific (NYSE: LPX), MedCath (Nasdaq: MDTH), Mindray Medical (NYSE: MR), Neenah Paper (NYSE: NP), Orexigen Therapeutics (Nasdaq: OREX), Otter Tail (Nasdaq: OTTR), PetMed Express (Nasdaq: PETS), Presstek (Nasdaq: PRST), Quicksilver Resources (NYSE: KWK), RAND Capital (Nasdaq: RAND), Real Goods Solar (Nasdaq: RSOL), Rosetta Stone (NYSE: RST), Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), Sotheby’s (NYSE: BID), Steinway Musical (NYSE: LVB), Sysco (NYSE: SYY), Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN), Universal Display (Nasdaq: PANL), Williams Controls (Nasdaq: WMCO), Zhongpin (Nasdaq: HOGS) and Zoran (Nasdaq: ZRAN).

Tuesday

The U.S. and China will have a news conference to discuss the progress and results of their Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

Five lower profile economic data points reach the wire Tuesday. Before the bell rings, we’ll hear from the NFIB, as the small business organization publishes its Small Business Optimism Index. The last reading of the index, covering March, showed a decline in small business owner sentiment. The index fell to 91.9, from 94.5 the month before. We’re not expecting the reading to improve much this week, given gasoline prices just touched $4.

At 8:30, look for the latest tally of change in Import and Export Prices. This April measurement follows March’s indication of 1.5% month-over-month export price increase and 2.7% import price rise. While commodities have slumped over the past week, we’ll see none of that evidenced in this April measurement.

Before the bell, look for the latest weekly retail same-store sales data from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Redbook. Last week’s data covered the period ending April 30. ICSC noted a week-over-week sales decline of 0.8%. ICSC’s measure of year-to-year change showed 2.8% growth, while Redbook’s measure of the same period showed a 5.5% increase.

At 10:00 AM ET, we’ll receive the latest Wholesale Trade data for the month of March. February’s report showed Wholesale Inventories rose 1.0%, but that compared poorly to the 0.8% decline in sales through the period. Thus, the inventory-to-sales ratio deteriorated to 1.16, though that was still relatively strong on a historical basis. We believe much of the drop in sales across verticals was the result of poor weather and global uncertainty. The consensus for March’s wholesale inventories is for a like 1.0% increase; we suspect sales will show increase as well.

Two Fed speakers find microphones Tuesday, including Elizabeth Duke in the morning and Jeffrey Lacker during the lunch hour.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is holding a talk on money-market funds and systemic risks. The Senate Banking Committee takes a look at the last report of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. I suppose this means to say it’s officially safe to trust people again until the next drubbing?

Markets are closed in Hong Kong, South Korea and Israel Tuesday. In the States, catch shareholder and analyst meetings at Jack Henry (Nasdaq: JKHY), Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) and Progress Software (Nasdaq: PRGS). RLJ Lodging Trust and Kosmos Energy are expected to price their IPOs.

The day’s EPS schedule highlights reports from Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), Acadia Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ACAD), Acorn Energy (Nasdaq: ACFN), Aeroflex (NYSE: ARX), Allied Healthcare (Nasdaq: AHCI), Allos Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ALTH), American Assets (NYSE: AAT), American Public Education (Nasdaq: APEI), Asta Funding (Nasdaq: ASFI), Beacon Power (Nasdaq: BCON), Black Hills (NYSE: BKH), Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD), Carmike Cinemas (Nasdaq: CKEC), China Biologic (Nasdaq: CBPO), China Information Technology (Nasdaq: CNIT), China Marine Food (Nasdaq: CMFO), China Natural Gas (Nasdaq: CHNG), ChinaCast Education (Nasdaq: CAST), Dean Foods (NYSE: DF), Electro Scientific (Nasdaq: ESIO), Energy Conversion Devices (Nasdaq: ENER), EW Scripps (NYSE: SSP), Fossil (Nasdaq: FOSL), Fuel Tech (Nasdaq: FTEK), Global Cash Access (NYSE: GCA), Helen of Troy (Nasdaq: HELE), Homeowners Choice (Nasdaq: HCII), Imperial Sugar (Nasdaq: IPSU), International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE: IFF), JA Solar (Nasdaq: JASO), James River Coal (Nasdaq: JRCC), Learning Tree (Nasdaq: LTRE), McDermott International (NYSE: MDR), Molycorp (NYSE: MCP), Online Resources (Nasdaq: ORCC), Pantry (Nasdaq: PTRY), Pike Electric (Nasdaq: PIKE), Prospect Capital (Nasdaq: PSEC), Rocky Mountain Chocolate (Nasdaq: RMCF), Scientific Games (Nasdaq: SGMS), Towerstream (Nasdaq: TWER), Vermillion (Nasdaq: VRML), Vista Gold (AMEX: VGZ), Wendy’s/ Arby’s (NYSE: WEN), Yongye (Nasdaq: YONG) and others.

