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Unemployment Rate Fell to 9.1 Percent; The Open of U.S. Markets; Obama Reveals Jobs Program for Vets; The Deaths Pile Up in Syria; Stock Markets in U.S., Europe and Asia Try to Rebound; White House Vows Recovery; No to Panic When Market Drops; Heat-Related Football Deaths
Aired August 05, 2011 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. We're going to be keeping an eye on the markets. It is 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. in the West. I'm Deborah Feyerick. Here's some of the stories that have us talking this morning.
The July jobs report a little better than expected actually. More than 100,000 new jobs created and unemployment dropped just slightly. Wall Street still jittery, though, after yesterday's plunge.
Thousands of FAA employees and contractors going back to work. Congress has reached a deal to end the agency's partial shutdown.
And tanks and snipers can't deter anti-government protests in Syria. Thousands again taking to the streets demanding President Assad's ouster.
And we begin this hour with a snapshot of the economy. New numbers, deepening fears, and some perspective to keep your own panic in check.
First up, the new jobless report just minutes ago. We learned the economy added 117,000 jobs last month and that's better than expected. And unemployment has fallen slightly to 9.1 percent -- still high, but overall it's welcome news especially after yesterday's huge plunge on Wall Street.
Well, our reporters are covering all of the angles. Ali Velshi breaks down the new jobs numbers. Alison Kosik looks ahead to Wall Street's open later this hour and then Jim Boulden looks at the markets in Europe and Anna Coren does the same in Asia. At the White House we've got Brianna Keilar.
Well, let's begin this morning's new jobs numbers. Ali Velshi joins us to break down the numbers, what they mean.
Ali, 117,000 jobs, better than expected, but really to make a dent in unemployment it's got to be higher than that per month, correct?
ALI VELSHI, ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Yes. We're not close to making a dent, but I'll tell you how it always works out. This is a net number. In other words you take the number of jobs, totally created minus the jobs lost. Now what we had, well, 154,000 private sector jobs which is really where you want to see that growth. Then you subtract the government jobs that were lost and you come up with a net number of 117.
Here's what we were expecting. About 75,000 jobs were expected so we got 117. You see there 154 added in private sector, 23,000 government jobs were lost. So the sheer number is an improvement.
The unemployment rate, which, as you know, Deb, I'm not a fan of talking all that much about its drop from 9.2 to 9.1 percent. You're going to hear a lot of talk about that today. Put that aside. We need to talk about job growth.
The other thing that's important, Deb, is this always happens every month. We get a revision to the two prior months because there's more data, it's more accurate. And here's what we found.
In June we thought we had gained just 18,000 jobs. That was very, very weak. We now learned that we gained 46,000 jobs in June. Again, not a good number, but a lot more than we thought.
And back in May, we thought we had -- we had increased about 25,000. It turns out we gained 53,000. So the whole picture going back a few months is better than we expected. It probably buys us a little bit of breathing room. The downside to this, of course, is that with everything that's been going wrong in the last couple of weeks, including this market downturn we had yesterday, there were some sense that this may prompt government to intervene more.
That had some people hopeful. This may sort of keep things on the rocks for a little while -- Deb.
FEYERICK: And Ali, just quickly, is Washington going to be able to get a grip on jobs growth, given what we saw happening with the debate over the debt ceiling?
VELSHI: Well, that's a good question, is Washington going to get anything done? Look, there is some sense that there are very specific things that can be done to stimulate jobs growth. Generally speaking a payroll tax cut and a credit to employers to hire people, that is possible that that might get done.
I think if anybody knows anything about the economy more than they did two weeks ago is that this is serious and we're going to have to find some way to stimulate jobs growth. This isn't enough but it was better than what we were expecting.
FEYERICK: OK. Ali Velshi, thanks so much.
Well, Wall Street reopens in less than half an hour. Yesterday's upheaval is sure to echo by Closing Bell. Wall Street had lost all the gains made in 2011. The Dow tumbled more than 500 points and all the major indexes had lost about 4 percent of their value.
Sounds pretty ominous, right? Well, here's some historical perspective. In terms of points, yesterday was the ninth biggest one- day loss that Wall Street has ever seen. But consider this. As far as percentage drops go, it was more like a bump in the road. It's rank among the worst, 116. So the big question, will the markets rebound, or are they going to sink even lower?
Alison Kosik is keeping a close eye on these final minutes before the Opening Bell.
And Alison, what is the mood? What are you seeing there?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Deb, you know what? Immediately when that report came out, you could hear kind of a positive reaction, to say the least, on the floor.
You know you heard some chatter showing that, you know, what traders and Wall Street seems to be pretty happy with this and you can see that in the futures. So when the Opening Bell rings it's expected we'll see stocks start in the green, which is something we haven't seen in a while here on Wall Street.
