The Traderszone Network

The bulls and bears are playing a bit of an April Fool’s joke on investors. Plus, Go Daddy goes big in its initial public offering. And Walmart takes the battle over religious freedom laws to its home state’s capital.

U.S. private employers added 189,000 jobs last month, below economists’ expectations and the lowest since January 2014, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 225,000 jobs. The ADP figures come ahead of the U.S. Labor Department’s more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which includes both public and private-sector employment. Economists polled by Reuters are looking for total U.S. employment to have grown by 245,000 jobs in March, down from 295,000 in February.

Three things to watch in Wednesday’s trade via Yahoo Finance’s Michael Santoli.

Russia faces a protracted economic recession as the impact of Western sanctions will linger for many years and oil prices will stay low, the World Bank said on Wednesday.

Sears shares rose 7 percent at $44.22 in premarket trading on Wednesday. Billionaire Chief Executive Eddie Lampert, who controls nearly half of Sears, has launched a series of unusual transactions, cut costs and sold assets to turn around the company, which has posted losses for the last 11 quarters. His latest move involves setting up a REIT, Seritage Growth Properties, which will buy and lease back about 254 Sears and Kmart stores. Sears owned or leased 1,725 Sears and Kmart stores as of Jan. 31.

Top Definition. Chopfest. An overcrowded, alcohol themed festival dedicated to the Portuguese culture, which typically occurs annually during the month of June.

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The industry throws off a lot of cash, which feeds dividend increases and share-price outperformance, writes Phil van Doorn.
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