CNBC
"Dow sinks more than 900 points for its worst drop since June amid rising virus cases globally"
Fred Imbert @foimbert
Published Tue, Oct 27 2020
U.S. stocks fell sharply on Wednesday amid concerns over the latest increase in coronavirus infections and its potential impact on the global economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 943.24 points, or 3.4%, to 26,519.95, posting its fourth straight negative session.
The S&P 500 slid 3.5%, or 119.65 points, to 3,271.03, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.7%, or 426.48 points, to 11,004.87.
The Dow and the S&P 500 both suffered their worst day since June 11.
The U.S. indexes took their cues from the European market benchmarks.
The German Dax index fell 4.2% to its lowest level since late May.
The French CAC 40 slid 3.4%.
The FTSE 100 in London closed 2.6% lower.
U.S. coronavirus cases have risen by a record daily average of 71,832 over the past week, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University showed.
Meanwhile, coronavirus-related hospitalizations are up 5% or more in three dozen states, according to data from the Covid Tracking Project.
Cases are also rising sharply across Europe.
The recent uptick in Covid cases has led some countries to reinstate certain social distancing measures.
In the U.S., the state of Illinois has ordered Chicago to shut down indoor dining.
In Europe, German officials agreed to a four-week partial lockdown, while the French government imposed new nationwide restrictions until Dec. 1.
“I think there’s going to be a call for lockdowns the likes of which we’ve seen in Chicago,” CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Wednesday.
“The lockdowns without the stimulus equals what we’re seeing.”
“It’s a shame because, had there been stimulus, we’d then be focusing on earnings and the earnings are actually pretty darn good,” he said.
Stocks that would be hurt the most by lockdowns or a slowdown in the economy reopening led the declines on Wednesday.
Shares of United Airlines fell 4.6%.
Royal Caribbean shares lost 7.4%, while Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival dropped 9.1% and 10.6%, respectively.
The Cboe Volatility Index, known on Wall Street as the market’s “fear gauge,” jumped above 40 and hit its highest level since June 15.
“Investors’ hopes that the Covid pandemic would not force further stringent mitigations measures and/or potential wholesale lockdowns that would push global economies back into ‘low-consumption mode’ appear to be coming under challenge,” said Yousef Abbasi, global market strategist at StoneX.
“Avoiding these stringent measures has been a major tenant of the bullish thesis, particularly for those looking to value stocks and for a steeper yield-curve.”
The 30-stock Dow has fallen 6.4% this week so far, on pace for its biggest weekly drop since March.
The S&P 500 is down 5.6% in this period, also headed for its worst week since March.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq has dropped 4.7% this week.
Earnings season continues
Wall Street also pored through the latest batch of corporate earnings for the previous quarter, including those of tech giant Microsoft.
Microsoft reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the previous quarter as sales from its cloud business grew sharply.
However, the stock dropped 5% on light revenue guidance.
Boeing reported a quarterly loss that’s narrower than expected, but the company said it plans to cut thousands of additional jobs through 2021 as it adjusts to the long-term drop in air travel demand.
Boeing shares dropped 4.6%.
Shares of General Electric gained 4.5% Wednesday after the company reported stronger than forecast revenues and a surprise adjusted profit for the third quarter.
First Solar also posted quarterly numbers that beat analyst expectations, sending its shares up more than 13%.
“Broadly speaking, earnings season is coming in better than expected,” said Megan Horneman, director of portfolio strategy at Verdence Capital Advisors.
“The one thing is there have been some underlying concerns when you delve into some of the reports.”
“Also, not a lot of companies are giving solid guidance."
"That would have been something more reassuring to investors,” Horneman said.
— CNBC’s Yun Li contributed reporting.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/27/stock-m ... -news.html
THE DAILY NEWS
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
REUTERS
"Oil plunges over 5% to four-month low as pandemic surges, U.S. crude output soars"
By Scott DiSavino
October 28, 2020
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell more than 5% on Wednesday, sending Brent to a four-month low as surging coronavirus infections in the United States and Europe prompted renewed lockdowns and fed expectations for new declines in fuel demand.
Also pressuring prices, U.S. crude stockpiles rose more than expected last week as production surged in a record build, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“The increase in oil production led to an unexpected build of crude oil, and given the additional lockdowns we are seeing in Europe, that is just further heaping bad news on the oil market,” said Andy Lipow, president of consultants Lipow Oil Associates.
Brent futures fell $2.08, or 5.1%, to settle at $39.12 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $2.18, or 5.5%, to $37.39.
That was the lowest close for Brent since June 12 and for WTI since Oct. 2.
It was the biggest daily percentage losses for both benchmarks since Sept. 8.
Crude price declines mirrored downturns in other risk-asset markets, as U.S. stock indexes were all lower, with the S&P 500 down 2.9%.
The safe-haven U.S. dollar rose 0.5% on prospects of national lockdowns in Germany and France to fight the pandemic.
The stronger dollar makes oil more expensive for holders of foreign currencies, which traders said weighed on crude prices.
