Updates

Dr. Scott Gottlieb says he thinks the worst of the U.S. coronavirus epidemic ‘will be over by January’

The worst of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak will end by January either with a vaccine or because enough people in the country will have already been infected and have some immunity to it, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Thursday. The restrictions and guidance implemented to curb the spread […]

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Oil demand to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2022, Goldman says, but unlikely to peak this decade

Analysts at Goldman Sachs expect global oil demand to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2022, citing a pick-up in commuting, a shift to private transportation and higher infrastructure spending. In a research note published Thursday, analysts at the U.S. investment bank estimated global oil demand would decline by 8% in 2020, rebound by 6% in […]

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Record jobs gain of 4.8 million in June smashes expectations; unemployment rate falls to 11.1%

Nonfarm payrolls soared by 4.8 million in June and the unemployment rate fell to 11.1% as the U.S. continued its reopening from the coronavirus pandemic, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting a 2.9 million increase and a jobless rate of 12.4%. The report was released a day earlier […]

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U.S. manufacturing activity hits 14-month high

U.S. manufacturing activity rebounded in June, hitting its highest level in more than a year as the broader economy reopened, but rising COVID-19 infections threaten the recovery. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Wednesday its index of national factory activity jumped to a reading of 52.6 last month from 43.1 in May. That […]

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June private payrolls rose 2.37 million and there was a big positive revision for May, ADP says

Companies in June continued to bring workers back from their pandemic furlough as the national economy slowly came back to life. Private payrolls grew by 2.369 million for the month, a bit lower than the 2.5 million expectation from economists surveyed by Dow Jones, according to a report Wednesday from ADP and Moody’s Analytics.

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U.S. consumer confidence for June jumps more than expected

Consumer confidence rose more than expected in June as the U.S. loosened stay-at-home and quarantine restrictions, raising hope for an economic recovery, according to data released Tuesday. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index rose to 98.1 for the month. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected consumer confidence to rise to 91 from a May reading of […]

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Pending home sales spike a record 44.3% in May, as homebuyers rush back into the market

Pending home sales spiked a stunning 44.3% in May compared with April, according to the National Association of Realtors. That is the largest one-month jump in the history of the survey, which dates back to 2001. It beat expectations of a 15% gain. Sales were still 5.1% lower compared with May 2019, however.

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Coronavirus may have infected 10 times more Americans than reported, CDC says

Government experts believe more than 20 million Americans could have contracted the coronavirus, 10 times more than official counts, indicating many people without symptoms have or have had the disease, senior administration officials said.

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Chinese Covid-19 Vaccines Cleared for Final Testing in U.A.E.

By Bloomberg News China National Biotec Group gets U.A.E. approval for testing World’s fast-moving shots approach final stage of trials (Bloomberg) — A Chinese state-owned vaccine developer secured regulatory approval to test its coronavirus shots in the United Arab Emirates, making it one of the first among a slew of global efforts to get the […]

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Another Sharp Revival for a Fed Manufacturing Index

By Andrew Cinko (Bloomberg) — It won’t move markets, but the Kansas City Fed manufacturing U-turn will add to the positive part of the economic backdrop. Among the sub-indexes that drove the improvement is new orders, which is back to where it was in February before the shutdowns hit. With this sharp turn, that makes it four regional […]

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