Dow plunged 643 (near session lows), decliners over advancers 5-1 & NAZ sank 323. The MLP index was off a tad to the 218s & the REIT index fell 9 to the 433s. Junk bond funds remained weak & Treasuries were sold, taking the yield on the 10 year Treasury up 5 basis points to 3.03%. Oil was flattish, holding above 90, & gold pulled back 13 to 1749 (more on both below).
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.2180338269244485)
The number of Americans quitting their jobs for a different one declined in Jul, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey, a sign the Great Resignation is slowing down. The rate of transitioning to a different employer declined to 4.1% in Jul, compared with 5.9% the same month one year ago, according to the New York Federal Reserve's Consumer Expectations Labor Market survey. The decline was most pronounced for women & for respondents with a household income less than $60K. "The average expected likelihood of receiving at least one job offer in the next 4 months retreated slightly to 21.1% from 21.6% in July 2021, remaining below pre-pandemic levels," the survey said. Despite that, workers are still searching for new gigs: 24.7% of individuals reported looking for a new job over the past month, which is up from 24% one year ago. The increase was driven by respondents under the age of 45 who hold a college degree. What's more, about 21.1% of individuals said they have received at least one job offer over the past 4 months – up from 18.7% last Jul. The average full-time wage offer has grown to $60K from $58K one year ago. Workers are growing less satisfied with their pay, however, with wage compensation satisfaction retreating from 58.2% to 56.9% in Jul. For months, newly empowered workers have been quitting their jobs in favor of better wages, working conditions & hours as businesses lure new workers with higher salaries – a trend dubbed the "Great Resignation." As a result, Americans' incomes are rising across the board as employers have ramped up hiring to offset the losses or try to out-compete other businesses for workers.
Fewer Americans are switching to new jobs, NY Fed survey shows
Ford (F) is laying off approximately 2K salaried employees & about 1K agency personnel as it looks to lead a new era of connected & electric vehicles. "Building this future requires changing and reshaping virtually all
aspects of the way we have operated for more than a century," Ford Exec Chair Bill Ford & CEO Jim Farley said. "It
requires focus, clarity and speed. And, as we have discussed in recent
months, it means redeploying resources and addressing our cost
structure, which is uncompetitive versus traditional and new
competitors." The automaker will inform affected employees in the
US, Canada & at Ford Business Solutions in India this week. The
company will provide benefits & "significant help" to find new career
opportunities. The move comes after media reports began surfacing in Jul that Ford could cut up to 8K jobs as part of its electric vehicle production expansion. As of the end of 2021, Ford reported a global workforce of approximately 183K people. Ford stock fell 81¢ (5%).
If you would like to learn more about Ford, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/F?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Ford to eliminate 3,000 jobs in an effort to cut costs
A significant number of sellers — particularly in pandemic hot spots — dropped their asking prices in Jul as more buyers backed out of the market, according to a new report. In Boise, Idaho, nearly 70% of homes for sale fell in price, as owners
"struggled to match their expectations with the reality of the cooling
housing market," according to technology-powered real estate brokerage
Redfin. Boise had the highest shared of price drops in 97 markets analyzed by
Redfin in Jul. However, it was far from the only market that saw
numerous homeowners slash their asking price. Overall, more than 15% of home sellers in every major US metro dropped their asking price in Jul. Industry
economists have warned that increasing number of homeowners have been
backing out of the market in part because of elevated mortgage rates
taking a bigger bite out of their budgets. Although 30-year fixed mortgage rates
fell 0.09% to 5.13% last week, it's still well above 2.27% which is
where the 30-year fixed mortgage rate stood at this time last year,
according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. Last month, nearly 60%
of homes in Denver, Colorado dropped their asking price. In Salt Lake
City, Utah, 56.4% of homes fell in price, according to the data. In
Tacoma, Washington just over 54% of homes dropped in asking price. The data is similar to what Redfin economists saw in Jun when Boise
led the price drops at 61.5%. Tacoma, Denver & Salt Lake City also
faced the highest number of sellers dropping prices in Jun. Other
areas with a fair share of sellers dropping their prices in Jul were
Tampa, Florida, as well as San Diego & Sacramento, California. Many of the aforementioned metros are among the top areas that cooled the fastest after nabbing tons of eager homebuyers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving forward, Boise Redfin agent Shauna Pendleton says sellers should accept that the market has
cooled & price accordingly, unless selling a nice home in a desirable
neighborhood. Sellers should also understand it could take longer than a
month for their home to sell, Pendelton added.
Home asking prices drop in several states
Gold prices posted a a 6th straight losing session, its longest losing streak since early Jul, as the rising $ & higher Treasury yields continued to weigh on precious metals. Gold futures for Dec declined by $14 (0.8%) to settle at $1748 per ounce, the lowest most-active contract finish since Jul 27. The loss was the 6th in a row for gold, the longest daily losing streak since the 7-session fall ended on Jul 6. The ICE US Dollar Index a gauge of the $'s strength against rivals, was up nearly 0.8% at 108.975, nearing a multi-decade high reached last month. Investors may get hints from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on the plan for interest rates when he delivers remarks from the Fed's annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo. on Fri.
Gold down a 6th session in a row as a strong dollar weighs on precious metals
Oil futures declined but settled off the session's low on renewed worries about tight supplies & production capacity, while natural-gas prices rallied to fresh 14-year highs. The oil market is about as tight as it's ever been with spare production capacity at a historic low. Meanwhile, US natural gas prices have risen to their highs as equivalent prices in Europe surge to new record highs. Gazprom said late last week that it would shut down the Nord Stream natural-gas pipeline for 3 days of maintenance. Oct WTI crude, which is now the front month, settled at $90.36, down 8¢. Sep natural gas rose 34¢ (3.7%) to end at $9.68 per M British thermal units.
Oil futures end off the session's low; natural-gas prices rally
After today's drop, Dow is down over 1K in just 4 sessions. That's a ¼ of the rally since mid Jun (see below). The economic fundamentals continue to be sluggish (& that's being kind). Inflation continues at high levels with no quick fix in sight. Whatever the numbers say, it feels like a recession is already here. Layoffs continue. The numbers may be small, but there have been a lot of press releases from big companies. There was no attempt at a rally in today's trading. Pre Labor trading is shaping up to be gloomy.
Dow Jones Industrials
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