Now I'll tell you what, Wall Street really needed some good news at this point. And what we could wind up seeing is what's known as a relief rally. You know, that's after that 512-point plunge on the Dow Industrials yesterday.
As you said it was the ninth biggest point drop ever. But overall, the stock market lost an astounding $800 billion in value in just one day. You know it's absolutely a huge number. And then you look at the Dow and the S&P overall. They slid into correction territory Thursday and that means they're down 10 percent from their recent peaks.
But you know we should see a nice bounce this morning with 117,000 new jobs added. It really was, the number was much more than economists were expecting and, true, it's not enough for a rebound to make up for the more than 1300 points that the Dow has lost in the last two weeks when we get the pop at the open.
But you know what? We'll take those green arrows at this point, although I did speak with some traders right after the report, Deb, and found out that you know what? We may have a rally at the top but it may fizzle out at the end because a lot of traders don't want to go into the weekend holding those positions -- Deb.
FEYERICK: All right, well, it's going to be certainly interesting to watch. We're going to be checking back with you later on in the morning. Thanks, Alison Kosik.
And it's not just on Wall Street where stocks are taking a beating overnight. Markets tanked around the world. Let's check in first on the trading in Europe.
Jim Boulden is in London. How much had the European markets fallen overnight?
JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, overnight, it was obviously a really bad day on Thursday here in Europe. And then this morning wasn't very good either. I can tell you we've had a complete reversal, a relief rally in the last half hour, Deb., specifically because of that U.S. numbers.
We're now seeing shares in Paris up more than 1 percent. We already saw shares in Spain and Italy higher as well. Now we're still shares down here in London but well off their lows. It was a bit of an immediate pop. People really launched into the market again.
But I should be caution, of course. These markets are well down for the year, terrible day on Thursday. And the last two days, Deborah, it's been the last 30 minutes of trading in Europe where we've seen a real side so we're going to have to keep our eyes really closely on there. But as of now, big relief with that U.S. jobs number.
FEYERICK: OK. Well, good news heading into the weekend. Jim Boulden, thank you.
And now we're going to go to Asia where overnight loses were also steep. CNN's Anna Coren in Hong Kong.
Anna, give us the picture. What it's looking like there?
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Deb, it was a bloodbath really here in Asia. The threats of a global financial crisis certainly sent markets here in the Asia Pacific into a tailspin.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng, for example, was down 4.3 percent. Australia's S&P, ASEX 200, was down 4 percent. Now that was the biggest drop in two years down under. The $60 billion was wiped off the stock market in Australia.
So investors certainly hit hard down there. The reason being commodity prices. It's so closely linked and very sensitive to what is happening in the U.S. and this volatility in the world economy at the moment. The Nikkei, it closed down 3.7 percent.
So Deborah, certainly an ugly day here in the Asia Pacific.
FEYERICK: All right. Anna Coren, thank you very much.
Investors certainly sending a clear message that something has to be done vis-a-vis the markets. Well, the stock market hits every American who has investments or retirement savings. But it also clouds the future of the Obama administration. Just a couple of days ago, the president acknowledged his unfulfilled promises on turning around the economy.
He said he knew the climb was going to be steep. He just didn't realize how steep. Yesterday a similar note of resolve from his spokesman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Our focus has to be on the things that we can control which is to take the necessary measures, working with Congress, to ensure that our economy grows, that we create jobs.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Brianna Keilar is at the White House.
And Brianna, is this the reaction that we should expect? Is this enough?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This is the reaction that we've been hearing from the White House on things like how the markets are reacting and also to a degree, Deb, when it comes to the credit ratings agencies.
They say they can't preoccupy themselves with things they can't control and instead are using all of their energy to focus on things that they can control to try and get the economy recovering to a greater degree.
And whenever you talk to the White House or you listen to President Obama, you listen to White House press secretary, Jay Carney, you'll hear an emphasis on some of the things that the White House is pursuing, an extension in the payroll tax cut, extending unemployment benefits, the free trade deals that are before Congress, infrastructure spending and patent reforms.
Critics have wondered and even some supporters of the Obama administration wondering if that's really enough and also if the president really has enough tools that he can really continue or tools that he can actually really do something substantive and, obviously, the markets are reflecting that.
But Deb, some economists raise some questions about whether the recovery is slowing, whether perhaps this would be a double-dip recession. The White House says that they do not believe the economy is headed for a double-dip recession.
FEYERICK: It's going to be really tough also because the president believes in investing to create jobs. House Speaker John Boehner has said that stimulus spending is misguided. So are we simply going to see a stalemate over the next year?
KEILAR: You know those are certainly two points of view that are very difficult to reconcile for sure. There's a tremendous appetite here in Washington to cut spending and there are a lot of Republicans who say, and most Republicans, if not all of them, say that the stimulus was a plan that failed and they have no appetite to continue with more of that.
