08May2020 Market Close: Stocks Hit Weekly Highs As Markets Shrug Off Dismal US Jobs Data, DOW Closes Up 455 Points, WTI Crude Steady At 26.06

Coronavirus deals U.S. economy Great Depression-like job losses, high unemployment

The U.S. economy lost a staggering 20.5 million jobs in April, the steepest plunge in payrolls since the Great Depression, laying bare both the economic and human tragedy wrought by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Wall Street jumps as historic job losses fewer than feared

Major U.S. stock indexes jumped on Friday and logged solid gains for the week after data on historic job losses due to the coronavirus crisis showed they were slightly fewer than feared.

‘The government is failing us’: Laid-off Americans struggle in coronavirus crisis

(This May 7 story changes monthly to weekly in paragraph 35)

Stocks hit weekly highs as markets shrug off dismal U.S. jobs data

Equity markets rallied on Friday, hitting weekly highs, and oil prices gained as more governments around the world began gradually reopening their economies and Sino-American trade tensions eased.

As pandemic rages, anything goes for bitcoin’s third ‘halving’

Bitcoin is about to undergo a scheduled technical adjustment as the number of new coins awarded the computer wizards who “mine” the cryptocurrency will be cut in half, but forecasting which way its price will move afterward is more complicated now.

Great Depression-like U.S. job losses, unemployment rate expected in April

The U.S. economy likely lost a staggering 22 million jobs in April, in what would be the steepest plunge in payrolls since the Great Depression and the starkest sign yet of how the novel coronavirus pandemic is battering the world’s biggest economy.

U.S. post office loss doubles as it warns COVID-19 will hit its finances

The U.S. Postal Service on Friday said its losses more than doubled to $4.5 billion in the quarter ending in March and warned the economic slowdown spurred by the spread of COVID-19 could severely hurt its finances over the next 18 months.

Wirecard revamps management board amid probes

Wirecard Chief Executive Markus Braun apologised to shareholders on Friday as the company announced a reshuffle of its management board and appointed a new compliance officer, days after the hedge fund TCI demanded Braun’s removal.

U.S. private payrolls dive by a record 20.2 million

U.S. private employers laid off a record 20.236 million workers in April as mandatory business closures in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak savaged the economy, setting up the overall labor market for historic job losses last month.

Wall Street Soars As Main Street Struggles With Lo’ Rates, No Jobs, & Mo’ Deaths

Wall Street Soars As Main Street Struggles With Lo’ Rates, No Jobs, & Mo’ Deaths

Record-Watch: For the first time ever, more than half the US population is not working; over 76,000 Americans dead from COVID-19; the US economy is contracting at record pace; earnings expectations are collapsing at near record pace; interest-rates at record lows (and imputing negative rates by year-end); and stocks are soaring at their fastest pace ever…

Some Numbers…

Some Numbers…

Some numbers via BofA’s Michael Hartnett putting the recent market move in context:

9/10 say bear market rally

8/10 say œU or œW recovery

7/10 say only buy what the Fed buys

6/10 expect retest of low

2/10 say 10Y yield >1%,

Why One Reader Is “Mad As Hell”

Why One Reader Is “Mad As Hell”

…from a reader,

I don’t have to tell you things are bad.

Everybody knows things are bad.

It’s a depression…

Everybody’s out of work or scared of losing their job.

The dollar buys a nickel’s worth, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter.

Punks are running wild in the street and there’s nobody anywhere who seems to know anything…

And the stock-market is SOARING…

We know how he feels…

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/08/2020 – 15:40

“The Squad” Urges Pelosi To Include “One-Time Universal $30k Student-Loan Cancellation” In Next Relief Bill

“The Squad” Urges Pelosi To Include “One-Time Universal $30k Student-Loan Cancellation” In Next Relief Bill

A group of Democrats – whose mostly white, middle-class, college-educated supporters who derive most of their understanding of contemporary politics and the economy from memes – is pushing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to include a “universal, one-time, student loan debt cancellation of at least $30,000 per borrower in the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation.”

So-called Democratic socialists love to drone on about how policies like universal health-care and student loan forgiveness are “popular” (that is, according to several questionably worded surveys), but the truth is, the overwhelming majority of Americans aren’t currently paying down student debt. Fewer than 45 million Americans – that’s less than one-third of working-age adults – are student loan borrowers, and they share nearly $1.5 trillion in debt.

Endgame for startups? Covid threatens to disrupt the disruptor

Endgame for startups? Covid threatens to disrupt the disruptorWith Covid-19 and automation, GoI’s one-time employment darlings could become prodigal liabilities.

The damage report of Franklin’s fall is here

The damage report of Franklin’s fall is hereMost debt mutual fund categories have witnessed outflows in the last month, data shows.

Stranded NRIs get a much-needed tax relief

Stranded NRIs get a much-needed tax reliefIndia has allowed discounting of prolonged stay period for determining the residency status in relief for NRIs.

01 May 2020 ECRI’s WLI Improves Again But Remains Deep In Contraction

Written by Steven Hansen

ECRI’s WLI Growth Index which forecasts economic growth six months forward improved, remains deep in contraction, and remains at a level below the values seen during the Great Recession.

The Margin: Baby Yoda, Batman and Billie Eilish face masks ” companies look to make social distancing more fun for families

Disney and Warner Bros. are licensing their characters for face masks. Old Navy and Forever 21 are crafting face coverings, too.

In One Chart: The NFL cities with the highest and lowest risk of spreading the coronavirus

The National Football League released its schedule for the 2020 season on Thursday night with the intention to play its normal allotment of games amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Tell: The U.S. economy may be in for a ‘square root’-shaped recovery “and you won’t like it any more than algebra class

A small dead-cat bounce and then lower for longer is what a œsquare root implies.