The U.S. nonmanufacturing sector’s expansion picked up steam in May, bucking economists’ expectation for it to slow, according to the Institute for Supply Management. But the group’s reading on employment declined and price pressures contracted.

Financial chiefs from the Group of Seven leading nations pressed Europe during a teleconference to act more aggressively to tame its escalating debt crisis. The officials expect euro-zone leaders to bolster their banking system in the coming weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported. Spain’s budget minister said earlier that the government had effectively lost access to capital markets.

European markets were mostly higher, with the Stoxx Europe 600 up 0.3% as the weak data offset hopes for coordinated action to help solve the euro-zone debt crisis. But Germany’s DAX fell 0.1% to its lowest level this year. Asian markets were mostly higher, with a 0.25 percentage-point interest-rate cut in Australia helping improve sentiment.

Akamai Technologies (AKAM) fell -3.24 as the provider of content delivery networks fell with Netflix providing its own such network. Facebook fell once again, hitting another all time low of $25.88 as it suffers it eight loss in its 11 trading sessions. Sandisk finished up 6.86% after the Pacific Crest analysts gave the computer memory maker’s stock an “outperform” rating.

Thomas Doherty is a student at Villanova University majoring in Finance and Economics. All questions and comments can be sent to Thomas@KeeneOnTheMarket.com

In corporate news, Starbucks (SBUX) fell -3.53% after the coffee giant said it would acquire Bay Bread and its La Boulange Bakery for $100 million in cash to expand its food offerings. The world’s most popular stockk, Facebook (FB) fell again today with its 7th loss in 10 trading days since its IPO. Currently, Facebook is trading at $26.36, an all time low. Dollar General fell -2.68% after the discount retailer announced that they would be issuing 25 million shares to the public in a secondary sharing. This secondary offering offsets great results in Dollar General’s quarterly reports with increased profit and earnings outlook.

Thomas Doherty is a student at Villanova University majoring in Finance and Economics. All questions and comments can be sent to Thomas@KeeneOnTheMarket.com

While Dollar General has fallen in early morning trading, their shares briefly soared yesterday afternoon after they posted better than expected quarterly earnings. Dollar General posted 63 cents of EPS, 4 cents better than expectations on a 13% revenue jump. The company also raised its annual guidance by 3 cents per share to a range of $2.68 to $2.78. The retailer of low-cost goods has seen its profit push higher in recent quarters as it has opened new stores and added better-known brands of merchandise to its shelves. The company also has been trying out bigger stores and refurbishing old ones. Dollar General reported a quarterly profit of $213.4 million, or $0.63 a share, compared with $157, or $0.45 a share in 2011. Meanwhile, revenue rose by 13% to $3.9 billion with same store sales growing by 6.7%. For the fiscal year, the company raised its per-share earnings estimate by three cents to a range of $2.68 to $2.78 and affirmed its guidance for overall sales and same-store sales growth.

Thomas Doherty is a student at Villanova University majoring in Finance and Economics. All questions and comments can be sent to Thomas@KeeneOnTheMarket.com

The Hang Seng finished up less than .5% with Sands China leading the way up 3.59%.

European Stocks are looking shaky ahead of the teleconference, investors cannot seem to determine a
move. The FTSE and Greek bourse indexes are both down with the bourse getting slammed losing 4.3%.
The Spanish IBEX is slightly up in with hopes the teleconference will lead to a solution.

Investors react negatively premarket to Starbuck’s purchasing of La Boulange to expand their offerings,
currently trading down 1.8%.

After acquiring Gaylord Hotels last week, Marriot announced today that it plans on hiring up to 10,000
people and open up to 150 hotels, as per Chairman Bill Marriot to Bloomberg. MAR is currently down .5%
appearing that investors have not yet analyzed the announcement.

Commodities are interesting this morning with energy down and metals on the rise, crude is under $84
inching its way towards the mental barrier of $80.

Contributer Chris Rygh is currently pursuing his MBA in Wisconsin and has a passion for the Market.
Comments can be directed to ryghcw19@uww.edu

Previously, European and Federal Reserve leaders have turned markets around with stimulus measures and bailouts for deeply indebted institutions. Investors also worry that the economic and financial mess could get tangled up in the building U.S. election campaign. Politics could prevent Congress from acting, leaving the problem to the Fed and Europeans.

