DATA FLASH: US APRIL CONFIDENCE FELL FURTHER, BUT EXPECTATIONS IMPROVE
By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The Conference Board’s U.S. consumer confidence index Tuesday fell to a reading of 86.9 in April from a downward revised 118.8 reading in March, as business and employment conditions deteriorated rapidly due to the COVID-19 shutdown. And while the assessment of current conditions posted their largest one-month decline in […]
WHITE HOUSE WATCH COMMENTARY: VIRUS TESTING FINALLY REACHES ‘BLUEPRINT’ STAGE
By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Even as the stock market and the White House look for better times ahead and soon, corona virus risks for older Americans seem to be increasing. By the end Thursday of a single month in which more than 50,000 Americans have died already, the total will have topped 60,000. […]
WHITE HOUSE WATCH COMMENTARY: JUNGLE DRUMS IN THE DISTANCE SOUND LIKE TROUBLE
By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – You can feel the rumble of distant war drums even before you can hear them, in the nation’s capital of all places, as the Trump administration faces a renewed wave of criticism – just as it might, finally, be least deserved. “Might” could be a leap, because there is […]
FULL COVID SHUTDOWN IMPACT WILL BE ON DISPLAY IN NEXT WEEK’S US DATA
By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – After a week that showcased weakness in the U.S. housing market, analysts and financial market participants should prepare themselves for even more disappointing data next week. The mid-week FOMC meeting gives the Committee an opportunity to offer more consoling words, but any new actions would be even more appreciated. […]
DATA FLASH: US INITIAL CLAIMS KEEP PILING UP; NEW HOME SALES PLUNGE
–Initial Claims Level Fall by 810,000/4.427 Mln–Continuing Claims Still Have More Room to Rise–New Home Sales -15.4%/627,000; Social Distancing To Cut Deeper in April–Markit Data Show Factory, Services Conditions Deteriorated Further By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The growth rate of initial claims slowed modestly in the April 18 employment survey week but remain elevated, […]
US ENERGY SECRETARY: INDUSTRY AID TO FOCUS ON EXISTING PROGRAMS
–Oil-Producing States Cooperating To Influence Oil Price A ‘Murky Area’ WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette Tuesday said the Trump administration is unlikely to unveil brand-new measures to support the country’s battered oil and gas sector, and will instead leverage existing credit programs funded by emergency legislation. In an interview on CNBC, Brouillette […]
DATA FLASH: US EXISTING HOME SALES PLUNGE IN MARCH, FIRST OF MANY DIPS
–NAR’s Yun Sees Continued Disruptions, Lower Inventories, Higher Prices By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – U.S. home resales slowed dramatically in March, falling by 8.5% to a 5.27 million annual rate after a February gain, the slowest pace since April 2019 and below the 5.40 million rate expected. The current month’s data still reflect some […]
WHITE HOUSE WATCH: IS OIL SPECIAL OR LOTS OF BOTTOMLESS HOLES?
By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – It’s the night of the living dead in Houston, where the unthinkable happened, oil became worthless. In fact, oil became even worse than worthless. It was a day so bad that you had to pay people to take it. If you were a trader who never took delivery, only […]
WHITE HOUSE WATCH: ‘DECLINING TRAJECTORY’ DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN DECLINING
By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The first rule of virus reporting is to focus on what the virus is doing, despite the many distractions from the White House and statehouses, from anti-mitigation demonstrations to progress reports on testing and the chronic complaints of short supplies. On a beautiful Sunday in many parts of the […]
WHITE HOUSE WATCH COMMENTARY: HOPES VS REALITY? OR HOPES BECOME REALITY?
By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The virus is still moving, killing more than 2,000 people in the United States for the fourth day in a row Friday and only for the fifth time ever. The death toll is leveling, on a deadly plateau. Except in those states like Illinois, where the daily death toll […]