Are You Positive It's A Negative?

As every major business Web site reported on the poor NFP numbers, I caught a glimpse of the fact that the private sector created 93,000 jobs in November and that was the overlooked number that mattered to me. When I did my NFP analysis a few weeks ago, I noticed that the economy is at a critical level. Net job growth since Bear Stearns has reached 668,000 - equivalent to a little over 10% of all jobs shed since February 2008 - and this is the first December since Bear Stearns where we've seen any job growth. The 39,000 additional growth in NFPs adds to that support level. So, are the bears out there sure this is a negative? If we see another month like June 2010, we'll be back to the psychologically important 1 million level. So your choice: buy now, or pay up later?

On a personal note, I've been actively applying for jobs in the US as well as London and every day, I'm seeing some new six figure marketing jobs being posted to various job sites. On a good day, about 8-10 marketing director level jobs are being posted. On an uneventful day, you'll see a repost of some old jobs that haven't yet been filled.

Talent is a scarcity, and I'll admit I've got talent, but I got rejected with this job I really, really wanted in the financial sector. Apparently, my 12 years of experience means nothing on Wall Street since I haven't had any financial services experience. So my business school education means nothing either. If there's any Professor of Finance out there looking for an intern, let me know. I'm serious here. Don't expect me to get you coffee though. I will test your support and resistance if you'd like.

My short term goal involves getting a job in either NYC or London and then simultaneously doing an internship within the financial services sector so that I can gain some credibility there. Wall Street is going to be back in the biggest way... I can feel it.

After being back in a very big way yesterday, my SBA once again outperformed all major market indices around the world. Woohoo! However, I would have liked it even more if the Roth IRA had followed. I am now faced with a very interesting decision: should I rebalance now or should I rebalance later? The Roth IRA has been an underperformer for a while and it's typically when you get fed up with the market that a rebound is imminent.

+0.67% on the SBA
+0.06% on the Roth IRA


Happy Weekend, Professors of Finance! I hope I'll get an even better report card next week... otherwise, you can tutor me!