And that's why even some supporters of the president wonder if, you know, his hands might be tied in terms of what he wants to do and some Republicans say so they should be because they feel that that was a failed program -- Deb.
FEYERICK: OK. Brianna Keilar, thanks so much. We're going to be checking back in with you later. The president expected to speak on creating jobs for unemployed veterans.
Thanks so much. Well, one positive development on the jobs front. Thousands of FAA employees and contractors are heading back to work after a two-week furlough. Congress has managed a compromise deal to end the agency's partial shutdown.
It restores FAA funding but only temporarily. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says it's basically a band-aid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY LAHOOD, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: We need to begin working next week on an FAA bill so that we don't have these kind of problems in the future. And there's a commitment on the part of Senator Reid to get people together and to get a -- to get a bill.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: And the Senate makes the FAA deal official next hour.
Well, have you looked at your 401(k) statement lately? I certainly have. And if you're too scared to, well, we can help. We've got some rock solid ideas on how to ease the pain. That's coming up in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: Well, we are in the midst of a market correction. That much is official. Should you be worried about your own investments and is it time to panic?
Well, Clyde Anderson is a financial lifestyle coach and a CNN contributor.
Clyde, you're going to tell me it's never time to panic, right?
CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL LIFESTYLE COACH: No, not to panic. Not if you're an investor. Real investors don't panic. You know? The market is cyclical. It will return.
FEYERICK: Well, listen, I'm an investor. I don't know if I'm a real investor.
ANDERSON: Right .
FEYERICK: But what would you tell your mom if she wanted to move her money out right now? Is it a good time to do it?
ANDERSON: Well, you've got to look at, you know, the age. And you mentioned something as far as my mother. What age is my mother right now? What is she looking to do? Is she looking to retire soon and how much does she going to need to retire?
So, those are things you have to look at. Some people that are up, you know, 60 and upwards may say, I have enough money right now to retire and I'm fine, so I don't really want to play this game and be stressed out and not be able to sleep with my money in the market with uncertainty.
FEYERICK: What are the rock solid tips that people really need to know?
ANDERSON: Yes. Well, several tips. I mean, up with of the things is don't panic. You know, you have to understand what risk is. You definitely have to understand what risk is. Don't panic.
This is a long game. You know, we've watched this. Over the last couple of years, the stock market has been doing pretty well. So, now, of course, it's going take a hit with all the debt talks and everything that's going on, there's a lot of uncertainty.
So, you really got to kind of hold your position and make sure you know what you're investing as well, know if you have mutual funds or if you're talking about your retirement -- know what's inside of that retirement account. Are you investing in treasuries, and what other things are you investing in?
FEYERICK: You know, it's a little bit hard to do. I mean, when you think about it, I look at my statements and there are all these names and all these numbers and all these percentages. And it can be very, very confusing.
But what is the simple strategy, very quickly?
ANDERSON: Simple strategy -- I mean, if you're doing your own investing, invest in what you know. I mean, you got some staples out there like things have been around -- Johnson & Johnson, things that you know are not going to go away. You know, that is the defense equity position -- hold that, make sure you know what you're doing. I mean, that's the one thing.
Again, don't panic, but have someone you can trust that you can rely on, as far as a broker or someone you're getting your wise counsel. You know, that's the one that you're going to look to for this advice during these turbulent times.
FEYERICK: Funny because I remember when the market reached 10,000, people went crazy. They couldn't believe how high it was. And now, it's at 11,000 and people are panicking a little bit. Have we become greedy? Or --
ANDERSON: Well, I think we get comfortable. You know, we got comfortable in seeing these growth spurts and we got comfortable in seeing this, and we don't look at the long picture. We got to go back and look at history and history usually repeats itself.
So, if you go back and look and see what the market has done in the past, you'll see that, again, this is a cycle that we're going through, and you have to expect some of this. I mean, again, the market is uncertain, we're talking about losing our AAA rating a few of days ago.
FEYERICK: Right. ANDERSON: And so now, you know, investors all over are a little bit skittish. So, but, again, a true investor knows that what a lot of people are going to do is sell their stocks right now and it's going to drive the market down. And so, this is a great time to buy when it's at a low.
FEYERICK: OK. Clyde Anderson, thank you so much. We're going to be checking in with you a little later on because I know you got a lot more advice and a lot more tips. Thanks so much.
ANDERSON: My pleasure.
FEYERICK: Well, will the market pay off the bad or the good news today? Yesterday, it plunged more than 500 points. We're going to live to the stock exchange, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: We are just a few minutes away from the opening of U.S. markets. The big sell-off yesterday on U.S. markets and then overnight in Asia and Europe. How will these jobs numbers play into trading?
Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange.
Alison, how are futures looking as we head toward the opening right now?
