Tag Archives: U.S. Unemployment

U.S. Unemployment Claims, Mario Draghi Speaks

Here’s today’s ‘Just A Minute’ bringing you a 60 second summary of what’s happening in the financial markets:

Main Trading Event Of The Day: USD Unemployment Claims @ 12.30 GMT

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING TODAY

Economic Data…U.S. Unemployment Claims, Mario Draghi Speaks

New jobless claims registered last week remained low at 304,000, near their pre-recession levels, following 302,000 posted in the previous week. Economists predict claims will climb to 315,000 in the week ended April 19 due in part to the Easter holidays where it is usual for claims to rise. Layoffs are reported to be trending lower and hiring is finally starting to gain momentum after being held back by severe weather earlier in the year, with recent jobless claims hitting their lowest levels in almost seven years.

ECB President Mario Draghi is also due to speak at a conference in Amsterdam today. He is expected to comment on the low inflation rate in the Eurozone. Market volatility is expected due to Draghi’s heavy handed approach on the euro.

Apple Earnings Drive Stocks

Apple impressed investors with a big earnings beat on Wednesday evening as well as another big stock buyback and a dividend hike. Shares jumped 7.8 percent in afterhours trading and are expected to boost sentiment on Wall Street. The stock shot up more than 8 percent in after-hours trading to $567.50. Apple Chief Executive, Tim Cook said the company chose to expand its stock-buyback program by $30 billion because it views its shares as undervalued. The company said it would boost the overall size of its capital return program to more than $130 billion by the end of 2015, up from its previous $100 billion plan. After more than a decade of remarkable earnings growth, the technology giant’s revenue and profit are flattening and the company is fighting the perception that its best days are behind it. Apple said net income was $10.22 billion in its fiscal second quarter ended March 29 versus $9.55 billion in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $45.6 billion from $43.60 billion in the same period a year earlier. Apple’s earnings per share rose to $11.62 from $10.09, because the company’s stock repurchase program decreased the pool of total shares. Analysts, on average, estimated that Apple would post earnings of $10.18 per share on revenue of $43.53 billion.

European shares are also set for a higher open today on the back of Apple’s earnings. The FTSE is called up 18 points at 6,693, the German Dax is seen higher by 46 points at 9,590 and the French CAC is seen up 19 points at 4,470.

Gold Edges Up On Ukraine & U.S. Housing Data

Gold edged up today but held near a more than two-month low, dimming its appeal as an alternative investment. Bullion for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.3 percent to $1,287.08 an ounce, and traded at $1,287.06 at 11:40 a.m. Prices fell to $1,277.69 on April 22, the lowest level since Feb. 11. Gold has rallied 7.1 percent this year, rebounding from the worst annual drop in more than three decades as unrest in Ukraine, a rout in emerging markets and concern that the U.S. recovery may be losing momentum fueled demand. Investors are now waiting for the release of U.S. jobless claims and durable goods orders data for clues on the health of the world’s largest economy ahead of next week’s meeting of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee on interest rates.

That sums up today’s highlights! You can find all the latest daily trading news and developments via our Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn pages. We hope you have a profitable day on the markets!

Jobless Claims Likely To Rise

Here’s today’s ‘Just A Minute’ bringing you a 60 second summary of what’s happening in the financial markets:

Main Trading Event Of The Day: USD Unemployment Claims @ 12.30 GMT

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING TODAY

Jobless Claims Likely To Rise

Data showing the number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits is likely to show a slight gain in the latest weekly data. Forecasts reveal that weekly initial claims for regular state unemployment-insurance benefits will rise to 315,000 in the week that ended April 12, which is slightly up on 300,000 for the prior week. Some seasonal volatility may have accounted for last week’s drop in jobless claims to 300k which was the lowest level since May 2007, although layoffs are trending lower and hiring is gaining some momentum after being held back by the severe weather. The U.S. Labor Department will release the claims data today at 12.30 GMT.

