Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ: GLUU) is up more than 5% premarket on moderate volume to $4.96, relative to a 52-week range of $0.85-$4.71. The company just announced a new game for Windows Phone 7.

51 Job, Inc. (NASDAQ: JOBS) is up more than 8% premarket on light volume to $65.00, relative to a 52-week range of $16.64-$61.99. The company is expected to beat earnings estimates when it reports today.

Santarus, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNTS) is down 7.6% premarket to $3.00, relative to a 52-week range of $2.09-$5.67. The company received a “refusal to file letter from the FDA regarding their new drug, Rhucin.

Obama looks at the $2 trillion on the balance sheets of American companies and sees money for payroll increases. CEOs view the cash as a way to increase dividends and fund M&A activity. Many of the managers remain concerned about the future of the economy. Cash may be important if there is a second economic downturn.

Obama did not give Corporate America much to trade if they will add new workers. New tax cuts may help to improve net income. That is not a reason to hire. It is a way to raise earnings to please investors. US firms have had to rely on job and other expense cuts to raise margins. They have learned to improve productivity by relying  on smaller numbers of employees to operate their companies. Most of those efforts are exhausted. Lower taxes can provide another avenue to boost profits.

Obama’s trouble is that little of the huge stimulus package he launched two years ago gave corporations reasons to add employees. The recession actually caused them to reduce payrolls. The new tax package needs a component that gives companies a concrete benefit to add new employees. It has none.

Economists have often argued that the best way to get companies to add people is to give firms direct and immediate incentives to do so. One of the ideas mentioned is that every corporation which adds a person to payroll will get a tax break commensurate to the salary of that worker. It would be an expensive initiative, but it would work.

Obama did not stand in front of the 20  CEOs and tell them he could give them something they could sell to their investors. He did not give them proposed legislation to make the cost of adding new jobs during an economic slowdown palatable.

Douglas A. McIntyre

It appears that jobs creation may be moving to the private sector, which means that the jobs are likely to be more permanent than Census jobs and that US businesses have become more optimistic about the course of the economy.

The latest version of the Gallup tracking poll shows total unemployment leveled at 19.1% in late May. Gallup’s numbers include the unemployed as counted by the government,  and those working part-time who are looking for full-time work, and the people who are “unattached” to the work force. Together, Gallup defines this sum as underemployment which it does not match precisely with BLS figures.

One of the things that the research shows is that the unemployed are being replaced by part-time workers. Although this may seem a disappointing sort of progress toward full employment jobs,  at least it is a step in the right direction. It is also a sign that businesses are willing to take very modest risks by bringing on new people.

Job creation also rose to its highest level this year. Companies hiring were 28% of the total survey results. Those letting people go were 21%.

Whether the Gallup poll is a leading indicator of employment the way that the ADP and Challenger Christian numbers are is impossible to tell. The correlation has not been studied. If Gallup’s results are, then May BLS numbers should be good. and the jobs recovery may actually be underway, without too much help from the employment created by the federal government.

Douglas A. McIntyre

The survey of 2,315 respondents showed that “More than half (55 percent) of these employees said their company made changes or reduced compensation in the past six months, up from 50 percent in the fourth quarter, and 17 percent reported their company restructured their job or made their position redundant, up from 10 percent last quarter.”

Anxiety about job security caused about three-quarters of respondents to say that they would take a pay cut to keep working in their current positions.The poll shows the extent to which companies have workers by their throats. Productivity in the U.S. rose by 7.9% in the fourth quarter of last year, a sign that bosses are willing to pressure their work forces for longer hours and probably harder ones. Workers have nearly no leverage to get improved salaries. Recent unemployment numbers for March showed that 8 percent of the work force is comprised of people who would like full-time jobs but have only part-time one.

There continues to be a ripple of despair that moves among the workers at firms where management can reasonably hint that it has not cut the last job possible and that one more “restructuring” may be on the way. Personal income in the US will not rebound under these circumstances which means that consumer spending will remain historically low.

People who live in deep fear of losing their jobs are saving what they can and not spending a dime

Douglas A. McIntyre

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• Aegon (NYSE: AEG)
• Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD)
• Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD)
• Chartered Semiconductor (NASDAQ: CHRT)
• Chipotle Mexicann Grill (NYSE: CMG)
• CVR Energy (NYSE: CVI)
• Gehl Company (NASDAQ: GEHL)
• 51Job inc.. (NASDAQ: JOBS)
• Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX)
• Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ: LSCC)
• McClatchy (NYSE: MNI)
• Micron Tech (NYSE: MU)
• Mine Safety Appliances (NYSE: MSA)
• New Frontier (NASDAQ: NOOF)
• Ryland Group (NYSE: RYL)
• THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI)
• Virgin Media Inc. (NASDAQ: VMED)
• William Sonoma (NYSE: WSM)

Jon C. Ogg
July 28, 2008

• 51jobs (JOBS) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
• AU Optronics (AUO) Cut to Neutral at HSBC.
• Aventine Renewable (AVR) Cut to Underweight at Lehman.
• Ceradyne (CRDN) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
• Clorox (CLX) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
• Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
• Goodrich (GR) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank.
• Melco Crown Entertainment (MPEL) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Plexus (PLXS) Cut to Neutral  at Baird.
• VeraSun Energy (VSE) Cut to Underweight at Lehman.

Jon C. Ogg
July 28, 2007

It is hedging with good comments, though.  The expected revenue increase of approximately 28% for the first quarter reflects continued rapid revenue growth in the Company’s International Careers segment, and reduced growth rates in the North America Careers and Internet Advertising & Fees businesses.  It continues to expect its financial results for the year 2007 to be within the ranges provided in the Business Outlook provided on February 1, 2007. The Company continues to achieve greater operating efficiencies and manage costs tightly, while also funding important growth initiatives within the overall strategic growth plan. Monster Worldwide maintains a positive view toward what it believes are significant growth opportunities within the global online recruitment and Internet advertising markets.

The main punishment is coming from this still being deemed as a hi-beta name in a cyclical sector that is deemed "at-risk" whenever the economy is softening.  After a drop like this, there will probably be many analyst calls.  Other employment related stocks are down as well: Korn Ferry (KFY) -1% at $23.07; Labor Ready (LRW) -4% at $18.30 was cut at Goldman Sachs today; Robert Half (RHI) -3% at $36.20; ManPower (MAN) -2.5% at $73.20; Administaff (ASF) -1% at $35.21.

Jon C. Ogg
April 4, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.