Text size Chinese retail sales fell unexpectedly in July. Getty Images The S&P 500 closed Friday almost unchanged, as investors mixed data weighing on consumer confidence and retail sales against an upcoming trade meeting between Chinese and U.S. officials. While headline U.S. retail sales figures missed forecasts, with a monthly …
Read More »Consumer sentiment remains weak in August amid intense coronavirus pessimism
Americans in August felt no better about the economy than about their own financial situation than they did in the previous month, reflecting broad concerns about the still-spreading coronavirus and the chance of a slow recovery, emerged from a new survey. The preliminary reading of the consumer sentiment survey in …
Read More »Here’s a tip for pandemics: Buy on the rumor of a COVID-19 vaccine, sell on the news
The stock market may fall if a COVID-19 vaccine receives formal FDA approval. I know I’m advancing myself because it does not guarantee that an effective vaccine will ever be produced. But with eight faxes now in Phase III studies, and with Russia claiming bragging rights by being the first …
Read More »What one currency expert says bears are looking at is the dollar
It’s a popular time to be a dollar, with the Federal Reserve executing the proverbial money pressures as fast as possible, and the dollar index DXY, -0.13% closer to 10% down from its March highs. Robin Brooks, chief economist at the Institute of International Finance and former chief global currency …
Read More »Did the expired benefit of $ 600 federally unemployed people not keep working back? Sudden drop in claims adds fuel to debate
Has the widespread unemployment benefits discouraged many workers from returning to work? A big drop in people seeking or receiving benefits in the past two weeks after the end of a $ 600 federal grant suggests that the answer may be yes. Early unemployment fell to 963,000 in early August, …
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