European Shares Mixed, Dollar Falls As Yellen Pledges to Support Economy

European shares are set for a mixed open today, failing to continue a rally on Wall Street after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reaffirmed the central bank’s commitment to keep interest rates low. The FTSE is called up 1 point at 6,585, the German Dax is seen off by 8 points at 9,310 and the French CAC is seen down 3 points at 4,403. European bourses could see thin volumes today ahead of the Easter holiday weekend when many indexes are closed for a four-day weekend. In the U.S. stocks climbed after U.S. industrial production rose more than projected and Yellen reiterated that the central bank would keep up its backing of the recovery. Wall Street saw a strong close on Wednesday but those gains failed to translate to the rest of the globe. Asian stocks turned mixed following gains in this morning’s session as investors booked profits on the previous day’s rally. Investors in Europe will be monitoring events in Ukraine.

The U.S. dollar, meanwhile, fell against most of its Group of 10 peers. The dollar fell 0.2 percent to $1.3839 per euro and slid 0.2 percent to 102.03 yen, after rising 0.7 percent in the previous four days. The Japanese currency fetched 141.20 per euro from 141.24 yesterday. Financial markets in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand are among those that will be closed for a holiday tomorrow.

Google Misses Revenue Target As Trends Move Toward Mobile Advertising

Google Inc’s first-quarter revenue fell short of Wall Street targets and margins narrowed as the price of its ads continued to decline, highlighting the challenges Internet companies face as the world shifts toward mobile devices. Shares of Google were down 3 percent to $539.80 in afterhours trading on Wednesday, after initially sliding roughly 6 percent on the news. The number of “paid clicks” by consumers on Google’s ads increased by 26 percent in the first quarter, disappointing some analysts who had hoped for stronger volume growth. The average “cost per click” declined 9 percent, extending a downward trend as mobile advertising, typically cheaper than traditional online ads, make up a bigger slice of its business. The world’s largest search engine, along with Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc, which are due to report financial results in coming weeks, are revamping their products and advertising business to account for smartphones.

That sums up today’s highlights! Remember that you can keep up-to-date with all the trading news and events for the day via our Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn pages.

We hope you have a profitable day on the markets.

U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls: High Hopes For March Jobs Report

Here’s today’s ‘Just A Minute’ bringing you a 60 second summary of today’s key events in the financial markets:

Main Trading Event Of The Day: USD Non-Farm Employment Change @ 12.30 GMT

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING TODAY

U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls: High Hopes For March Jobs Report

With U.S. non-farm payrolls expected today, employers most likely increased hiring in March. The consensus forecast of economists is 200,000 nonfarm payrolls and an unemployment rate of 6.6 percent, compared with the 175,000 jobs added in February and an unemployment rate of 6.7 percent, according to Thomson Reuters. Traders are, however, speculating that today’s jobs report could top economists’ forecasts with data being as high as 220,000 to 240,000. The recent winter that brought heavy snowfalls well into March could still have some negative effect on hiring but some traders are hopeful that there was enough pent-up demand to cause a strong bounce back.

Gold meanwhile, was languishing near a seven-week low on Tuesday, after posting its first monthly drop of the year. The metal dropped nearly 1 percent on Monday, hitting a low of $1,282.04, the lowest since Feb. 11. Yesterday, gold gave up a chunk of its recent gains as the dollar moved up after the European Central Bank’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged. Today, gold tipped into positive territory, gaining 50 cents to $1,285.10 an ounce but stayed in a tight range as traders await today’s jobs report.

USD Non-Farm Payrolls today @ 12.30 GMT

Apple Inc: New Products Will Bring Stock Revival

Traders are betting that new Apple products will propel the world’s largest company after it rebounded from the worst monthly loss in a year. The stock lost 4.3 percent last quarter, including an 11 percent retreat in January. A range of new products to be introduced this year will sustain a sales boom and help keep the stock afloat. Apple will introduce a TV set-top box and is negotiating with Time Warner Cable Inc. and other potential partners to add video content and is also exploring a smartwatch, prompting some analysts to recommend holding Apple stock.