The United States, Russia, France and other countries have registered record numbers of COVID-19 cases in recent days and European governments have introduced new curbs to try to rein in the fast-growing outbreaks.
Traders said crude prices were also hit by fading prospects for a quick deal on a new U.S. stimulus and increasing oil output from Libya.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged that a coronavirus economic relief package was unlikely until after next week’s election.
Libya’s production is expected to rebound to 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in the coming weeks.
The head of Saudi Aramco’s trading arm said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, together known as OPEC+, will have to contend with a “lot of demand issues” before raising supply as expected in January 2021.
“Between the United States and Libya, production is up almost 2 million bpd in the past couple weeks,” said Robert Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York, noting if OPEC+ takes the view that U.S. producers are only going to increase production, then OPEC+ may “unleash the 2 million barrels in January and let the chips fall where they may ... most likely crude oil down considerably.”
The market, meanwhile, shrugged off this week’s temporary decline in U.S. output as energy firms shut around half of offshore Gulf of Mexico production ahead of Hurricane Zeta, which will slam into the Gulf Coast later Wednesday.
Additional reporting by Noah Browning in London, Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo and Laura Sanicola and Laila Kearney in New York; Editing by David Gregorio, Marguerita Choy and David Goodman
https://uk.reuters.com/article/global-o ... KL1N2HJ03I
"Oil plunges over 5% to four-month low as pandemic surges, U.S. crude output soars"
By Scott DiSavino
October 28, 2020
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell more than 5% on Wednesday, sending Brent to a four-month low as surging coronavirus infections in the United States and Europe prompted renewed lockdowns and fed expectations for new declines in fuel demand.
Also pressuring prices, U.S. crude stockpiles rose more than expected last week as production surged in a record build, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“The increase in oil production led to an unexpected build of crude oil, and given the additional lockdowns we are seeing in Europe, that is just further heaping bad news on the oil market,” said Andy Lipow, president of consultants Lipow Oil Associates.
Brent futures fell $2.08, or 5.1%, to settle at $39.12 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $2.18, or 5.5%, to $37.39.
That was the lowest close for Brent since June 12 and for WTI since Oct. 2.
It was the biggest daily percentage losses for both benchmarks since Sept. 8.
Crude price declines mirrored downturns in other risk-asset markets, as U.S. stock indexes were all lower, with the S&P 500 down 2.9%.
The safe-haven U.S. dollar rose 0.5% on prospects of national lockdowns in Germany and France to fight the pandemic.
The stronger dollar makes oil more expensive for holders of foreign currencies, which traders said weighed on crude prices.
The United States, Russia, France and other countries have registered record numbers of COVID-19 cases in recent days and European governments have introduced new curbs to try to rein in the fast-growing outbreaks.
Traders said crude prices were also hit by fading prospects for a quick deal on a new U.S. stimulus and increasing oil output from Libya.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged that a coronavirus economic relief package was unlikely until after next week’s election.
Libya’s production is expected to rebound to 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in the coming weeks.
The head of Saudi Aramco’s trading arm said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, together known as OPEC+, will have to contend with a “lot of demand issues” before raising supply as expected in January 2021.
“Between the United States and Libya, production is up almost 2 million bpd in the past couple weeks,” said Robert Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York, noting if OPEC+ takes the view that U.S. producers are only going to increase production, then OPEC+ may “unleash the 2 million barrels in January and let the chips fall where they may ... most likely crude oil down considerably.”
The market, meanwhile, shrugged off this week’s temporary decline in U.S. output as energy firms shut around half of offshore Gulf of Mexico production ahead of Hurricane Zeta, which will slam into the Gulf Coast later Wednesday.
Additional reporting by Noah Browning in London, Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo and Laura Sanicola and Laila Kearney in New York; Editing by David Gregorio, Marguerita Choy and David Goodman
https://uk.reuters.com/article/global-o ... KL1N2HJ03I
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
REUTERS Bonds News
"TREASURIES-Yields flat in spite of major stock sell-off"
By Kate Duguid
October 28, 2020
NEW YORK, Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields were roughly unchanged across maturities on Wednesday afternoon, as expectations of heavy issuance of new supply offset safe-haven demand amid a dramatic stock sell-off that brought major U.S. stock indexes to one-month lows.
Risk assets on Wednesday fell as coronavirus infections surged across the globe and investors expressed some nervousness about the U.S. election.
Wall Street’s main indexes briefly lost more than 3% as new cases and hospitalizations set records in the U.S. Midwest, and France and Germany planned shutdowns.
Treasury yields, which are typically driven lower in moments of market volatility by safe-haven demand, were flat on Wednesday afternoon.
The benchmark 10-year yield was last unchanged on the day at 0.778%.
The two-year yield was last down 0.3 basis point to 0.149%, steepening the yield curve modestly.
“The move is anemic."
"Yields are effectively unchanged,” said Andrew Brenner, head of international fixed income at NatAlliance Securities.
“It is because of supply."
"There is going to be a lot of supply whether Trump wins or Biden wins."
"There is going to be stimulus.”
The Treasury Department has issued roughly $3.4 trillion of new public debt since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Refinitiv Eikon.
