Weekly Market Recap

Weekly Market Recap – June 4, 2021

The weekly initial jobless tally was 385,000 new claims vs. the previous 405,000. Nonfarm payrolls showed a 559,000 increase; Wall Street had predicted 671,000. The unemployment rate is now 5.8% vs. 6.1% a month ago. Some analysts attributed the uptick in the labor market to more Americans getting vaccinated, and the easing …

Weekly Market Recap – May 28, 2021

Initial jobless claims fell to 406,000 vs. the previous week’s 444,000. Other economic statistics, compared to their prior levels, were as follows: the consumer confidence index was 117.2 vs. 117.5, and durable goods orders for April were down 1.3%, reversing the 1.3% rise in March. Personal income for April dropped 13.1%, which …

Weekly Market Recap – May 21, 2021

Weekly initial jobless claims sank to the lowest level since March 21, 2020, when 2.9 million first-time filings were tallied. Thursday’s report was 444,000 claims filed. Other key statistics, compared with their prior levels, were as follows: housing starts for April were 1.57 million (vs. 1.73 million), April’s existing-home sales figure was …

Weekly Market Recap – May 14, 2021

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped again: 473,000 initial jobless claims were filed, compared with 507,000 the previous week. The federal budget for April showed a $226 billion deficit vs. $738 billion in March. Other economic statistics, compared with their prior level were as follows: April retail sales had 0.0% …

Weekly Market Recap – May 7, 2021

The week’s U.S. economic news was dominated by employment statistics. Despite the weekly drop in initial jobless claims to 498,000 (the lowest since the pandemic began), the overall measurement of job growth was less than analysts had expected. Nonfarm payrolls showed a 266,000 increase; Wall Street had predicted 1 million. The unexpected …

Weekly Market Recap – April 30, 2021

Economic statistics, compared to their prior levels, were as follows: durable goods orders for March were up 0.5% vs. February’s 0.9% drop, March core capital goods orders were 0.9% higher, an improvement over the previous month’s decrease of 0.8%, the Case-Shiller National Home Price Index for February gained 12.0% (year-over-year), compared with …

Weekly Market Recap – April 23, 2021

In the Markets
There was another weekly decrease in Initial jobless claims with 547,000 first-time filings, down from the previous 586,000. The week’s list of other U.S. economic statistic reports was smaller than usual: existing home sales for March were 6.01 million vs. 6.24 million in February, while new home sales …

Weekly Market Recap – April 16, 2021

In the Markets
The federal budget for March showed a $660 billion deficit vs. $119 billion in February. In this fiscal year, which began October 1st, the U.S. has so far spent a record $3.4 trillion. The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits plunged to its lowest level since the start …

Weekly Market Recap – April 9, 2021

In the Markets
The Federal Reserve released its monthly report that outstanding consumer credit, a vital sign of the economy, increased in February at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.9%.
Balance of trade, reported by the Department of Commerce, for February, showed the deficit grew by $71.1 billion, compared with …

Weekly Market Recap – April 1, 2021

In the Markets
Initial jobless claims came in at 719,000 compared with 658,000 the previous week; yet, the monthly non-farm payrolls tally showed an improvement with 675,000 in March vs. 379,000 for February. The overall unemployment rate is now 6.0% vs. 6.2% a month ago. The consumer confidence index gained from …

Weekly Market Recap – March 26, 2021

In the Markets
Initial jobless claims fell sharply to 684,000 vs. the previous week’s 781,000. Other economic statistics, compared to their prior levels, were as follows: the consumer sentiment index was 89.1 vs. 83.0, durable goods orders for February were down 1.1% vs. January’s 3.5% rise, February core capital goods orders …

Weekly Market Recap – March 19, 2021

In the Markets
The initial jobless claims report, at 770,000, was the highest weekly number in five weeks; the count for the previous week was 725,000. February retail sales decreased 3.0%, compared with January’s 7.6% increase. Industrial production rose 1.3%, slightly weaker than the prior month’s +1.4%. Business inventories rose 0.3%, …

