Stocks Slide on Jobs Report

Word on the Street

• The phasing out of 225,000 temporary census workers left total US payrolls down by 125,000 jobs in June. This marked the first time this year that the economy has actually lost jobs. Unemployment dropped to 9.5 percent, the lowest level since July 2009, from 9.7 percent.
• Video – Playing the Jobs Data
• Apple (AAPL) said iPhones have been displaying too many signal bars because of a software glitch . The company promised to update its iOS 4 operating system in the next few weeks to address the problem. The defective formula has been part of the iPhone’s firmware since the original 2007 iPhone so the fix will also apply to the older iPhone 3G and 3GS.
• Google (GOOG) has reached an agreement to buy ITA Software, a maker of air-travel flight-information software whose customers include major airlines and online travel agencies. The search engine giant is forking over $700 million in cash for the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based software vendor.
• Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) said Chief Merchandising Officer John Fleming would resign from the company on Aug. 1. Fleming, who has been with Walmart 10 years, was previously the chief marketing officer.
• US Factory Orders Fall – After reporting eight consecutive monthly increases in new orders for manufactured goods, the Commerce Department said orders to US factories declined broadly in May. Analysts think factory orders fell due to a sharp decline in orders for commercial airplanes.
• Staples Inc. (SPLS) announced plans to buy Finland’s leading office supply company, Oy Lindell Ab. Before this acquisition, Staples previously had a contract to serve global contract customers in Finland. Staples did not disclose the terms of the purchase.
• Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (LGF) has elected to adopt a shareholder rights plan to prevent hostile takeover attempts to buy the independent Hollywood studio.

Other Interesting Tidbits

• The Krugman Question – What if Paul Krugman is right? Or at least in the neighborhood of right?
• Negotiating Estate Tax Gridlock – There’s no estate tax this year. Do you need to revise your plan?
• Retirement: Your Best Moves – The economy still faces rough going, but now is the time to refocus on where and how you’d like to retire.
• 8 Problems That Could Trigger a Double-Dip Recession – Why these lingering issues could send the economy reeling.
• Where in the world is a good economy? – It’s definitely not in the U.S. or Europe, but in some corners of the world, economies are surprisingly strong.