Digits: Apple’s Still Huge, But…

BCG Partners analyst Colin Gillis joins Digits to discuss Apple’s stock recent moves and where its biggest competition lies.

For more MarketBeat and other streaming markets coverage from The Wall Street Journal, point your mobile browser to wsj.com/marketspulse.

MarketBeat Podcast: Another Jobs Friday In the Books

While the jobs report this morning was a pleasant surprise, the underlying trend hasn’t changed: jobs continue to grow at a frustratingly slow pace.

In this week’s edition of MarketBeat Week, our Friday podcast, Stephen Grocer, Paul Vigna and Steven Russolillo discuss how the labor market was able to shrug off superstorm Sandy.

Economists had predicted the storm would skew the numbers. But 146,000 jobs were added last month, while the unemployment rate fell to 7.7%, the lowest level since December 2008.

In addition, based on Apple Inc’s latest stock swoon, the crew wonders whether the tech juggernaut’s shares will ever be able to revert back to record levels.

Also, the fact that the SEC may bring suit against Netflix Inc. and CEO Reed Hastings over one of his Facebook posts sparked a lively debate over what actually constitutes a fair disclosure by a company.

Grab a set of headphones and take a listen to this week’s podcast.

Forty-Five Seconds Over Wall Street, PM

Forty-five seconds over Wall Street, for Thursday, Dec. 7, 2012, recapping the trading day.

Next Week’s Tape: The Fed, Retail Sales, Consumer Prices

No time for gift shopping next week. A basketful of reports will occupy the time of investors who will also need to keep tabs on the doings at the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting.

Three price reports are on tap next week, and economists forecast the top-line numbers all will be held down by falling fuel prices.

The earnings calendar is light, but not empty. Costco, Hovnanian, Adobe, Dollar General, and Joy Global report earnings.

Import prices will be reported Wednesday. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expect the import price index dropped 0.5% in November, reversing a 0.5% gain in October.

Train Reading: No News is Good for 80 Points on the Dow

US Airways presses for deal with bankrupt AMR - WSJ

Millions of long-term unemployed at risk of losing benefits next year - Real Time Economics

No (jobs) news is good news - Tim Duy’s Fed Watch

Germany’s central bank warns of recession in Europe’s largest economy - WSJ

Okay, so maybe printing dollars isn’t the answer to the U.S. debt problem; but what about, ah, um, minting dollars? Enter the platinum coin - Washington Post

Top tax rates the focus of fiscal-cliff talks - WSJ

Rail traffic mixed in November - Calculated Risk

CFTC fines Goldman over supervisory lapse - CFTC website

A musical interlude: Maccabeats; Candlelight - YouTube (happy Hanukkah!)

Stopping the dead: an almost unbelievably detailed graphic of every zombie laid down (and by whom, and with what weapon) on The Walking Dead; great stuff for true fans - National Post

Now take Train Reading…on the train! Or the bus, or the monorail, or…you get the idea. Click here to save everything in Train Reading to Pocket, a mobile app that lets you take online reading offline.

What’s Up With Groupon? Shares Soaring

Groupon shares are jumping Friday afternoon despite a lack of any substantial news to trigger the move.

The stock is up 24% to $4.73, a pretty big swing even for a volatile stock like Groupon. Dow Jones’ John Letzing says short covering may be contributing to coupon service’s big move. From Letzing:

“Short interest in Groupon is high, at more than 20%, raising the possibility that some short sellers have simply decided to take their profits now and buy shares to close out their position. Groupon, which has struggled to gain much investor confidence since going public, has been a heavily shorted stock.”

Charts of the Day: Trading Volume Slumps Across the Board

The financial history books will remember 2012 as a year of abnormally low trading volume.

Activity has slumped in stocks, ETFs, options and futures compared to a year ago, according to Credit Suisse. In particular, stocks and ETFs have been less active than they were in the prior three years.

“Heading in to this year, the options and futures markets looked very strong, both hitting record volumes as equities continued their decline,” says Ana Avramovic, an analyst at Credit Suisse. “Then 2012 hit. And it hit all markets.”

