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Stocks had a mixed close yesterday as traders played ping-pong with rate cut bets. Bank bosses threw cold water on hot-blooded bulls with warnings about growth and consumer health, even as regulators threw them a bone – making things even more confusing for investors.

Stocks rallied yesterday as investors picked through last week’s wreckage in search of bargains – some were found. Market volatility is the name of the game in this vacuum ahead of key inflation figures and next week’s FOMC; it is the cost of doing business.

Stocks slid on Friday because bad economic numbers are bad, no matter how you look at it. Employment numbers missed their mark, which is bad, but perhaps not bad enough for the concession prize of a -50 basis-point cut.

Stocks had a mixed close yesterday after a private US jobs figure missed estimates igniting further fears that an economic downturn is looming on the horizon. Weekly jobless claims came in more or less on expectation further clouding the market’s perception of labor market strength.

Beige book tells a story of forming clouds on the horizon

Stocks took a beating yesterday after a key manufacturing gauge disappointed… again. Chips were hit hard because they are an easy target – taking profits is not as hard as taking losses when the market is in turmoil.