WHERE'S THE LOVE?  Well? forget about the love, where the heck are the JOBS? A major shocker was delivered with last Friday's big monthly Employment Report, showing new job creations for the month of July at an extremely dismal 32,000.  The expected number had been 243,000, and worse yet, the "whisper number" in the trading pits had been a bold 300,000? so this was a very serious miss.  And adding insult to injury, the last two months Employment Reports suffered sharp downward revisions as well.  In response to all the brutal numbers, Mortgage Bonds quickly headed for "Boogie Wonderland" and blasted through strong overhead resistance.  This resulted in home loan rates improving by about .125% on Friday alone!

But can these gains hold?  Mortgage Bond trading was volatile throughout the day on Friday as the news was digested.  Remember, the economy is not losing jobs, as it had been in the recent past.  In fact, there have been eleven straight months of job growth.  So how will Greenspan and the Fed interpret these numbers?  We'll have a chance to find out soon? read on for this week's forecast.

ARE YOU A SALESPERSON? OR A BUSINESS PERSON WHO HAPPENS TO BE WORKING IN SALES?  YOU AND ONLY YOU? ARE THE CEO OF YOUR CAREER.  BE SURE NOT TO MISS THIS WEEK'S SPECIAL FEATURE, AS NATIONALLY RENOWNED SPEAKER, AUTHOR AND SALES TRAINER TODD DUNCAN WRITES ESPECIALLY TO MMG WEEKLY READERS ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO ADOPT A "CEO MIND-SET" IN YOUR OWN CAREER.

So what are the implications of last week's stinker of an Employment Report?  The Fed has their monthly meeting this Tuesday, and a 25bp Fed Funds Rate hike had been considered to be a lock.  But with these smelly jobs numbers, all bets are off.  The Fed raises the Fed Funds Rate to combat the inflation that comes with a strengthening economy, but based on this influential Report, the threat of inflation and strength of the recovery itself may be called into question.  Greenspan himself had indicated that previous month's soft jobs numbers were just "transitory", but Friday's Report didn't help the case for jobs.  Look for the Fed to go ahead with the anticipated 25bp hike this Tuesday, even after the disappointing job numbers, which goes along with their "measured pace" strategy.

What will be ultra important is Chairman Greenspan's comments.  Will he stick to his guns that the recent job market softness is just temporary?  Or will he offer some opinion that the economic recovery may not be as rip-roaring as previously hoped?  If he remains bullish on the economy, Bonds could lose ground quickly and home loan rates could pop back up .125% to .25% in a snap.  If he hints at some weakness, Bonds are likely to be supported at their current nosebleed levels.

Bottom Line: The Fed meeting this Tuesday is a wild card, especially in light of last week's soggy Jobs Report.  Bonds and home loan rates may react sharply following the Fed Meeting on Tuesday.

Dear MMG Weekly Reader ?

It makes no difference where you are in your sales career, whether you're a sales manager, a sales broker, or a sales rep.  You need to determine your answer to one very important question: Am I a salesperson in business, or am I a business owner in sales?  The fact is, you will not reach your potential as a sales professional until you answer this question, and answer it correctly.

Adopting what I call a "CEO mind-set" begins when you stop thinking of yourself as an employee with a job and start thinking of yourself as an owner of a business with a compelling vision to help people.  Consider how your own thinking has affected your investments in your sales career to this point. When it comes to your sales job...

• Do you only spend money on the things that your employer will allow you to expense?  A business owner would invest whatever is necessary to allow the business to thrive, even if that means using his or her own cash.

• Do you simply stay busy so the time passes more quickly each day?  A business owner utilizes every minute of the workday because wasted time equals wasted money and wasted opportunities.

• Are you more concerned with your effort or your effectiveness?  A business owner measures effectiveness first ? sprinting on a treadmill gets one nowhere.

• Are you more concerned with the quantity or the quality of your sales?  A business owner focuses on quality, knowing that trust established with clients multiplies quantity of sales.

• Are you more concerned with your activity or your results?  A business owner measures results on a regular basis to determine what activities are and are not working.

• Are you more concerned with earning a potential client's cash or confidence?  A business owner knows that without trust, they will never realize the full monetary value of a client, and therefore is willing to trade commission for constancy if necessary.

Would you say you've been thinking more like an employee or a CEO?  The defining characteristic of a CEO mind-set is thinking like an owner.  It is taking responsibility for your own growth and the growth of your business.  Simply put, like I discuss in High Trust Selling's Law of the Shareholder, it's acknowledging that you alone are the largest shareholder in your business, then beginning to act like it's so.

Thinking like a CEO is the first key to becoming a highly successful salesperson.  You see, the future of your sales career begins not in your hands or your feet, but in your mind.  In other words, how you think as a sales professional will determine how you act as a sales professional.  Successful thinking precedes successful selling.  Until you begin to think like a successful business owner you won't consistently make decisions or take actions that maximize your sales business.  Look at it this way: Until you can think for yourself, customers won't trust what you're thinking.  And in sales, trust is everything.

To Your Success,

Todd Duncan

For more information on the CEO mind-set and High Trust Selling, visit www.hightrustselling.com.

Another action-packed economic report calendar this week, headlined by the Fed's Open Market Committee meeting on Tuesday. After the anemic Employment Report last Friday, it is now not as certain what actions and comments the Fed will take at this meeting. The remainder of the week will bring important data from several sectors. The Retail Sales Report on Thursday could be a mover, as it will bring good indications of consumer spending patterns and consumer confidence, which has been very high of late. Friday's Producer Price Index will give us insights as to wholesale producer's ability to increase prices. All in all, Traders will have a plethora of information to chew on this week, and Bond movement could be volatile based on these releases.

Remember, as a general rule, weaker than expected economic data is good for rates, while positive data causes rates to rise.

For the week of August 9 ? August 13 2004