Dow fell 168, advancers barely ahead of decliners & NAZ added 15. The MLP index crawled higher, settling above 240, & the REIT index was off 2+ to the 366s. Junk bond funds fluctuated & Treasuries had limited buying which lower Treasury yields. Oil continued higher, up 1+ to the 83s, & gold was off 5 to 1967 (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)
US applications for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week as companies held on to employees in an economy that has largely withstood rapidly rising interest rates, intended to cool hiring & spending, for more than a year. The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits last fell week by 4K to 228K reported by the Labor Dept. The 4-week moving average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, rose by 250 to 237K. Jobless claim applications are seen as representative of the number of layoffs in a given week. Economists believe US employers added 170K jobs in Aug. The Labor Dept will issue official monthly jobs numbers tomorrow. On Tues, gov data showed that job openings dropped to 8.8M last month, the fewest since Mar 2021 & down from 9.2M in Jun. However, the numbers remain unusually robust considering monthly job openings never topped 8M before 2021. Besides some layoffs in the technology sector early this year, companies have mostly been trying to retain workers. Many businesses struggled to replenish their workforces after cutting jobs during the pandemic & sizable amount of the ongoing hiring likely reflects efforts by firms to catch up to elevated levels of consumer demand that emerged since the pandemic recession. While the manufacturing, warehousing & retail industries have slowed their hiring in recent months, they aren't yet cutting jobs in large numbers. Overall, 1.73M people were collecting unemployment benefits in the latest week, about 28K more than the previous week.
US applications for jobless claims inch back down
Americans felt more pessimistic about the economy in Aug, following 2 straight months of growing confidence. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index, which gauges Americans' attitudes towards the economy & job market, fell to a reading of 106.1 in Aug, down from 114 in Jul, reversing the improvements made in the summer. The falling optimism was mostly due to inflation worries, with some concerns about the labor market. Expectations of economic conditions in the coming months declined sharply. “Consumer confidence fell in August 2023, erasing back-to-back increases in June and July,” said Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board. “August’s disappointing headline number reflected dips in both the current conditions and expectations indexes. Write-in responses showed that consumers were once again preoccupied with rising prices in general, and for groceries and gasoline in particular.” Gas prices have risen in recent weeks & student loan repayments resume in Oct, which could also weigh on US consumers' moods. The Labor Day holiday, coupled with Hurricane Idalia’s threat of taking gasoline refinery facilities offline, could further push up gas prices & overall inflation. The University of Michigan's consumer survey last week also showed a deterioration in Americans’ attitudes toward the economy in Aug, though at a more subdued pace, according to a final reading. Federal Reserve officials have emphasized that long-term inflation expectations remain in check. But if inflation stays stubbornly high for longer than expected, US consumers could get used to what they perceive to be permanently higher prices. That could make it extremely hard for the Fed to bring inflation back down to its stated target of 2%.
US consumers' mood soured at the end of summer on inflation
Tesla (TLSA) is reportedly facing 2 new federal probes over possible
misuse of company resources by or for the personal benefit of CEO Elon
Musk. It was reported that federal prosecutors with the US Attorney's Office for the
Southern District of New York &, separately, the Securities &
Exchange Commission, are seeking information about how much TSLA has
spent to plan & build a secretive project, reportedly a spacious glass
house in greater Austin, Texas, thought to be for Musk's personal use. The
report also said that the Manhattan federal prosecutors were separately
looking into whether TSLA had deliberately misrepresented the battery
range for its electric cars. A report in Jul said
that TSLA electric cars often fall short of the company's advertised range & that the cars' touchscreens display inaccurate remaining range to drivers. In its last quarterly earnings report, TSLA disclosed:
“We receive requests for information from regulators and governmental
authorities, such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
the National Transportation Safety Board, the SEC, the Department of
Justice (“DOJ”) and various state, federal, and international agencies.
We routinely cooperate with such regulatory and governmental requests,
including subpoenas, formal and informal requests and other
investigations and inquiries.” The stock rose 1.18.
If you would like to learn more about TSLA, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/TSLA_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6aeoso5b6f7
Tesla reportedly facing DOJ, SEC probes over plans to build Elon Musk a large glass house
Gold futures finished lower as the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge showed an increase for Jul, contributing to a monthly loss of more than 2%. Gold for Dec fell $7 (0.4%) to settle at $1965 an ounce, after ending at its highest since Aug 4. Prices for the most-active contract logged a loss of 2.2% for the month. Gold futures finished lower after a reading of the US Jul personal consumption expenditures index revealed a increase of 0.2%, matching the forecast. Overall inflation, however, crept higher & remained stuck above 3%. Against that backdrop, the $ strengthened, with the ICE US Dollar index up 0.4% at 103.594, pressuring $-denominated prices of gold.
Gold futures fall for the session, lose more than 2% for the month
US oil futures ended at
their highest in about 3 weeks, finding support from expectations
for tighter global supplies in the coming months. The
session's gain contributed a monthly rise of 2.2% for front-month West
Texas Intermediate crude. The
Oct WTI contract climbed $2 (2.5%) for the session to
settle at $83.63 a barrel, the
highest front-month finish since Aug 9.
U.S. oil futures settle at a 3-week high, up over 2% for the month
Traders wanted to extend this week's rally. However in the PM it ended as profits were taken. For the month Dow fell 838.Dow Jones Industrials
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