Why Companies Aren’t Hiring

"We hope the U.S. government will take responsible policies and measures to boost global financial market confidence and respect and protect the interests and investors…"

And even went so far as to say that the debt issue is a "… reflection of the credibility of the U.S. government…"

Now, I know none of us are happy with the way Congress and the administration has approached our debt issues so far. But China’s sitting in its own glass house.

It manipulates its currency, it allows copyright theft, its environment is a mess, its human rights record is as Machiavellian as it gets, it exports kids toys laced with cancer-causing cadmium, it turns a blind eye to Chinese companies that are outright frauds solely designed to steal money from American investors, but it’s the U.S. that has a credibility problem.

Yeah, right.

I know Congress and the administration have made only token efforts in addressing China’s shortcomings as a trade partner. But enough is enough. China needs us to buy their exports more than we need China to buy Treasuries. It’s time to get tough with China.

But don’t mistake this continued weak spot for the economy with the stock market. Corporate earnings are hitting record levels. Productivity gains and steady consumer spending are driving profit growth.

There is no incentive for companies to hire workers. Companies are perfectly able to meet current demand.

If you could have gotten shares of Zillow (Nasdaq:Z) ahead of the IPO, then you could have made money. But the fact is only preferred clients of brokers can get shares pre-IPO. For the rest of us, buying an IPO on its opening day is a great way to lose money.

All day yesterday, we heard how Zillow was up as much as 150%. But that gain is calculated using the pre-IPO price of the shares. A quick look at the actual trading will show you that Zillow opened around $55 and traded lower all day. In fact, it closed around $35. That’s a 36% loss from the open.

IPOs are all about insiders cashing out, and the company raising money. For the average investor, you’re best advised to stay away from IPOs when they first start trading. After a couple months, the froth will have subsided and you can get a better idea of what fair value really is.