Between November 2010 and October 2011, the biggest cities in the country by population added 443,446 jobs. Unemployment in these 250 cities dropped by 7%, on average, during the period. Of course, some cities are faring much better than others.

Based on the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 24/7 Wall St. examined the cities that added and lost the most jobs.

An increase in the total number of new jobs is good news for the economy. It means that the total number of people working is increasing. And if everything else stays the same, the unemployment rate improves. However, if new jobs are added and the total size of the labor force — those employed or looking for work — goes up too, unemployment actually can become worse. However, 24/7 Wall St. found that, in general, the cities that added the most jobs as a percentage of total employed also experienced improved unemployment rate, suggesting a strong relationship between the two.

Read: Cities Gaining the Most Jobs
Read: Cities Losing the Most Jobs

The unemployment rate in the five cities that added the most jobs as a percentage of total employed dropped. Miami’s 13.6% unemployment rate last year dropped to 11.2% in October of this year, mirroring a 4.2% increase in new jobs, the fifth biggest increase in the country. But it is not always the case. In Jackson, Mississippi, the addition of nearly 2,500 jobs was not enough to offset the climb in its total labor force of 3,000. The unemployment rate in the city worsened from 9.6% to 9.8%.

While cities that are losing jobs should see an increase in their unemployment rate, the relationship is much less consistent. Unemployment will increase when jobs are lost, provided the labor force decreases or remains the same. However, if the number of jobs lost is less than the decrease in the labor force, the unemployment rate can actually rise.

Of the five cities that lost the most jobs, only two saw an increase in unemployment. Surprisingly, the sharpest drop in unemployment was in Vancouver, Washington, a city that lost the fifth most jobs as percentage of the total number of workers. Vancouver lost more than 1,500 jobs, but its labor force decreased by nearly 6,000, mostly from those looking for work. The actual unemployment rate for the city therefore improved.

These are the cities that added and lost the most jobs.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) Cut to Underperform at Bernstein.
Alliant Techsystems Inc. (NYSE: ATK) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Broadwind Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWEN) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Brocade Communication Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) Cut to Hold at Kaufman Bros.
Coventry Health Care Inc. (NYSE: CVH) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Cubic Corporation (NYSE: CUB) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Raised to Buy at UBS.
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
MetroPCS Communications (NYSE: PCS) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE: SPG) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.

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JON C. OGG

These moves look huge when you consider that not a single of our defensive stocks is up and when not a single DJIA component is higher.  The DJIA was down about 250 points and took out 9,900 earlier, and the S&P 500 was down over 30 points and the NASDAQ down over 70 points at the peak.  We have added the reason for the move and color where applicable on each.

The first go to name in major uncertainty is the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD).  The gains today of 0.4% at $121.60 may seem muted versus a 52-week range of $88.82 to $123.56, but that is because gold has soared in the last eight to nine months and some may be thinking that the world of gold may be petering out.  Others are not in that camp.

iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treas Bond (NYSE: TLT) is the other ETF which often goes inverse with stocks.  It is no inverse ETF, but it does represent the “flight to quality” trade in that it tracks the Barclays Capital U.S. 20+ Year Treasury Bond index.  It is up 0.9% at $100.91, and it hit a new 52-week high of $100.93 today.

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY) is one of the crazy mortgage REITS that we recently featured in our “big value hunt” with either low P/E ratios or very high dividend yields.  The thought is simple… bonds are up, cost of borrowing is up as are portfolio holdings.  Unfortunately, you never know what its net portfolio of mortgages looks like on a day to day basis.  Shares are up 0.6% at $17.34 and the 52-week range is $14.09 to $19.74.  It shows up as having a 15%+ dividend, but that is very sporadic due to the nature of its business and its REIT status making it pay out some 90% of its taxable income to holders.

BP plc (NYSE: BP) has traded with a mind of its own, so it can’t be too shocking that shares are up when peers are down close to 2% and even when the USO ETF is down 3.2%.  BP’s ADR is up 1.9% at $27.57 on nearly 50 million shares traded.  Imagine if BP’s CEO really does get the boot.

Broadwind Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWEN) is a runner on no formal news.  This one is up 3.3% at $2.48 on nearly 1.5 million shares.  Maybe providing products and services to the wind energy industry is not as dead as many thought after all.

Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYCC) is a runner on no formal news.  For a small-cap biotech it may not be unreasonable considering its recent addition into the Russell 3000.  Shares are up 6.5% at $1.81 on 2.6 million shares.  Keep in mind that the market cap is only about $48 million here.

Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD) is up, but this is on rumors (reports) that the meat producer could be a takeover target by Brazil’s JBS. Stay tuned. Shares are up 3.5% at $15.41, but this traded as high as $16.20 this morning and the 52-week range is $11.36 to $21.48.  The 4.7 million shares with about two hours of trading left is already twice-normal trading volume.

Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) has been a superb IPO for the day.  Shares priced above the range at $17.00 and the opening price was $19.00.  The day’s range so far is $17.54 (if real) to $20.00.  On last look the shares are at $19.90 on 12.7 million shares.  It has traded almost its whole float.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA) appears to be the sole gainer in the NASDAQ-100 at last look.  Bayer dropped a generic patent case over Yaz and Teva has seen several generic announcements in recent days.  Shares are up 1.75% at $52.20, and the 52-week range is $48.10 to $64.95.  Perrigo Co. (NASDAQ: PRGO) is the backside of Teva’s trade as it acquired exclusive sales and distribution rights to the OTC brand versions of Allegra and Allegra D-12 from Teva.  Perrigo shares are only now up 0.1% at $59.35, but shares were up at over $60.00 this morning and the 52-week range is $25.91 to $64.66.

Zep, Inc. (NYSE: ZEP) showed that its net profit was lower, but it still beat Wall Street’s expectations.  As this is a cleaning and maintenance solution products company for commercial and larger-scale markets, imagine how well this could have gone if the ticker-tape was in its direction.  Shares are up almost 3% at $17.69, and the 52-week trading range is $11.99 to $24.37.  Unfortunately, this barely made it over the minimum volume hurdle.

There are of course merger stocks which rise, but that is not sustainable in a single name.

JON C. OGG

• Other secondaries filed this week

Berry Petroleum Co. (NYSE: BRY) is selling some 7 million common shares in an offering expected to price today.  The deal is being brought by Credit Suisse and J.P. Morgan and would be close to $200 million based on current prices.  That compares to a market cap of $1.3 billion and funds are being used for an acquisition.

Broadwind Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: BWEN) is first and foremost NOT an oil and gas company.  It manufactures and sells high precision gears for wind turbines and for other sectors, but we hope one day that alternative energy companies and their suppliers are thought of as energy companies.  The company has been in the process of selling 15 million shares of common stock in an offering through Macquarie and J.P. Morgan.  That would be close to $100 million in proceeds today, versus an implied market cap of $633 million.

Kayne Anderson MLP Investment Company (NYSE: KYN) is technically not an oil company, but it is a closed-end fund that invests at least 85% of its total assets in energy-related master limited partnerships and their affiliates.  It sold 5.5 million shares at $23.61 per share.  This raised approximately $124 million to be used to make additional portfolio investments.  The sale came through UBS Securities, Merrill Lynch, Citi, and Morgan Stanley as joint book-running managers.  This one is even down 6% today on the event.

MarkWest Energy Partners LP (NYSE: MWE) has filed with the SEC its automatic shelf registration for units to sell Common Units (LP interests) and debt securities.  As with many automatic shelf registration statements, no financial terms nor underwriters were named. Its market cap is $1.9 billion.

Rex Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: REXX) is selling some 5.5 million shares in a deal expected to price today after the close through KeyBanc Capital Markets and RBC Capital Markets.  Net proceeds of the offering are intended to fund a portion of Rex Energy’s capital expenditure program for 2010 and for other general corporate purposes.  This would be close to $70 million today versus an implied market cap of $472 million.

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JON C. OGG

• Zoltek Companies Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT), which makes carbon fibers for wind turbines and other key infrastructure;
• Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ: OTTR), a small conglomerate in Minnesota with wind operations;
• Broadwind Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWEN), which manufactures and sells high precision gears for wind turbines.

Even though these three companies are very small compared to the giants, they are also relatively giants if you compare these to the bankrupt company.  And in no way is there a direct tie that we are aware of.  This bankruptcy might even benefit all existing players because it makes them all have one less competitor if this bankruptcy goes along the same path as many other bankruptcies that go from protection to liquidation.

The bankruptcy news from Entegrity Wind Systems was actually out of Canada over recent days but is small enough that it flew under the radar.  The article noted that New Brunswick-based A.C. Poirier & Associates Inc. is going to be the receiver and manager of Entegrity during the bankruptcy.  Where this gets a bit disturbing for the green crowd is that the debt is just not that large considering the hype and hope for the field of wind energy.  And for the field of alternative energy.

Listed was a debt of over $3 million to Mercantile Finance Services in Toronto and over $6 million to other institutions.  Then there is the widening loss because of manufacturing problems in some of the turbines.

You can read the full story from the Daily Camera with many more issues outlined in the piece over the last two weeks since the bankruptcy filing in Canada.  This may be of little or no concern to the larger players.  In fact, this is just one less rodent to deal with as far as they are concerned.  But it also highlights the risks that are still present in an emerging field full of hope and hype.  You could even take the same approach in solar, where this earnings season should set apart the children from the adults in that sector.