Wednesday

Wednesday again should be characterized by corporate news drivers and perhaps commodities and international news flow. As far as economic data flow goes, look for the monthly International Trade data at 8:30 AM ET. The trade gap narrowed a bit in February, to a deficit of $45.8 billion. The economists’ consensus for March is for the gap to widen to $47.7 billion.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will publish its Weekly Mortgage Applications data in the premarket. Last week’s data covering the period ending April 29 showed mortgage applications increased 4.0% over the prior week period. Growth was tied to increased refinancing activity, as the Refinance Index rose 6.0%, while mortgage applications tied to home purchases edged up 0.3%.

The weekly Petroleum Status Report is up for release at 10:30 AM ET. Last week’s report covering the period ending April 29 showed crude oil inventory increased by 3.4 million barrels, while gasoline stores declined by 1.0 million barrel. While oil inventory was above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year, gasoline measured slightly under the lower limit of the average range. And so, gas prices topped $4 just days ago.

Three Fed speakers are scheduled to find audiences at lunch on Wednesday: Narayana Kocherlakota, Dennis Lockhart and Sandra Pianalto. A senate panel takes a look at the AT&T (NYSE: T), T-Mobile merger.

At 2:00 PM, catch the latest monthly Treasury Budget release. This is actually covered by the press these days, given the political jawboning around the budget deficit and debt ceiling. The report for March showed an expansive deficit of $188.2 billion for the month. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg see a deficit of $65 billion in April. The range of forecasts is quite wide though, reaching from a deficit of $75 billion to $16.5 billion.

Overseas, you might want to keep one eye on the Arab League’s annual get-together. Israel has got to be pleased that it’s not the center of attention at this year’s gathering.

The corporate wire is heavy on hump-day. HSBC (NYSE: HBC) is expected to announce a strategic reorganization at its investor meeting. Other meetings are planned at Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Talisman Energy (NYSE: TLM), Computer Sciences (NYSE: CSC) and Lexmark (NYSE: LXK). FriendFinder Networks is planning to list its IPO Wednesday. Dow Jones has something in the works with regard to its Industrial Average, as its 115th anniversary approaches.

Wednesday’s EPS schedule highlights news from Macy’s (NYSE: M), Toyota Motors (NYSE: TM), Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC), Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), Accretive Health (NYSE: AH), Aegean Marine Petroleum (NYSE: ANW), Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ), 7 Days Group (NYSE: SVN), 8x8 (Nasdaq: EGHT), American Medical Alert (Nasdaq: AMAC), Archipelago Learning (Nasdaq: ARCL), Asure Software (Nasdaq: ASUR), Bidz.com (Nasdaq: BIDZ), Biofuel Energy (Nasdaq: BIOF), Bionovo (Nasdaq: BNVI), China Green Agriculture (NYSE: CGA), China Pharma (Nasdaq: CPHI), China Yuchai (NYSE: CYD), Compugen (Nasdaq: CGEN), Derma Sciences (Nasdaq: DSCI), Discovery Laboratories (Nasdaq: DSCO), Ellie Mae (Nasdaq: ELLI), Evolving Systems (Nasdaq: EVOL), Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE: AGM), Flotek (NYSE: FTK), Fortress International Group (Nasdaq: FIGI), Global Sources (Nasdaq: GSOL), InterOil (NYSE: IOC), IntraLinks (NYSE: IL), Kid Brands (NYSE: KID), Lakes Entertainment (Nasdaq: LACO), Lightbridge (Nasdaq: LTBR), Maidenform Brands (NYSE: MFB), Nexstar Broadcasting (Nasdaq: NXST), Pacific Ethanol (Nasdaq: PEIX), Performance Tech (Nasdaq: PTIX), Point360 (Nasdaq: PTSX), Quepasa (Nasdaq: QPSA), SINA (Nasdaq: SINA), Sky Mobi (Nasdaq: MOBI), SouFun Holdings (Nasdaq: SFUN), Spar Group (Nasdaq: SGRP), TearLab (Nasdaq: TEAR), Tsakos Energy Navigation (NYSE: TNP), Virtusa (Nasdaq: VRTU), Zipcar (NYSE: ZIP) and others.

