A seemingly contradictory line up of recent economic indicators has been drawing a lot of attention as of late, leaving in its wake a population of economists and economic analysts who have suddenly been struck dumbfounded. They are, after all, dealing with an economy that just refuses to stick to their models and predictions.

Here is a run-down of some of the more “perplexing” measures of the past month:

• The US Bureau of Labor Statistics released its April Employment Situation Report in which it indicated that non-farm payroll employment rose by 244,000 in April . According to the BLS these job gains occurred in several service sector industries, as well as manufacturing, and mining. But this good news was tempered by the announcement within the same report that the unemployment rate has also increased to 9.0 percent, up from 8.8 percent in March.

• The National Federation of independent Business reported that its small business optimism index fell for the second straight month in April to 91.2 from 91.9 in March.

• The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index rose more than foretasted in May to 72.4, a three-month high, from a final reading of 69.8 in April. The ind

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FOX Business: The Power to Prosper

The blue chips capped the best week in two years with a pre-Independence Day rally as traders cheered a better-than-expected ISM manufacturing report. 

Today’s Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 168 points, or 1.4%, to 12,583, the S&P 500 gained 19 points, or 1.4%, to 1,340 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 42.5 points, or 1.5%, to 2,816. The FOX 50 gained 13 points to 937.  

As Greece fades from the spotlight, market participants are beginning to pay closer attention to the global economic recovery and second-quarter corporate earnings. Many economic reports this week were positive, sending the major market averages well into the green. For the week, the Dow jumped 5.4%, the S&P 500 rallied 5.6% and the Nasdaq soared 6.2%. 

The highly-watched Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing PMI report ticked higher to 55.3 in June from 53.5 in May, easily topping estimates of 51.8. Readings above 50 are seen as pointing to expansion in the manufacturing sector.  Se

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