Dow was off 29, advancers over decliners 5-4 & NAZ slid back 11. The MLP index added 1+ to the 139s & the REIT index was even at 369. Junk bond funds were mixed & Treasuries traded a little higher. Oil drifted lower in the 48s & gold went up 10 to 1903.
AMJ (Alerian MLP index tracking fund)
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The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits fell last week amid a rise in COVID-19 infections & new restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the disease. Data from the Labor Dept showed 787K Americans filed first-time jobless claims last week, fewer than the 833K that was expected. The prior week's reading was revised higher by 3K to 806K. The number of new claims, which fell to the lowest level in a month, is almost 4 times pre-crisis levels, but well below the nearly 7M filings that were recorded when lockdowns were first ordered in Mar. About 70M Americans, 40% of the labor force, have filed for unemployment benefits at some point during the pandemic. The number of people continuing to receive unemployment benefits fell to 5.2M versus the 5.4M forecast. A downwardly revised 5.3M Americans remained on unemployment benefits in the latest week.
Unemployment benefit claims unexpectedly fall as lockdowns widen
China wrapped negotiations with the EU on an important investment deal & talked up hopes for more, less than a month before Pres-elect Biden is set to take office. China & the European Commission (EC) announced that the 2 sides finished talks around a “Comprehensive Agreement on Investment” that gives each region’s businesses more access to the other's market. Both sides rushed to get a deal done — Biden is widely expected to marshal the support of traditional American allies to put pressure on China after he takes office, in contrast to the Trump administration. On the European side, there was a desire to finish an agreement before the end of Angela Merkel's term as German chancellor in 2021. Negotiations had stalled this year, prior to the US presidential election. The EC said China agreed to prohibit “distortive practices” including forced technology transfers — the practice of making companies hand over proprietary tech in exchange for access to the Chinese market. “China has committed to an unprecedented level of market access for EU investors, giving European businesses certainty and predictability for their operations,” the European Council said. “The Agreement will also significantly improve the level playing field for EU investors by laying down clear obligations on Chinese state-owned enterprises, prohibiting forced technology transfers & other distortive practices, & enhancing transparency of subsidies,” the statement added.
China signs EU investment deal before Biden takes office, and it wants to do more
The US set fresh records for one-day fatalities from the coronavirus-borne illness COVID-19 & number of patients hospitalized today, as California became the 2nd state after Colorado to find a case of the new COVID-19 variant that is racing across the UK. A day after a man in his 20s from Colorado was reported to have the first confirmed case of the new variant, California Gov Gavin Newsom said California also detected a case. He announced the news during an online call with Dr Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases. “I don’t think Californians should think that this is odd. It’s to be expected,” Fauci said. The new variant is understood be more infectious than the original virus but it does not make people sicker. But with hospitals already at full capacity in parts of California & elsewhere, there are growing concerns that more rapid transmission could totally overwhelm health care systems & workers. California set a record of 432 deaths from COVID-19 yesterday, boosting the total since the start of the outbreak to 25K. Already, hospitals are turning ambulances away in Los Angeles & EMT workers are being directed not to transport patients who do not have a pulse, while hospitals have started to ration care to prioritize patients with the best chances of survival. Officials from Operation Warp Speed, the federal gov program created to accelerate the development of COVID vaccines & therapies, acknowledged that vaccine distribution & administration was lagging early targets. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention said 2.8M people had been dosed & 12.4M doses had been distributed. That's well below the early promise for 100M doses to be delivered by year-end, which was later reduced to 40M & then 20M. “We agree that that number is lower than what we hoped for,” said Moncef Slaoui, scientific adviser of Operation Warp Speed, said. “We know that it should be better, and we’re working hard to make it better.”
There is not much news for traders to digest. Today is expected to be a quiet day for trading in what has been an unusually volatile year for the stock market. Sadly, the virus keeps fighting hard in its global war.
Dow Jones Industrials
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