Thursday

The economic heat intensifies Thursday and through Friday, with several key economic releases. Three important data-points hit the wire at 8:30, with the Producer Price Index, Retail Sales and Jobless Claims reports simultaneous release.

April’s Retail Sales data follows March’s 0.4% growth and 0.8% increase when excluding autos. It was a surprisingly solid report, and when combined with the revision to 1.1% overall growth for February, it surprised the market. April should get a lift from Easter, and economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast a 0.6% increase through the month, and the same rate of growth when excluding autos. I’m not so sure folks, as we’re due for a disappointment here, even despite Easter. Gasoline prices have not shown mercy to Americans through the holy period.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for April should reflect the rising commodity prices that dominated the month. Economists are looking for an increase of 0.6% for the Headline PPI, following a 0.7% increase in February. This month’s driver should be energy, where last month’s was food. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, still implied inflation, as it rose 0.3%. Economists forecast Core PPI data will show an increase of 0.2% in April.

Weekly Jobless Claims spiked up to 474K last week, and the government blamed it on anomalous factors. We didn’t agree, and find our report at the blog. Look for the latest data at 8:30. The economists’ consensus is for 430K, but because the reports are so regular, these figures usually just reflect the prior weeks’ results. Therefore, they almost never catch significant changes like we saw last week.

Following Wholesale Trade data, we get Business Inventories Thursday at 10:00 AM ET. Economists are looking for a 0.8% increase in March, versus the 0.5% rise seen in February. Again, the problem was that sales did not keep pace with inventories in February, rising 0.2% for Manufacturers and Trade Companies.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before the Senate Banking Committee on Dodd-Frank reform implementation. The Fed Chairman will be in good company, joined by FDIC Chair Sheila Bair, SEC Chair Mary Schapiro, CFTC Chair Gary Gensler, and Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin. Separately, Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Plosser makes an early morning presentation on the economic outlook.

The EIA reports on Natural Gas at 10:30 AM ET each Thursday. Last week’s report covering the period ending April 29 showed a net increase of 72 Bcf. Natural gas inventory was 226 Bcf less than last year at this time and 17 Bcf below the 5-year average of 1,774 Bcf.

