We expect total employment to increase by 580,000 and the unemployment rate to fall to 7.6% when the October estimate of employment conditions in the United States is released on Friday. … READ MORE >
Covid-19
Initial jobless claims: Modest improvement, but levels still elevated
First-time jobless claims continued to show modest improvement with the top-line figure arriving at 751,000 for the week ending Oct. 31. That is down 7,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 758,000, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. … READ MORE >
An inconclusive outcome: Election produces no winner, expected court challenge
The presidential election produced no clear outcome on Tuesday night, and instead brought uncertainty, financial market volatility and political risk across the business world. … READ MORE >
Coronavirus update: Constructing a plan for containment
A mathematician at MIT, Scott Sheffield, has outlined an alternative approach — and the math behind it — to our current course of dealing with the pandemic. It is designed “for a society that has resolved to keep future infections low in anticipation of a vaccine.” … READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Venture capital investment in health tech on track for record year
North American investment in venture capital-backed health technology and digital health companies hit a record through the first 10 months of the year, outpacing all of 2019 with two months to go. … READ MORE >
Treasuries remain a safe haven in the pandemic, even as transaction demand falls
Global financial markets are reacting to the resurgence of the coronavirus in Europe, the United States and elsewhere and the prospect of increased U.S. postelection fiscal spending. … READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: U.S. manufacturing expanded at fastest pace since 2018, ISM reports
U.S. manufacturing activity continued its six-month expansion in October, according to Institute for Supply Management data released on Monday, with 15 of the 18 manufacturing industries included in the data reporting growth. … READ MORE >
FOMC preview: All is quiet
Thursday’s meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee will almost surely signal that all is quiet on the monetary front given the major changes by the central bank this year. … READ MORE >
Federal Reserve eases Main Street Lending Program terms to encourage participation
The Federal Reserve on Friday announced changes to its Main Street Lending Program intended to make financing more readily available to small and medium-size businesses struggling amid a resurgence of the coronavirus. … READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: The rise of the zombies
Since the start of the recession, the number of zombies with an interest coverage ratio of less than one has grown by 420%, according to Bloomberg. And their outright number has even exceeded the peak of the last two recessions. … READ MORE >