A surprisingly low August jobs report showed us that the Covid resurgence, via the Delta variant, is significantly slowing down the economy - the slowdown can be felt more in states and cities where health restrictions have been put back into place. Now, with the long-term growth of the economy in question, the Federal Reserve may need to continue their financial support longer than expected. Better news could be just around the corner as Covid cases and hospitalizations are declining in some states.
Economic reports from last week came back mostly negative: •Pending Home Sales - worse than expectation •Manufacturing (Dallas) - worse than expectation •Consumer Confidence - worse than expectation •Employment/Jobs - worse than expectation •Construction Spending- in-line with expectation •Vehicle Sales - worse than expectation •Labor Productivity/Costs - worse than expectation •Jobless Claims - better than expectation In a holiday-shortened week, investors will look for guidance from economic reports like Job Openings, Consumer Credit and Jobless Claims.