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Weekly jobless claims fall for a second straight week

Weekly jobless claims fall for a second straight week

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time fell unexpectedly last week, marking its second consecutive decline.

Initial jobless claims fell by 19,000 to 787,000 in the week ended December 26, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected initial jobless claims to rise to 828,000. The previous week’s total for initial applications has been revised up by 3,000 to 806,000.

Ongoing entitlements, which include those who have received unemployment benefits for at least two weeks, decreased by 103,000 to 5.219 million in the week of December 19. The data on ongoing claims is one week behind the original claims figures.

The number of people receiving benefits in all unemployment programs decreased by 800,000 to 19.6 million.

The four-week moving average for first-time registrants rose 17,750 to 836,750, indicating that the job market is still under pressure as the coronavirus pandemic rages on.

“There’s no real improvement in the data,” John Ryding, business advisor at Brean Capital, told CNBC’s Squawk Box. “What we are seeing is a very difficult time in the economy with the virus uptake we saw and the slow adoption of vaccination.”

The United States has at least 181,998 new coronavirus cases every day based on a 7-day average calculated by CNBC using data from Johns Hopkins University. The hospital stay rate in Covid has also increased, exceeding 125,000 for the first time.

“There is good news ahead of us, but you can’t see it in these numbers,” said Ryding. “This good news will come when there is enough [vaccine] Shots in people’s arms and we’re approaching something like herd immunity. Unfortunately that won’t be until summer. “

U.S. lawmakers recently approved a $ 900 billion Covid stimulus package that includes direct payments of $ 600 to most Americans. This week the House passed a measure to raise those payments to $ 2,000, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blocked them.

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NBA opening week is the perfect since 2012 following Covid viewership hit

NBA opening week is the best since 2012 following Covid viewership hit

Wesley Matthews # 9 of the Los Angeles Lakers watches over Luka Doncic # 77 of the Dallas Mavericks on December 25, 2020 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

John McCoy | Getty Images

After a drop in ratings for its championship series, the National Basketball Association is celebrating its most-watched opening week since 2012, led by Christmas Day competitions.

The NBA, which started its shortened season of 72 games last week due to Covid-19, said an average of 3.4 million viewers saw their games December 22-25.

The Christmas Day game between LeBron James-led Los Angeles Lakers and Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks on Disney’s ABC network topped the game with an average of 7 million viewers. On the same day, the Miami Heat-New Orleans Pelicans game averaged 3.5 million viewers, while the Los Angeles Clippers-Denver Nuggets game averaged 2.05 million viewers. These games were broadcast on Disney’s ESPN.

Although the primetime 2020 Christmas Day competition had solid ratings on ABC, it was still below last year’s Lakers-Clippers competition, which had around 8.8 million viewers on ABC and ESPN platforms.

According to the NBA, the double header had an average of 2.9 million viewers on AT & T’s TNT on December 22, making it the most-watched opening night since 2017.

Those games featured the Golden State Warriors versus the Brooklyn Nets and the Clippers versus the Lakers. The NBA said its combined viewership on TNT, ESPN and ABC for the 2020 openings grew 67% (3.4 million) compared to 2019, when the league NBA averaged 2.2 million viewers in the opening week .

The NBA told CNBC viewers that they had seen 81.5 million hours of live NBA coverage in the branches of national media partners. That’s 41.8 million hours on ESPN and TNT in the opening week of 2019.

The NBA is betting on a surge in ratings after the pandemic impacted the 2020-19 season, forcing them to return to a crowded sports TV lineup that spans the postseason of Major League Baseball, as well as the World Series and games the National Football League included. The first game of the 2020 NBA Finals received its lowest ratings since 1994, drawing 7.4 million viewers in part due to the sporting clutter.

The WarnerMedia-operated NBA television station will host national games in the next few days, with college football bowl games taking over the sports landscape. ESPN and TNT return to NBA games starting January 6th.

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U.S. inventory futures rise as Wall Avenue set to enter final week of 2020

U.S. stock futures rise as Wall Street set to enter last week of 2020

Traders work on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

NYSE

The stock futures rose slightly in night trading on the Sunday before the last trading week of 2020.

The futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 149 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were also trading in slightly positive territory.

President Donald Trump signed a $ 900 billion law on Covid-19 that prevented the government from closing and expanded unemployment benefits to millions of Americans. The signing came days after Trump proposed vetoing the legislation and calling for $ 2,000 in direct payments to Americans instead of $ 600.

“I’m signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental support, add money for PPP, get our airline employees back to work, add significantly more money to distribute vaccines, and much more,” Trump said in a statement on Sunday evening.

