Dow recovered 530, advancers over decliners a relatively modest 5-4 & NAZ gained 304. The MLP index lost another 5+ to 86 & the REIT index jumped up 11 to the 299s. Junk bond funds were purchased after recent selling & Treasuries drifted lower. Oil was up pennies in the 28s & gold rose 53 to 1539.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
The White House is pitching Senate Reps on an $850B coronavirus relief package that could contain provisions like a payroll tax cut & aid for hard-hit industries as Pres Trump warned the fast-spreading disease may push the US into a recession. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is expected to meet with Senate Reps on later today to discuss the proposal, which could include broader economic measures like $250B in Small Business Association loans, $500B for a payroll tax cut & $58B for airlines. The Senate's discussions on a 3rd round of stimulus took on new urgency as the stock market plummeted again, with the Dow shedding nearly 3K, its 2nd-worst day in history. American life has come to a grinding halt, with schools & businesses across the country closing to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus). “The Senate is committed to meeting these uncertain times with bold and bipartisan solutions,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday. Work on the bill follows the enactment of an $8.3B package of emergency funding for prevention efforts & research earlier this month & the House passage of a bill aimed at expanding the social safety net, including free COVID-19 testing, even for the uninsured, extending paid sick leave to more Americans & providing Bs in funding to state & local govs for food programs & unemployment benefits.
Fed’s Mester explains ‘no’ vote on rate cut, says she would back commercial paper help
New York state coronavirus cases soar to more than 1,300, hospitalizing 19%
Bargain hunters are shopping for stocks. However, the rally is underwhelming all considered with a weak advance/decline reading. Congress is working on a recovery bill to help & big companies are looking for ways to help. Over the short term], problems keep growing. The NY Dept of Labor said its website crashed 3 times yesterday because it was overwhelmed by the number of applications for unemployment benefits. The weekly unemployment report on Thurs will be very dreadful. Trading began the day in the red, but the last hour has seen buying (which may not last).
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
| CL=F | Crude Oil | 28.72 | +0.02 | +0.1% |
| GC=F | Gold | 1,521.30 | +34.80 | +2.3% |
The White House is pitching Senate Reps on an $850B coronavirus relief package that could contain provisions like a payroll tax cut & aid for hard-hit industries as Pres Trump warned the fast-spreading disease may push the US into a recession. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is expected to meet with Senate Reps on later today to discuss the proposal, which could include broader economic measures like $250B in Small Business Association loans, $500B for a payroll tax cut & $58B for airlines. The Senate's discussions on a 3rd round of stimulus took on new urgency as the stock market plummeted again, with the Dow shedding nearly 3K, its 2nd-worst day in history. American life has come to a grinding halt, with schools & businesses across the country closing to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus). “The Senate is committed to meeting these uncertain times with bold and bipartisan solutions,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday. Work on the bill follows the enactment of an $8.3B package of emergency funding for prevention efforts & research earlier this month & the House passage of a bill aimed at expanding the social safety net, including free COVID-19 testing, even for the uninsured, extending paid sick leave to more Americans & providing Bs in funding to state & local govs for food programs & unemployment benefits.
Inside White House's $850B relief package
Cleveland Federal Reserve Pres Loretta Mester
said she voted against this week's interest rate cut because it leaves
the central bank with no further rate ammunition & could have been
more effective later. The central
bank official explained her lone dissent against the move Sun to
slash the Fed’s benchmark rate to near zero, where it was during the
financial crisis & for 7 years after. “I
preferred to stage our policy actions by first providing liquidity to
improve market functioning, supported by a smaller reduction in the
funds rate,” she said. “This would have preserved the option of a
further cut in the funds rate, if needed, for a time when market
functioning had improved and such an action could be expected to be most
effective in supporting the economy” after the coronavirus scare had
been contained. Mester noted the disruptions in financial markets
since the coronavirus scare have intensified. As such, she said she
supported all of the other measures of the Federal Open Market
Committee, including $700B in asset purchases & a reduction in
the rate charged at the Fed's discount window for bank borrowing. Going
forward, she said if conditions continue to deteriorate she would
support instituting financial crisis-era programs like a commercial
paper facility as well as a term auction facility if the discount window
isn't enough to keep money flowing for financial institutions. She said interest rate cuts in the current climate are less impactful. “When
markets are not functioning well, the transmission mechanism of
monetary policy to the economy is disrupted, and any reduction in the
target federal funds rate will have less of an impact on the real
economy,” Mester added.
Fed’s Mester explains ‘no’ vote on rate cut, says she would back commercial paper help
The COVID-19 outbreak in New York state has spread
to at least 1374 people, hospitalizing 19% & killing 12, New York Gov Andrew Cuomo announced. Cuomo said
at least 264 New Yorkers (19% of the known cases) have been
hospitalized with COVID-19. The number of New Yorkers hospitalized with
the virus is higher than average, Cuomo added during a press briefing on the COVID-19 outbreak spreading throughout the state. The
state is scrambling to expand its hospital capacity to handle an influx
of cases before infections peak here, he said. New York currently has
53K hospital beds & 3K ICU beds, far short of what state health
officials are predicting will be needed. They estimate the
state will need 18K-37K ICU beds & at least 55K
hospital beds at the peak of the outbreak across the state, which he
predicted will take about 45 days. “That, my friends, is the problem that we’ve been talking about since the beginning of this exercise,” Cuomo said.
New York state coronavirus cases soar to more than 1,300, hospitalizing 19%
Bargain hunters are shopping for stocks. However, the rally is underwhelming all considered with a weak advance/decline reading. Congress is working on a recovery bill to help & big companies are looking for ways to help. Over the short term], problems keep growing. The NY Dept of Labor said its website crashed 3 times yesterday because it was overwhelmed by the number of applications for unemployment benefits. The weekly unemployment report on Thurs will be very dreadful. Trading began the day in the red, but the last hour has seen buying (which may not last).
Dow Jones Industrials
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