Weekly Market Recap

Weekly Market Recap – August 6, 2021

 
Nationwide, the Delta variant has now driven the coronavirus new case rate to over 100,000 per day, the highest since November 2020; incentives are now being offered to encourage vaccinations. 50% of the U.S. population is now fully vaccinated. California’s 463,000-acre Dixie wildfire has grown to be the 2nd largest in …

Weekly Market Recap – July 30, 2021

 
2021’s second-quarter growth was reported at 6.5%, as measured by gross domestic product. This slight increase from the Q1 GDP of 6.3% takes the U.S. economy above its pre-pandemic level. Weekly Initial jobless claims dropped to 400,000 vs. 424,000. Monthly June statistics, compared with May, were as follows: New home sales …

Weekly Market Recap – July 23, 2021

OPEC Plus, the group of 23 oil-producing countries, reached a deal to raise crude output. The barrels added to global supply amount to a production increase of about 2% by the end of the year. Wildfires continue to rage in western North America. In Southern Oregon, the Bootleg fire has burned over …

Weekly Market Recap – July 16, 2021

COVID-19 cases are rising in all fifty U.S. states; Los Angeles reinstated its indoor mask mandate. Wildfires are raging throughout western North America, which is in its fourth consecutive heatwave. Nevada’s Lake Meade, the nation’s largest reservoir, has dropped to the lowest level ever recorded since the construction of Hoover Dam created …

Weekly Market Recap – July 9, 2021

Thirty-two million Americans are under excessive heat alerts, due to the high-pressure dome causing record temperatures in seven states in the West. California has ordered power and water preservation measures. The COVID-19 global death toll has passed 4 million. In the U.S., a spike in outbreaks is being attributed to the Delta …

Weekly Market Recap – July 2, 2021

On Thursday, a five-year $715 billion infrastructure bill was passed by the House. In the Pacific Northwest, heat-related deaths climbed into the hundreds. On Friday, tropical storm Elsa barreled into the Caribbean. The coronavirus Delta variant has now been detected in all 50 states.
The following economic statistics were released during the …

Weekly Market Recap – June 25, 2021

Initial jobless claims fell by only 7,000, as the weekly tally came in at 411,000 on Thursday; 418,000 new claims were filed the previous week. New home sales were 769,000 in May, compared to 817,000 in April. Existing home sales were 5.80 million, a small change from April’s 5.85 million. Durable goods …

Weekly Market Recap – June 18, 2021

The week had a number of economic reports. An unexpected statistic was the initial jobless claim tally, which had its first uptick in eight weeks: 412,000 claims compared with the previous 375,000. May retail sales declined 1.3% (vs. +0.9% in April), industrial production was +0.8% (vs. +0.1%), capacity utilization is at 75.2% …

Weekly Market Recap – June 11, 2021

The word “Inflation” appeared frequently in Thursday’s financial press, after the May Consumer Price Index was released, showing a 5.0% surge from a year ago, the highest rate since 2008. The month-to-month CPI was +0.6% vs. the 0.8% rise in April. Other economic statistics, compared with their prior levels were as follows: …

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 …