Dow sank 173, decliners over advancers 5-2 & NAZ was off 35. The MLP index edged lower in the 185s & the REIT index was off 1+ to the 481s. Junk bond funds were mixed & Treasuries rose in price. Oil lost pennies in the 78s & gold fell 10 to 1860.
AMJ (Alerian MLP index tracking fund)
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The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits dropped to a new pandemic low last week as the job market continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Figures from the Labor Dept show that applications last week fell to 268K from a revised 269K a week earlier. The forecast projected the number of first-time filings to decline to 260K. It marked the best level of jobless claims since Mar 14, 2020, when there were 256K applicants just as COVID-19 began to shut down the nation's economy. Still, the number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits remains slightly above the 2019 weekly average of 218K. Continuing claims, or the number of Americans who are consecutively receiving unemployment aid, fell to 2.08M, a decrease of 129K from the previous week. It marked another pandemic low from Mar 14, 2020, when it was 1.77M. The report shows that roughly 3.18M Americans were collecting jobless benefits, an increase of 619K from the previous week; by comparison, just a little over one year ago, an estimated 20.8M Americans were receiving benefits. Claims have continually declined as the economy recovers from the pandemic & Americans venture out to travel, shop & eat. Businesses have struggled to keep up with the demand, however & have reported difficulties in onboarding new employees. This report suggests that companies are making an effort to retain the workers they already have as a record number of employees quit their jobs in search of more money & greater flexibility. The Labor Dept reported last week that there were 10.4M open jobs at the end of Sep. Though little changed from the end of Aug, it's still a staggeringly high figure; there are about 3M more open jobs than unemployed Americans looking for work.
Americans filing for unemployment drops as job market recovers
Dems are forging ahead with plans to pass Pres Biden's signature economic spending plan that would unleash another torrent of federal money into the US economy, despite anxiety over rising inflation. The House could vote as soon as this week on a massive tax & spending bill that imagines spending $1.75T over the next decade to bolster the social safety net & combat climate change. The measure – which comes at an awkward time for Dems, with inflation hitting a three-decade high in Oct– could push federal spending over the past 18 months to a stunning $8.85T. Lawmakers have already approved about $7.1T in new spending since Mar 2020, including $5.9 T in pandemic relief measures, according to a money tracker published by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. About $4.8T has already been spent or is earmarked for future use. Roughly $4.1T of that money was passed with bipartisan support under former Pres Trump. Dems singlehandedly approved another $1.9T in Mar with the passage of the American Rescue Plan. On Mon, Biden signed into law the $1.2T infrastructure bill. 32 Reps – 13 in the House & 19 in the Senate – joined most Dems in voting for the bill. The measure includes more than $500B in new spending that will be invested in "core" infrastructure projects such as roads, broadband internet and electric utilities over the next 8 years. The White House has touted the measure as a "once-in-a-generation investment" & has projected that it will create 2M new jobs. But the package pushed spending levels in the US over the past 18 months to more than $7T (roughly 30.6% of the nation's GDP) a level that is entirely without precedent. To put that into perspective, the US has spent roughly the same amount of money in the past 18 months than it did on every war across the world in the wake of the Sep 11 attacks (about $6.4T), according to one analysis conducted by Brown University's Watson Institute of International & Public Affairs.
Congress on track to spend trillions in under 2 years
Macy's (M) swung to a profit in Q3 & sales surged 36% as
shoppers begin to buy dresses, luggage & other goods that fell to the
bottom of the shopping list last year when the pandemic struck. Macy's joins other retailers posting strong sales as they overcome surging costs & snarled supply chains ahead of the holiday shopping season. EPS rose to 76¢ for the 3-month period ended Oct 30. Adjusted EPS was $1.23,
easily topping projections of 31¢. The company lost $91M last year during the same period. Sales reached $5.44B, also topping expectations. Online sales increased 19% compared with the year ago period & rose 49% compared with the same qtr in 2019. The company booked strong sales of home, fragrances, jewelry, watches & sleepwear. It said that sales categories like dresses, men's
tailored clothing & luggage continue to recover. Macy's was able to increase inventory 19.4% compared with last year's 3rd qtr, navigating shortages & slowed supplies as the US
economy emerges from a downturn caused by the pandemic. The stock jumped 5.81 (19%).
If you would like to learn more about Macy's, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/M?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Macy's sales surge 36%
Dow keeps drifting lower, as it has done all month. Massive gov spending is a drag on investor confidence. Earnings reports have been pretty good but threats of higher inflation are making investors put buying plans on hold.
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