Unemployment Numbers this Friday

On Friday either we rally like no tomorrow or its a big drop to Shitsville.  Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned Americans today that the country's already sky-high unemployment rate could get worse before it gets better.

In an interview with the ABC, Geithner admitted that "it is possible you're going to have a couple of months when it goes up," as out-of-work Americans see the economy recovering and try to return to the labor force.

"When they see a little hope that there may be jobs out there, they start to come back in again. And that can cause the measured unemployment rate to go up -- temporarily."

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Geithner insisted that the economy is "gradually healing" and that President Barack Obama's administration is doing all it can to aid that recovery.

His comments come ahead of the publication of key July unemployment data on Friday, which is expected to rise to 9.6 percent, from the current rate of 9.5 percent. 

Consumer spending is flat, the latest indication that the economy would continue to struggle in the second half of the year.

In addition to releasing consumer spending figures, the Commerce Department reported that factory orders declined 1.2 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted $406.4 billion. Analysts expected a smaller drop. The agency also revised May’s decline to a sharper 1.8 percent instead of 1.4 percent.

Fellow Masters, watch out for this Friday's unemployment numbers. If the numbers come in above 9.6 even by a percent, the market is going to have a bad time.