That debt has financed the stimulus endeavors passed by Congress in addition to normal government programs.
More stimulus is expected to be passed regardless of who wins the White House on Nov. 3, suggesting the heavy supply of new debt will continue, keeping prices anchored and yields bolstered even in moments of safe-haven buying.
“Treasuries are not a good hedge for equities."
"Treasury rates are low."
"There is too much supply on the horizon,” said Brenner.
Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. rates strategy at BMO Capital Markets, also noted that moves in the Treasury market were likely to remain range-bound until after the presidential election, which because of high levels of mail-in voting may be fought out in the courts if there is no immediate definitive result.
(Reporting by Kate Duguid Editing by Marguerita Choy and Nick Zieminski)
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-bon ... SL1N2HJ1DM
"TREASURIES-Yields flat in spite of major stock sell-off"
By Kate Duguid
October 28, 2020
NEW YORK, Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields were roughly unchanged across maturities on Wednesday afternoon, as expectations of heavy issuance of new supply offset safe-haven demand amid a dramatic stock sell-off that brought major U.S. stock indexes to one-month lows.
Risk assets on Wednesday fell as coronavirus infections surged across the globe and investors expressed some nervousness about the U.S. election.
Wall Street’s main indexes briefly lost more than 3% as new cases and hospitalizations set records in the U.S. Midwest, and France and Germany planned shutdowns.
Treasury yields, which are typically driven lower in moments of market volatility by safe-haven demand, were flat on Wednesday afternoon.
The benchmark 10-year yield was last unchanged on the day at 0.778%.
The two-year yield was last down 0.3 basis point to 0.149%, steepening the yield curve modestly.
“The move is anemic."
"Yields are effectively unchanged,” said Andrew Brenner, head of international fixed income at NatAlliance Securities.
“It is because of supply."
"There is going to be a lot of supply whether Trump wins or Biden wins."
"There is going to be stimulus.”
The Treasury Department has issued roughly $3.4 trillion of new public debt since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Refinitiv Eikon.
That debt has financed the stimulus endeavors passed by Congress in addition to normal government programs.
More stimulus is expected to be passed regardless of who wins the White House on Nov. 3, suggesting the heavy supply of new debt will continue, keeping prices anchored and yields bolstered even in moments of safe-haven buying.
“Treasuries are not a good hedge for equities."
"Treasury rates are low."
"There is too much supply on the horizon,” said Brenner.
Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. rates strategy at BMO Capital Markets, also noted that moves in the Treasury market were likely to remain range-bound until after the presidential election, which because of high levels of mail-in voting may be fought out in the courts if there is no immediate definitive result.
(Reporting by Kate Duguid Editing by Marguerita Choy and Nick Zieminski)
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-bon ... SL1N2HJ1DM
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
NBC NEWS
"Tropical Storm Zeta could make direct hit on New Orleans as Category 1 hurricane - Zeta battered Mexico overnight before emerging over the Gulf of Mexico, where it is expected to strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall Wednesday."
By Tim Fitzsimons and Tim Stelloh
Oct. 27, 2020, 10:10 AM EDT / Updated Oct. 27, 2020, 6:57 PM EDT
Tropical Storm Zeta emerged over the Gulf of Mexico early Tuesday and is taking aim at the Gulf Coast with a possible direct hit on New Orleans.
NBC News meteorologist Bill Karins said that while the storm remains relatively weak compared to others this year, it could still down power lines and trees with 60-70 mph winds after making landfall on Wednesday as a Category 1 hurricane.
Rain and powerful winds are expected to begin on the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts on Wednesday morning, he said.
By Wednesday night, Zeta could swamp the Mississippi coast with a storm surge of as much as 8 feet, he said.
Zeta lashed Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula overnight with 80 mph winds and heavy rains.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the storm was 450 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River and moving at 14 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Zeta is the 27th named storm of the 2020 Hurricane season and, when it strikes the U.S. mainland Wednesday, it is expected to break a record by becoming the 11th named storm to do so in one year, according to forecasters.
Louisiana has been hard hit by these storms in recent months: Zeta will be the fourth named storm — after Marco, Laura and Delta — to have made landfall in the state since August.
"It is important that everyone get their game plan together," tweeted Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Tuesday morning.
"Make sure that you are prepared, that you monitor your local news and that you continue to heed the warnings of local officials."
Hurricane warnings are in effect for Morgan City, Louisiana to the Mississippi-Alabama border, including Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas and metro New Orleans.
A tropical storm warning is in effect from the Mississippi-Alabama border to the Okaloosa-Walton County line in Florida, and a tropical storm watch is in effect in Louisiana west of Morgan City to Intracoastal City.
Residents of a stretch of coast from Louisiana to Florida are under a storm surge warning.
Tim Fitzsimons reports on LGBTQ news for NBC Out.
Tim Stelloh is a reporter for NBC News based in California.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tr ... y-n1244903
"Tropical Storm Zeta could make direct hit on New Orleans as Category 1 hurricane - Zeta battered Mexico overnight before emerging over the Gulf of Mexico, where it is expected to strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall Wednesday."
