Dow dropped 105, decliners over advancers about 2-1 & NAZ was off 103. The MLP index crawled up to 151 & the REIT index declined 5+ to the 357s. Junk bond funds fluctuated & Treasuries drifted lower, bringing higher yields. Oil slid back to 52 after climbing to an 11 month high last week & gold jumped 13 to 1848.
AMJ (Alerian MLP index tracking fund)
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A new analysis by the Chamber of Commerce reveals that the US' economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic continues to be uneven. The survey includes responses from 36 business leaders across a wide range of industries, from healthcare to finance & energy to entertainment. Out of the 36 responses, 19 business leaders (53%) said they are doing slightly or much worse than pre-pandemic compared to 15 business leaders (42%) say they are doing slightly or much better & 2 say they are doing the same. Small businesses reported a similar split & K-shaped recovery. According to the most recent MetLife & Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index, 48% of small businesses say their business health is average or poor & 50% of small businesses say their business is in good overall health. However, 80% or more of small business are concerned about the virus’s impact on America’s economy. “Ten months after COVID-19 caused an unprecedented disruption in economic activity, some industries have fully recovered while others are in the equivalent of a depression,” Exec VP & Chief Policy Officer for the Chamber of Commerce, Neil Bradley, said “The full reopening of the economy that widespread vaccinations will make possible offers a light at the end of the tunnel, but we will be dealing with the fallout from the pandemic for years to come. As we rally for recovery, it is critical that policymakers pursue pro-growth policies that can help business, families, and communities fully recover.” The survey found that the areas seeing the slowest economic recovery include the airport, hospitality, housing & gaming industries. Meanwhile, areas that have seen the strongest economic recovery include energy, which has seen petroleum demand in the US return to 19M barrels per day & the 5-year range by Nov following the initial shock from the coronavirus pandemic & the finance industry, which saw credit union deposits in Q2 grow 15 times faster than the same period a year ago. About 61% of food retailers also reported strong demand which had a positive impact on business despite new COVID-19 restrictions stretching their capabilities. Consumer spending in food retail was up 25% from Feb to Mar. While residential & infrastructure construction was strong in 2020, data indicates that construction spending for office, industrial, warehouse & retail buildings was down 29.8% from 2019.
Economic recovery uneven: US Chamber of Commerce
China's factory gate prices fell last month at their slowest pace since Feb, suggesting China's manufacturing sector continues to see a steady recovery from the COVID-19 shock. The producer price index (PPI) fell 0.4% from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The index was expected to fall 0.8% after a 1.5% drop in Nov. The data comes as manufacturing activity in the world's 2nd-largest economy expanded in Dec but at a slightly slower pace amid higher raw material costs. On a monthly basis, PPI rose 1.1% in Dec after increasing 0.5% in Nov, pointing to improving corp profitability. Prices for raw materials fell 1.6% from a year ago, compared with a decline of 4.2% in the previous month. China's industrial sector has staged an impressive rebound from the coronavirus shock thanks to surprisingly strong exports, helping to fuel a robust economic recovery. But rising global infections - & fresh coronavirus curbs in many countries - may cloud the outlook for Chinese manufacturers. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2% from a year earlier in Dec after easing 0.5% in Nov, the first fall since 2009. The forecast called for a 0.1% rise.
China’s factory gate prices fell last month at slowest pace since February
Dr Scott Gottlieb said he believes states across the US may expand coronavirus vaccine eligibility sooner than expected due to an underwhelming willingness to receive the shots. “We’re living in this sort of belief that the demand here is endless, and it’s not,” the former Food & Drug Administration commissioner said. “I think by the end of February, we’re going to find that we have to open up eligibility pretty wide to get people to come in to get inoculated. We’re not going to be in this rationing situation. I think it’s going to end sooner than we think.” With available doses being limited, the vaccine administration is being done in phases. Health-care workers & long-term care residents received priority in the initial wave & some states have also moved into other groups such as elderly Americans & essential workers such as police and firefighters. The pace of the vaccine rollout in the US has received significant criticism after the FDA granted limited clearances in Dec. The administration fell far short of its goal of having 20M Americans vaccinated by year-end. As of Fri morning, about 6.7M Americans had received their first shot of the 2-dose vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. There has been roughly 22.1M doses distributed. One hurdle in the vaccine distribution has been hesitancy to receive the shot among health-care workers, particularly for employees of nursing homes. Late last month, Ohio Gov Mike DeWine said that 60% of the state's nursing home workers were choosing not to be vaccinated. Gottlieb said the wariness of getting the shot likely permeates across the population & he predicted it will remain present even as the number of available vaccine doses expands. “My belief here is the demand is very deep — there’s people who really want this badly — but it’s not wide,” Gottlieb added. In Florida, for example, there were reports of elderly residents waiting hours in line to be vaccinated, including some who waited overnight, there were other reports of residents of other states flocking to Florida to get shots because they're open to anyone 65 or older
Dr. Scott Gottlieb expects Covid vaccine eligibility to be expanded sooner than expected
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