This morning's closely-watched jobs report is out: U.S. employers added jobs at a steady pace and wages rose slightly in July, but millions of Americans stayed on the sidelines in the latest sign of lingering slack in the labor market. Nonfarm payrolls rose a seasonally adjusted 215,000. Revisions showed employers added 14,000 more jobs in May and June than previously estimated. The unemployment rate, which is obtained from a separate survey of U.S. households, held steady at 5.3% (WSJ)
Apple, the world's most valuable company with a $658bn market capitalization, is losing its lustre: the stock price has fallen more than 10% since mid-July. You might ask - how does this affect the market? Every $1 change in Apple's share price results in a .65 point shift in the S&P 500. Long-term holders of the stock are still soundly in the black - it's up 872% since 2009! (FT)
2015 has been an unusual year for US stocks. The S&P 500 has never been as much as 3.5% above or below its starting figure for the year, and the first and second quarters saw growth of almost exactly zero - the last time that happened was 1904. (FT)
The US Trade gap grew 7% to $43.8bn in June, a consequence of the continued strength of the dollar. Exports declined 3%, on weak Chinese and European demand. (WSJ)