Monthly Archives: April 2020

April 2020

Economic Outlook – 26 April 2020

2020-09-11T05:38:56+00:00

US Oil prices went negative for the first time in history as the evaporation of demand collided with supply that literally cannot be shut off quickly enough. Specifically, the expiring front-month WTI contract price fell below zero, as holders of the security squirmed to avoid having to take physical delivery with oil storage space scarce [...]

Economic Outlook – 26 April 2020 2020-09-11T05:38:56+00:00

Economic Outlook – 19 April 2020

2020-09-11T05:39:24+00:00

US Retail sales plunged 8.7% in March, as a 26.0% surge in grocery store sales was drowned out by historic declines in both durable (furniture -27.0%, autos -26.0%) and nondurable (clothing -50.0%, restaurants -27.0%) discretionary spending. Even this understates the decline in personal consumption, as retail sales do not include hotel stays, airline or movie [...]

Economic Outlook – 19 April 2020 2020-09-11T05:39:24+00:00

Just How Bad Is Unemployment In The US?

2020-09-11T05:27:38+00:00

Guest post by The Duomo Initiative.  Back in January, Wilbur Ross, the US Commerce Secretary, believed that COVID-19 would accelerate the return of jobs to the US. Unfortunately, as the economy comes to a standstill, businesses close their doors and people are asked to stay at home, it seems the very opposite is taking place. [...]

Just How Bad Is Unemployment In The US? 2020-09-11T05:27:38+00:00

Economic Outlook – 12 April 2020

2020-09-11T05:39:59+00:00

US The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index tumbled 8.1 points in March. This was the largest one-month drop in the index’s history. This drop, however, did not capture the full extent of the deterioration in business conditions that took place later that month. A special survey conducted by the NFIB found that most businesses only [...]

Economic Outlook – 12 April 2020 2020-09-11T05:39:59+00:00

Economic Outlook – 5 April 2020

2020-09-11T05:40:49+00:00

US Employers reported payrolls declined by 701K workers in March. This was much worse than expected, yet it only hints at what’s to come. The report “predated many coronavirus-related business and school closures that occurred in the second half of the month,” due to the timing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) survey (March [...]

Economic Outlook – 5 April 2020 2020-09-11T05:40:49+00:00