By Tim Fitzsimons and Tim Stelloh
Oct. 27, 2020, 10:10 AM EDT / Updated Oct. 27, 2020, 6:57 PM EDT
Tropical Storm Zeta emerged over the Gulf of Mexico early Tuesday and is taking aim at the Gulf Coast with a possible direct hit on New Orleans.
NBC News meteorologist Bill Karins said that while the storm remains relatively weak compared to others this year, it could still down power lines and trees with 60-70 mph winds after making landfall on Wednesday as a Category 1 hurricane.
Rain and powerful winds are expected to begin on the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts on Wednesday morning, he said.
By Wednesday night, Zeta could swamp the Mississippi coast with a storm surge of as much as 8 feet, he said.
Zeta lashed Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula overnight with 80 mph winds and heavy rains.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the storm was 450 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River and moving at 14 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Zeta is the 27th named storm of the 2020 Hurricane season and, when it strikes the U.S. mainland Wednesday, it is expected to break a record by becoming the 11th named storm to do so in one year, according to forecasters.
Louisiana has been hard hit by these storms in recent months: Zeta will be the fourth named storm — after Marco, Laura and Delta — to have made landfall in the state since August.
"It is important that everyone get their game plan together," tweeted Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Tuesday morning.
"Make sure that you are prepared, that you monitor your local news and that you continue to heed the warnings of local officials."
Hurricane warnings are in effect for Morgan City, Louisiana to the Mississippi-Alabama border, including Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas and metro New Orleans.
A tropical storm warning is in effect from the Mississippi-Alabama border to the Okaloosa-Walton County line in Florida, and a tropical storm watch is in effect in Louisiana west of Morgan City to Intracoastal City.
Residents of a stretch of coast from Louisiana to Florida are under a storm surge warning.
Tim Fitzsimons reports on LGBTQ news for NBC Out.
Tim Stelloh is a reporter for NBC News based in California.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tr ... y-n1244903
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
WDSU-TV.
"Hurricane Zeta wind gust over 135 mph, Lafourche Parish president says"
WDSU News and Weather
WDSU Updated: 5:13 PM CDT Oct 28, 2020
LAFOURCHE PARISH, La. — Wind gusts from Hurricane Zeta have exceeded 135 mph as the storm made landfall and raced across Louisiana Wednesday afternoon.
Archie Chaisson, the Lafourche Parish president, said his community was experiencing the "full effects" of Hurricane Zeta Wednesday afternoon.
A wind gust to 136 mph was recorded by an anemometer on a boat in the parish, Chaisson said.
Chaisson reported that four or five buildings in the area had collapsed in the southern part of the parish.
Chaisson said there was a limited number of personnel working to check on damage, but response was being hampered by the number of power lines down.
Chaisson said the damage was concentrated in the Galliano, Golden Meadow and Leeville area.
NEW ORLEANS — Hurricane Zeta is making landfall near Cocodrie as a powerful category 2 storm.
The eye wall moved over islands in Terrebonne Parish into Galliano and Golden Meadow in Lafourche Parish and is now nearing New Orleans.
As of 5 p.m., the storm has 110 mph winds and is moving north at 24 mph.
The winds are just 1 mph under a Category 3 storm status.
A Hurricane Warning is in effect from Morgan City, Louisiana, to the Mississippi/Alabama border, including Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas and metropolitan New Orleans.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from the Mississippi/Alabama border to the Okaloosa/Walton County line, Florida, and from west of Morgan City to Intracoastal City.
Locally heavy rains in advance of Zeta will continue to expand and move north from the central Gulf Coast today.
Hurricane conditions are expected within the Hurricane Warning area on the northern Gulf Coast this afternoon, with tropical storm conditions beginning later this morning.
Tropical storm conditions are expected within the Tropical Storm Warning area on the northern Gulf Coast by late today, and tropical storm conditions are possible within the Tropical Storm Watch area this afternoon.
Damaging wind potential, especially in gusts, will spread well inland through the afternoon and evening.
A few tornadoes are expected this afternoon through evening.
This is the 27th named storm of the season.
The only other time we reached the 27th named storm was the 2005 hurricane season, when Epsilon formed on Nov. 29, 2005.
https://www.wdsu.com/article/hurricane- ... s/34512861#
"Hurricane Zeta wind gust over 135 mph, Lafourche Parish president says"
WDSU News and Weather
WDSU Updated: 5:13 PM CDT Oct 28, 2020
LAFOURCHE PARISH, La. — Wind gusts from Hurricane Zeta have exceeded 135 mph as the storm made landfall and raced across Louisiana Wednesday afternoon.
Archie Chaisson, the Lafourche Parish president, said his community was experiencing the "full effects" of Hurricane Zeta Wednesday afternoon.
A wind gust to 136 mph was recorded by an anemometer on a boat in the parish, Chaisson said.
Chaisson reported that four or five buildings in the area had collapsed in the southern part of the parish.
Chaisson said there was a limited number of personnel working to check on damage, but response was being hampered by the number of power lines down.
Chaisson said the damage was concentrated in the Galliano, Golden Meadow and Leeville area.
