Succinct Summations for the week ending April 5th, 2019
Positives:
1. Markets seem to have regained their footing — at least for now
2. Non-farm payrolls rose 196k m/o/m, above the expected 172k.
3. Unemployment rate remains unchanged at 3.8%.
4. Jobless claims fell 10k m/o/m, from 212k to 202k.
5. Business inventories rose 0.8% m/o/m, above the expected 0.5% increase.
6. Construction spending rose 1.0% m/o/m, beating the expected 0.2% decrease.
Negatives:
1. The Barr summary was a fiction; Emboldened Dems demand POTUS tax returns; this stuff is only going to get worse until 2020 elections.
2. ADP employment report shows an increase of 129k for March, below the expected 165k.
3. Job layoffs totaled 60,587 in March, greater than the Q4 monthly average.
4. Retail sales fell 0.2% m/o/m, missing the expected 0.3% increase.
5. PMI manufacturing index finished March at 52.4, below previous 53.0.
6. Durable goods orders fell 1.6% m/o/m, lower than previous 0.1% increase.
Thanks, Matt!
