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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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