Dow was up 224, advancers over decliners 5-2 & NAZ gained 123. The MLP index went up 1 to the 172s & the REIT index was flattish in the 495s (record territory). Junk bond funds continued in demand & Treasuries were lower in price. Oil rose over 73 & gold added 6 to 1808.
AMJ (Alerian MLP index tracking fund)
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The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits
last week continued to hover around a ½-century low, the latest sign
the labor market is bouncing back from the coronavirus pandemic. Figures from the Labor Dept show that applications for
last stayed at 205K, unchanged from the previous
week's level. It was in line with the 206K forecast. Continuing
claims, or the number of Americans who are consecutively receiving
unemployment aid, dropped to 1.86M, a decrease of 8K from the
previous week. That is the lowest level for insured unemployment since
Mar 14, 2020, when it was 1.77M. The report shows that roughly 2.14M Americans were collecting
jobless benefits for the week, a minor decrease from the previous week. By comparison, just a little over one year ago,
an estimated 21M Americans were receiving benefits. The report underscores a strengthening labor market as the economy
recovers from the pandemic & Americans continue to venture out to
travel, shop & eat. Businesses have struggled to keep up with the
demand, however & have reported difficulties in onboarding new
employees. The report suggests that companies are making an
effort to retain the workers they already have. There were about 11M job openings in Oct, up from 10.6M in Sep. By comparison,
there were about 7.4M unemployed workers that month – meaning
there are nearly 4M more available jobs than there are workers.
Jobless claims remain unchanged, near half-century low
Annual inflation is running at the hottest pace in nearly 4 decades as widespread supply disruptions, extraordinarily high consumer demand & worker shortages fuel rapidly rising price increase Prices soared by 5.7% in the year thru Nov, according to the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index. That topped the previous month's rate of 5%, becoming the fastest pace increase since 1982, when the gauge hit 6.17%. Excluding the more-volatile measurements of food & energy, prices rose 4.7% in Nov from the previous year – the highest since 1982. That measurement is the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge to track inflation; their target range is around 2%. In the one-month period between Oct & Nov, prices jumped 0.6% (0.5% when excluding food & energy costs). The inflation spike largely reflected surging energy costs, which rose 34% from a year ago & food costs, which were up 5.6% over that same time period. Services inflation rose by 4.3% in Nov, & goods inflation increased 8.5% – up from the 7.6% pace a month prior. The inflation data was accompanied by data on household spending, which showed that consumers saved less in Nov & that their consumption was largely unchanged after accounting for inflation. If consumer spending remains flat, the decrease in demand could help tame inflation. The data is further evidence of a spike in prices illustrated by a separate measure – the Consumer Price Index – which showed inflation rose by 6.8% in Nov from the previous year. The report will likely reinforce the Federal Reserve's decision last week to accelerate the withdrawal of its monetary support for the US economy & could create additional pressure on the central bank to further tighten policy in 2022 by hiking interest rates.
Inflation hits highest level in 39 years as consumer prices surge
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the use of Merck's (MRK), a Dow stock, molnupiravir pill for treating COVID-19, the 2nd such emergency use authorization in 2 days. The molnupiravir pill is cleared for use by adults 18 & older who have
tested positive for COVID-19 patients who are at high risk of being hospitalized
or dying. "As
new variants of the virus continue to emerge, it is crucial to expand
the country’s arsenal of COVID-19 therapies using emergency use
authorization, while continuing to generate additional data on their
safety and effectiveness," Dr Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the FDA's
Center for Drug Evaluation & Research, said. The FDA said the treatment pills are not substitutes for approved & authorized COVID-19 vaccines & that molnupiravir is not a preventative drug. Cavazzoni said that under the authorization, MRK's pill will be
"limited to situations where other FDA-authorized treatments for
COVID-19 are inaccessible or are not clinically appropriate and will be a
useful treatment option for some patients with COVID-19 at high risk of
hospitalization or death," Cavazzoni added. The stock fell 26¢.
If you would like to learn more about MRK, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/MRKa_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f
FDA authorizes second COVID-19 antiviral pill
Dow is up 600 during this week's market rally. MRK's pill, the 2nd anti-viral pill, is helping & suggests that the virus is losing its fight. But the war will continue & the threat of continued high inflation is not going away anytime soon.
Dow Jones Industrials
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