FED’S POWELL WARNS AGAINST ‘FALSE STARTS’ RE REOPENING

–Up to $2.3 Trillion in Virus-Related Emergency Support -Powell: Not Worrying About Inflation By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews)- Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell Thursday explained more about how the central bank is remaking itself to keep intact the structure of an enfeebled economy and he joined the chorus of voices warning against returning to work […]

DATA FLASH: US INITIAL CLAIMS REMAIN HIGH DUE TO BACKLOGS; MARCH PPI -0.2%

-Initial Claims Level Fall By 261,000 to 6.606 Mln, Continuing Claims Spike -March PPI Data Show Decline in Wholesale Inflation on Energy Prices By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The level of initial jobless claims fell modestly in the April 4 week, but the current week’s total lifted the number of new claims filed over […]

Oil Analysis: Low Expectations For Agreement At OPEC-Plus Virtual Gathering

WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Members of the Organization for Oil Exporting Countries, along with Russia, Mexico and possibly Canada as well as Norway, are set to meet virtually Thursday to hash out an agreement to halt the months-long plunge in oil prices. However, expectations are low that a deal will be reached to ease a situation […]

DATA FLASH: US FEBRUARY JOLTS DATA POINT TO SLOWDOWN BEFORE MARCH DROP

-Openings, Hiring Slow Even Before COVID; Layoffs to Surge in March By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly JOLTS report, released Tuesday morning, showed that job openings and hiring conditions slowed in February and layoffs rose, even before the full COVID impact. Job openings fell to 6.882 million in […]

WHITE HOUSE WATCH COMMENTARY: BRACING FOR THE WORST YET

–‘There’ll Be A Lot of Death’ By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The president and his experts Saturday warned the nation that next week and the week after are going to see virus death tolls that will far eclipse anything seen so far, as the increasing number of hotspots climb the steepening curve toward their […]

DATA FLASH: US MARCH PAYROLLS DROP 701,000, BUT IT’S ONLY THE BEGINNING

–Unemployment Rate Rises to 4.4% from 3.5%, Some See It Rising to 30% By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The March employment report was much weaker than expected, but only reflected the very start of the economic shutdowns. The March 14 survey week fell before the bulk of the government-mandated business shutdowns. As a result, […]

Updating CBO’s Economic Forecast to Account for the Pandemic

WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following is the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office update text of pandemic-related economic assumptions posted Friday morning by CBO Director Philip Swagel: CBO expects that the economy will contract sharply during the second quarter of 2020 as a result of the continued disruption of commerce stemming from the spread of the novel […]

NEW PHILADELPHIA FED SURVEY: ALMOST 25% OF DISTRICT COMPANIES SHUT DUE TO PANDEMIC

By Jon Hurdle PHILADELPHIA (MaceNews) – Almost a quarter of companies surveyed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia temporarily shut down because of the coronavirus in the week ending March 29, the Philly Fed said Thursday in its first weekly survey https://www.philadelphiafed.org/-/media/research-and-data/regional-economy/covid-19-survey/2020/20200402-covid-19-bos-survey.pdf?la=en of how businesses in the Third District are responding to the pandemic. […]

DATA FLASH: US INITIAL CLAIMS SPIKE, BACKLOGS TO MAINTAIN FLOW FOR SEVERAL WEEKS

–Initial Claims Double from Previous Week to Record 6.648 Mln By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Continuing layoffs and administrative backlogs will lift initial claims to new record highs for the next several weeks before the flow of new filings finally slow. This week, the level of new claims was double last week’s, adding to […]