Pfizer’s modified-RNA vaccine has received emergency-use authorization for people 18 and older, and shipments of the vaccine have begun. The first round of vaccinations will likely be distributed to health care workers and nursing home residents and their caregivers, according to state guidelines. This ... READ MORE >
coronavirus
CHART OF THE DAY: Holiday sales off to a sluggish start
The holiday shopping season was off to a sluggish start in November as retail sales fell 1.1% compared to October, the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday. It was the biggest drop in seven months and well below analysts’ estimates of a modest gain. Retailers were hoping for a strong holiday ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Industrial production continues its recovery
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday said its index of industrial production, a measure of output at factories, mines and utilities, rose last month as output continued to recover from the depths of the economic shutdown this spring. Total production rose 0.4% in November, slightly above the consensus of ... READ MORE >
FOMC preview: Extending guidance as second wave of pandemic peaks
The Federal Open Market Committee this week will almost certainly provide insight into its monetary policy path by extending the weighted average maturity of its Treasury purchases while simultaneously keeping the policy rate effectively at zero. The Federal Reserve’s Summary of Economic ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Vaccine at the top of holiday wish list for senior housing
A coronavirus vaccine is on the verge of broad distribution, and it cannot come soon enough for the operators of facilities that house the nation’s elderly. Senior housing of all kinds – including independent and assisted living facilities, as well as those that offer skilled nursing – have been hit ... READ MORE >
Damp wage growth is a Beveridge served cold
The long-term economic scarring of the pandemic -- mostly among small businesses in leisure and hospitality, food and beverage, and retail -- will dampen wage growth over the next few years. One way to see this dynamic is with the Beveridge curve, which illustrates a downward-sloping relationship ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Diverging trend in consumer loan delinquencies and unemployment
Consumer loan delinquencies and unemployment rates have historically followed similar paths – either both increasing during times of stress, or both declining in periods of prosperity. But the pandemic has upended that coupling, as consumer loan delinquencies have trended down while unemployment has ... READ MORE >
Jobless claims: Pace of firings increases to 853,000, pointing to urgent need for fiscal aid
As policymakers continue to negotiate over another round of fiscal aid, initial claims for unemployment insurance increased to 853,000 for the week ending Dec. 5, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday. While this likely overstates the trend because states needed to catch up on processing ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: U.S. job openings improve
Workers are growing more confident in their ability to find a job, according to the most recent Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There were 5.1 million separations from employment on the back of 6.65 million job openings during October, according to ... READ MORE >
5 things to know this week in life sciences: Week of Dec. 7
COVID-19 vaccine news continues to dominate headlines as candidates from several companies move closer to obtaining emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Also on the drug approval front, tech giant Palantir and the FDA entered into a $44 million deal for the agency to use the ... READ MORE >