That sums up today’s highlights! Don’t forget to keep in touch with us via our Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn pages for up-to-the minute news and event updates! We hope you have a profitable day on the markets.

Dollar Holds Biggest Advance in Seven Months

Here’s Thursday’s ‘Just A Minute’ bringing you a 60 second summary of what’s happening in the markets:

Main Trading Event Of The Day: USD Unemployment Claims @ 12.30 GMT; USD Existing Home Sales @ 14.00 GMT

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING TODAY

Dollar Holds Biggest Advance in Seven Months

The dollar held its biggest gain in seven months after Federal Reserve policy makers signaled that they’ll probably raise interest rates by the middle of next year. The dollar was trading at $1.3836 per euro after climbing 0.7 percent yesterday to $1.3833. The Federal Open Market Committee discarded a jobless-rate threshold for considering when to increase borrowing costs and said it will look at a wider range of data. Policy makers also reduced monthly bond-buying by $10 billion to $55 billion and added that it will slow purchases in further measured steps. Fed Chair Janet Yellen indicated a period of around 6 months between the end of the stimulus and the first rate increase. The rally in the U.S. dollar on the notion that U.S. interest rates could rise sooner rather than later may just be getting started, according to strategists and the outlook for the pace of policy tightening is faster than markets have priced in. The Fed’s announcement confirms the view that the rising-dollar trend will accelerate in the six-month to one-year term and that as long as upcoming U.S. economic data confirms the Fed’s confidence that recent weakness in data is related to unusually cold weather, the dollar should head higher. If data disappoints, that could trigger the dollar to unwind some of the gains, but data is expected to start improving and that means the dollar gains should be built on.

Gold Hovers Near 3-Week Low While Stocks End Lower On Fed

Gold hovered near three-week lows on Thursday as the U.S. dollar jumped on expectations the Federal Reserve could end its bond-buying programme later this year, tarnishing the metal’s safe haven appeal as a hedge against inflation. Although concerns about the Ukraine crisis could lend support, the bullion market was suffering from a lack of physical buying from top gold consumer China following a sharp drop in its currency. The market may recover and rally from here but analysts believe the upside will be limited and that gold could still fall back to about $1,300 an ounce. Sentiment was mixed following the move by the Fed to reduce bond-buying which could overshadow the impact from tensions in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, stocks eased off session lows but still finished firmly in the red on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen suggested interest rate hikes would happen about six months after quantitative easing ends. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 114.02 points to close at 16,222.17, initially tumbling nearly 200 points after Yellen’s rate hike comment. The blue-chip index had been trading in a lackluster 50-point range prior to the decision. The S&P 500 declined 11.48 points to finish at 1,860.77 while the Nasdaq fell 25.71 points to end at 4,307.60.

U.S. Existing Home Sales & New Claims For Unemployment Expected To Drop

Pending home sales have reportedly been weaker lately, with a 0.1% increase in January only just offsetting the 5.8% decline in December, suggesting limited momentum for completed sales. With fewer pending contracts in the pipeline, the pace of existing home sales is likely to have remained soft in February. Total housing inventory was up in January, although the number of homes for sale was still low, indicating that constraints on the supply side are also likely to continue to hold back the sales pace.

The number of new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly dropped 9,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 315,000, the best reading since November. Economists expected a rise in claims to a level of 334,000. The four-week average fell 6,250 to 330,500, the lowest since early December with improved weather conditions apparently having contributed to the improvement in the job data. The number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell 48,000 to 2.86 million in the week ended March 1, the lowest level since December. A small rise to 327,000 is forecasted.

That sums up today’s highlights! Stay in touch for all the latest financial news. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.

We hope you have a profitable day on the markets!

Just A Minute!

Here’s today’s ‘Just A Minute’ bringing you a 60 second summary of what’s happening in the markets.