The Fed will be a heavy player in the securities markets again in 2013, J.P. Morgan thinks.

The Fed’s open-market committee meets next week and one of the items that will concern investors is what the central bank decides to do after Operation Twist winds down at the end of the year. J.P. Morgan is of the opinion that the Fed’s going to keep its pace of securities buys steady into the new year.

Dow Jones’ Min Zeng filed this dispatch:

JP Morgan expects the Fed to announce $85 billion per month of asset purchases in 2013 — $40 billion MBS and $45 billion Treasurys. That will be the same size as the Fed is currently doing via QE3 and Twist.

Markets Hub: Netflix, Facebook, and the SEC’s Opinion on Public Forums

Even social media messages can land CEOs in hot water. The SEC has warned Netflix CEO Reed Hastings over a July 3 Facebook message he posted discussing Netflix streaming views.

The issue seems to hinge upon this question: is Facebook a public forum? Hastings obviously thinks so, the SEC apparently feels different. Tom Gara of the Corporate Intelligence blog reports on Markets Hub.

For more MarketBeat and other streaming markets coverage from The Wall Street Journal, point your mobile browser to wsj.com/marketspulse.

Consumer Sentiment Falls Off a Cliff

The fiscal cliff is starting to take a toll on Americans.

Consumer sentiment tumbled sharply at the beginning of the month, according to the Thomson-Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, as people started feeling much less upbeat about the economy than they were as recently as a month ago.

Economists attribute the decline to growing concerns about higher taxes that could be implemented next year if Washington fails to address the fiscal cliff.

“It was a matter of time before the thought of higher taxes crept into consumers’ outlook,” says Leslie Levesque, U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight. “This alters perceptions of future financial situations, job prospects and the health of the economic recovery.”

Markets Hub: No Sandy Effect, But Problems Still in Jobs Report

Sandy didn’t wreak havoc with the monthly jobs numbers. Great. But the non-Sandy skewed numbers still point to entrenched problems in the jobs market and economy. Kathleen Madigan stopped by the Markets Hub to explain.

For more MarketBeat and other streaming markets coverage from The Wall Street Journal, point your mobile browser to wsj.com/marketspulse.

Dollar Index Pointed Higher, and That Could Be a Problem for Stocks

Want to know which direction stocks are headed? Look at the dollar, but be warned: you might not like what you see.

That’s what the gentlemen who manage our WSJ Dollar Index are saying, and arguing that recent dollar moves could presage a drop in the Dow of anywhere from 600 to 1,000 points. Here’s the latest from Vincent Cignarella and Stephen Bernard in today’s FX Math column:

Repeatedly in the past few months when the WSJ Dollar Index started a clear trend higher or lower, the Dow Jones Industrial Average followed shortly after in the opposite direction. While correlations are often useful to track, knowing which asset leads the other is vital to knowing how to profitably trade the relationship.

Forty-Five Seconds Over Wall Street, AM

Forty-five seconds over Wall Street for this Friday a.m., Dec. 7, 2012.

For more MarketBeat and other streaming markets coverage from The Wall Street Journal, point your mobile browser to wsj.com/marketspulse.

Stocks to Watch: Amarin, Abiomed, Einstein Noah

Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Friday’s session are Amarin Corp. (AMRN), Abiomed Inc. (ABMD) and Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc. (BAGL).

Amarin said it will begin hiring a sales force to independently launch its cholesterol-reducing fish-oil pill Vascepa, disappointing investors who had hoped the company would have a partner by now. Shares plunged 18% to $9.78 in premarket trade.

A panel of medical experts recommended Abiomed’s Impella heart pump remain designated as a Class 3 device, rather than the lower-risk Class 2 category it had hoped for. Shares dropped 11% to $11.50 in premarket trade.

Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc. said it has completed its strategic review process by recapitalizing the company and issued a special dividend of $4 a share. Shares rose 8.9% to $17.20 premarket.