Friday US Job Report Preview (Does It Matter Any More In a Broken Market?)

They will use the job number for January to ramp up the market anyway, whether it is good or bad. If the number is good, they will ramp up the market because, really, the economy is growing rapidly! If the number is bad, they will ramp it up because Ben and the Inkjets at the Fed will surely embark on QE3 to further benefit Primary Dealers. Since PDs are the market and the market is the economy, why we will have an economic miracle this year!

Never mind that cotton is on a tear since August, gas at the pump here is over $3.50, and ...

Anyway, here's the preview from AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Economic growth is gaining momentum, with factories busy and service firms expanding, but one critical area still lags: job creation.

The Labor Department will issue its January jobs report Friday, and economists are forecasting that it will show only modest hiring. Employers are expected to add a net total of 146,000 new jobs. That's barely enough to keep up with population growth. The unemployment rate is likely to tick up to 9.5 percent from 9.4 percent in December.

Some analysts are more optimistic and think the job gains could be larger, after several positive economic reports were released Thursday. The service sector, which employs nearly 90 percent of the work force, expanded at the fastest pace in five years last month, retail sales increased, and factory orders grew in December.

"Activity across the broader economy is picking up," said Neil Dutta, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "Momentum is improving."

Whatever. It doesn't matter any more. Have you noticed that the stock market does not respond to the FOMC announcements like it used to do? These days, the FOMC is a non-event. Job numbers are non-events. GDP numbers are non-events. Behind all these numbers is Ben Bernank printing merrily on high. Ben has long broken the market.

The Egyptian Revolution is a non-event, the EU PIIGS debt crisis is a non-event, UFO over Jerusalem is a non-event, and ....

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