Dow rose 33, advancers modestly ahead of decliners & NAZ gained 61. The MLP index was about even in the 118s & the REIT index declined 2+ to the 356s. Junk bond funds did little & Treasures were sold. Oil slid back to the 37s.& gold added 10 to 1965.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
| CL=F | Crude Oil | 37.70 | -0.35 | -0.9% |
| GC=F | Gold | 1,970.40 | +15.50 | +0.8% |
The number of Americans applying for state unemployment benefits held steady last week as the nation's labor market continued a tepid recovery from the coronavirus pandemic & subsequent economic shutdown. The latest jobless claims figures from the Labor Dep show that 884K workers sought aid last week, pushing the total number since the shutdown began to more than 60M. The forecast called for 846K new claims. Last week's total was revised upward to 884K. Roughly 1M unemployed Americans have been seeking aid each week for the past 6 months, when the COVID-19 crisis triggered an unprecedented shutdown of the nation's economy, pointing to a sluggish turnaround. While down from the peak of more than 6M claims in late Mar, it remains well above the 200K reported in Feb. Before the pandemic, the record high was 695K, set in 1982. The Labor Dept changed the way it adjusts state jobless claim figures last week -- a tweak intended to improve the figure's accuracy -- so the numbers for the last two weeks are not directly comparable to previous reports. Several large employers have also recently warned of job cuts. American Airlines (AAL) said it will cut 19K workers in Oct once federal aid expires, Ford (F) is offering buyouts to salaried employees with the goal of cutting 1400 workers, MGM Resorts (MGM) is laying off 18K workers & Coca-Cola (KO), a Dow stock & Dividend Aristocrat, is offering buyouts to 4,000.
Another 884,000 Americans filed for unemployment aid last week
A deadlock between White House officials & Dem leaders over what to include in another coronavirus aid package has continued to persist more than one month after negotiations first collapsed, imperiling the chances of a stimulus deal before the Nov election. The Senate is set to vote tomorrow on a scaled-back bill, estimated to cost about $300B. Even if Majority Leader Mitch McConnell secures 51 GOP votes, the legislation will not receive the necessary 60 votes to advance. Lawmakers are working on an increasingly tight deadline, with just a few weeks before they leave DC to campaign ahead of the Nov election. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, one of the lead negotiators for the White House, said his focus now is ensuring Congress passes a stopgap measure to keep federal agencies open beyond Sep 30. (Mnuchin & House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said they have agreed to work on a short-term spending bill to avoid a gov shutdown on Oct 1). He said he was unsure whether the 2 sides could reach a compromise on another round of emergency relief. Asked about the odds for a deal this year, Mnuchin said, “I don’t know. We’ll see. I hope there is. It’s important to a lot of people out there." The Senate returned to CD on Tues from its 4-week August recess. The House is scheduled to return on Mon for about 3 weeks.
Odds of coronavirus aid deal dim as Washington deadlock continues
Wildfires fueled by extreme heat & high wind
spread further across California, Oregon & Washington,
destroying hundreds of homes & killing at least 7. Fires
have burned thrua record of at least 2.5M acres in
California, causing significantly worse destruction than last year's
devastating season. The
blazes have also destroyed entire communities in Oregon,
including Detroit in Marion County; Blue River & Vida in Lane County; & Phoenix & Talent in Jackson County. Fires also largely decimated
the eastern Washington town of Malden over the weekend. “This could be the greatest loss of human lives and property due to
wildfire in our state’s history,” said Oregon Gov Kate Brown. “We are
not getting any relief from the weather conditions.” Winds continue to
feed these fires and push them into our towns and cities. Thousands of people in the Western states have had to evacuate their
homes & don't know when they'll be able to return. As rescue efforts
continue, the death toll from the fires is expected to rise over the
next few days.
Deadly wildfires worsen across California, Oregon and Washington
The stimulus bill looks to be a lost cause with all that is going on before the big election. Jobless claims data is not bringing cheer as the outlook with the key weekly number remaining close to 1M, far above 200K+ when the economy was strong. Stocks are down (shown below) in Sep, in what has been traditionally the toughest month for stocks.
Dow Jones Industrials
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