Dow was off 133, decliners over advancers about 2-1 & NAZ gained 27. The MLP index slid back 1+ to the 142s & the REIT index fell 1+ to the 369s. Junk bond funds did little today & Treasuries edged higher. Oil rose above 45, another multi month high, & gold recovered 3 to 1808.
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The number of Americans applying for state unemployment benefits rose again last week as a surge in coronavirus cases across the country threatens to undermine the economy's recovery. The latest jobless claims figures from the Labor Department, which cover the week ending Nov. 21, show that 778Kworkers sought aid last week, about 4 times the pre-crisis level. While 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, it marks the 2nd consecutive week of an increase in claims. It's a slight uptick from last week's revised figure of 748K & well above the 730K new claims forecast. Close to 68M Americans ‒ roughly 40% of the nation's labor force ‒ have applied for aid since the coronavirus lockdowns began in mid-Mar. The number of people who are continuing to receive unemployment benefits fell to a little more than 6M, a decline of 299K from the previous week. While the decline suggests that employers are calling their workers back, it may represent laid-off Americans who have used up the maximum number of payments available thru state unemployment programs (typically about 6 months) & are now receiving benefits through a separate federal program that extends the aid by 13 weeks. Congress created the extra federal benefits earlier this year with the passage of the CARES Act. But those key federal jobless aid programs created in Mar are slated to expire at the end of the year, leaving about 12M workers with no income on Dec 26. Up to 4.4M workers are expected to exhaust their unemployment benefits before Dec 26, with 3.5M Americans using up the extended Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation & 925K running out of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. Job losses remain elevated and, as COVID-19 cases surge across the country, prompting state & local govs to implement new lockdown measures, economists are increasingly warning of a bleak winter.
Jobless claims increase as coronavirus cases rise, lockdowns return
The US economy grew at a record pace during the 3rd qtr, according to a 2nd estimate released by the Commerce Dept. GDP increased 33.1% during the 3 months, unrevised from the first estimate & in-line with the expectations. The initial estimate released last month showed record growth as the US economy battled back from its COVID-19-induced slowdown. The US economy, the world's largest, contracted at a 32.9% annualized pace in the 2nd qtr as lockdowns aimed at slowing the spread of the virus caused activity to grind to a halt. The 2nd estimate included upward revisions to nonresidential fixed investment, residential investment & exports. Those were offset by downward revisions to state & local gov spending, private inventory investment & personal consumption expenditures. Imports, which reduce GDP, were revised higher. A 3rd estimate will be released on Dec 22.
US economy grows at record 33.1%, according to second estimate
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) authorized one of the first Covid-19-19 tests that measures the amount of neutralizing antibodies produced by the body's immune system after exposure to the virus — a “new generation” of coronavirus test that is designed to tell how well someone is protected against infection. A person's immune system produces antibodies to combat viruses & other foreign pathogens that invade the body. When it comes to Covid-19, it remains unclear how much protection antibodies provide & how long that might last, but this test could help researchers better understand the role of Covid antibodies in immune protection. Unlike many previously authorized antibody tests that can tell if you've had the virus or not, the COVID-SeroKlir test measures your specific levels of Covid-19 neutralizing antibodies. The FDA has previously authorized some tests that estimate the level of antibodies, but not specifically for neutralizing antibodies. The FDA cautioned that much remains unknown about the nature of Covid-19 neutralizing antibodies in humans & that a high level of antibodies does not necessarily guarantee immunity against the virus. But the new test is important because it can be used by researchers to further study the relationship between Covid-19 antibodies & protection against the virus. That's relevant for protection generated by both previous Covid-19 exposure & by a vaccine, once one is distributed, which could be next month in the US.
FDA clears a ‘new generation’ of Covid antibody test that measures level of neutralizing antibodiesWhile the news on jobless claims was not a great surprise, it was still disturbing & a reminder that more work will be needed to fix the economy. Meanwhile advances on research to fight the virus are making progress & impressive.
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