Dow surged 569, advancers over decliners a very big 6-1 & NAZ jumped 273. The MLP index rose 1+ to the 114s & the REIT index gained 3+ to the 354s. Junk bond funds went up along with stocks & Treasuries edged higher. Oil slid back to the 38s after its recent rise, & gold zoomed 52 to 1948.
AMJ (Alerian MLP index tracking fund)
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The number of Americans applying for state unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, but remained significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels, indicating that layoffs are still elevated as the economy slowly recovers amid the coronavirus lcrisis. The latest jobless claims figures from the Labor Dept show that 751K workers sought aid last week, about 4-times the pre-crisis level. Still, it's well below the peak of nearly 7M in late Mar, when states first implemented lockdown measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. More than 66M Americans ‒ roughly 40% of the nation's labor force ‒ have sought jobless aid since the coronavirus lockdowns began in mid-March. The forecast called for 732K new claims. The number of people who are continuing to receive unemployment benefits fell to 7.28M, a decline of 538K from the previous week. The decline suggests that employers are calling their workers back. Still, some of the drop-off in continuing claims may represent workers who have used up the maximum number of payments available thru state unemployment programs (typically about 6 months) and are now receiving benefits thru a separate federal program that extends the aid by 13 weeks. The economy has recouped about ½ of the jobs it lost in Mar & Apr, but the recovery has plateaued in recent weeks. There are still roughly 10.7M more out-of-work Americans than there were in Feb, before the pandemic hit.
New jobless claims hold steady amid uptick in coronavirus cases
The nation recorded more than 102K new cases yesterday, surpassing a record of more than 99K setlast week, according by Johns Hopkins University. The total number of confirmed cases in the US neared 9.5M. Across the country, several states reported record tallies of daily infections, including Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, Colorado & Idaho. Pennsylvania reported more than 2800 new cases for the 3rd day in a row after setting a record on Tues. Epidemiologists & public-health researchers have said a number of factors, including pandemic fatigue & people attending social gatherings, are contributing to the rise in cases. The recent increases are affecting broader swaths of the US than the spring & summer surges, when outbreaks were heavily concentrated in a handful of states. The nation's 7-day moving average of newly reported cases, which helps smooth out irregularities in the data, rose to 89K yesterday, the latest in a series of record highs. The 14-day moving average was 82K. When the 7-day average is higher than the 14-day average, as it has been since Oct 5, it suggests cases are rising. Similar to the surges the country saw in the spring & summer, the rising number of cases nationally has been accompanied by an uptick in hospitalizations. More than 52K people in the US are now hospitalized due to Covid-19, the highest number in 3 months. The nation reported more than 1000 deaths from Covid-19 for the 2nd day in a row yesterday. The figure was slightly lower than the more than 1100 fatalities reported Tues, but higher than the 991 deaths reported a week earlier. The overall death toll approached 234K.
New US daily coronavirus cases top 100,000 for the first time
General Motors (GM) returned to profitability in tQ3 as business rebounded from a Covid-19 induced slowdown. The automaker had adjusted EPS of $2.83 as revenue was little changed at $35.5B. Analysts were expecting
adjusted EPS of $1.38 on revenue of $35.4B. GM posted a $758M loss
during the prior qtr as factories & dealerships were forced to
close amid stay-at-home orders aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. YTD EPS was $1.60. “We entered the pandemic in a strong position and acted decisively to
keep our teams safe, conserve cash and preserve liquidity, all while
keeping our critical product programs on track,” CEO Mary Barra said. “Now we are well positioned to meet rising customer demand,
accelerate our transformation and deliver our vision of a world with
zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion.” US sales
improved sequentially each month of the qtr, driven by crossovers,
full-size pickups & SUVs. Pickup truck sales were strong despite tight
inventories. Total worldwide vehicle sales slipped 5.26% from a year ago to 1.8M amid declining sales in the US & North America. Sales grew in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa regions with
China seeing 12% growth. The automaker expects at least 40% of its new
models introduced in China within the next 5 years will be new energy
vehicles. The stock rose 60¢.
If you would like to learn more about GM, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/GM?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
General Motors zooms past coronavirus slowdown
The Dow started the month with a rise of almost 2K this week & it's not over yet. With all the uncertainty out there, investors are feeling very good. The rising cases of the virus is disturbing, but the number of deaths has not been substantial. The Drs have learned a lot about how to treat patents who have contracted the virus. The earnings report from GM was helpful, showing that the economy is recovering. More earnings reports are coming.
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