ALISO KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've still got green arrows at the opening bell coming up in about 10 minutes. You know, it's not enough to wipe away the damage that we saw happen yesterday. But at least it's going to stop the bleeding that we saw.
You know, investors are definitely breathing a sigh of relief on the better than expected jobs report showing that 117,000 new jobs were created last month.
You know, I think you saw a lot of this yesterday. You know, a lot of investors were kind of buckling their seat belts and adjusting their head gear, you know, bracing for a big disappointment and, thankfully, they didn't get one today. But, you know, they were expecting that because we've gotten some many other negative numbers about the economy recently.
So, needless to say, this is a big welcome relief to see, you know, the stronger jobs number that was expected. We saw upward revisions in May and June.
But, keep in mind, Deb, we've got a long way to go -- 14 million people are out of work. It's going to take years to chip away at that number -- Deb.
FEYERICK: All right, Alison. And when you think about it, last -- in June, I believe it was, 18,000 jobs were added. That was much lower than anyone anticipated. Is there any indication where the new jobs have come from? KOSIK: Well, actually the June number that we found out today was revised upward to 46,000. So, it wasn't 18,000.
FEYERICK: Oh, OK.
KOSIK: You know, we learned this morning. Well, that's what happens. They go back and the Labor Department reviews the numbers and adjusts them so we saw the 46,000 were added in June.
Where did the jobs come from? We saw health care, 31,000 added. Retail, 26,000 jobs added. Manufacturing, that's a good sign, 24,000 jobs added. You know, even though we are seeing jobs added, this is a good sign.
But you need to see consistent growth to really see it kind of help the economy out because, you know, we've lost so many jobs. We lost 8 million jobs during the height of the recession and we have only added back 2 million jobs.
So, we're a long ways off but at least this is a step in the right direction, Deb.
FEYERICK: OK. Alison, thanks so much. Of course, we're going to be going to be checking back with you in a little bit.
Well, OK, let's see if we should be throwing little cold water on all of this. Ali Velshi joins us again.
And, Ali, you know, for those of us who don't watch the markets come and go on a daily basis, what is the reality check here?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I wish I knew, Deb. There was a time when I knew these things.
Look, I'll tell you, there are a couple of things happening. One is, markets are likely to open higher right now. This was certainly not a gang-buster's number. It wasn't terrible and it was certainly, as you discussed with Alison, was better than was expected.
But there are a lot of influences on the world markets. I mean, yesterday's sell-off wasn't actually about the U.S. economy. Largely, it was about the European economy and that problem didn't get solved overnight. So, unclear.
There are a few things that are going to happen today. People are going to buy stocks because this jobless number indicates it's not all as bad as we thought it was.
One week ago, we got the GDP numbers, the economic growth numbers, and those were lower than we thought. Then, on Monday, we got manufacturing numbers. And those were lower than that we thought. On Tuesday, we got consumer spending numbers, and those were lower than we thought.
So, for all week, everybody has been talking about double dip recession. Now, we have jobless numbers which -- while they're not strong -- indicate that we're not going in the wrong direction. So, this is going to be a time so sort of sit and evaluate.
But you know what happens these days, Deb? Everybody is jittery and something happens somewhere. In the middle of the day, there will be some meeting somewhere. Somebody will say something and next thing you know, the market turns around.
So, no, I wouldn't say we are out of the woods on anything right now. I would say that the cold water that I will sprinkle on this is that there was a real sense that the economy had taken such a turn downward or leg down, that the government would have to come in with some other form of intervention and some saw that as a positive. I know in Washington, that wouldn't go very well.
Now with the jobless numbers, there are going to be a lot of people sitting back and saying, I think it wasn't as bad as we thought.
FEYERICK: You know, one mortgage strategist said we start looking at the recovery, there are simply nothing to hang our hats on. Are the U.S. and globe economies lost at sea a little bit that they don't know exactly what direction it's going in or what's going to happen next? What's happening here?
VELSHI: Yes. I think that's exactly it.
Look, we have seen corporate profits. It's been earnings season, right? That's the report card on how companies are doing. They're doing phenomenally well. They are very profitable and they've got a lot of cash.
Now, while a lot of people will say to you that it's uncertainty about government regulation and taxes and debt ceiling and all that that's preventing companies from hiring, I think there's some truth to that. There's probably more truth to the fact that on Tuesday, we saw a number about consumer demand that indicates that not everybody is buying stuff, whether it's companies or individuals.
So, companies aren't hiring because they don't see the demand there just yet. We are on a sort of tipping point and we haven't tipped completely over to the side of full and robust recovery, but we haven't tipped over to the side of recession again.
So, this is a piece of information that is certainly better. I have to tell you, you can probably see the relief in my face because I was worried that this was going to be a bad number and I didn't know how the world was going to react to that. I'm relieved. I think we bought a little extra time.
