Weekly Market Recap

Weekly Market Recap – January 14, 2022

The London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) has died at the age of 52. The benchmark began losing credibility in 2008, and the British Bankers Association announced in 2017 that it would ultimately be removed from use by the international banking industry. The last Libor deals were executed on Dec. 31, 2021, but …

Weekly Market Recap – January 7, 2022

The minutes released from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting show that high inflation is convincing central bank officials to rethink their policy path.
Monthly economic statistics reported during the week, compared with prior releases, were as follows: construction spending +0.4% vs. +0.4%, consumer credit $20 billion vs. $17 billion, trade deficit -$80.2 …

Weekly Market Recap – December 31, 2021

As the year was winding down, pandemic news continued ramping up. The U.S. COVID-19 death toll for 2021 was roughly 435,000 compared with 385,000 in 2020 (a 13% increase).
Although the holiday week that closed 2021 was a full 5 days long, it was short on economic statistics. Weekly initial jobless claims …

Weekly Market Recap – December 23, 2021

U.S. coronavirus pandemic statistics have been monopolizing the news. Nationwide, the seven-day moving average for COVID-19 related deaths reached 1,481 (up 22% from a week ago). New cases averaged 176,829 (a 40% increase from the previous week), and hospitalizations rose 3% to an average daily admission level of 69,886, which has been …

Weekly Market Recap – December 17, 2021

COVID-19 statistics have dominated the news every day of the week. The Omicron variant has now been detected in all 50 states. Congress gave final approval to raise the debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion.
Monthly economic statistics, compared with previous levels, were as follows: the producer price index +0.8% vs. +0.6%, retail …

Weekly Market Recap – December 10, 2021

As the week came to a close, a series of deadly tornadoes began to strike the U.S. heartland with wind speeds up to 150 mph. The ensuing destruction across six states caused countless deaths and injuries as it leveled entire communities.
Monthly economic statistics, compared with prior months were: balance of trade …

Weekly Market Recap – December 3, 2021

New COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are up 36% from a month ago. As of Friday, the Omicron variant had been detected in 10 states. The Fed’s intentions of addressing inflation may be evidenced by the Treasury yield curve flattening more; it is now at its narrowest in 11 months. The yield …

Weekly Market Recap – November 26, 2021

On Friday, Omicron, the new COVID-19 variant took the oxygen out of newsrooms. Detected first in South Africa, this mutation is being described as potentially more contagious than the Delta variant. It is unknown whether the currently available vaccines will provide protection from it.
The economic statistics for the week held few …

Weekly Market Recap – November 19, 2021

President Biden signed the bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law. The House passed the Build Back Better Act on Friday. The national count for new COVID-19 cases has risen 25% in the last two weeks. With travelers flying in record numbers recently, and more people planning for holiday gatherings this year, …

Weekly Market Recap – November 12, 2021

A labor statistic that began getting more attention in spring 2021 is the “JOLTS” number (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey). It enumerates new job creation and resignations, and the latter is in focus. Now dubbed the “Great Resignation” or the “Big Quit”, the measure reached a new record in September, as …

Weekly Market Recap – November 5, 2021

Congress finally passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill late Friday evening. Monthly economic statistics, compared with previous releases, were: construction spending -0.5% vs. +0.1%, factory orders +0.2% vs. +1.2%, balance of trade -$80.9 billion deficit vs. -$72.8 billion, consumer credit $29.0 billion vs. $14.0 billion, non-farm payrolls 531,000 vs. 312,000, and …

Weekly Market Recap – October 29, 2021

Heads of state converged on Rome for the annual G-20 meeting. Prior to the start of the summit, President Biden paid a visit to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis. The FDA authorized Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children 5-11.
Monthly economic statistics released during the week, compared with the prior reports, …

Weekly Market Recap – October 22, 2021

Following FDA authorization, the CDC approved booster shots of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, in addition to the previously approved Pfizer shots for those who are eligible. In Washington, reports indicated that there would be a vote on the infrastructure bill in the coming week.
Monthly economic statistics compared with …

Weekly Market Recap – October 15, 2021

Weekly initial jobless claims were 293,000, the lowest number of claims since the beginning of the pandemic. The prior week’s figure was 329,000. Monthly economic statistics, compared with previous levels, were as follows: retail sales 0.7% vs. 0.9%, business inventories 0.6% vs. 0.5%, and the consumer sentiment index at 71.4 vs. 72.8. …

Weekly Market Recap – October 8, 2021

The news that shaped Wall Street’s mood for the week was that Senate minority leader McConnell, on Wednesday, without making any demands, offered Democrats an emergency short-term extension to the Federal debt ceiling into December. The transition to the closing months of 2021 is marked by higher gas prices at the pump. …

Weekly Market Recap – October 1, 2021

Economic statistics reported during the week, compared with prior released data, were as follows: durable goods orders +1.8% vs. +0.5%, core capital goods +0.5% vs. +0.3%, consumer confidence index 109.3 vs. 114.2, personal income +0.2% vs. +1.1%, consumer spending +0.8% vs. -0.1%, construction spending 0.0% vs. +0.3%, consumer sentiment index 72.8 vs. …

Weekly Market Recap – September 24, 2021

Monday saw the biggest drop in the stock market since May. The waves of selling were in response to reports from rating agencies that “default appears probable” for Chinese property giant Evergrande, which is saddled with $300 billion in debt. Another source of pressure on the markets was referenced to Treasury Secretary …

Weekly Market Recap – September 17, 2021

The annual data released Tuesday by the U.S Census Bureau underscored the economic impact of the pandemic last year. The median inflation-adjusted household income for 2020 fell 2.9% to $67,521, according to the bureau. The official poverty rate rose one percentage point to 11.4%, however, the report included a supplemental poverty rate …

Weekly Market Recap – September 10, 2021

The current Fed “Beige Book” report focuses on the economic pullback in July and August, attributing it to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases, persistent supply chain problems, and companies struggling to fill positions. According to the Fed’s comments, the most impacted expenditures have been for eating out, travel and tourism. The Beige …

Weekly Market Recap – September 3, 2021

After pummeling Louisiana and leaving a million customers without electric power, the remnants of Hurricane Ida moved into the northeast causing historic rainfall and flooding, along with at least 50 deaths. Because Ida’s aftermath has severely impacted the energy infrastructure, with 80% of Gulf oil production offline, the Department of Energy is …

Weekly Market Recap – August 27, 2021

 
According to a CDC report on Friday, 1,200 coronavirus deaths occurred in the U.S. in a 24-hour period, a fatality rate not seen since early March. At our press time for this end-of-week report, Hurricane Ida, the ninth named storm of 2021 was on track to make landfall in Louisiana as …

Weekly Market Recap – August 20, 2021

 
News headlines this week covered familiar topics. In Afghanistan, the Taliban took control of the country. The U.S. evacuation mission continues, and the EU is bracing for waves of Afghani refugees in the months to come. On the weather front, hurricane season is now ramping up. On Monday, tropical storm Fred …

Weekly Market Recap – August 13, 2021

 
The Senate passed the $3.5 trillion blueprint of President Biden’s infrastructure plan. The U.S. began staging troop deployment for an evacuation mission in response to the Taliban insurgency against the Afghan government. Eight U.S. states now account for 51% of the nation’s coronavirus hospitalizations: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada …

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 …