The corporate wire has Biomimetic Therapeutics’ (Nasdaq: BMTI) bone graft treatment seeing review by the FDA. The EPS schedule highlights reports from CA Inc. (NYSE: CA), Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS), Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA), Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN), Precision Castparts (NYSE: PCP), American Pacific (Nasdaq: APFC), 21st Century (Nasdaq: TCHC), Andatee China Marine Fuel (Nasdaq: AMCF), Animal Health Int’l (Nasdaq: AHII), Arctic Cat (Nasdaq: ACAT), Arrowhead Research (Nasdaq: ARWR), Astea International (Nasdaq: ATEA), Atlas Energy (Nasdaq: ATLS), Bacterin (Nasdaq: BONE), Bitauto (Nasdaq: BITA), Black Box (Nasdaq: BBOX), Body Central (Nasdaq: BODY), Cache (Nasdaq: CACH), China Grentech (Nasdaq: GRRF), China Sky One Medical (Nasdaq: CSKI), China TransInfo (Nasdaq: CTFO), Cimatron (Nasdaq: CIMT), ClearOne Communications (Nasdaq: CLRO), Cornerstone Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CRTX), Cosi (Nasdaq: COSI), Darling Int’l (NYSE: DAR), Dixie Group (Nasdaq: DXYN), Ediets.com (Nasdaq: DIET), Electromed (Nasdaq: ELMD), Eloyalty (Nasdaq: ELOY), eMagin (Nasdaq: EMAN), EMS Technologies (Nasdaq: ELMG), Energy Focus (Nasdaq: EFOI), Evergreen Solar (Nasdaq: ESLR), Evolution Petroleum (AMEX: EPM), Express 1 Expedited (AMEX: XPO), FleetCor Tech (NYSE: FLT), Fortegra Financial (NYSE: FRF), General Finance (Nasdaq: GFN), Giant Interactive (NYSE: GA), GTSI (Nasdaq: GTSI), Highpower International (Nasdaq: HPJ), Imperial Holdings (NYSE: IFT), Incredimail (Nasdaq: MAIL), Infusystem (Nasdaq: INFU), Interleukin (Nasdaq: ILIU), Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IRWD), Kemet (NYSE: KEM), Lifeway Foods (Nasdaq: LWAY), Lime Energy (Nasdaq: LIME), Management Network (Nasdaq: TMNG), MediaMind Tech (Nasdaq: MDMD), Medley Capital (NYSE: MCC), Merriman (Nasdaq: MERR), Noah Education (NYSE: NED), Oxigene (Nasdaq: OXGN), P&F Industries (Nasdaq: PFIN), Penn Millers (Nasdaq: PMIC), PostRock Energy (Nasdaq: PSTR), Prestige Brands (NYSE: PBH), Primus Guaranty (NYSE: PRS), PSS World Medical (Nasdaq: PSSI), Radio One (Nasdaq: ROIA), Seracare Life Sciences (Nasdaq: SRLS), Spark Networks (AMEX: LOV), Sparton (NYSE: SPA), Strategic Diagnostics (Nasdaq: SDIX), Tandy Brands (Nasdaq: TBAC), Tandy Leather (Nasdaq: TLF), Teekay (NYSE: TK), Teekay Tankers (NYSE: TNK), Tengion (Nasdaq: TNGN), TranS1 (Nasdaq: TSON), Treecom (Nasdaq: TREE), US Home Systems (Nasdaq: USHS), Verenium (Nasdaq: VRNM), Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD), Willdan Group (Nasdaq: WLDN) and Wireless Ronin (Nasdaq: RNIN).

Friday

Following PPI, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is set for release at 8:30 AM ET Friday. After an increase to Headline CPI marking 0.5% in March, April’s data is expected by economists to show a 0.4% rise. Excluding food and energy, the Core CPI is seen increasing 0.1%, like in March. We’re looking for +0.2% to become the norm this year.

The Reuters/ University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index is seen increasing slightly to 70.0, up from late April’s 69.8 mark. That’s clearly not a significant change and would continue to reflect a weak absolute level of consumer confidence.

The EPS wire highlights reports from Agilent Technologies (NYSE: A), Allied Motion Technologies (Nasdaq: AMOT), China Advanced Construction Materials (Nasdaq: CADC), China Shengda Packaging (Nasdaq: CPGI), Isoftstone (NYSE: ISS) and Xueda Education (NYSE: XUE).

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

The True Unemployment Rate is Much Worse than the Government Says

Over the past several months we’ve been asking a question, where have 600K Americans disappeared to since November, as they are no longer showing up in the labor pool. So we’ve taken to adding back our disenchanted brothers to the labor force and to the unemployment pool, thus developing the Wall Street Greek Real Unemployment Rate and the like Under-Employment Rate. We calculate those truer estimates of the employment situation for you again here, and the result stands in stark contrast to Wall Street’s Friday morning rally.

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True Unemployment Rate is Much Worse than the Government Says

Last month, we presciently said, "Perhaps the growth in the labor pool over the last couple months is the start of the discouraged returning to look for work again, which would imply the unemployment rate could increase again as it normalizes." Well, Friday, even as Nonfarm Payrolls were reported robustly higher, the unemployment rate deteriorated two-tenths of a point, to 9.0%...

A Survey of the Data

The Labor Department reported that Nonfarm Payrolls increased by a net 244K in April, much above the 185K average net increase forecast by economists surveyed by Bloomberg. April also illustrated an improved rate of job additions, as the revised March figure was noted at 221K (216K initially). The government’s data blew away ADP’s estimate for private nonfarm payroll change, as the feds reported 268K private sector net job additions, versus the 179K seen by ADP (NYSE: ADP). That’s a much healthier increase than the market had ever dreamed of, and it gave life to U.S. equity markets Friday morning.