FEYERICK: And I think everybody is breathing a sigh of relief today and maybe a kind of stop the momentum downward, which could be a good thing which is what we're going to be watching today.
VELSHI: Yes. That's probably right.
FEYERICK: All right. Ali Velshi, thanks so much. We're going to be talking to you later.
VELSHI: OK.
FEYERICK: Well, we are coming up to the opening bell. What is going to play bigger -- a better than expected jobs number, or the hangover from yesterday's global market plunge? In three minutes, we are going to find out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: And Wall Street reopens in less than two minutes. Yesterday's upheaval is on everyone's mine.
At the closing bell, Wall Street had lost all of the gains made in 2011. The Dow tumbled more than 500 points. All three major indexes lost 4 percent of their value.
Sounds pretty dire, right?
Well, Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange, Ali Velshi at CNN in New York and Poppy Harlow from the CNN Money set.
Poppy, I'm going to go to you, because something interesting that happened, and that is that people went much more toward safer things -- treasury, bonds basically yesterday.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes. Isn't it an interesting transition, Deb? When you look at a week ago, we didn't have a debt ceiling deal, we didn't know if the U.S. credit rating, the stellar AAA rating was going to be downgraded. People are running away from treasury. They didn't necessarily trust the government with their money.
What we saw yesterday people jump out of the stock market as the day progressed, as the losses got worse and worse on Wall Street and jump into U.S. treasuries. What I thought was so interesting was just the short-term treasury, the one-month t-bill as it's called. That was actually at one point yesterday issuing a negative return, 0.01 percent, negative 0.01 percent, which if you read into that, just means people were paying the U.S. government slightly to hold their money. They felt that that was safer than being anywhere on the stock market.
And when I mean anywhere, I mean that because we saw losses across blue chip companies. All of the Dow 30 were down from Apple to Google to the biggest oil company in the world, ExxonMobil to General Electric, you name it, taking huge losses. People jumped into what they viewed to be the safe haven of the U.S. government -- Deb.
FEYERICK: And we are looking right now, at the opening bell, just about 13 seconds away. Everybody is clapping there. Just a little bit of enthusiasm, encouragement as this gets underway.
OK. Well, let's hope some of that enthusiasm translates to the investors there.
You know, Ali, I want to ask you. Isn't it -- aren't companies going to be posting a profit? I know it doesn't look good right now, but for the most part, companies are doing pretty well this year. VELSHI: Yes. American companies are doing very, very well. Part of that is because of that more than half of the revenues of the companies that we are looking at on the Dow, for instance, or the S&P 500 come from overseas and there are some very strong economies in the world right now, including China and India -- while the growth in China is weakening a little bit, it's still very strong. Even growth in Africa is running three times or more what the U.S. is. Africa is a complete continent.
So, the bottom line is these companies like Coca-Cola, like McDonald's, like General Electric, like General Motors, they sell a lot of products and services overseas and those profits come back to the United States. It's a flipside of outsourcing.
So, these companies are doing well and what they're doing is they're sitting on their money. They are not investing. They are hiring new people.
We are not sure whether there's going to be some kind of stimulus from the government in terms of a tax credit or something like that to promote hiring, but that's what is happening. There isn't enough demand in the United States to promote job growth in small businesses and there isn't enough to cause big businesses to hire.
But you can see here, that's a nice sign to see that market opening up 125 points at the start. So far, everybody is breathing a little sigh of relief about this jobs report.
FEYERICK: Alison, you can se how quickly it is moving up which to the average investor the person at home watching. It's doing pretty well. What -- could all of the losses be perhaps recovered within the hour?
KOSIK: Well, that's really probably doubtful. I mean, we had a 512- point drop yesterday just on the Dow. That's $800 billion for the entire market, poofed, wiped out. So, it's hard to see if that will really come back in an hour.
But, you know, this is a good step forward for 165 points higher on the Dow than we were yesterday. So, that's a good sign.
And you are seeing actually the VIX, that kind of measures fear and volatility in the marketplace. It's kind of the psychology of what investors are thinking of that fear in the marketplace. We are seeing that plunge 10 percent. That's a good sign the fear index is going down as well.
And we're seeing some of the biggest gainers, Caterpillars, 3M, Boeing. These are big, strong companies. They are definitely some of the gainers on the Dow right now. Twenty-nine of the 30 Dow components are higher right now.
Even oil -- oil which fell to $85, $86 yesterday. That's gaining as well. Obviously, not good for us that go to the gas station but it shows that investors see that demand could be coming back up. Oil right now up 1.5 percent, Deb. FEYERICK: And so, Poppy, continuing along that line of fear factor, people wanting a safe investment, putting their money into bonds. Do you think we will see a pullout of that with more people buying stocks today because they are a little bit lower?