Main Trading Events Of The Day: Several today including USD Non-Farm Employment Change @ 13.30, USD Trade Balance @ 13.30 & USD Employment Rate @ 13.30 GMT

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING TODAY

U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls: Gains In Job Growth Expected

Stock markets are ready for a soft jobs report due later today. Data is expected to show that employers in the U.S. hired more workers in February than a month earlier, indicating that companies were confident that demand will bounce back from a weather-induced slowdown. Payrolls increased 149,000 last month after a 113,000 gain in January, according to a Bloomberg survey ahead of figures from the Labor Department. The jobless rate held at 6.6 percent, the lowest since 2008, the survey also showed.

Even with last month’s pickup, job gains remain smaller than those seen for most of last year as the harsh weather conditions across the eastern U.S. slow consumer spending, housing and manufacturing. The Federal Reserve is trying to determine how much of the recent cooling has been due to weather, which means the outlook for monetary policy may not become clearer until March data becomes available but analysts believe that the weather is not the only factor behind the lull in activity - businesses are working through a large amount of unsold goods accumulated in the second half of 2013, which means they have no incentive to place new orders with manufacturers.

The U.S. dollar, meanwhile, is set for its biggest weekly gain in three months versus the yen before the release of U.S. payrolls data, with Federal Reserve officials reiterating the threshold for changing its stimulus tapering is high. The U.S. currency yesterday was at its strongest versus the yen since January as reports showed fewer Americans filed claims for jobless benefits. The dollar was little changed at 102.97 yen, from 103.07 yen yesterday, and has climbed 1.2 percent this week, the biggest advance since the period ended Nov. 29.

Meanwhile, Gold traded near the highest level in more than four months and headed for a fifth weekly advance before U.S. payrolls data. Gold rose 1.8 percent this week and closed at $1,350.02 an ounce yesterday, when prices rose 1 percent on expectations that U.S. borrowing costs will hold at a record low and European inflation will gradually accelerate. The metal reached $1,354.87 on March 3, the highest since Oct. 30, as tension between Ukraine and Russia escalated.

U.S. Non-Farm Employment Change @ 13.30 GMT.

What Is The Impact Of The Ukraine Crisis For Investors?

The recent Russia/Ukraine situation has caused some pronounced unrest in the currency markets, as well as a sharp selloff in the Russian equity market. Should investors be worried and is the safety trade the best trade? Much of this depends on whether Western influence can stop Russia invading. It is unlikely that the United States can stop Putin, but it can make it very uncomfortable for him to proceed. It is worth remembering that Russia has major pipelines running through Ukraine that deliver natural gas to the rest of Europe. Mistreating Ukraine to the point that it shuts down those pipelines would be economically devastating to Russia. It is unlikely that Ukraine will mount any meaningful military resistance to Russia simply because Ukraine is effectively broke. The Ukrainians cannot finance a war as they teeter on the edge of bankruptcy. What will punish Russia significantly will likely be the damage to asset prices that will be the consequence of investment funds leaving the country. Russia was forced to raise its overnight lending rate by 1.5 percent to defend the value of the ruble.

What does this mean for investors? Should investors be pulling up stakes in Russia and repatriating their funds home? Probably not, when you take into consideration what matters to Russia. First, oil is of great importance. Russia is one of the top producers of oil, and rising prices for crude means better revenues for Russia. Gold also matters to Russia. Russia is sensitive to the price of gold and other metals. Rising gold prices benefit Russia’s miners. The reality is that Russia likely will benefit from any spikes in commodity prices that these events cause. Russia’s markets are down significantly here and many believe they should be bought. With regard to equity prices, these are mainly dependent on earnings growth. Analysts believe that none of the events in Ukraine or Russia are likely have any impact on the earnings of companies here or in Russia. Earnings are expected to continue rising, and sooner or later the uncertainty in Russia will dissipate. Those investors who buy during the days of bad news will likely be winners once the political unrest blows over.

That sums up today’s highlights! We hope you have a profitable day on the markets.

Just A Minute!

