The BLS Employment Situation Report for August showed that the US job market continued to recover from the impact of the COVID19 pandemic with the unemployment rate for August, as measured in the household survey, declining by 1.8 percentage points to reach 8.4%, which is still above by 4.9 percentage points over its pre-crisis level but much better than the Consensus estimate of 9.8%. The number of unemployed persons fell by 2.8 million to 13.6 million. For its part, the establishment survey showed that 1.4 million non farm payrolls were added during the month bringing the number of total employed persons in the United States to 147.4 million of which 122.4 million were full time employed and 25.0 million were part time employed. However out of these 1.4 million additional recorded payrolls, employment in government increased by 344,000 in August, accounting for one quarter of the monthly gain and reflecting the hiring of 238,000 temporary 2020 Census workers. The US labor market is going through a fork-shaped recovery with two very distinct legs as we explain in this analysis.
Category: ENG
The final German Manufacturing PMI for August was up at 52.2 from July’s final 49.0. The figure was less upbeat than originally thought as it came 0.8 points below its earlier published Flash estimate. The New Orders improved sharply at 59.1 alongside Future Output (Expectations) at 60.8. However, some weaknesses remain as factory jobs were cut again although the rate of job shedding was the weakest in five months. This indicates that a reversal could happen as the initial Business output and confidence upturn observed in July-August comes following a plunge in manufacturing activity in 2Q 2020. The mechanical “rise from the abyss” effect may fade out in the coming months and the recovery may peter out if the underlying drivers of growth – i.e. domestic demand and external demand – do not live up to their current expectations.
The Census Bureau of the US Department of Commerce announced on August 18 that U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the second quarter of 2020, adjusted for seasonal variation, was $211.5 billion, an increase of 31.8 percent from the first quarter of 2020.
The Federal Reserve has so far resisted the general compulsion to implement negative interest rates among the world’s major advanced central banks. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has repeatedly insisted that the Fed is not considering a negative interest rates policy (NIRP). But what if there is a sudden policy turnaround? Beyond what it has already done, the Fed has quite a limited number of policy options it might consider to prop up the US economy and foster its recovery from the Great Virus Crisis. As prominent economists like Kenneth Rogoff convincingly argue, NIRP might be the most efficient option at the Fed’s disposal. A turnaround on this issue is far from granted, but were it to happen it would usher a new era with tremendous economic, financial and geopolitical consequences for the world.
The hearing in front of the US Sentate of the CEOs of four out of five of the largest US Tech companies may announce a rejuvenation of Antitrust laws and policies in the United States. If the report expected later this month is followed by legislative action, this would bring back these laws and policies closer to their original philosophy. But their application to Internet Platforms is likely to yield significantly different outcomes compared with earlier high profile cases.
The Bank of Italy has released its €-Coin indicator for July. It continues its fall in negative territory at -0.50 (against -0.37 for June). The reading of the €-Coin indicator contrasts with the Composite PMI for the Eurozone which shows a strong rebound in economic activity in July. Indeed, the IHS Markit Eurozone PMI Composite Output Index maintained its recent upward trend rising by over six points on the month to a reach a level of 54.9.
The Russian Tech sector has witnessed a remarkable development over the last twenty years, moving out of a soviet state-led institutional and technological matrix into a beacon for flagship tech companies such as Kaspersky Lab, Telegram, Yandex and Ozon. The COVID-19 pandemic and recession presents both challenges and opportunities for Russia’s tech players.
Key takeways A new surge in coronavirus cases across the world is threatening to stall the efforts made to revive the global economy. What is the likely path of the pandemic following this surge? Is the talk about a second wave warranted and what can be done about it? In this article, we assess the […]
Ant Group’s IPO could beat the record set by SaudiAramco’s $29.4 billion landmark IPO in late 2019. But whereas Saudi Aramco is struck in a sunset industry with little growth potential over the long term, Ant Group is spearheading a business and technology revolution with far reaching consequences for China and for the rest of the world.
Key takeaways Over the last two weeks, four developers of a COVID-19 vaccine – out of more than 150 programmes currently engaged in a COVID-19 global vaccine race – published the successful results of Phase 1 clinical trials. The frontrunners in this race are: US Biotech firm Moderna, Oxford University with AstraZeneca and, last but […]