Government Panel Recommends Opportunities for Workers 55 and Up
A special panel established by the Government to look into the ageing population in relation to the economy has reported that the seniors present opportunities that the government has yet to tap. REUTERS

Stocks are modestly lower in mid-afternoon trading, as investors struggle to interpret the January jobs report from the U.S. Labor Department.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 are down slightly by 0.03 and .006 percent, respectively.

Nasdaq, powered by the acquisition of Silverleaf Resorts (Nasdaq: SVLF) by Cerberus Capital, is up by 0.28 percent.

The job report stated that the unemployment rate in the U.S. had dropped to 9 percent in January, but its non-farm payrolls rose by only 36,000 jobs. Economists forecasted that payroll jobs would rise by 140,000.

Oil is down 1.62 percent in the midst of ongoing political unrest in Egypt and the prospect of disruption in supply flows, while gold is down 0.28 percent.

The 10-year bond yield is up 0.11 percent.

Shares of Aetna (NYSE: AET) are surging 9.41 percent after the health insurer announced that it garnered $8.54 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter, or $0.64 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $8.4 billion, or $0.63 per share.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) is down 1.69 percent after it was named in a lawsuit yesterday by a trustee for allegedly knowing about Bernie Madoff’s now infamous Ponzi scheme, yet seeking to make money off of financial products tied to him anyway.

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