US The May consumer confidence report was one encouraging signal. Consumer confidence rose 0.9 points to 86.6 in May, after sharp, back-to-back monthly declines in March and April. Overall, the level of consumer confidence remains well-below readings from the past several years, but for now, it appears the free-fall in confidence has ended. The forward-looking [...]
US The latest jobless claims data did not provide much cause for optimism. Some 2.2 million people applied for regular state benefits in the week ended 16 May (on a non-seasonally adjusted basis). However, an increasing number of states have started to report the number of people applying for the Pandemic Unemployed Assistance (PUA) separately, [...]
US US Federal Reserve Chair Powell said that while the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic has been both timely and large, "it may not be the final chapter, given that the path ahead is both highly uncertain and subject to significant downside risks." Powell again ruled out the use of negative policy rates but [...]
Guest post by The Duomo Initiative. If there’s one thing we’ve learned recently, it’s that some things which start off small and local can become a global problem very quickly. With that in mind, it shouldn’t surprise you when I say that a small town in Oklahoma with a population of fewer than 8,000 was [...]
US April nonfarm payrolls confirmed that the labor market is collapsing. By the survey week of 12 April, net employment had fallen by 20.5 million jobs, more than ten times larger than the previous worst month on record. COVID-19 wiped out nine years of job gains in a single month, as the 131 million Americans [...]
Guest post by The Duomo Initiative. Having declined over 30% from its peak during the onset of COVID-19, the FTSE 100, like most major stock indexes, has been garnering a lot of attention. It's hardly surprising, considering a drop of 20% or more is considered to be a bear market. The FTSE 100 is the the UK's [...]
US An additional 3.8 million Americans filed for unemployment insurance, bringing total initial claims over the past six weeks to over 30 million. This dwarfs past recessions. With so many jobs lost and more at risk, consumers have cut back sharply on spending. Services spending accounts for over 45.0% of US GDP and is typically [...]
