(Lee Siler) - A significant drop in new housing starts has taken stock futures from a mildly higher opening to a slightly lower opening...Wall Street was expecting October new housing starts to improve by 1.7%, but instead saw a deep decline of 10.6%. The Commerce Department said that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000 units is the lowest since April and the percentage drop is the worst since January. Although single family home starts slowed by 6.8%, the biggest hit was from the multi-family starts which tumbled 34.6%.

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(Lee Siler) - Stocks look to build on last week's gains, as this week will be packed with economic data. This morning, retail sales came in a little better than expected. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales increased by 1.4% during the month of October. However, if you strip auto and auto parts sales, the number came in less than expected. Ex-auto's, economists had been expecting a jump by 0.4%, but actually came in about half of that number at 0.2%.

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(Lee Siler) - The nation's largest retailer, Wal-Mart reported earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations. But the stock is indicating a lower opening, as their same-store-sales came in less than analysts had predicted. And although they did raise their 4th quarter outlook, their sales figures will be less than robust. Wal-Mart is expecting 4th quarter same-store-sales to range from down one percent to up one percent. These numbers are adding to the head winds in the market this morning. Obviously, Wal-Mart is the premier retail bellwether and if they're going to struggle, it's safe to assume the entire industry will be having a hard time during the holiday season...

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(Lee Siler) - The nation's unemployment rate jumped to over 10% for the first time since October 1983. The consensus estimate was 9.9%, but the continued lay-offs being handed out by corporate America made the number jump to 10.2%. The news has sent stock futures plunging from earlier levels.

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(Lee Siler) - Stocks have been struggling all week and barring a great day for the averages, we will be closing down on the week. What's more, the commerce department released the durable goods figures, which were less than economists had expected. Durable goods orders dropped 2.4% in August after increasing a revised 4.8% in July. Wall Street was expecting a gain of 0.5%. Stock futures were pointing to a slightly higher opening, until these numbers were released and are now looking to trade much lower.

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(Lee Siler) - This may not sound like much, but it doesn't take much to change market sentiment, especially when much of Wall Street is expecting a pullback.

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(Lee Siler) - Stock futures are mixed this morning, as Wall Street tries to digest a five day winning streak. On the 8th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, the market will likely finish the week on a positive note. Consumer sentiment data will be released later this morning from the University of Michigan. This news has typically been a market mover and the market is expecting an improvement over last month. This number is a preliminary and will likely be adjusted up or down over the next few weeks.

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(Lee Siler) - A better than expected jobs report, has stock futures trading slightly higher on the open. Also helping matters, the continued weak dollar is pushing energy and mining stocks to the upside, which are boosting the major averages.

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(Lee Siler) - This morning gold futures continue their tear, as the precious metal trades over $1000 per ounce, the highest level since March of 2008. Technical momentum and a weaker dollar are certainly adding fuel to the fire. Gold is not the only metal staging an impressive rally. Silver has rallied more than 30% over the past few months.

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(Lee Siler) - Yesterday, the market broke a four-day losing streak, as Wall Street was waiting for this morning's jobs report. Despite much speculation, the Labor Department reported that unemployment rose to 9.7% compared to an estimate of 9.5%. However, the news wasn't all bad, as U.S. employers cut a fewer-than-expected 216,000 jobs. The hike in the unemployment rate came from revisions the Labor Department did for June and July.

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