Wall Street has had a quiet week of holidays with major averages posting flat returns. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% last week as some investors took off year-end chips. The 30-share Dow gained 0.1% over the same period.

Profit taking could rise in the last week of the year, which has seen surprisingly high returns so far. The S&P 500 is up 14.6% year-to-date, while the Dow is up 5.8%. The Nasdaq is up 42.7% this year as investors preferred high-growth technology names amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr. Anthony Fauci warned on Sunday that the country could see a surge in new Covid-19 infections after Christmas and New Years. Two vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna started the distribution process this month. To date, over a million people have been vaccinated in the United States.

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The Week in Enterprise: The Bitter Finish

The Week in Business: The Bitter End

Goodbye 2020 and good deliverance. Here’s what you need to know about business and tech for the coming week, but above all, cheers for a better 2021. Please usher in the new year safely. – Charlotte Cowles

After a nine-month stalemate, Congress finally managed to pass a much-anticipated (and much-needed) pandemic relief package worth $ 900 billion. Then President Trump got interested in the bill at the last minute and didn’t like what he saw (“a shame”). Before he went on vacation, he called for legislation to allow direct stimulus payments of $ 2,000 for most Americans, not $ 600 as the bill says. The Democrats were more than happy to accept the change, but the Republicans blocked the move and suspended the relief bill. This is bad news for anyone who depends on the funds available, the last of which are running out this week.

The Justice Department has not finished pointing fingers at those who purposely ignored the red flags that led to the opioid crisis. For the past week, it accused Walmart of looking the other way while its pharmacies filled thousands of suspicious opioid prescriptions. The civil lawsuit alleges that Walmart also ignored reports from its pharmacy workers who warned their superiors that certain prescriptions looked rotten. Walmart denied the allegations on the grounds that the Justice Department had put retailers in the unfair position of having to “retrospectively guess” doctors’ decisions.

Well, that’s awkward: the Russian hackers who infiltrated U.S. government networks managed to breach the email system used by senior Treasury officials in July without anyone noticing until recently . The same hackers also infiltrated hundreds of U.S. organizations, including Cisco, Intel, Nvidia, Deloitte, and the California Department of State Hospitals. Investigators still do not know whether the cyber attack compromised classified information. But one thing certainly doesn’t help: Mr. Trump has refused to acknowledge Russia’s involvement and is instead trying to blame China. President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. accused Mr. Trump of irrationally downplaying the attack – which will become his problem in January.

Britain and the European Union finally reached a highly competitive trade deal on Christmas Eve that squeaked under its deadline and sparked a bitter Brexit battle that has plagued the bloc for over four years. However, the agreement has yet to be ratified, and trade in the region continues to face serious upheaval. Last week, British officials discovered a new mutation in the coronavirus that is potentially up to 70 percent more contagious. Dozens of countries blocked travelers from the UK to prevent the spread. The bans forced thousands of trucks (and their drivers) to sit in huge traffic jams in UK ports for days while perishable exports were tainted. Customs officials are starting to let trucks through, but the new trade deal won’t speed up the process.

The second stimulus

Answers to your questions about the stimulus calculation

Updated December 23, 2020

Legislators agreed to a plan to provide $ 600 stimulus payments and distribute $ 300 federal unemployment benefits for 11 weeks. Here you can find out more about the bill and what’s in it for you.

    • Do I get another incentive payment? Individual adults with adjusted gross income on their 2019 tax returns of up to $ 75,000 per year would receive a payment of $ 600, and heads of household up to $ 112,500 and a couple (or someone whose spouse died in 2020) would receive up to to earn $ 150,000 per year Get double the amount. If they have dependent children, they will also receive $ 600 for each child. People with incomes just above this level would receive a partial payment that decreases by $ 5 for every $ 100 of income.
    • When could my payment arrive? Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC that he expected the first payments to be made before the end of the year. However, it will take a while for everyone to receive their money.
    • Does the agreement concern unemployment insurance? Legislators agreed to extend the length of time people can receive unemployment benefits and restart an additional federal benefit that is on top of the usual state benefits. But instead of $ 600 a week it would be $ 300. That would take until March 14th.
    • I am behind on my rent or expect to be soon. Do I get relief? The deal would provide $ 25 billion to be distributed through state and local governments to help backward tenants. In order to receive support, households would have to meet various conditions: the household income (for 2020) must not exceed 80 percent of the regional median income; At least one household member must be at risk of homelessness or residential instability. and individuals must be eligible for unemployment benefits or face direct or indirect financial difficulties due to the pandemic. The agreement states that priority will be given to support for lower-income families who have been unemployed for three months or more.

