US leading indicators push higher…  Labor department admits errors…  Ben Bernanke heads to the hill…  PIMCO suggests buying emerging markets… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

All this week, we’ve been sounding the alarm of the so-called economic “green shoots.” These have now been exposed as being pure propaganda designed to lure investors back into stocks and to allow banks to recapitalize through share issuances at artificially elevated prices.

When the Labor Department recently reported that U.S. payrolls fell by 345,000 jobs in May – the lowest total in eight months – commentators were suddenly spotting “green shoots” of economic recovery virtually everywhere they looked.

For those of us who predict stuff for a living, this is one of those lovely moments in economics when we know for a fact that only one of two things will happen in the near future. We now know one thing for a fact… that in the first third of the second quarter of 2009, American retailers paid more and sold less, both by price and by unit. Simple arithmetic tells you that this means lower profits.

The recent stock market rally may not be a bear-market trap or a “dead cat bounce,” but may in fact be the first signs of dust from an oncoming and unexpected bull stampede.

A pair of crucial economic indices seesawed in February, helping some analysts to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

In sports, championship-caliber teams all have at least one characteristic in common: They’re able to focus on the fundamentals.

Oil rose above $44 a barrel on Friday, after sinking 4 percent in the previous session, gaining support from a weaker dollar and a meeting of OPEC later this month.

Have we hit bottom? The U.S. unemployment crisis has changed the purchasing habits for the American consumer. The Investment U Research Team gives us two stocks that are benefiting from the recession and this new way of life .