An index measuring employment trends fell in March from the month earlier, as initial claims for unemployment spiked to a historic high, the Conference Board said in a report Monday. The Conference Board Employment Trends Index was 60.39 in March, compared with an upwardly revised February measurement of 109.27. The index is down 45% from a year ago.
JPMorgan Chase& Co. Chief Executive James Dimon said his bank hasn't sought looser regulations to help it handle the economic collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic, detailing instead its ability to keep lending in even more dire circumstances. In his annual letter published Monday, Mr. Dimon said the work preparing JPMorgan (JPM) to be a "port in the storm"-- a long obsession of his-- means the bank can handle what he expects to be a "bad recession."
STOCKHOLM--Data from the Swedish Public Employment Service Monday show that 25,350 people registered as unemployed last week, over 8,500 more than the previous week. "The number of newly enrolled last week is slightly higher than any individual week during the financial crisis in 2008, which says a lot about the serious situation," said Annika Sunden, head of analysis at the employment service. The employment service said it expects unemployment to continue to rise as a result...
The number of new cars registered in the U.K. suffered its biggest March fall since the late' 90 s as showrooms closed due to the spreading coronavirus pandemic and government restrictions, an industry body said Monday. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has cut its forecasts for the year by 23% to 1.73 million car sales because of the continued uncertainty. This compares with 2.31 million car registrations in 2019 and a previous forecast of 2.25 million provided in...
The German consumption barometer of the trade association HDE plunged to its lowest level since the start of the surveys in October 2016 in its largest monthly decline ever recorded due to the spread of the coronavirus. The HDE consumption barometer fell to 96.66 for April from 99.91 for March, showing a pessimistic consumer mood in regard to the coming three months, the trade association says. "Consumers are in crisis mode, the consumer mood is in the basement," the HDE said.
--German manufacturing orders fell 1.4% in February in adjusted terms. --The coronavirus pandemic did not yet have any notable impact on new orders in February, Destatis said. --A drop in manufacturing orders in March and April is expected.
U.K. consumer confidence plummeted in the last two weeks of March in the biggest drop ever recorded as the nation entered a state of lockdown in an attempt to slow the rapid spread of the coronavirus. An index of consumer confidence gathered by market research firm GfK fell by 25 points to minus 34. It was the index's lowest reading since February 2009 and the biggest single drop in the index's history, which stretches back as far as 1974.. Consumer sentiment nosedived as Britons...
Members of the state Senate and Assembly trickled out of the Capitol last week after overnight votes to enact a new state budget. Whether they will return this year isn't clear. Legislators had already laid out a truncated schedule for the rest of 2020. They set a June 2 adjournment date to allow for campaigning ahead of primary elections on June 23. And they have little role in managing the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic that would require their presence in Albany.
Texas had one of the best economic records of any U.S. state after the 2008 financial crisis. In this crisis, it faces the prospect of a deep and prolonged downturn. The Lone Star State is exposed to many of the pandemic and shutdown's economic ill consequences, with three cities-- Austin, Houston and Dallas-- home to an abundance of service-sector jobs, especially at risk.
Economic data out this week is likely to reflect mounting damage from the coronavirus and efforts to contain it. Service providers such as restaurants and hotels have been hardest hit by lockdowns designed to limit the coronavirus's spread. But factories are also suffering, even when they are able to keep their assembly lines moving.
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