Succinct Summations for the week ending April 17th, 2020
Positives:
1. Markets rallied for the second straight week; Progress is being made on potential vaccines & treatments;
2. Jobless claims fell 1.370M w/o/w from 6.615M to 5.245M, below expectations.
3. Home mortgage purchase apps fell 2.0% w/o/w, above expectations.
4. Home mortgage refinance apps rose 10.0% w/o/w, above previous decrease of 19.0.
5. Index of Leading Economic Indicators fell 6.7% m/o/m, below expectations.
6. Business Inventories fell 0.4% m/o/m.
Negatives:
1. US response to the Coronavirus pandemic pales in comparison to countries (like Germany or South Korea) that acted swiftly and decisively. The difference could be as high as total fatality count that was 90% avoidable;
2. Retail sales fell 8.7% m/o/m, below the previous decrease of 7.3%.
3. Housing Market Index is at 30 for April, below the expected 60.
4. Import prices fell 2.3% m/o/m, below previous decrease of 0.7%; Export prices fell 1.6% m/o/m, below previous decrease of 1.1%.
5. Housing starts came in at an annual rate of 1.216M for March, below expected 1.350M.
6. Industrial production fell 5.4% m/o/m, below the expected decrease of 4.2%.
Thanks, Matt
