Dow plummeted 1026, only 123 stocks on NYSE were gainers & NAZ sank 246 after closing above 10K yesterday. The MLP index slumped 11+ to 148 & the REIT index tumbled 18+ to the 345s. Junk bond funds dropped in price & Treasuries were in heavy demand as stocks fell. Oil dropped 2+ to the 36s with future supply cuts unclear & gold soared 32 to 1752 (near recent multi year highs).
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Weekly unemployment claims better than expected as workers leave jobless rolls
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that shutting down the economy for a 2nd time to combat the spread of Covid-19 isn't a viable option & could cause even more headaches for Americans. His comments came as investors grew more concerned about a 2nd wave of coronavirus cases in the US. Texas has reported 3 consecutive days of record-breaking Covid-19 hospitalizations while 9 California counties are reporting a spike in new cases or hospitalizations of confirmed cases. “We can’t shut down the economy again. I think we’ve learned that if you shut down the economy, you’re going to create more damage,” Mnuchin said. “And not just economic damage, but there are other areas and we’ve talked about this: medical problems and everything else that get put on hold,” he added. “I think it was very prudent what the president did, but I think we’ve learned a lot.” The rise cases amid US reopening efforts has made investors nervous that states may have to reimpose business closures to again try to slow the spread of the coronavirus. That pessimism contributed to the Dow's 1000 point slide. Mnuchin also said he’s prepared to return to Congress to request additional fiscal spending to help juice the economy if needed. “We have the Fed program, we have Main Street [lending program], which is going to be now up and running, and we’re prepared to go back to Congress for more money to support the American worker,” he said. “So we’re going to get everybody back to work. That’s my No. 1 job working with the president and we’re going to do that.”
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says ‘we can’t shut down the economy again’
US wholesale prices rose 0.4% in May, led by gains in the cost of food & energy. The Labor Dept said that its Producer Price Index, which measures inflation pressures before they reach the consumer, showed an increase after 3 straight months of declines. Those declines had reflected in part the steep drop in demand caused by gov-ordered shutdowns to deal with the coronavirus. The cost of food rose a sharp 6%. Food costs have been rising due to high demand from Americans cooking more at home, but also because of lost production following virus outbreaks at food processing facilities. Energy prices, which had fallen for 3 straight months, increased 4.5%. Over the past year, wholesale prices have fallen 0.8%. The report on wholesale prices followed news yesterday that consumer prices at the retail level fell 0.1% in May, the 3rd straight monthly decline.
The relatively "good" number of job claims falling to 1.5M compares with numbers above 0,2M in the good old days. The economic recovery is far from being out of the woods. The recovery will continue to be very rocky from the worst depression in almost a century & the stock market got ahead of itself in its recent rally.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
| CL=F | Crude Oil | 36.89 | -2.71 | -6.8% |
| GC=F | Gold | 1,751.40 | +30.70 | +1.8% |
The pace of unemployment claims declined again
last week as the US jobs market continued its plodding recovery from
the coronavirus pandemic, Labor Dept data showed. Initial
claims totaled 1.54M, compared with the 1.6M & a plunge of 355K from the
previous week's total just shy of 1.9M. The 4-week moving
average, which smooths volatility in the numbers, fell by 286K to 2M. Though
the total decelerated for the 10th straight week, it still represents a
stunningly sharp exodus of workers to the unemployment line over the
past 3 months. There were 706K claims filed under the Pandemic
Unemployment Assistance program. Those collecting benefits declined by 339K to
20.9M, compared with the crisis peak of 24.9M during the
week of May 9. The 4-week moving average of continuing claims fell to
21.9M, a decrease of 405K from a week earlier. The
report comes a week after the Bureau of Labor Statistics said that
nonfarm payrolls increased by 2.5M in May, though reporting
errors have cast some doubt about how aggressive the recovery has been
so far. The insured unemployment rate, which is a basic measure that counts
those collecting benefits against the total labor force, fell 0.2
percentage points to 14.4%. The massive surge in unemployment claims came as the gov shut
down about 90% of the economy to help stem the coronavirus. The total
peaked at nearly 6.9M for the week of Mar 28, by far the
biggest total in history. Since the pandemic began, more than
44M workers have filed claims, with the gov extending the
duration of unemployment insurance and offering many workers what they
would normally collect plus $600. Those benefits are set to expire Jul
31, though Congress has been considering proposals aimed at extending
the measures.
Weekly unemployment claims better than expected as workers leave jobless rolls
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that shutting down the economy for a 2nd time to combat the spread of Covid-19 isn't a viable option & could cause even more headaches for Americans. His comments came as investors grew more concerned about a 2nd wave of coronavirus cases in the US. Texas has reported 3 consecutive days of record-breaking Covid-19 hospitalizations while 9 California counties are reporting a spike in new cases or hospitalizations of confirmed cases. “We can’t shut down the economy again. I think we’ve learned that if you shut down the economy, you’re going to create more damage,” Mnuchin said. “And not just economic damage, but there are other areas and we’ve talked about this: medical problems and everything else that get put on hold,” he added. “I think it was very prudent what the president did, but I think we’ve learned a lot.” The rise cases amid US reopening efforts has made investors nervous that states may have to reimpose business closures to again try to slow the spread of the coronavirus. That pessimism contributed to the Dow's 1000 point slide. Mnuchin also said he’s prepared to return to Congress to request additional fiscal spending to help juice the economy if needed. “We have the Fed program, we have Main Street [lending program], which is going to be now up and running, and we’re prepared to go back to Congress for more money to support the American worker,” he said. “So we’re going to get everybody back to work. That’s my No. 1 job working with the president and we’re going to do that.”
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says ‘we can’t shut down the economy again’
US wholesale prices rose 0.4% in May, led by gains in the cost of food & energy. The Labor Dept said that its Producer Price Index, which measures inflation pressures before they reach the consumer, showed an increase after 3 straight months of declines. Those declines had reflected in part the steep drop in demand caused by gov-ordered shutdowns to deal with the coronavirus. The cost of food rose a sharp 6%. Food costs have been rising due to high demand from Americans cooking more at home, but also because of lost production following virus outbreaks at food processing facilities. Energy prices, which had fallen for 3 straight months, increased 4.5%. Over the past year, wholesale prices have fallen 0.8%. The report on wholesale prices followed news yesterday that consumer prices at the retail level fell 0.1% in May, the 3rd straight monthly decline.
US wholesale prices rise 0.4% in May led by food and energy
The relatively "good" number of job claims falling to 1.5M compares with numbers above 0,2M in the good old days. The economic recovery is far from being out of the woods. The recovery will continue to be very rocky from the worst depression in almost a century & the stock market got ahead of itself in its recent rally.
Dow Jones Industrials
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