Unemployment in the eurozone hit a record high of 11.6% in September

The rate reported by EU statistics office Eurostat, was up from an upwardly-revised 11.5% in August.
In total 18.49 million people were out of work in the eurozone in September, up 146,000 on the previous month, the biggest increase in three months.

While the eurozone's unemployment rate has been rising steadily for the past year as the economy struggled with a financial crisis and government spending cuts, the United States has seen its equivalent rate fall to 7.8%. The latest US figures are due this Friday.

Most economists think unemployment will keep increasing over the coming months and that the deteriorating economic picture will soon spook investors again after a brief hiatus.

Recession and unemployment make it more difficult for the eurozone to deal with its debt problem. Governments need to pay more benefits to the jobless and receive fewer tax revenues. That could push countries to take even more austerity measures, which in turn weighs on economic activity.

Spain holds the highest unemployment rate in the eurozone, at 25.8%. In Greece it was at 25.1% in July, the latest available figure. The country is forecast to enter its sixth year of recession next year.

Both countries, which are at the heart of Europe's three-year debt crisis, have youth unemployment above 50%.

The lowest unemployment rate in the eurozone was Austria's 4.4%. Germany, Europe's biggest economy, has a jobless rate of only 5.4%.

Inflation

The annual rate of inflation across the euro zone has fallen slightly in October according to Eurostat's initial estimate.

Eurostat believes the annual rate at which prices are rising was 2.5% in October down from 2.6% in September.

An easing of the pace at which energy prices are rising, from 9.1% to 7.8%, was the main reason given for the lower inflation rate estimate.

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Apple iPhone 5 All Set for China’s Mobile Networks and 2 Hot Stocks Seeing Action Today

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F): GM’s (NYSE:GM) vehicle sales in the Northeast are going to be harmed by Hurricane Sandy, the automaker stated, according to Reuters. Ford expects that sales will be affected by the storm, but the company has made to attempt to measure the size or the impact currently.

Are these stocks a buy or sell? Let us help you decide. Check out our Wall St. Cheat Sheet Stock Picker Newsletter now >>

Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GNRC) is significantly revising its guidance upward for the rest of 2012 as a result of the rise in demand for home standby and portable generators during Q4 due to the current major power outage activity resulting from Sandy. Full-year 2012 total net sales will likely increase in the low 40 percent range over the previous year. Because of the higher sales outlook, adjusted EBITDA for the full-year 2012 will likely see a rise in the mid 40 percent range over the previous year, an increase from the mid 30 percent growth rate that was previously expected.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL): Two iPhone 5 models were approved to run on China’s mobile networks, according to CNet, who cited comments from Chinese blog Sina Tech. The A 1429 model reportedly supports China Unicom’s (NYSE:CHU) 3G network and China Mobile’s (NYSE:CHL) 2G network, and the A1442 is compatible with China Telecom’s (NYSE:CHA) CDMA network.

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Tracking the FedEx/UPS Slowdown Should Scare Investors

If you missed the slowdown in FedEx (NYSE:FDX) and UPS (NYSE: UPS) trucks slugging through your neighborhood, the big money crowd has not. My stock price charts on FedEx and UPS are not at all compelling. In the era of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), delivery/transportation is everything, and the lousy chart action of Fed Ex and UPS is frightening.

Let’s look at how the Dow Transports are faring versus the Dow Industrials. In the chart below, I outline a pretty ghastly comparison. And don’t just look at the cratering trend arrow. The most recent action has an end-of-the-world look to it.

What about Young Research’s Moving the Goods index? We have used this proprietary index for years as a guide to overall momentum in the economy, and it has a top-notch record. As you can see, Moving the Goods does not yet signal recession, but boy, has all the upside momentum evaporated.

Finally, Young Research’s partial leading economic index is a sensitive gauge of economic momentum that never fails to catch cyclical swings in the economy. As you can see, the picture continues to dim. The raw data shows that our leaders actually peaked before the New Year began. In 2012, there have been three positive monthly readings and five negative monthly readings, including the most recent negative.

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Generac Shares Soar on Raised Sales, Profit Outlook

Shares of portable generator manufacturer Generac Holdings (NYSE:GNRC) spiked more than 18% on Wednesday after the company boosted its sales and profit outlook for the year and posted higher quarterly revenue.

Sales of portable generators have climbed sharply in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, which caused major power outages across the Middle Atlantic seacoast, the Journal Sentinel noted.

In the third quarter, Generac said it earned $25.5 million, down from $37.4 million in the same period last year. But quarterly sales jumped 26% over last year, hitting $300.6 million.

For the year, Generac now anticipates a profit of between $2.95 and $3 a share, up from earlier estimates of between $2.65 and $2.70 a share.

The Wisconsin-based company said full year sales were expected to increase by more than 40%. It had previously predicted a 30% sales rise.

Investors liked the news, sending Generac shares up more than $5 a share to over $33 a share in Wednesday morning trading.

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IBM Goes Big With $5 Billion Stock Buyback

When IBM (NYSE:IBM) reported its third-quarter earnings a couple weeks ago, the results were miserable. Since then, the shares are off almost 9%. Other mega techs like Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) also had similar moves.

Today, though, IBM provided some much-needed support when it announced that it added $5 billion to its stock buyback program. In all, $11.7 billion are available for purchases, which represents about 5% of the outstanding shares.

Plus, IBM tends to follow-through on its buybacks. It purchased roughly $3 billion in stock for the past two quarters.

Still, this does not necessarily mean that the company will use up all the purchasing power. And while the $5 billion buyback plan is encouraging, it is still not enough. In early trading, IBM’s shares are up only about 0.5% to $194.32.

In other words, investors want to see some signs that the company is once again getting traction with revenue growth.

Tom Taulli runs the InvestorPlace blog IPOPlaybook, a site dedicated to the hottest news and rumors about initial public offerings. He is also the author of “How to Create the Next Facebook.”  Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

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