When your lucky number turns out to be anything but (8/5/16)

Stocks soared on Friday after a stronger-than-expected jobs report, with the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq reaching record highs.

The Dow gained 191 points, with 26 of its components advancing; the S&P 500 Index advanced 18; and the Nasdaq rose 54. Advancers outpaced decliners by nearly five to two on both the NYSE and the Nasdaq. Treasury prices weakened. Gold futures dropped $23 to close at $1,344.40 an ounce. Crude-oil futures slipped $0.31 to settle at $41.80 a barrel. 

For the week, the Dow added 0.58%, the S&P 500 Index was up 0.43%, and the Nasdaq gained 1.12%.

In earnings news:

-       LinkedIn posted second-quarter earnings of $1.13 per share, up from 55 cents the year prior. Revenue climbed 31% to $933 million. Analysts expected earnings of 78 cents a share on revenue of $898 million. Marketing sales, premium services, and user base all beat expectations. LinkedIn’s stock (LNKD) rose 0.07%. 

-       Kraft Heinz reported earnings of 85 cents a share in the second quarter, beating estimates of 72 cents a share. Revenue was $6.79 billion, meeting estimates. The company’s results were boosted by cost-cutting measures and low commodity costs, but were held in check by currency exchange rates and a higher tax rate. Shares of Kraft Heinz (KHC) added 3.80%.

In other business news:

-       U.S. employers added 255,000 new jobs in July, according to the Labor Department. More people entered the job market, and as a result, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9%. Economists expected payrolls to increase by 180,000 and the unemployment rate to drop to 4.8%. Wages grew by 0.3% in July and 2.6% year over year. The data raises the possibility that the Fed will increase rates before the end of the year.

-       The U.S. trade deficit increased to $44.5 billion in June, according to the Commerce Department. The figure is 8.7% higher than May and the highest level in ten months. The jump was attributed to a rise in the imports of oil and Chinese-made computers, cell phones, and clothing. 

-       Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) plummeted 15.99% after the company announced that its promising cancer drug Opdivo failed its clinical trial to treat lung cancer. Competitor Merck’s stock (MRK) gained 10.41% on the news.

***** 

In Chinese culture, the number eight is considered the luckiest number. In Mandarin, it sounds like the word for “prosperity” or “wealth.” If you remember, the 2008 Beijing Olympics kicked off on 8-8-2008 at 8:08 p.m. Certainly fortuitous timing.

Individuals go the extra mile to get apartment units on the eighth floor or mobile phone numbers that include eight. But they seem to be especially superstitious when it comes to their license plates.

Earlier this year, one lucky individual in Hong Kong paid 18.1 million Hong Kong dollars, or $2.3 million U.S. dollars, for a license plate that included the number 28, which in Cantonese sounds like the words “easy” and “to prosper” and could (in theory) bring good fortune to the owner. (I think the only one easily prospering from this transaction was the seller.)  This set the record for the most expensive license plate auctioned by the Hong Kong government since they started the practice in 1973. 

Another individual who also tried to test his luck with his license plate is probably second-guessing himself now. An individual identified by the Chinese media as Mr. Zhou spent one million yuan (over $150,000) on a license plate with five lucky eights. Typically, when people splurge on their license plates, they’re also splurging on vehicles. Not Mr. Zhou, who proceeded to place his million-yuan plate on his $4,500 pickup truck.

Misfortune struck Mr. Zhou as soon as he hit the streets—police began pulling him over immediately. Not once, not twice, but a “lucky” eight times. All because the officers couldn’t believe Mr. Zhou’s luck of having such an auspicious license plate. They thought it was fake. Then, each time Mr. Zhou was pulled over, he attracted large crowds of onlookers who wanted pictures of the rarity. Each stop lasted about a half hour, meaning he spent more time on the side of the road than he did actually driving.

Maybe Mr. Zhou’s luck hasn’t run out, though. He’ll probably be able to resell the plate and get his money back (to someone who hasn’t caught wind of this story). Plus, I think this story isn’t quite popular enough for a full 15 minutes of fame, but at least he got about eight, right?