I subscribe to a number of economic feeds from various institutions. This one from Bank of America is one of the most accurate and concise I have found.
Here is a synopsis of the financial news of the past week:
- Consumer borrowing in the U.S. unexpectedly rose in March for the second time in three months, indicating Americans are becoming more optimistic about the recovery. The $2 billion rise during the month followed a revised $6.2 billion decline in February that was smaller than previously reported, the Federal Reserve said today in Washington. Credit was forecast to fall $3.7 billion in March, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.
- Confidence to finance spending may grow as more people are hired after the creation of 290,000 jobs in April, the most in four years. Consumer purchases, which account for about 70 percent of the economy, rose at the fastest pace in three years during the first quarter, pointing to a broadening of the economy. “Consumer spending was strong in the first quarter and looks sustainable,” Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, said before the report. “The consumer is no longer scared of his own shadow.”
- Stocks fell for a fourth day on concerns the Greek debt crisis may spread in Europe. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 1.4 percent to 1,111.88 at 3:26 p.m. in New York.
- Economists had forecast consumer credit would drop from a previously reported $11.5 billion slump a month earlier, according to the median of 33 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Projections ranged from a decrease of $8.5 billion to an increase of $8 billion.
- Global stocks slid for a fourth day, erasing 2010 gains for U.S. benchmark indexes, and the bonds of debt-laden nations tumbled after Europe’s debt crisis spurred a U.S. equity rout yesterday that undermined confidence in trading mechanisms. Oil sank 2.5 percent to lead commodities lower. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell as much as 3 percent before paring losses to 1.8 percent at 3:31 p.m. in New York, leaving it down 0.8 percent in 2010. The MSCI World Index sank 2.4 percent and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 3.9 percent to the lowest since November.
- Greece led a drop in deficit-stricken European nations’bonds, with the yield premium demanded to own the 10-year securities instead of benchmark German bunds rising to a record of more than 9.65 percentage points. Credit-default swaps on European banks surged to an all-time high. Regulators are reviewing a plunge that briefly wiped out more than $1 trillion in U.S. market value yesterday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid almost 1,000 points before paring losses.
- Concern over the integrity of the Trading Mechanisms that caused the volatility overshadowed the biggest growth in U.S. jobs in four years.
- Equities today pared earlier losses amid speculation the European Central Bank will announce measures to stem the region’s debt crisis.
And, the quote of the week:
“The market is manic,” said Philip Orlando, the New York- based chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors, which manages about $400 billion. “The ECB needs to step in here and do something. If that really becomes true, we start to rally and focus on the terrific jobs report we had this morning. They could have solved this six months ago. There’s still a lot of concern about contagion. Investors are scared to death.”
That’s all for this week – have a terrific weekend!
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