HARLOW: I think so. We are seeing it right now.
Look, this big sellout that accelerated yesterday into the close, Deb, was key because of the timing of it. It was coming right before the jobs report this morning. And, remember, the trauma that investors went through last month when the jobs report was so much worse than expected.
Today, it was so much better than expected -- 117,000 jobs added in the month of July, a revision upwards, 46,000 jobs added in June. That is exactly the encouragement that investors across the globe needed.
Prices were lower. When you lose 500 points off the Dow, stocks are cheaper. You're going to jump in. You're going to buy at the open.
So, absolutely, they are putting some of that money to work. This is a good sign. It's a Friday, heading into the weekend.
If we can keep these gains all day, it shows us some confidence and investors are willing to sit on those investments over the weekend despite the fact that Asian markets will open on Sunday night. So, yes, this is an encouraging sign.
And, you know, Ali kept pointing out so rightly all day yesterday, this is a panic that we are seeing. This isn't necessarily rational. And that's what we're seeing today. We are seeing a complete reversal of the trend.
Again, we're only two minutes into the trading day, so let's hold of here before making any assumption.
But, again, these are companies that are performing very well. They are turning some of them record profits and the stock market is a reflection of how those companies are doing and people look to be having a lot more confidence this morning in them than they were yesterday.
FEYERICK: Which is good news. You know, sometimes, I feel when I'm watching the market, it's like watching 5-year-olds play soccer. You know, the ball goes in one direction, everybody runs in that direction and the ball comes back in another direction, everybody runs in that direction.
VELSHI: That's exactly right. Right.
FEYERICK: Well, hopefully, everybody is running in the right direction toward some sort of a goal today.
Ali Velshi, Alison Kosik, Poppy Harlow, thanks so much. We're going to be checking in with you a little later on. Well, putting vets back to work. President Obama has a jobs plan for troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. He's going to unveil it this morning. We're going to have a preview coming up right after the break.
Also ahead, tanks and gunfire in streets of Syrian city. Still defiant, the antigovernment protesters are out in force. We'll have a live report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: And taking a look at the big board right now. You can see there, the Dow Jones Industrials is up. It has been climbing steadily since the opening bell. The numbers right there. It could be a good day.
In less than two hours, President Obama is expected to lay out his plan to help out-of-work veterans back from Iraq and Afghanistan find jobs here at home.
Let's get more from White House correspondent Brianna Keilar.
Brianna, tell us about the president's upcoming announcement. What does he hope to do?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, big focus, Deb, on unemployed veterans and getting them back to work. We're going to see the president making remarks nearby, at the Washington Navy Yard, about this.
And we have some advance information about the plan that would include tax credits to businesses that hire veterans. So, incentives for the private sector to hire veterans. There would also be more training and career counseling to sort of move veterans into different areas, and also new job matching services.
The goal that the White House is laying out is for 100,000 veterans or spouses to be hired over the next couple of years.
And what you have, Deb, is the White House really pointing to a number that's pretty stark. It's really sort of alarming that the employment, the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans stands at 13.3 percent. This is almost 1 1/2 times the amount of the national average.
The White House pointing out that what you have is a lot of veterans who are coming back from serving overseas, so they have taken this hiatus, and trying to return to jobs that they had before in manufacturing, perhaps in mining -- jobs that have taken a serious hit, including construction in the recession, Deb.
FEYERICK: And do you get the sense -- the president has been talking jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. He said he thought he knew it was going to be an uphill climb, he just didn't realize how steep.
Will the president be traveling to try to drum up support? Is that what it's going to take?
KEILAR: Yes. Over -- you know, and who knows if that is going to be what it takes or the payoff for his travels will be. But certainly, here, over the next couple of weeks, because we have seen the president really having to stay here in Washington to deal with this whole debt ceiling issue that we've seen over the last several weeks. He has been here in Washington where normally he would be out on the road or taking a trip or two during the week.
Over the next couple of weeks, you'll be seeing him travel a lot. He'll be nearby in Virginia next week, and then he's going to go to Michigan. He will be talking about high tech manufacturing jobs, something that the White House has been trying to emphasize for economic growth.
And then the following week, the week of August 15th, he'll be on a bus tour throughout the Midwest talking about jobs. We are still trying to get a handle on exactly what may be new that the White House is proposing. But certainly, there is going to be a visual as the president tries to emphasize his jobs message.
FEYERICK: All right. Brianna Keilar up there in Washington for us, thanks so much. We'll check in with you later.
And checking our top stories now:
Tens of thousands of people will be going back to work after a Senate vote yesterday or today, I should say. Congressional leaders agreed to a temporary funding bill for FAA workers and airport construction projects.
Tropical storm Emily is now just a low pressure system after breaking up over Haiti. There had been concern the storm was heading towards Florida.