NEW ORLEANS — Hurricane Zeta is making landfall near Cocodrie as a powerful category 2 storm.
The eye wall moved over islands in Terrebonne Parish into Galliano and Golden Meadow in Lafourche Parish and is now nearing New Orleans.
As of 5 p.m., the storm has 110 mph winds and is moving north at 24 mph.
The winds are just 1 mph under a Category 3 storm status.
A Hurricane Warning is in effect from Morgan City, Louisiana, to the Mississippi/Alabama border, including Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas and metropolitan New Orleans.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from the Mississippi/Alabama border to the Okaloosa/Walton County line, Florida, and from west of Morgan City to Intracoastal City.
Locally heavy rains in advance of Zeta will continue to expand and move north from the central Gulf Coast today.
Hurricane conditions are expected within the Hurricane Warning area on the northern Gulf Coast this afternoon, with tropical storm conditions beginning later this morning.
Tropical storm conditions are expected within the Tropical Storm Warning area on the northern Gulf Coast by late today, and tropical storm conditions are possible within the Tropical Storm Watch area this afternoon.
Damaging wind potential, especially in gusts, will spread well inland through the afternoon and evening.
A few tornadoes are expected this afternoon through evening.
This is the 27th named storm of the season.
The only other time we reached the 27th named storm was the 2005 hurricane season, when Epsilon formed on Nov. 29, 2005.
https://www.wdsu.com/article/hurricane- ... s/34512861#
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
NBC NEWS
"Two dead after Zeta hammers New Orleans, roars toward Alabama - One person was electrocuted in Louisiana and hundreds of thousands are without power as the storm made its way toward Mississippi."
By Tim Fitzsimons and Tim Stelloh
Oct. 28, 2020, 8:24 AM EDT / Updated Oct. 29, 2020, 1:09 AM EDT
Two people are dead after Hurricane Zeta made landfall in southeastern Louisiana as a powerful Category 2 storm Wednesday afternoon before passing over New Orleans.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said the city had made it through the fast-moving hurricane.
But, she added, "We have been damaged."
"We have been hit."
One person was electrocuted in the Gert Town section of the city after touching a power line, the mayor told reporters Wednesday night.
It wasn't clear how much damage the city suffered, Cantrell said, but she urged residents not to clean up the mess themselves.
"Please leave it up to public safety officials," she said.
Police in Mississippi are blaming the storm for the death of a man who was found Wednesday in a Bioloxi marina.
The National Weather Service said that the eye of Zeta — which measured roughly 14 miles — began moving over New Orleans at 6:51 p.m. ET.
Video from the region showed Zeta's powerful winds ferrying a boat down an empty street and blasting a portable toilet through an empty lot.
Other clips showed decimated buildings and damaged power lines, toppled trees and a flooded casino.
In Jefferson Parish, which includes New Orleans, parish president Cynthia Lee Sheng said that nearly 167,000 customers — or 75 percent of the area — were without power.
A levee on the barrier island of Grand Isle had been breached in three places, she said, and a casino boat in the community of Lafitte had broken loose from a dry dock and ended up in the Barataria Bay Waterway.
"All should stay home and off the streets tonight, as there are multiple downed power lines and debris throughout the parish," she said.
Poweroutage.us, which tracks electrical outages across the United States, reported that nearly 500,000 customers in southeastern Louisiana were without power Wednesday night.
In southern Mississippi, another 116,000 homes and businesses had lost electricity, according to the site.
The National Hurricane Center said late Wednesday that Zeta had weakened to a tropical storm as it moved east over Mississippi and Alabama, though it was still producing life-threatening storm surge and maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.
As of 12 a.m. Thursday, Zeta was about 60 miles southwest of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the center said.
As Zeta made landfall in southeast Louisiana, NBC News meteorologist Bill Karins said the storm's maximum sustained winds were expected to reach 110 mph, or "just a hair below Major Category 3 strength."
Tree and structural damage could be extensive from southeastern Louisiana to central Alabama, while coastal Mississippi could be swamped by a storm surge of as much as 10 feet, he said.
"Many of these locations will be without power for days and well past election day in some cases," he said.
Earlier, Cantrell urged city residents to hunker down, telling them "it's coming fast, it's coming strong."
The city's transit authority suspended bus, ferry and streetcar service, and wary New Orleanians spent part of the day filling up sand bags and preparing to ride out the hurricane.
Recalling the steady march of powerful storms over Louisiana since August — Zeta will be the fourth after Marco, Laura and Delta — one longtime resident, Derick Dinatto, said they had become a way of life.
“I lived in New Orleans since ’72,” he said, “but we’ve never had anything like before.”
Another resident, Darlene Hunter, described being mentally drained by the persistent possibility of immediate evacuation.
“When is it gonna stop?” she said.
“I mean, when you wake up you don't know whether you're gonna wake up to a normal street or you're gonna wake up in a street full of water.”
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said that mandatory evacuations were ordered in some sections of three coastal parishes — Jefferson, Terrebonne and Lafourche.