You may have seen your first “vaxxies” – photos people take of themselves to get a coronavirus vaccine, of course, and then post them on social media. The country has already distributed over a million doses to healthcare workers, but who’s next? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that priority should be given to around 30 million frontline essential workers such as rescue workers, teachers and grocery store workers, and those aged 75 and over. But “essential” is hard to define, and now Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart are all battling to get their employees to get this classification and are coming out on top.

In the restaurant business, tips play an important role in how servers and bartenders make money. However, a new rule from the Department of Labor is that restaurants can require employees to pool their tips and share them with the broader staff, including back-of-house employees who don’t normally see that money. There are a few parameters: Servers can only be asked to exchange tips if they are receiving the standard minimum wage in their city or state, not the lower minimum wage that most states allow employers to tip. The rule, which could be adjusted or blocked by the Biden administration before it takes effect, also prohibits supervisors, managers and property owners from delving into the tip themselves. No matter what, consider this as a reminder not to be stingy with tips, especially these days.

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Business

The Week in Enterprise: We’ve Been Hacked

The Week in Business: We’ve Been Hacked

It’s going to be another bizarre holiday week. Here’s what you need to know to be sure for the days ahead in business and tech. – Charlotte Cowles

In one of the largest and most sophisticated cyberattacks in years, hackers breached the networks of a wide variety of government agencies, including treasury and commerce, as well as a number of large private companies. What’s worse is that the hacks took place last spring but went undetected until the last few weeks. The perpetrator, who is widely believed to be a Russian intelligence agency, has been lurking in government networks for most of 2020. The Trump administration said little about the attack or what information was compromised?

It’s raining antitrust lawsuits in Silicon Valley, and now it’s up to Google to grab an umbrella. Ten states (and counts) on Wednesday accused the company of illegally monopolizing the digital advertising business and using its ubiquity to overwhelm certain publishers with their ads. “If the free market were a baseball game, Google would position itself as a pitcher, batsman and referee,” said Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general who led the case. A day later, more than 30 states accused Google of illegally manipulating search results to drive users away from their competitors and towards companies it was comfortable with. Google denied the claims and says it will defend itself.

Legislators ran to iron out the last few wrinkles in a much-needed pandemic relief bill and avoid a government shutdown. The latest bill of $ 900 billion (a third the size of what the Democrats originally proposed last May) includes $ 600 in payments for individuals, $ 300 a week in additional unemployment benefits, and help for small businesses. However, there is a lack of significant aid to state and local governments (a key item on the wish list for Democrats), as well as legal protections for businesses (which Republicans wanted) worried about liability for the virus spreading.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell is not known to offer overly rosy economic forecasts. But he sounded almost optimistic last week when he said that a “light at the end of the tunnel” was visible – despite warning that the next few months would be difficult. He predicted the economy will recover in the second half of 2021, provided enough people are vaccinated and can safely resume normal activities. (Such an outcome became even more possible when a second Moderna vaccine received a thumbs up from the Food and Drug Administration.) To bolster growth and calm markets, Powell said the Fed would keep rates near zero and continue Purchase of government debt. He also reiterated his call for more federal incentives to create a financial “bridge” for those in desperate need this winter.

Robinhood, a finance app that allows users to easily trade stocks for free, may sound too good to be true and has raised a number of red flags with regulators. Last Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Robinhood had misled its users about how it was paid by Wall Street firms to pass business and that it had benefited at the expense of its customers. Robinhood agreed to pay a $ 65 million fine to pay the SEC’s fees without admitting or denying guilt. In another case the day before, a Massachusetts securities regulator accused Robinhood of having “unscrupulous” encouraged undemanding clients to make risky investments.

As the coronavirus picked up pace this fall, it accelerated employment growth, travel plans and vacation spending. (Except for Christmas trees, which are selling at a record high.) Retail sales fell in both October and November, marking a shift from months ago when Americans continued to spend money, especially online, despite economic turmoil. Of course, Americans were empowered earlier this year by the federal government’s pandemic aid, including stimulus checks and additional unemployment benefits. Now that these funds have been used up, people’s Christmas trees may not have much to themselves this season.

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Dow futures rise as shares try to bounce again from shedding week

Dow futures rise as stocks attempt to bounce back from losing week

Traders work on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

NYSE

US stock futures rose early Monday as markets indicated a rebound from a lost week.

Investors are weighing updates on the introduction of the Covid-19 vaccine and the coronavirus stimulus stalemate in Washington

Dow futures indicated an opening gain of more than 180 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures also traded in positive territory.

Last week, stocks saw their first week of downturn in several months as lawmakers continued a stalemate over a Covid-19 bailout package.

The S&P 500 fell nearly 1% in its first negative week in three years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.57% for its first negative week in three and the Nasdaq Composite lost nearly 0.7% for its first negative week in four.