And today is the first anniversary of the Chilean mining disaster and some sobering news about those 33 survivors. Despite being treated like rock stars after their rescue, "The Guardian" newspaper reports most of the men are now facing poverty and psychological problems.
Despite a violent assault against anti-government protesters, they are demonstrating again today in Syria. Take a look at that.
Well, residents say scores were killed yesterday in Hama, the center of the uprising. Snipers and tankers all around them and food and water are running low.
CNN's Arwa Damon is in the region following all the developments from Beirut, Lebanon.
And, Arwa, it's a gutsy showing by protesters. But can they hold out?
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's going to be the big test for the demonstrators as we move ahead, how long can they sustain this type of momentum, how long can they keep getting people out to the streets as long as the demonstrators continue to face what they are saying is indiscriminate firing on them by Syrian security forces.
We continue to see that out in the streets. We have seen numerous reports of demonstrations happening in different parts of the country today, again, calling for the downfall of the regime, but also to show their solidarity for the military crackdown that is happening in Hama. And that still appears to be continuing and appears to be pretty intense.
Earlier this morning, we've spoken with a resident of Hama. And while we were talking to him, one could clearly hear the sounds of explosions and gunfire in the background. A few hours later, we got in touch with the same resident who told us the shelling and gunfire was so intense, he was then forced to flee his neighborhood. He said he had moved to a safe location in Hama.
But what he was really afraid of was that the military was going to storm into his house and find him with his satellite phone, he's Thuraya phone, because that he said that would be considered a crime in Syria and that he could possibly be executed for it.
Now, he had this phone with him because communications had been cut off from Hama ever since this military offensive began Wednesday morning. There are some activists that have managed to get their hands on these satellite phones, and that's how they are communicating to the outside world -- obviously, though, at great risk to their own lives.
But, again, another active defiance we are seeing from the opposition in Syria.
FEYERICK: Arwa Damon, thank you so much. Really incredible to watch. Thanks so much.
Well, coming up, how extreme heat and high school football practices are proving deadly and what some coaches are doing to help keep their players safe, coming up next.
And Tiger Woods is just about to tee of in the second round of the Bridgestone Invitational. He's back on the tour three months after limping off. Round one had flashes of the old Tiger and we're going to show you in sports.
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FEYERICK: And again, we go to our top story. Looking at the big board there. Growth slowing just a little bit from the opening of the market 15 or 17 minutes ago. You can see it there reaching 11,478, Dow Jones Industrial.
Well, let's check the news "Cross Country".
Police search Virginia Tech's campus for hours but find no evidence of a security threat. A report of a possible gunman sent the school into lockdown yesterday. A spokesman says alert systems put in place after the 2000 shootings -- 2007 shootings worked without a glitch. The sentencing phase begins in the Warren Jeffs trial. The polygamist sect leader was convicted yesterday of sexually assaulting two underage girls. He could go to prison for life.
And blood in the water at a Texas lake. That's what it looks like anyway. The colors is caused by an overgrowth of bacteria that love oxygen-starved water. That's a result of low water levels and the state's horrible drought.
And extreme heat in high school football practices are proving to be deadly. Four players and a coach dying within a week of each other. All suspected to be heat-related. It's got a number of coaches moving practice time to early morning.
George Howell joins us live from one of those sessions happening now. And George, teams and players taking a pretty big risk working out in that kind of heat?
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're here with the Marist High School football team on the field for their training camp. And honestly not a bad day to be out there. It's slightly overcast and we've actually got a breeze but we learned yesterday they canceled their noon day practice simply because it was way too hot to be out on the field. And that is the key to preventing these heat-related deaths.
Experts tell us that can be prevented rather that don't have to happen, it's coaches having a reasonable approach to practices like this; and players speaking up when they feel they've reached their limit.
Now, I talked to the head coach out here who tells me that holding up a competitive practice does not mean being unreasonable.
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HOWELL: I remember being in athletics and you hear those expressions "play through the pain", "suck it up". But does that really apply when it comes to 99, 100-degree temperatures?
ALAN CHADWICK, HEAD FOOTBALL COACH, MARIST HIGH SCHOOL: Well, I think it's -- you're limited on how much you can do in those type of situations. We want to try to shorten practices down when we get to those type of situations where it's completely so humid and so hot.
If I -- if I'm feeling bad, I know the players are feeling bad. And so that's something we try to do as well is keep an eye on the coaches because, you know, we just know that they are just much at risk as the players are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: So the players on the field clearly sweating and working hard. But again, not a bad day to be out here but when it gets really hot, the head coach tells me that they use what's called a wet bulb that measures the -- the air direction, the humidity, and temperature and if it gets to a certain level, they actually cancel practice altogether -- Deb.
FEYERICK: Yes, a good measure to follow. All right, George. Thanks so much. Appreciate that report.
