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Michael Shedlock submits: The US Treasury Bull market is still intact after 27 years.30 Year Long Bond 1990-Present (click on chart to enlarge)Complete Story »

Hard Assets Investor submits: By Brad ZiglerWilbert Harrison put the City of Fountains in everybody's mind, and himself in the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, with his 1959 recording "Kansas City."And now, nearly 50 years later, I find myself humming the tune as I prepare to head out to the Society of American Business Editors and Writers Fall Conference in ol' K.C.

Hickey and Walters (Bespoke) submit:
This month's decline of 84,000 non-farming jobs marks the eighth straight month of job losses in the US.  While the monthly job losses haven't gotten close to levels seen in past recessions, this many consecutive months of a negative jobs number has coincided with official recessions in all instances except one (there were 10 straight months of declines from 12/43-9/44 without a declared recession).

James Picerno submits: The labor market continues bleeding, as today's update on the nation's payrolls for July reminds. Compared with past recessions -- and, yes, we're in one -- the current ills look mild, as our chart below suggests. What worries us is that the pain, however modest, may roll on for longer than usual.

Brett Steenbarger submits: The indicator reviews of late have indicated a stalling out of the market bounce since mid-July, with negative dollar flows into stocks and more evidence of sector rotation than actual sector trending.

John Jansen submits: Here is HSBC's take on the labor report. * A massive 0.4ppt rise in the unemployment rate to 6.1% from 5.7% (consensus  5.7%, HSCB 5.9%), now at the highest rate since September 2003. With unemployment already 0.5ppt above the Fed’s year-end forecast of 5.6%, the Fed is likely to re-focus on growth risks at the upcoming meeting on Sep 16   

Felix Salmon submits: Remember covered bonds? They're ever so safe, because not only are they overcollateralized, they're also guaranteed by the issuing bank. As a result, Hank Paulson has been dropping hints that he'd like to see the mortgage industry move in the covered bond direction in future.

It was an expensive "No". A day after business-to-business publisher Informa plc rejected a cut-price 450 pence-per-share bid from a realigned grouping of Providence Equity Partners LLC, Carlyle Group and Blackstone Group LP., investors drove down its stock. By mid-afternoon Friday shares were down 6.9% at 386 pence....

On Wednesday we observed that Coca-Cola Co.'s proposed acquisition of China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd. for $2.4 billion will be a regulatory trailblazer in that country. Since then there's been a lot more coverage of the topic, and opinion on how Coke will fare with Chinese authorities varies widely. The...

Swiss miner Xstrata plc lifted its stake Friday in hostile bid target miner Indophil Resources NL of Melbourne, Australia, to just under 20%, frustrating an agreed-to A$503 million ($419 million) offer from management backed by Crosby Capital Ltd....