While Zeta's storm surge wasn't expected to be as potentially destructive as the surge from earlier hurricanes, it could still reach eight feet in some coastal areas and five feet along Lake Pontchartrain, north of New Orleans, he said.
Philip Klotzbach, an atmospheric science researcher at Colorado State University, said that Zeta was the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the continental United States this late in the year since 1899, when another storm with 110 mph winds struck South Carolina.
Tim Fitzsimons reports on LGBTQ news for NBC Out.
Tim Stelloh is a reporter for NBC News based in California.
Morgan Chesky contributed.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hu ... s-n1245070
"Two dead after Zeta hammers New Orleans, roars toward Alabama - One person was electrocuted in Louisiana and hundreds of thousands are without power as the storm made its way toward Mississippi."
By Tim Fitzsimons and Tim Stelloh
Oct. 28, 2020, 8:24 AM EDT / Updated Oct. 29, 2020, 1:09 AM EDT
Two people are dead after Hurricane Zeta made landfall in southeastern Louisiana as a powerful Category 2 storm Wednesday afternoon before passing over New Orleans.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said the city had made it through the fast-moving hurricane.
But, she added, "We have been damaged."
"We have been hit."
One person was electrocuted in the Gert Town section of the city after touching a power line, the mayor told reporters Wednesday night.
It wasn't clear how much damage the city suffered, Cantrell said, but she urged residents not to clean up the mess themselves.
"Please leave it up to public safety officials," she said.
Police in Mississippi are blaming the storm for the death of a man who was found Wednesday in a Bioloxi marina.
The National Weather Service said that the eye of Zeta — which measured roughly 14 miles — began moving over New Orleans at 6:51 p.m. ET.
Video from the region showed Zeta's powerful winds ferrying a boat down an empty street and blasting a portable toilet through an empty lot.
Other clips showed decimated buildings and damaged power lines, toppled trees and a flooded casino.
In Jefferson Parish, which includes New Orleans, parish president Cynthia Lee Sheng said that nearly 167,000 customers — or 75 percent of the area — were without power.
A levee on the barrier island of Grand Isle had been breached in three places, she said, and a casino boat in the community of Lafitte had broken loose from a dry dock and ended up in the Barataria Bay Waterway.
"All should stay home and off the streets tonight, as there are multiple downed power lines and debris throughout the parish," she said.
Poweroutage.us, which tracks electrical outages across the United States, reported that nearly 500,000 customers in southeastern Louisiana were without power Wednesday night.
In southern Mississippi, another 116,000 homes and businesses had lost electricity, according to the site.
The National Hurricane Center said late Wednesday that Zeta had weakened to a tropical storm as it moved east over Mississippi and Alabama, though it was still producing life-threatening storm surge and maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.
As of 12 a.m. Thursday, Zeta was about 60 miles southwest of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the center said.
As Zeta made landfall in southeast Louisiana, NBC News meteorologist Bill Karins said the storm's maximum sustained winds were expected to reach 110 mph, or "just a hair below Major Category 3 strength."
Tree and structural damage could be extensive from southeastern Louisiana to central Alabama, while coastal Mississippi could be swamped by a storm surge of as much as 10 feet, he said.
"Many of these locations will be without power for days and well past election day in some cases," he said.
Earlier, Cantrell urged city residents to hunker down, telling them "it's coming fast, it's coming strong."
The city's transit authority suspended bus, ferry and streetcar service, and wary New Orleanians spent part of the day filling up sand bags and preparing to ride out the hurricane.
Recalling the steady march of powerful storms over Louisiana since August — Zeta will be the fourth after Marco, Laura and Delta — one longtime resident, Derick Dinatto, said they had become a way of life.
“I lived in New Orleans since ’72,” he said, “but we’ve never had anything like before.”
Another resident, Darlene Hunter, described being mentally drained by the persistent possibility of immediate evacuation.
“When is it gonna stop?” she said.
“I mean, when you wake up you don't know whether you're gonna wake up to a normal street or you're gonna wake up in a street full of water.”
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said that mandatory evacuations were ordered in some sections of three coastal parishes — Jefferson, Terrebonne and Lafourche.
While Zeta's storm surge wasn't expected to be as potentially destructive as the surge from earlier hurricanes, it could still reach eight feet in some coastal areas and five feet along Lake Pontchartrain, north of New Orleans, he said.
Philip Klotzbach, an atmospheric science researcher at Colorado State University, said that Zeta was the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the continental United States this late in the year since 1899, when another storm with 110 mph winds struck South Carolina.
Tim Fitzsimons reports on LGBTQ news for NBC Out.
Tim Stelloh is a reporter for NBC News based in California.
Morgan Chesky contributed.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hu ... s-n1245070
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
"Albany activists plan police reform forum near Sheehan's home"
Steve Hughes, Albany, New York Times Union
Oct. 27, 2020
Updated: Oct. 27, 2020 5:48 p.m.
ALBANY – Activists and residents who feel excluded from the city’s police reform process are planning a public forum in the Ten Broeck Triangle near Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s Arbor Hill home on Nov. 6.