Well, Tiger Woods showed flashes of his championship play returning to the PGA Tour after three months off for injuries. Let's check out the action from the Bridgestone Invitational.
Tiger had back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th hole, the first one set up by this shot where he hit the edge of the green. The ball spinning back toward the cup, the old Tiger. Tiger finished two under par, at sixth goes back in the lead. Tiger was playing with his buddy and British Open champ Darren Clark. Clark had the shot of the day on the eighth hole knocking in an eagle from 185 yards away. It was the one -- the one shining moment of the round for Clark who finished tied for last.
And topping the leader board, Australian Adam Scott, Scott with a 62 birdie four of the final six holes. Caddying for Scott, Steve Williams. Williams had been on Tiger Woods back for 12 years before being let go last month.
The positive employment numbers in July may have surprised a few people but that doesn't erase the brutal job market. We've got some ideas on what you can do to survive, maybe even thrive, next.
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FEYERICK: And taking a look at the big board right now, you can see again a little bit of volatility on the heels of what happened yesterday. We have learned that President Obama is going to address the jobs number when he speaks at 11:00 today.
And CNN of course is going to be covering that live. Now, we saw a jobs number this morning that was a little better than expected, but the reality is our national unemployment rate still over nine percent.
So let's bring in Clyde Anderson back. He's a financial lifestyle coach and a CNN contributor. And Clyde, if you're about to pick up the phone.
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CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL LIFESTYLE COACH: Yes.
FEYERICK: And call your sister. What are you going to tell her in terms of how to find a job?
ANDERSON: You know what actually I would tell her to create her own job right now. This is the time when you've got to be innovative, you've got to find things that are outside the box and try to make your own way.
There's a lot of people out here that need assistance. There are still a lot of people making a lot of money. We have to figure out how to circumvent the traditional market and make our own jobs. FEYERICK: You know that's -- it's interesting because I think the younger generation, Gen Y, they're calling now.
ANDERSON: Yes.
FEYERICK: The millennials -- a lot of them really feel that they have a keen entrepreneurial spirit. They feel that they can do the job and create a job and create their future, their vision, and that's a little more difficult if you're 40 or 50 or 60.
ANDERSON: It is. It is and you do have -- you have to almost reinvent yourself. So if you're in that position and you're looking for a job, you have to think outside the box a little bit. You have to focus a lot more, but you also have to network. Expand your of sphere of influence, if you are out looking for that traditional job then find different ways to go about it.
You know, it's really about networking, networking, networking. Find the people that you know or find that people that know somebody that know somebody there. And really try to figure out a way to get into there and try to get in front of them.
But again tell your story, tell your experience, let them know what you're going through, who you are and what you have established over the years as far as in your career.
FEYERICK: And that's got to help a lot because it's always good rather than ask for a job, you're asking for advice. And people are very happy and helpful to give advice.
Clyde Anderson thank you so much.
ANDERSON: My pleasure.
FEYERICK: I really appreciate those tips.
Well, we're following lots of developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Alison Kosik live at the New York Stock Exchange.
So Alison, we're seeing more volatility right now.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are. So, yes, we're seeing stocks. They've given up their early gains that's after the DOW plunged 500 points yesterday. I'm going to have more on this coming up.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brianna Keilar at the White House where there is some construction going on but also President Obama will speak nearby about getting unemployed vets back to work and expect him to address the July jobs numbers. I'll have that ahead.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: And I'm Poppy Harlow in New York, of course, keeping a close eye on the markets. But also the jobs numbers, we've got a better than expected jobs report this morning. We'll take it. But what we're also going to dig into is why a lot of American companies are bringing in record profits -- billions and billions of dollars -- and not hiring. That's ahead in the next hour.
FEYERICK: All right. Thanks, everyone. Looking forward to that.
Also next hour a visit from the folks at Antiques Road Show. We'll hear about some of the top treasures they've found and we're going to get some of our own stuff appraised just as backup.
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FEYERICK: Checking our top stories now, after yesterday's plunge, a better than expected jobs report. More than 100,000 new jobs created last month and unemployment inched down as well.
The salmonella outbreak that prompted a huge turkey recall is growing. Infections now reported in 26 states, including one death.
And the sun rises on another dangerously hot day across the south. Heat advisories in place from New Mexico to North Carolina.
And we begin this hour with a snapshot of the economy. New numbers, deepening fears and some perspective to keep your own panic in check. First up the new jobs report. This morning we're learning the economy added 117,000 jobs last month; that's better than expected. And unemployment has fallen slightly to 9.1 percent; still high, but overall it's welcome news especially after yesterday's huge plunge on Wall Street.
The good news on jobs bolstered U.S. markets. Within minutes stock futures surged more than one percent. And the U.S. markets are open now.
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