A disappointing jobs report was offset by analyst upgrades for bellwethers like General Electric, Starbucks, and Amazon to leave the major indexes little changed at the closing bell. The Dow gained 17 points, the Nasdaq gained 7, and the S&P 500 advanced by 2. Fourteen of the Dow's 30 components lost ground. After their upgrades, Amazon (AMZN) gained 4%, GE (GE) rose 6%, and Starbucks (SBUX) advanced by 7%. Volume was extremely light, perhaps because the New York Yankees' victory parade marched through New York's financial district at midday and a lot of Wall Streeters went AWOL to toss ticker tape for a while. Advancing issues edged out decliners on the NYSE and on the Nasdaq decliners edged out advancers. The prices of Treasuries strengthened and gold futures gained 0.62% to $1,096.00 an ounce. The price of oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 2.75% to $77.43 a barrel. For the week, the three major indexes each gained 3%.

In Earnings News

- American International Group (AIG), the insurance giant that was bailed out by the federal government last year, announced earnings improved from a loss of $181.02 a share one year ago to positive earnings of 68 cents a share in the latest quarter. It was the company's second consecutive quarterly profit. But the company also warned that its performance going forward could be choppy and said it would take a $5 billion charge ahead of its planned divestiture of two life insurance businesses. The price of AIG shares (AIG) fell 9% in today's session.

- Blackstone Group, the big private equity firm, reported earnings improved from a loss of $1.26 a share a year ago to a loss of 61 cents a share in the latest quarter. The company said it has increased its deal activities in recent months and is planning initial public offering for some of its entities. The earnings results were better than the Street anticipated and the company's shares (BX) rose almost 7%.

In Other Business News

- Non-farm payrolls lost 190,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate increased from 9.8% to 10.2%, the highest rate since 1983, according to the Labor Department. October was the 22nd consecutive month in which payrolls declined. The rate of job losses has eased, but the labor market remains weak.

- One day after the Senate approved an extension of tax credits to new home buyers, the House of Representatives approved the measure and President Obama signed it into law. The bill also extends unemployment checks for people out of work and has measures to help struggling businesses. In all, the new law provides $24 billion in additional stimulus to the economy.

- The Commerce Department reported that businesses reduced wholesale inventories by 0.9% in September. It was the 13th consecutive month of reductions, a record. But sales also rose for wholesalers, and economists anticipate that if sales continue to rise, wholesalers will begin restocking inventories, which would give the economy a boost.

*****

Here's some good news: Driving a car is getting safer. According to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal, the number of deaths per 100 million miles driven in the U.S. is now at its lowest level since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration started keeping those statistics in the mid 1970s. In the second quarter of this year for instance, there were 1.19 deaths per million miles, compared with 1.46 deaths per million in 2005. In 2005, more than 43,000 people died on the roads and at the rate we're going now, less than 35,000 will die this year. One official says: "We are hitting fatality rate levels we couldn't have imagined a decade ago." Nice.

Why the big improvement? Here are some of the reasons, according to NHTSA:

1. More airbags (including side airbags) in cars;
2. More electronic stability control in cars (which reduces skids);
3. More rumble strips (which wake up drowsy drivers);
4. More median barriers;
5. More drivers wearing seatbelts;
6. Tougher enforcement of drunk-driving laws.

Nice work all around. Potential headline for this story: "Highway Death Rate Crashing and It's No Accident."

Have a good weekend. And if you're wondering if we'll ever see "growth investing" again, the answer is: Of course, but when? Tom Pence, who joins me for "On the Trading Desk" this week, sees growth ahead and soon.

Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, provides investment advisory and administrative services for Wells Fargo Advantage Funds^®. Other affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company provide subadvisory and other services for the Funds. The Funds are distributed by Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC, an affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company. 118788

You have opted to receive Wells Fargo Daily Advantage each day. To change the format (graphics or text-only), e-mail address, or unsubscribe, visit your e-mail profile.

To ensure delivery of your subscription, add service@wellsfargo.rsys1.com to your e-mail address book, safe list, or contact your company's IT group to allow this e-mail address to pass through e-mail filtering software. We value the security and integrity of your personal information. View our security and privacy policy.

Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC | 525 Market Street | San Francisco, California 94105