Next week is expected to be market-moving with the launch of the Pfizer vaccine and a Federal Reserve policy meeting. Tesla is also joining the S&P 500 on Friday.

Following the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency approval for Pfizer’s vaccine, Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield signed the drug so that vaccinations could officially continue for those aged 16 and over.

The US has started shipping the cans from a Pfizer facility in Michigan to hundreds of distribution centers around the country. The FDA is expected to publish its assessment of Moderna’s vaccine this week.

The Covid-19 vaccine launches on some of the darkest days of the pandemic in the United States. More than 2,300 coronavirus-related deaths were recorded on Saturday, after over 3,300 deaths on Friday. New infections keep exploding. More than 219,000 cases were reported on Saturday.

The surge in cases coincides with months of debates in Washington over another round of Covid relief. A non-partisan group has proposed a $ 908 billion limit. Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has opposed the proposal, instead calling for an agreement that eliminates corporate liability and funding provisions from state and local governments. These two issues are major sources of disagreement between Republicans and Democrats.

“Politically, the debate continues on more tax legislation that is badly needed for much of the population, but will also create an even bigger ‘wall of money’ for consumers when the economies are fully reopened,” said Raymond James’ Tavis McCourt towards customers on Sunday.

“It is very clear that the economy is slowing as the local stalemate persists, but the impact on the stock market has so far been limited. Whether this will continue through Q1 is unclear, but we expect withdrawals to be limited unless the vaccine changes significantly. ” History, “he added.

The Fed begins its two-day meeting on Tuesday, the last central bank meeting in 2020. Economists have speculated that the Fed might make changes to its bond program. The Fed is currently buying at least $ 80 billion a month from Treasuries, and Fed officials at their last meeting discussed what they could do to change that program.

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The Week in Enterprise: Getting Vaccines From Right here to There

The Week in Business: Getting Vaccines From Here to There

Move on, toilet paper: dry ice may be the next hot commodity in the pandemic economy as the first vaccine to become available will have to be stored at freezing temperatures. Here’s what you need to know for the week ahead in business and tech and keep warm out there. – Charlotte Cowles

Facebook has grown too big and accused it of monopolizing its field, according to the Federal Trade Commission and over 40 states that sued the social media giant. The government said Facebook had suppressed competition by wiping out some rivals and acquiring others (such as Instagram and WhatsApp) and called for the company to be liquidated. The antitrust allegations are facing an uphill battle. Facebook pointed out that all of its acquisitions were approved by regulators at this point, arguing that the FTC couldn’t change its mind years later.

It is at this time that all the companies that wanted to go public this year finally take the plunge. And for Airbnb, it seems to be working pretty well, despite the pandemic taking a big bite off the travel business. The company’s shares exceeded expectations on Thursday, the first day of trading, with Airbnb’s market cap valued at $ 100.7 billion – the largest of the generation of “unicorn” startups that include Uber and Lyft . The offer raised $ 3.5 billion, making it the largest IPO in 2020. The DoorDash delivery service went public last week with similar success.

Mastercard and Visa no longer allow their cards to be used on the adult Pornhub website, which has reportedly featured videos of child abuse and rape (millions of other legal videos of consensual sex are also shown). Visa said it will also suspend payments from its network to MindGeek, the parent company of Pornhub, until an investigation into their relationships is completed. Pornhub said earlier this week that it made changes to block non-consensual content.

Less than a week after the Democrats proposed a $ 908 billion stimulus package drafted by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, the White House countered Tuesday with a $ 916 billion alternative. While the price tags on the two bills aren’t far from each other, the similarities usually end there. One key sticking point: the Trump administration’s proposal does not provide federal funding for additional unemployment benefits and instead offers one-time stimulus checks of $ 600 – half the amount provided by CARES earlier this year. It is impossible to say whether Congress will strike a middle ground before the end of the year when the current relief provisions like the eviction moratorium and additional payments for the unemployed expire.

Several industries are preparing for the spread of coronavirus vaccines, but the logistics are tricky. The first vaccine expected to be available, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, has to be stored in freezing temperatures – which requires many cooling systems and rapid transportation. Several airlines, including United, Delta and American, have volunteered their empty planes (which are now standing around due to the impact of the pandemic on travel) for dispensing of cans. And Walmart said it is preparing more than 5,000 of its stores for the vaccine by stocking up on freezers and dry ice.

The cancellation of some federal student loan debts is a cornerstone of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s economic policy. But Democratic leaders are now urging Mr. Biden to take executive action off up to $ 50,000 in debt per borrower once he takes office. That’s a far cry from its original promise to legislate to cancel $ 10,000 per borrower. The difference establishes the first major conflict between Mr Biden and the more liberal wing of his party.