The demonstration, which activists are calling a speak-out, is meant to be a community-based response to the city’s the Albany Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative, a 40-member group that was organized after Gov. Andrew Cuomo mandated that local governments develop police reform proposals or risk losing state funding.
The city’s process lacks the transparency and the inclusivity that activists are looking for, said Luke Grandis, an organizer with Vocal NY who helped put together the event, along with several other social justice groups.
Organizers are calling their event a forum, rather than a demonstration, in hope of avoiding a police presence in case anyone is uncomfortable speaking in front of officers.
“The speak-out is for anyone to speak on the issues,” he said.
“It’s rooted in making sure the community feels safe.”
The collaborative's meetings are held weekly and streamed via Zoom and Facebook.
But some city residents struggle with enough internet access or cell phone data to join them on a consistent basis, Grandis said.
Brian Shea, Sheehan’s director of operations, said the collaborative would welcome any information or recommendations from the forum.
“We want to cast as wide a net as possible,” he said.
The reinvention collaborative is now broken up into several working groups, which are examining issues like police operating procedures and restorative justice.
Part of those groups’ work over the next few months will involve greater community input, Shea said.
But two well-known organizations that have pushed police reform in the past, the Albany chapter of the NAACP and the Center for Law and Justice, are not a part of the collaborative.
Alice Green, the executive director of the Center for Law and Justice said she was not approached about being a part of the collaborative.
The center has decided that gives it the freedom to take on a more activist role, she said.
“We decided that we would do whatever we could to have some input,” she said.
“I don’t think there’s enough community representation."
"I think we would have certainly pushed to find more ways of including the voices of regular people.”
Green has sought police reforms in the city for decades and the center is often the place residents turn to when they feel they have been wronged by police officers.
With Sheehan’s support, Green and former chief Brendan Cox brought the law enforcement assisted diversion program to the city’s police department.
The program is meant to encourage police officers to direct low-level offenders, usually those engaged in drug use or minor disturbances, toward social services rather than jail.
Shea said a number of community groups were invited to be part of the collaborative and Sheehan’s office expects Green to have a role as a resource for the working groups in helping them shape their recommendations.
Another complaint that reformers and activists have levied is that the police department has representatives on each working group.
Their concern is that having a police presence in every group will stifle voices that want to describe their interactions with city police but don’t feel comfortable doing so in front of officers.
Grandis compared it to an abuse victim speaking about their experiences in front of an abuser.
The city wants to ensure it gets buy-in from the police department into the reforms that it ends up adopting, Shea said.
He added that the working groups would make accommodations to ensure that anyone who wanted to speak could do so safely.
Reformers are also pushing the Common Council to take up a package of bills that were introduced in June in the aftermath of two peaceful protests in the city that later devolved into violent confrontations between some protesters and police.
The three bills would require the police department to collect and publish more demographic data on residents they stop, require all officers in the department to wear body cameras while on duty and publish a report on when and why cameras were turned off, as well as strengthen to the city’s Community Police Review Board.
One of those reforms would give the board power to hire outside investigators to examine complaints against police officers.
Those bills will be discussed in a public safety committee meeting on Nov. 5, the night before the forum.
Steve is the Times Union's morning cop reporter. He's previously reported for papers in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Utica and Cortland. Originally from Syracuse, he's a 2010 graduate from SUNY Geneseo. Reach him at (518) 454-5438.
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article ... 09a3f12c1f
Steve Hughes, Albany, New York Times Union
Oct. 27, 2020
Updated: Oct. 27, 2020 5:48 p.m.
ALBANY – Activists and residents who feel excluded from the city’s police reform process are planning a public forum in the Ten Broeck Triangle near Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s Arbor Hill home on Nov. 6.
The demonstration, which activists are calling a speak-out, is meant to be a community-based response to the city’s the Albany Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative, a 40-member group that was organized after Gov. Andrew Cuomo mandated that local governments develop police reform proposals or risk losing state funding.
The city’s process lacks the transparency and the inclusivity that activists are looking for, said Luke Grandis, an organizer with Vocal NY who helped put together the event, along with several other social justice groups.
Organizers are calling their event a forum, rather than a demonstration, in hope of avoiding a police presence in case anyone is uncomfortable speaking in front of officers.
“The speak-out is for anyone to speak on the issues,” he said.
“It’s rooted in making sure the community feels safe.”
The collaborative's meetings are held weekly and streamed via Zoom and Facebook.
But some city residents struggle with enough internet access or cell phone data to join them on a consistent basis, Grandis said.
Brian Shea, Sheehan’s director of operations, said the collaborative would welcome any information or recommendations from the forum.
“We want to cast as wide a net as possible,” he said.
The reinvention collaborative is now broken up into several working groups, which are examining issues like police operating procedures and restorative justice.
Part of those groups’ work over the next few months will involve greater community input, Shea said.
But two well-known organizations that have pushed police reform in the past, the Albany chapter of the NAACP and the Center for Law and Justice, are not a part of the collaborative.
Alice Green, the executive director of the Center for Law and Justice said she was not approached about being a part of the collaborative.
The center has decided that gives it the freedom to take on a more activist role, she said.