The DOL reported job growth in services, which certainly could change in the near-term, given recent ISM Non-Manufacturing Index data. Perhaps helped by Easter lift, seen also in the latest Chain Store Sales data, April marked job growth in the Retail Trade Sector (57K+). Real estate enthusiasts will be pleased to hear about increases of 6K in both the Building Materials & Garden Supply Stores and Electronics & Appliance Stores, segments that tend to benefit in tandem with housing (or at a lag according to renowned portfolio manager Peter Lynch – see Beating the Street). The problem here is that increases in Construction employment are still nonexistent, but don’t forget, there’s a buffer to this growth that will keep it hidden; it can be found standing outside Home Depot (NYSE: HD) with empty pockets where green cards should be.

Another notoriously struggling services sector, Professional & Business Services, added 51K jobs in April. However, temporary help hiring hit a soft spot this past month. Temporary help is seen as a labor mezzanine between economic trough and full blown expansion. Health Care has been a regular stalwart sector, and added another 37K jobs last month. Leisure & Hospitality, which should have some seasonal play now, added 46K jobs in April, though over the last three months, two-thirds of the segment’s 151K job additions have come in eating and drinking establishments. Well, the boardwalk down the Jersey Shore officially opens in a just a few weeks, and it is full of food servers in high season. I tend to favor pizza at the beach.

Manufacturing posted growth in April, adding 29K jobs, much of which is supported by emerging world demand. The sector has now added 141K jobs in this short year-to-date. The mining sector added 11K jobs, we suppose some of which was found in rare earth unearthing given the sudden revival of Molycorp (NYSE: MCP) and friends. As long as oil-rich Middle Eastern despots keep finding crowds in the streets each morning, mining opportunities should be aplenty (for even more coal than we already choke on).

The weakness this month, dear fellow citizens, was again found in the public sector, where federal, state and local governments are only seeing increasing reasons to lay off firemen, police officers and even welfare workers in this time of great need. The Public Sector shed 24K jobs in April, after losing 10K in March and 26K in February.

The good news found in the Establishment Survey overwhelmed the Household Survey headline, which sure seemed to evidence a deteriorating employment situation. The rate of unemployment increased to 9.0%, up two-tenths from 8.8% in March. According to Household inquiries, unemployment increased most among teenagers (+0.4%), African Americans (+0.6%) and Hispanic Americans (+0.5%). Adult men and women saw equal increases of 0.2% each. Also, unemployment increased most among people with less than a high school diploma, with that least skilled group seeing a 0.9% increase in joblessness. As we move up the educational scale, we find lower degrees of increased joblessness in April.

The count of Americans working part-time, who would rather be working full-time, increased in April by 167K, to 8.6 million. The number of people marginally attached to the workforce, meaning they had not looked for work over the last four weeks, was relatively unchanged in April at 2.466 million. Finally, those discouraged workers who currently believe there just are no jobs available for them right now, increased by 68K. The biggest problem with this is that it marked a shift into hopelessness from desperation, as these folks simply shifted within the marginally attached group into its most desperate segment.

Calculating Under-Employment

Calculating this month's under-employment rate: If we add back the 2.466 million (previously 2.434 mln.) displaced workers counted in April to the labor market, and include the 8.6 million (previously 8.433 mln.) underemployed part-timers in the unemployed count, adjusted unemployment deteriorates two-tenths of a point to ((13.747M + 2.466M + 8.6M) / (153.421M + 2.466M)) * 100 = 15.92% in April.

Under-Employment Rate Trend:

• April 2011: 15.9%
• March 2011: 15.7%
• February 2011: 15.9%
• January 2011: 16.1%
• December: 16.7%
• November: 17.0%
• October: 17.0%
• September: 17.1%
• August: 16.7%
• July: 16.5%
• June: 16.5%
• May: 16.6%
• April: 17.1%
• March: 16.9%
• February: 16.8%
• January: 16.4%

Getting to the Wall Street Greek Real Unemployment Rate Estimate

While the workforce grew by another 15K in April, that still leaves it 586K short of November's tally. The problem comes when we compare the change in the unemployed with the change in employed Americans over that same span. While 786K more people were counted as "employed" since November, 1352K less people were counted as "unemployed." Where did the extra unemployed people go to, some 566K unaccounted for Americans?

The numbers seem to tell us, they left the labor pool. If we consider they may have retired (from both the labor force and unemployment), then we might find the difference. You see, we have 586K fewer folks in the labor force and a difference of 566K folks between the change in employed and unemployed. The 20K difference can be explained by the DOL’s disclaimer: "Detail for the seasonally adjusted data shown in this table will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series."

