Schaeffer's Today's Market Features: Hewlett-Packard, Cigna, McDonald's, and Google.

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the December 8 edition of Schaeffer's Today's Market are Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ), Cigna (NYSE:CI), McDonald's (NYSE:MCD), and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG). Schaeffer's Today's Market is just one of the many free market commentaries written every day at www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research. Today's Market is written throughout every trading day by Schaeffer's financial analysts and traders. The entries are quick updates on the day's most notable market activity and news.

To have our weekly column Monday Morning Outlook delivered to you free via email, click on the following link and you'll also get an opportunity to win an iPod Nano. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PRMS13M&PAGE=1.

Don't forget that many of our observations are available as audio presentations that you can hear on your computer or download from Apple's iTunes Music Store to play on a portable device such as an iPod. To see the full menu of podcasts, please visit http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/commentary/podcasts/.

8:44 AM Nonfarm Payrolls Surpass Expectations

This morning, the Labor Department announced that job growth continued at a steady, moderate pace in November. Nonfarm payrolls expanded by 132,000 last month, higher than the 112,000 expected by economists. The unemployment rate ticked higher to 4.5 percent in November from 4.4 percent - a five-year low - in the previous month. Job growth in October and September was revised higher by a net 42,000 jobs. Average hourly earnings increased three cents, or 0.2 percent to $16.94. Economists had expected a 0.3-percent gain. Earnings are up 4.1 percent in the past year. The average workweek held steady at 33.9 hours, also in line with Wall Street expectations.

Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) reported that it has agreed to pay $14.5 million to settle a dispute with the office of the California Attorney General that arose from the company's investigation into corporate boardroom leaks. The firm will pay $13.5 million to create a privacy and piracy fund that will be used for law-enforcement activities related to privacy and intellectual property rights in California. Furthermore, HPQ will pay $650,000 in civil penalties and $350,000 to cover the attorney general's legal costs.

Cigna (NYSE:CI) announced that it has agreed to pay $93 million to resolve a securities class action suit filed in federal court in 2002 against it and certain of its officers. The firm said it expects a fairness hearing regarding the agreement to be held in April with final approval to follow shortly afterwards. The company expects to record a charge of about $25 million in the fourth quarter in relation to settlement. CI said it agreed to the settlement in order to "avoid the time and expense" involved in proceeding to trial, and that it doesn't admit to any wrongdoing.

11:07 AM Consumer Sentiment Wanes

It's been a bit of a rocky session for U.S. equities so far, which plunged below breakeven early on but have now fought their way just into positive territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA - 12,288.7) is higher by nearly 11 points while the S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,408.57) is up 1.3 points. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 2,428.6) is virtually unchanged, up 0.9 point so far today, with about 90 minutes under traders' belts.

The University of Michigan said its mid-December report on consumer sentiment dropped by a wider margin than expected, due to deteriorating expectations of future conditions. The index slipped to 90.2 from 92.1 at the end of November. Analysts were expecting the figure to be practically unchanged at 92.0. The current conditions index rose to 108.2 from 106.0, but the expectations index dropped to 78.6 from 83.2 last month.

In equity news, McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) reported that same-store sales rose 6.2 percent in November. U.S. same-store sales rose 5.1 percent, while European same-store sales grew by 8.4 percent. Total system-wide sales rose 10.5 percent during the month. MCD shares have risen about one percent today to peg a new annual high.

Elsewhere, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) reported that company Vice President Johnny Chou, who also holds the role of Google's Greater China co-president in charge of sales and business development, will exit his post on December 31 to pursue "personal interests." The Street does not seem to be troubled by this news, as GOOG shares are moderately higher in late-morning trading.

For more information on these stocks or any stock in your portfolio, feel free to visit our Schaeffer's Equity Scorecard feature. Click here to read all of the Today's Market entries: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PRMS13C&PAGE=1.

Take advantage of the timely Schaeffer commentaries by signing up for their free e-newsletters -- Opening View, Market Recap and Monday Morning Outlook. Click here to have the Schaeffer's commentaries delivered to you free via email every day and get entered to win an IPod Nano. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PRMS13M&PAGE=1.

About Schaeffer's Investment Research (www.SchaeffersResearch.com)

Schaeffer's Investment Research, founded by Bernie Schaeffer in 1981, is a financial information and trading resources company. It publishes Bernie Schaeffer's Option Advisor, the nation's leading options subscription newsletter. The firm's contrarian approach focuses on stocks with technical and fundamental trends that run counter to investor expectations. The firm's website, http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com, is recognized as one of the leading information sources for stock and options traders and was cited as the top options website by both Forbes and Barron's. Click here for more details about Schaeffer's trading methodology: http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com/method.