Jon C. Ogg

The company said that two of the six pacts were in Canada and four were in the United States, and the entire clean power equivalent is some 170,000 homes in North America. The size is impressive with 565 megawatts rated capacity over all six pacts:

• 44 units of its 2.3-MW rated wind turbines for Kruger Energy’s Chatham wind farm
• 22 wind turbines for the Gosfield wind farm, owned by Brookfield Renewable Power Fund, which is also part of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (NYSE: BAM).
• 66 wind turbines for the Competitive Power Ventures for the Keenan II wind farm in Oklahoma;
• 44 wind turbines to Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) for its Top of the World project in Wyoming;
• 26 wind turbines to Cannon Power Group’s Windy Flats Extension wind farm in Washington State;
• 44 wind turbines to Pattern Energy for its Hatchet Ridge project in California.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is so large that wind alone won’t drive its stock, but it has recently made an acquisition and has been a very active leader in the wind power sector.  Zoltek Companies Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) makes carbon fibers for wind turbines and other key infrastructure, and it had noted how delays and push-outs in the sector has been a large drag on earnings in recent quarters. And Broadwind Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWEN) manufactures and sells high precision gears for wind turbines. All have recovered substantially off of lows, but none are anywhere close to where they were back when wind was very viable and growing.

Siemens did note in the release that the support from administrations in the U.S. and Canada is having a positive effect in wind power, and specifically noted, “We are confident that the industry will get back on its growth track soon.” Siemens cannot be alone in seeing this, not with a combined tally of that many orders.  Maybe with traditional fossil fuel energy prices well above the floor and with the recession ending this will translate into near-term and future contract award wins for the other wind players as well.

JON C. OGG
OCTOBER 13, 2009

Offshore wind projects that generate no emissions and can generate energy for millions of homes and businesses along the East Coast. They make good old-fashioned horse sense.

They have the potential to open up new opportunities for companies related to the wind energy market, like gear and turbine-maker Broadwind Energy (Nasdaq: BWEN) and Vestas Wind Systems, as several farms are expected to be built in the next two or three years.

Yet even with the political tides in strong favor of offshore wind, there are many factors at play that could push out construction of those wind farms to 2012 and beyond.

The project to watch is Massachusetts’  Cape Wind. The state that brought us the legendarily wasteful Big Dig road tunnel project that still leaks to this day is out in front on wind energy, and will likely be the first to complete a large-scale offshore farm.

It means that for East coast projects to succeed, Cape Wind needs to keep from becoming the “Big Wind”.

The Bay State plan is to put up 130 planned turbines off the coast of Cape Cod that would generate 420 megawatts of power, enough to meet 75 percent of the demand on the Cape, and the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.

At first blush, it would appear to be an elegant solution, since building turbines out at sea would make them less visible along the coastline of one of the nation’s major vacation destinations. And building along the East Coast would put the energy far closer to where it is consumed — past wind proposals placed giant farms in the Midwest.

What’s more, the waters are far shallower than in the Pacific, which would make East Coast projects comparably cheaper than they would be out West.

No doubt, however, big aesthetic and costs concerns remain.

The turbines will still be very visible. Without even mentioning the needed transmission lines, the turbines themselves are 285 feet, taller than the Statue of Liberty. They would have to  be moved significantly further out — perhaps 25 miles out to sea – as not to be seen along the shoreline. The further out they are placed, the costs rise significantly.

The issue of who will pay for the turbines is still unresolved. The project is expected to soon get an OK from the U.S. Department of the Interior. The next step will be to find more than $1 billion in a state that is in fiscal shambles.

Federal dollars could help. But that appears more likely for Rhode Island, which is suffering with double-digit unemployment and needs the jobs worse than any state not named Michigan.

Supporters believe strongly that Cape Wind will get funding. But the U.S. lending market is now tightening again. As reported by The Wall Street Journal this week, banks are being stingier with loans, in an effort to preserve capital and stem mounting losses. While Cape Wind is unlikely to be financed by a bank, loan availability is a proxy for the willingness of private enterprise to finance a big and risky project.

After an 8-year battle, Cape Wind is now in the home stretch as far as approvals go. It still faces opposition from some wealthy individuals, and the state’s fishing industry, which could be displaced from the rich fishing grounds at Horseshoe Shoals.

But it still is on track to be the first of many East Coast wind projects up and down the seaboard, including Delaware and New Jersey.

Wind energy supporters best hope the Bay State can avoid a debacle, and stick to the timetable.

Mike Tarsal