But there's more than the election that's affecting markets today.
As voters head to the polls, it's only fitting that the one economic report released today is on jobs.
- Job openings continue sluggish trend- How Americans view the job market and what they expect it to be like under each candidate will be one of the deciding factors in this election. The Labor Department reported on Tuesday that job openings in the U.S. hit a five-month low in September, indicating that the recent drop in unemployment is not an accurate portrayal of the labor market. The number of available jobs fell by 100,000 to 3.56 million and it wasn't because more positions were filled - during September fewer people were hired, as well as fired. If you go back to December 2007, the start of the recession, there were about 1.8 people vying for each position and now that number has almost doubled to 3.4 people. "Hiring is the most costly expense for a business," Kurt Rankin, an economist at PNC Financial Services Group Inc. in Pittsburgh, told Bloomberg News. "Until a framework for policy can be determined, which will come with the election and the resolution of the fiscal cliff, businesses are not likely to ramp up hiring."
- U.S. officials vow to avoid the fiscal cliff- On the eve of Election 2012, U.S. officials at the G-20 summit in Mexico City made a "clear promise" to avoid the fiscal cliff. "Time is of the essence and significant policy uncertainty in Washington must be addressed," International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde told reporters. "It will be important for the U.S. to address quickly the so-called fiscal cliff."
And finally, here's one stock that's headed for 15% gains today and another you should avoid:
- AOL (NYSE: AOL) surges while Zillow Inc. (Nasdaq: Z) stumbles- Online real estate information provider Zillow is having its worst one-day slide ever after forecasting lower than expected revenue for the fourth quarter. Zillow went public in July 2011 and until today had traded above its post IPO spike. Yet, the company swung to a third-quarter profit of $2.33 million after reporting a loss of $570,000 a year earlier and analysts remain upbeat. "While the stock likely sells off following disappointing guidance, we believe the long-term outlook for Zillow remains positive," said James Dobson of Benchmark Research. Dobson, along with Citigroup reiterated their "Buy" ratings on Zillow.
The Dow Jones was up 142 points, or 1.08%, and the S&P 500 was up 12.15 points, or 0.86% in afternoon trading.
Related Articles and News:
- Money Morning:
If Romney Wins Election 2012 Buy and Sell These Sectors - Money Morning:
How to Know When to Sell Apple Stock (Nasdaq: AAPL) - Money Morning:
Gold Prices Will Soar Past $2,500 As Central Banks Buy it Up - Bloomberg News:
Job Openings in U.S. Decreased by 100,000 in September - Reuters:
AOL ad sales boost third-quarter profit
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