The first two weeks of U.S. earnings reports suggest the uncertainty caused by the pandemic is easing, supporting the continuing run higher for the S&P 500. The clearest sign of this turn to the better is the net number of companies raising their forecasts. The 10-day moving average is perched at the highest level in […]

Last week the Senate voted overwhelmingly (96-4) to include an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that provided support to the American semiconductor industry. The amendment combined the earlier American Foundries Act and the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act. A nearly identical proposal was included in the House NDAA, so that bodes well as the […]

By Vince Golle and Maeve Sheehey Months’ supply at current sales pace at almost four-year low Houses sold but not yet started rose to highest since 2017 (Bloomberg) — New-home sales in the U.S. increased to an almost 13-year high in June, fueled by record-low borrowing costs and adding to evidence that residential real estate is a bright […]

New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods increased more than expected in June and shipments accelerated, but the gains were likely insufficient to avert the deepest plunge in business investment and economic activity since the Great Depression in the second quarter because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely […]

The U.S. will pay Pfizer and biotech firm BioNTech $1.95 billion to produce and deliver 100 million doses of their Covid-19 vaccine if it proves safe and effective, the companies announced Wednesday. It was the largest such deal between the government and companies racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine.

A potential coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University in the U.K. with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has produced a promising immune response in a large, early-stage human trial, according to newly released data published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet. The researchers are calling their experimental vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222). It combines genetic material from the coronavirus […]

By Ryan Vlastelica (Bloomberg) — Microsoft should report strong fourth-quarter results later this month despite an uncertain economic environment, with its cloud business acting as a tailwind, according to Piper Sandler. There is high demand for cloud computing as more people work remotely, and this tailwind “should help MSFT safely navigate choppy waters,” analyst Brent Bracelin […]

Fair-Value Model Implies S&P 500 Climb Continues Additional Intelligence on this Topic: S&P 500 2020 Midyear Outlook Gina Martin Adams Team: Strategy BI Chief Equity Strategist Michael Casper Team: Strategy BI Associate Analyst Model Scenarios Imply New S&P 500 Peak After Consolidation (Bloomberg Intelligence) — Policy accommodation and slow economic recovery could result in the […]

U.S. retail sales increased a better-than-expected 7.5% in June.

Homebuilder sentiment jumped 14 points to 72 in July, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).