The number of potential coronavirus vaccines has increased to three with Oxford/AstraZeneca announcing on Monday that their technology is potentially 62% effective with two full doses and 90% effective if one gets a half a dose followed by a full dose. … READ MORE >
Covid-19
CHART OF THE DAY: Household debt increases as consumers resume borrowing
Consumers resumed borrowing after a pullback in the second quarter during the onset of the pandemic, according the the New York Federal Reserve’s third-quarter report on household debt and credit balances. … READ MORE >
Anticipating a flood of personal and commercial bankruptcies in 2021
The long shadow of the economic shock is likely to cause firms and individuals to turn to the courts for a fresh start through the shedding of debt. … READ MORE >
Private equity dealmaking surges, with gains in the middle market
After a quiet period set off by the coronavirus pandemic, private equity deal activity in the United States surged through mid-November as investment managers prepare for a possible tax policy change under President-elect Joe Biden. … READ MORE >
Comment: Treasury Department moves to end select pandemic-era lending programs
The Treasury Department told the Federal Reserve on Thursday that it would not extend nine of the 13 liquidity and lending programs aimed at easing the effects of the pandemic. … READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: A key measure of future inflation implies disinflation risks
The Federal Reserve’s preferred forward-looking inflation metric — called the five-year, five-year forward break-even inflation rate — implies that pricing risks to the economic outlook revolve around disinflation, not inflation, over the next 10 years. … READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Existing home sales climb, further depleting inventory
Existing home sales increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.85 million in October, representing a 4.3% increase month over month and the highest level since February 2006, according to data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors. … READ MORE >
Jobless claims: Data going wrong way as pandemic intensifies
Initial jobless claims increased by 742,000 for the week ending Nov. 14 as the pandemic intensified and lockdowns spread across the economy. … READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Homebuilder confidence reaches all-time high
Confidence among homebuilders reached all all-time high in November as buyers looking for more room to live and work continued to enter the market, according to the National Association of Homebuilders Housing Market Index released on Wednesday. … READ MORE >
The year ahead: Resilience, recovery and reimagination
The possibility of 500 million vaccine doses produced domestically for distribution in 2021 carries the potential that close to $4 trillion in impaired economic activity could be unlocked in the second half of next year. … READ MORE >