Important US economic data continues to roll in

Important US economic data continues to roll in. Today brought us a new ADP jobs report and the ISM non-manufacturing index. ADP showed private payrolls increasing by 175,000, lower than the 185,000 median projection. Overall, it's not a bad number, although it's considerably less than the 227,000 jobs gained in December. On the other hand, the ISM non-manufacturing index increased from 53 to 54 from last month and beat expectations (53.7). Because services are such an integral part of the US economy, this positive ISM surprise is very good news for the economy. It's actually interesting to see how much emphasis the market can place on manufacturing results considering it's such a small part of the US economic in relation to services. Bottom line, the economy isn't in great shape, but it's a long way from looking recessionary. (VIEW LINK) (VIEW LINK)