Here’s today’s ‘Just A Minute’ bringing you a 60 second summary of what’s happening in the markets:

Main Trading Events Of The Day: Several today including USD FOMC Member Dudley Speaks @ 13.15, USD Unemployment Claims @ 13.30 & EUR ECB Press Conference @ 13.30 GMT

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING TODAY

Jobless Claims Not Likely To Show Improvement

Initial jobless claims are expected to drop to 335,000 in the last week of February from 348,000 two weeks earlier. Even if claims fall to this extent, however, they will revert to their recent average. Claims fell sharply in 2013 but have since leveled off around the 330,000 mark.

The failure of claims to continue to decline coincides with other indicators showing a slowdown in job creation, most notably the monthly U.S. employment report. The economy likely added just 140,000 jobs in February after a 113,000 gain in January. The February report comes out Friday. Most economists have cited the unusually harsh weather as being a key reason for the slowdown but persistent softness in many economic reports has raised questions about whether the problems actually run deeper. Wall Street will also listen closely to top Federal Reserve officials today for clues on the central bank’s next step. New York Fed President William Dudley will be interviewed by the Wall Street Journal and field questions and Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser is lined up to give a speech on how a central bank should exit “unconventional monetary policy.” Both are voting members on the bank’s policy-setting panel that meets in two weeks to discuss its next move. Also due today are reports on factory orders, productivity in the fourth quarter and household wealth. Factory orders likely fell in January and productivity is expected to be revised sharply lower to 1.7% from an original estimate of 3.2%. Slow productivity growth is not regarded as being good for an economy. The Federal Reserve’s quarterly report on household wealth, meanwhile, offers a good snapshot on whether consumers and businesses are reducing or adding to their debt. Consumers have cut debt sharply over the past few years.

Meanwhile, gold was trading in a tight range on Thursday, supported near $1,335 an ounce by the continuing weak U.S. data, with investors waiting for developments in the Ukraine geopolitical crisis and the impending jobs report for further cues.

Euro Trundles Along Ahead Of ECB Meeting

The main focus at today’s ECB Governing Council meeting will be on updated economic forecasts, and in particular whether inflation is likely to remain below target in 2016, thus potentially creating room for further monetary policy action in the coming months. With the Ukraine crisis still to be resolved, the markets have continued to keep an eye on the situation but it has not diverted investors’ attention away from what steps the ECB might take to support the economy and ward off deflation. On Wednesday, International Monetary Fund officials called on the ECB to start buying public and private assets or extend more cheap long-term loans to banks, as well as cutting interest rates to a new record low. Yet the ECB may hesitate to buy government bonds, unlike other major central banks such as the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan that have done so, in part for fear such a step could infringe its ban on financing governments directly. The ECB may explore other policy options, such as cutting rates or stopping “sterilisation” operations that soak up the money it spent buying the bonds of Greece and other countries at the height of the euro zone sovereign debt crisis. Europe’s benchmark stock index closed slightly lower after its biggest rally in eight months. The euro traded at $1.3726 early today but was off a two-month high of $1.38255 hit on Friday. The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed marginally lower at 337.06 in a choppy session, after jumping 2.1% on Tuesday. The move was the largest one-day percentage gain since early July, triggered by easing tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Google: Mobile Will Create Bigger Advertising Pie

Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets will hugely expand the number of companies who advertise online and will allow Internet companies to reap more revenue than they have from customers on PCs, according to Google. Small businesses will represent the largest influx of new marketers as they discover the benefits of reaching on-the-go consumers on their mobile devices. The desktop world took the world of advertisers from tens of thousands to a few million and as we go forward, a few million is likely to become tens of millions as mobility becomes more relevant. Google, the world’s No.1 Internet search engine, generates the vast majority of its revenue from advertising. But its ad rates, like those of other Internet companies including Yahoo have been under pressure as more consumers access its online services on small-screened mobile devices, where advertising rates are lower than on PCs. There’s no doubt that mobile is where the future of advertising lies!

That sums up today’s highlights! We hope you have a profitable day on the markets.

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