Dow went up 146, advancers over decliners 2-1 & NAZ jumped 170. The MLP index gave back 1 to the 194s & the REIT index fell 1+ to 447 following its recent run. Junk bond funds were bid higher & Treasuries saw heavy buying. Oil rose to the 69s & gold jumped 22 to 1895.
AMJ (Alerian MLP index tracking fund)
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US employers added fewer than expected jobs last month as extended unemployment benefits encouraged workers to stay home. Employers added 559K jobs in May, the Labor Dept said, missing the addition of 650K jobs that was expected. Apr's reading was revised higher by 12K
to 278K. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, declined 0.3
percentage points to 5.8%, its lowest since the pandemic caused
businesses to shut their doors in Mar 2020. Despite the gains, the US economy has 7.6M (5%) fewer workers from its Feb 2020 pre-pandemic level. The leisure & hospitality sector added 292K workers as COVID-19
restrictions continued to ease across most of the country. Almost 2/3 of those gains (186K) jobs, were in food services &
drinking places. Strong gains were also seen in amusements, gambling, & recreation (+58K) & in accommodation (+35K). The sector has
2.5M (15%) fewer jobs than before the pandemic. Meanwhile,
the resumption of in-person learning in more parts of the country
boosted employment in public & private education with gains in local
gov education (+53K), state gov education (+50K) &
private education (+41K). Solid gains were also seen in health care & social assistance
(+46K), information (+29K), manufacturing (+23K),
transportation & warehousing (+23K) & wholesale trade (+20K). The construction sector lost 20K jobs in May & has 220K fewer workers as a result of the pandemic. US
companies have had a difficult time finding workers as a supplemental
unemployment benefit of an extra $300 per week has encouraged many to
stay home. At least 25 states have announced plans to end the benefits
earlier than their Sep expiration. The labor force
participation rate was little changed at 61.6% & has remained between
61.4-61.7% since last Jun. The reading was 1.7 percentage points
below where it was in Feb 2020. Average hourly earnings rose 15¢ to $30.33 while the average workweek held at 34.9 hours for the 3rd month in a row. The labor market;s recovery could continue to run below its potential until the benefits are phased out.
May jobs report falls short as benefits encourage many workers to stay home
General Mills (GIS) has thrived amid the coronavirus pandemic with people worldwide eating more at home over the past year, but the company is downsizing its workforce as part of a push to prepare itself for the post-pandemic future. The company saw an 8% net sales increase through the 3rd qtr of its fiscal year, ended Feb 28. "Achieving
our long-term goals starts with driving profitable growth on our core
business, and I’m very proud that we've been doing that over the past
year," CEO Jeff Harmening said when he laid out the company's new "Accelerate" strategy for growth. "We’ve
been competing effectively and are gaining share across our core
markets and the majority of our brands," he said. "That includes fiscal
year-to-date share gains in cereal, pet foods, ice cream, snack bars,
and Mexican food — our five global platforms." That pandemic-boom could be waning though as coronavirus cases
plummet & vaccinations skyrocket, which means the company is bracing
for layoffs as part of that Accelerate strategy. "I know this isn't easy and that there are real world
personal impacts in us making this shift. And last week was especially
hard as we shared that reshaping our organization meant that many of our
colleagues will be leaving General Mills," Harmening added yesterday. "I
also want to be transparent: there are more hard decisions yet to
come," Harmening continued. "Please
know, none of these decisions are made lightly — and we are striving to
do all of this quickly and respectfully." Kelsey Roemhildt, corp communications senior manager said their Accelerate strategy will "drive momentum in the
markets we serve around the world." "We are investing in key areas
such as digital, data & technology, E-commerce and others that are
critical to our future success," she added. The stock rose 36¢.
If you would like to learn more about GIS, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/GIS?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
General Mills laying off workers in prep for post-pandemic landscape: report
2 of the world's largest oil-producing countries plan to defy the International Energy Agency's (IEA) recommendations & continue investing in oil & gas, rejecting calls to drastically scale back the use of fossil fuels despite a deepening climate crisis. Policymakers are under immense pressure to deliver on promises made as part of the Paris Agreement, a landmark accord widely recognized as critically important to avoid the most devastating impact of climate change. Almost 200 countries, including Russia & Saudi Arabia, ratified the Paris climate accord in 2015, agreeing to pursue efforts to limit the planet's temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The agreement requires net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Remarkably, the IEA — the world’s leading energy advisor — delivered its starkest warning yet on global fossil fuel use last month, saying the exploitation & development of new oil & gas fields must stop this year if the world wants to reach net-zero emissions by the middle of the century. Speaking at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum yesterday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the IEA had ostensibly arrived at its findings “by using reverse calculations” on how to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Russia and Saudi Arabia reject calls to end oil and gas spending this year
Investors are hoping that the jobs report will result in a gradual economic recovery. But inflation remains a worry, & both gold & Treasuries are in demand today.
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