Dow went up 46, decliners over advancers better than 3-2 & NAZ lost 74. The MLP index fell 2+ to the 176s & the REIT index was steady at 421 after yesterday's sharp decline. Junk bond funds fluctuated & Treasuries were in demand. Oil pulled back to the 64s following recent strength & gold rallied a huge 28 to 1813.
AMJ (Alerian MLP index tracking fund)
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The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the first time fell to a new pandemic low last week, the latest evidence that layoffs are slowing as the economic rebound strengthens. Labor Dept shows that applications to 498K from a revised 590K a week earlier. While the number of unemployed workers applying for benefits is down sharply from the peak of almost 7M that was reached when stay-at-home orders were first issued a year ago, it;s still more than double the typical pre-crisis level. Most economists expect the downward trend to continue in coming months as more Americans are vaccinated and venture out to travel, shop & eat. Continuing claims, or the number of Americans who are consecutively receiving unemployment aid, fell to 3.9M, an increase of 37K from the previous week. The report shows that roughly 16.2M Americans were collecting jobless benefits, a decline of 404K from the previous week.
Jobless claims drop to new pandemic low as US economic recovery gains steam
The Biden administration announced that it supports waiving intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines, as countries struggle to manufacture the life-saving doses. “This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures. The Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines,” US Trade Representative Katherine Tai wrote in a statement. “As our vaccine supply for the American people is secured, the Administration will continue to ramp up its efforts — working with the private sector and all possible partners — to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution. It will also work to increase the raw materials needed to produce those vaccines,” the she added. The World Health Organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, praised the US decision as a “monumental moment in the fight against Covid-19” that reflects the “moral leadership” of the White House in the fight to end the pandemic.
U.S. backs waiving patent protections for Covid vaccines, citing global health crisis
The Bank of England (BOE) said the UK economy is on track for a stronger economic recovery than it previously expected, underpinned by the country's comparatively quick Covid-19 vaccination campaign. The BOE upgraded its 2021 growth outlook for the world's 5th-largest economy to 7.25%, slightly above analyst expectations & up from 5% as forecast in Feb. It follows a drop in Q1 UK GDP of 1.5% — shallower than expected — & as restrictions on economic activity ease & Covid infections in the UK continue to decline. Reflecting on these developments, the BOE said Q2 GDP would likely “rise sharply,” while economic output was expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels through the remainder of the year. It had previously said the UK economy would recover to pre-pandemic levels in Q1 of next year. The UK economy contracted 10% in 2020 — the worst annual performance in more than 3 centuries. It was more severe when compared with most other European economies, partly due to a slower move to implement strict public health measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The BOE's Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously today to hold interest rates steady & voted 8-1 in favor of maintaining its quantitative easing program at current levels. On inflation, the BOE said it expects the consumer prices index to temporarily climb above its 2% target toward the end of this year, predominantly driven by developments in commodity prices. It sees inflation returning to around 2% over the medium term.
Bank of England sees UK growth surging 7% this year on vaccine rollout
Investors are nervous about an economic recovery that has an uncertain future & higher interest rates. Additionally, the stock market has had an outstanding run. Some are taking profits & using that money to buy gold (at its highest since late Feb).
Dow Jones Industrials
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