But have that many people really retired, fallen ill or died, or have many of them simply fallen off the radar, yet while remaining unemployed? It is pretty much universally agreed upon (now) that the growth in the labor pool over the last couple months is the start of the discouraged unaccounted for unemployed returning to look for work again. This explains why the unemployment rate increased last month, as it should if the labor market is normalizing to account for the abnormal disappearance of Americans from the data.

The difference between the employment increase and unemployment decrease nearly matches the number of Americans no longer considered part of the civilian labor force. Therefore, we add back the lost and unaccounted for Americans into the equation, and we find March's more likely unemployment rate, or the Wall Street Greek Real Unemployment Rate Estimate, sits at 9.3% (versus the government's 9.0%) and the Wall Street Greek Real Underemployment Rate Estimate at 16.2% (against government's 15.9%).

Therefore, in our estimation, unemployment deteriorated in April and was three-tenths of a percentage point worse than the government’s estimate. However, the situation was even worse in February of this year. True Underemployment also deteriorated this month by two-tenths, and was three-tenths of a percentage point worse than the estimate made on pure government figures. Last month, we could at least point to an improving trend, while our numbers marked lower absolute economic health. This month, we cannot even say that. So while the market rejoiced over a solid nonfarm payroll figure, and also on upward revisions to the two previous months of data, the truth is that there is a segment of the population that has given up looking for work, understating the depth of disgust with the economy among our citizenry, not to mention the degree of economic ill-health.

Wall Street Greek Real Unemployment Rate Estimate for 2011:

• April: 9.3%
• March: 9.2%
• February: 9.4%
• January: 9.2%

Wall Street Greek Real Under-Employment Rate Estimate for 2011:

• April: 16.2%
• March: 16.0%
• February: 16.3%

Article should interest investors in Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), TD Bank (NYSE: TD), PNC Bank (NYSE: PNC), State Street (NYSE: STT), Janus (NYSE: JNS), T. Rowe Price (Nasdaq: TROW), General Electric (NYSE: GE), Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Alcoa (NYSE: AA), American Express (NYSE: AXP), Boeing (NYSE: BA), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), DuPont (NYSE: DD), Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), IBM (NYSE: IBM), Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Kraft (NYSE: KFT), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), 3M (NYSE: MMM), Merck (NYSE: MRK), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), AT&T (NYSE: T), Travelers (NYSE: TRV), United Technologies (NYSE: UTX), Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), Paychex (Nasdaq: PAYX), Manpower (NYSE: MAN), Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI), 51Job Inc. (Nasdaq: JOBS), Monster World Wide (NYSE: MWW), Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY), Administaff (NYSE: ASF), Kforce (Nasdaq: KFRC), TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI), Dice Holdings (NYSE: DHX), Kelly Services (Nasdaq: KELYA), SFN Group (NYSE: SFN), CDI Corp. (NYSE: CDI), Cross Country Healthcare (Nasdaq: CCRN), On Assignment (Nasdaq: ASGN), AMN Healthcare Services (NYSE: AHS), Barrett Business Services (Nasdaq: BBSI), Hudson Highland Group (Nasdaq: HHGP), StarTek (NYSE: SRT), RCM Technologies (Nasdaq: RCMT), VirtualScopics (Nasdaq: VSCP), General Employment Enterprises (NYSE: JOB) and TeamStaff (Nasdaq: TSTF).

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Nasdaq: EONC - eOn Communications – Biggest Gainers 05-05-11

eOn Communications led all non-deal gainers on Thursday, as the Telecom Services Industry penny stock climbed 47%, or $0.67. Stock traders had little to go on though regarding the driver of the shares, so we thought we would help clear things up a bit for the pit.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

eOn Communications - Nasdaq: EONC

Most Active Tickers: Nasdaq: KNDL, NYSE: ZSL, Nasdaq: BDCO, Nasdaq: ROCK, Nasdaq: OPHC, NYSE: PPO, NYSE: SCO, Nasdaq: DUSA, Nasdaq: CDTI, Nasdaq: PSEM, NYSE: DTO, Nasdaq: PHMD, Nasdaq: FTWR, NYSE: CRD-A, NYSE: CRD-B, NYSE: LEE, NYSE: MW, Nasdaq: BWOWU, NYSE: DEE, Nasdaq: BONE, Nasdaq: OXGN, NYSE: PTD, Nasdaq: GFCB, Nasdaq: HOTT, Nasdaq: WWVY, Nasdaq: HTCO, Nasdaq: UNTK, Nasdaq: SURW, Nasdaq: CALL, Nasdaq: SHEN, Nasdaq: FRP, Nasdaq: ALSK, NYSE: CBB, Nasdaq: CNSL, Nasdaq: ATNI, Nasdaq: TWTC, Nasdaq: EQIX, Nasdaq: WIN, NYSE: FTR, NYSE: CTL, NYSE: CHT, NYSE: BCE, NYSE: VZ, NYSE: T.