Weekly Market Recap – March 12, 2021

In the Markets
Thursday’s initial jobless claims report came in at 712,000, compared with the previous week’s figure of 754,000. The Consumer Price Index for February was up 0.4% vs. 0.3% for January. Producer prices were up 0.5% vs. the prior month’s 1.3% increase. Wholesale inventories for January rose 1.3%; the …

Weekly Market Recap – March 5, 2021

In the Markets
Thursday’s initial jobless claims report was 745,000, compared with 736,000 the previous week. February’s non-farm payroll figure showed an increase of 379,000 jobs that came back vs. January’s 166,000 rise. In the Commerce Department’s report on the balance of trade for January, the deficit grew by $68.2 billion, …

Weekly Market Recap – February 26, 2021

In the Markets
President Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package was passed in the House. A panel of experts advising the Food and Drug Administration endorsed Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine. Initial jobless claims declined to 730,000 vs. the previous week’s 841,000 applications. Other economic statistics, compared to their prior …

Weekly Market Recap – February 19, 2021

In the Markets
The 821,000 initial jobless claims total was the highest in a month; there are a total of 18.3 million unemployed U.S. workers. Retail sales reported for January increased 5.3%, compared with December’s 1.4%. Industrial production rose 0.9%, a bit weaker than the prior month’s +1.3%. The PPI for …

Weekly Market Recap – February 12, 2021

In the Markets
Thursday’s jobless claims report came in at 793,000, compared with the previous week’s revised figure of 812,000; the average expectation by Wall Street analysts was 760,000. The Consumer Price Index for January was up 0.3% vs. 0.2% for December. Wholesale inventories for December rose 0.3%; the November number …

Weekly Market Recap – February 5, 2021

In the Markets
The U.S. Senate passed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 bill, as the nationwide toll from the disease reached 460,582 deaths, with 2,820 new deaths cited on Friday.
Initial jobless claims were reported at 779,000 vs. 812,000 in the previous week’s release; Wall Street analysts had expected an average of …

Weekly Market Recap – January 29, 2021

In the Markets
Initial jobless claims declined to 875,000; the report for the previous week was 914,000 first-time applications. Economic statistics, compared to their prior levels, were as follows: the consumer confidence index was 89.3 vs. 87.1, durable goods orders were 0.2% vs. 1.2%, core capital goods were 0.6% vs. 1.0%, …

Weekly Market Recap – January 22, 2021

In the Markets
The four-day week was eventful, yet light on economic statistics. On Wednesday, Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris were inaugurated as President and Vice President of the United States. The pandemic continues to worsen, as measured by confirmed cases, hospitalizations and deaths. US deaths from COVID-19 have topped 400,000, …

Weekly Market Recap – January 15, 2021

In the Markets
Thursday’s jobless claim report was sharply higher, coming in at 965,000, 16.3% greater than the average of 830,000 expected by Wall Street analysts. The unexpected increase set the tone for a slight stock market selloff that persisted to the week’s end, despite the positive signals from president-elect Biden’s …

Weekly Market Recap – January 8, 2021

In the Markets
The December non-farm payroll figure came in as a drop of 140,000 vs. November’s 336,000 increase, despite analysts’ average expectation of +50,000. Initial jobless claims were practically unchanged, amounting to 787,000 vs. 790,000 in the previous week’s report; Wall Street analysts had expected an average of 815,000. As …

Weekly Market Recap – December 31, 2020

In the Markets
This shortened holiday week was also short on economic statistics. The weekly initial jobless claims were 835,000 vs. 803,000 the previous week. Pandemic statistics are continuing to worsen; the US death toll is now more than 350,000. The stimulus bill was signed. The Brexit trade separation between UK …

Weekly Market Recap – December 24, 2020

In the Markets
After a couple of weekly reports showing that new jobless claims were increasing, the figure fell with 803,000 requests for unemployment benefits. The previous week had 892,000 initial claims. Americans who continue to be out of work now number 20.36 million; there were 20.65 million the previous week. …