Investors again are calling for the Fed to pump billions of fresh dollars into the financial system by purchasing massive amounts of bonds, an approach known as quantitative easing. It would be the third such bond-buying program since 2008, so investors call the idea QE3. The problem is that central banks’ main method of stimulating the economy is to lower interest rates. With rates already at historic lows, some economists question how much good more intervention can do.

With the potential of QE3 on the horizon, stocks continued to lose ground for the fourth consecutive day after factory orders slowed in economic reports. The Dow retreated 17 points, or -0.14%, to $12,101.46 in late-afternoon trading. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was up barely at 0.01% to $1, 2748.16. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite increased 13 points, or 0.46%, to $2760.01. Industrial and financial stocks fell the most among the S&P 500’s 10 sectors. J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) slumped -2.82%, while Caterpillar, (CAT) stock closely tied to growth prospects, also fell. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell -0.5% in choppy trading, while Germany’s DAX slipped -1.2%.

Chesapeake Energy (CHK) rose 6.10% and was the biggest gainer on the S&P 500 after the company agreed to replace four members of its nine-member board with candidates proposed by the embattled oil-and-gas company’s two largest shareholders, Southeastern Management Co. and activist investor Carl C. Icahn. Facebook (FB) also fell after analysts projected a target price of $25 and expected the stock to underperform for the year. Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (AUXL) jumped +16.02% after the company announced positive test results from a trial of its treatment for Peyronie’s disease.

Thomas Doherty is a student at Villanova University majoring in Finance and Economics. All questions and comments can be sent to Thomas@KeeneOnTheMarket.com

Unprofitable:  I lose money on this trade if DG closes above $49.40 by June 15, 2012.  The most I can lose on this trade is the amount the Spread can be worth $1 minus the price I sold it for $.40 for a total of $.60.

Reason I Like This Trade:  I like this trade, because I can make money if DG rallies, is flat, or goes lower.  It tested to $49.50, but saw some selling pressure at those levels.  This is a good risk vs reward in my opinion for earnings.

UPDATE 6.5.2012  With the sell-off in DG this Spread went from $.40 to $.10.  I took off half of my position for a double and leaving the other half on for more potential profits.

UPDATE 6.7.2012  I took this trade off completely at $.05 and $.10, good for more than a quadruple.  Taking profits and moving to the next trade.

Stocks opened flat to positive after some positive information out of Europe for a “master plan” from their central banks but quickly fell as the Commerce Department reported that manufacturing goods fell in April and once again, disappointed with respect to analyst predictions.

Industrials, materials, and financial stocks continue to underperform significantly as firms with the most international exposure have been hit the hardest in recent weeks.

Lightening the mood were reports that Germany is signaling that it would eventually be willing to lift its objections to ideas such as common euro-zone bonds or mutual support for European banks. In addition, Portugal said it would inject €6.65 billion, or $8.27 billion, into three of its largest lenders to help strengthen the banking sector.

Despite its large online following, not investor wants to be “friends” with Facebook (FB) as its stock price fell -3.1% following reports that Bernstein analysts announced a $25 target price and an “underperforming” rating. Separately, Facebook is rumored to be developing technology to allow young children to use the site. Currently, children under 13, per age restrictions on the internet, cannot join Facebook but with their new development, Facebook hopes to keep a safe environment for children with parent friendly settings. Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (AUXL) jumped 9.61% after the company announced positive test results from a trial of its treatment for Peyronie’s disease.

In deal news, Vanguard Natural Resources (VNR) fell 1.2% after the company said it had agreed to buy natural-gas and liquids assets from Antero Resources for $445 million.

Crude-oil futures rose 0.1% to $83.32 a barrel, while gold futures declined 0.3% to $1,616 a troy ounce. The U.S. dollar slipped against the euro but rose versus the yen. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 1.506%.

Thomas Doherty is a student at Villanova University majoring in Finance and Economics. All questions and comments can be sent to Thomas@KeeneOnTheMarket.com