The wire was almost void of any significant news regarding EONC’s driving factors today, as most of the press just reported what they knew, which was that the stock was moving. Our survey of the newswire turned up one vague reference to a positive mention in an investment newsletter, which was not mentioned by name unfortunately. According to that brief, the newsletter cited technical factors that pointed to a breakout for EONC.

We put a call in to the company, and once we hear back we will update this report with any corporate commentary. Companies do not comment on stock trading, but if they are aware of some mention in a newsletter, they’ll let us know that. Readers here are welcome to fill in the blank by making comments to this article, which should prove useful to traders.

The stock was able to gain such lift on such little information thanks to a light float, which is listed at 2.12 million shares by Yahoo Finance (Nasdaq: YHOO). The market cap is micro, with a capitalization value of $6 million or so. Thus, the stock caught fire on its own momentum, as volume multiplied 142 times its average trading day.

We’re not going to analyze eOn Communications’ stock here, as it would take too much time, and when published, render the preceding information useless.

Look for updates to this article here and only on our blog (NOT syndicate sites):



This directly from EONC’s website:

"eOn Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: EONC) is a global provider of innovative communications solutions. Backed with over 20 years of telecommunications engineering expertise, our solutions enable our customers to easily leverage advanced technologies in order to communicate more effectively. Our offerings are built on reliable open architectures that enable easy adoption of emerging technologies, such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and concepts, such as Service Oriented Architectures (SOA). Whether you are looking to leverage the advantages of enterprise IP telephony or advanced contact center technologies, eOn Communications delivers proven, IP-ready products that will improve your business performance."

Other big gainers included Kendle International (Nasdaq: KNDL), ProShares UltraShort Silver (NYSE: ZSL), Blue Dolphin Energy (Nasdaq: BDCO), Gibraltar Industries (Nasdaq: ROCK), OptimumBank (Nasdaq: OPHC), Polypore (NYSE: PPO), ProShares UltraShort DJ UBS Crude (NYSE: SCO), DUSA Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: DUSA), Clean Diesel Technologies (Nasdaq: CDTI), Pericom Semiconductor (Nasdaq: PSEM), PowerShares DB Crude Oil Double Short (NYSE: DTO), PhotoMedex (Nasdaq: PHMD), FiberTower (Nasdaq: FTWR), Crawford & Co. (NYSE: CRD-A), Lee Enterprises (NYSE: LEE), Men’s Wearhouse (NYSE: MW), Wowjoint Holdings (Nasdaq: BWOWU), PowerShares DB Commodity Double Short (NYSE: DEE), Bacterin International (Nasdaq: BONE), OXiGENE (Nasdaq: OXGN), UBS E-TRACS Short Platinum (NYSE: PTD), Granite City Food and Brewery (Nasdaq: GFCB) and Hot Topic (Nasdaq: HOTT). Other Telecom Services industry rivals include Warwick Valley Telephone (Nasdaq: WWVY), Hickory Tech (Nasdaq: HTCO), UniTek Global (Nasdaq: UNTK), SureWest Communications (Nasdaq: SURW), VocalTec Communications (Nasdaq: CALL), Shenandoah Telecommunications (Nasdaq: SHEN), Fairpoint Communications (Nasdaq: FRP), Alaska Communications (Nasdaq: ALSK), Cincinnati Bell (NYSE: CBB), Consolidated Communications (Nasdaq: CNSL), Atlantic Tele-Network (Nasdaq: ATNI), TW Telecom (Nasdaq: TWTC), Equinix (Nasdaq: EQIX), Windstream (Nasdaq: WIN), Frontier Communications (NYSE: FTR), CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL), Chunghwa Telecom (NYSE: CHT), BCE Inc. (NYSE: BCE), Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T (NYSE: T).

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.