“We decided that we would do whatever we could to have some input,” she said.
“I don’t think there’s enough community representation."
"I think we would have certainly pushed to find more ways of including the voices of regular people.”
Green has sought police reforms in the city for decades and the center is often the place residents turn to when they feel they have been wronged by police officers.
With Sheehan’s support, Green and former chief Brendan Cox brought the law enforcement assisted diversion program to the city’s police department.
The program is meant to encourage police officers to direct low-level offenders, usually those engaged in drug use or minor disturbances, toward social services rather than jail.
Shea said a number of community groups were invited to be part of the collaborative and Sheehan’s office expects Green to have a role as a resource for the working groups in helping them shape their recommendations.
Another complaint that reformers and activists have levied is that the police department has representatives on each working group.
Their concern is that having a police presence in every group will stifle voices that want to describe their interactions with city police but don’t feel comfortable doing so in front of officers.
Grandis compared it to an abuse victim speaking about their experiences in front of an abuser.
The city wants to ensure it gets buy-in from the police department into the reforms that it ends up adopting, Shea said.
He added that the working groups would make accommodations to ensure that anyone who wanted to speak could do so safely.
Reformers are also pushing the Common Council to take up a package of bills that were introduced in June in the aftermath of two peaceful protests in the city that later devolved into violent confrontations between some protesters and police.
The three bills would require the police department to collect and publish more demographic data on residents they stop, require all officers in the department to wear body cameras while on duty and publish a report on when and why cameras were turned off, as well as strengthen to the city’s Community Police Review Board.
One of those reforms would give the board power to hire outside investigators to examine complaints against police officers.
Those bills will be discussed in a public safety committee meeting on Nov. 5, the night before the forum.
Steve is the Times Union's morning cop reporter. He's previously reported for papers in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Utica and Cortland. Originally from Syracuse, he's a 2010 graduate from SUNY Geneseo. Reach him at (518) 454-5438.
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article ... 09a3f12c1f
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
Oilprice.com
"Oil Plunges To $35 As Lockdowns Return"
By Tsvetana Paraskova
Oct 29, 2020, 9:50 AM CDT
Oil prices extended their 5-percent slump from Wednesday into Thursday morning, plunging by another 5 percent, with WTI Crude sliding to $35 a barrel, as major economies in Europe renewed lockdowns to fight the second wave of the coronavirus.
As of 10:07 a.m. EDT on Thursday, WTI Crude was plunging by 5.27 percent at $35.11, and Brent Crude was plummeting by 4.98 percent at $36.89.
The U.S. benchmark slid to its lowest level since June, while the international crude benchmark Brent dropped below $37 a barrel to its lowest price since May this year.
The sell-off in oil intensified this week with market sentiment souring by the day since the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday a bigger build than expected in crude oil inventories of 4.577 million barrels for the week ending October 23.
The build was confirmed on Wednesday by the EIA, and oil prices dived 5 percent on concerns about oil demand with surging COVID-19 cases.
Brent prices had already slid below the $40 a barrel mark on Wednesday, and on Thursday, the rout extended with Brent prices slipping to $36 — the lowest level since the middle of May.
Oil market participants are concerned that the return of lockdowns in Europe will significantly weigh on economic recovery and fuel demand.
Two of the largest economies in Europe, Germany, and France, announced lockdowns, which the market was not expecting two or three weeks ago.
Industry professionals and executives did not believe that countries would resort again to nationwide lockdowns.
Yet, France did, and as of Friday, people will be allowed to go out only for shopping for essential items, for medical reasons, or for an hour-long exercise.
The measure will last until the end of November, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
Germany, the biggest economy in Europe, is also restoring a form of lockdown, although a partial one, for the month of November, restricting social gatherings and closing bars and restaurants except for takeaway.
Both crude benchmarks “slumped to the bottom of their respective ranges with surging virus cases in Europe and the U.S. as well as a bigger-than-expected jump in U.S. crude stockpiles taking its toll on the market."
"Adding to this an ongoing production surge from Libya, the market is likely to trade defensively ahead of Tuesday’s major risk event,” John Hardy, Head of FX Strategy at Saxo Bank, said early on Thursday.
“Brent support at $38.80/b and WTI at $37/b with the risk of a market rout should they give way,” Hardy noted.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-Gene ... eturn.html
"Oil Plunges To $35 As Lockdowns Return"
By Tsvetana Paraskova
Oct 29, 2020, 9:50 AM CDT
Oil prices extended their 5-percent slump from Wednesday into Thursday morning, plunging by another 5 percent, with WTI Crude sliding to $35 a barrel, as major economies in Europe renewed lockdowns to fight the second wave of the coronavirus.
As of 10:07 a.m. EDT on Thursday, WTI Crude was plunging by 5.27 percent at $35.11, and Brent Crude was plummeting by 4.98 percent at $36.89.
The U.S. benchmark slid to its lowest level since June, while the international crude benchmark Brent dropped below $37 a barrel to its lowest price since May this year.
The sell-off in oil intensified this week with market sentiment souring by the day since the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday a bigger build than expected in crude oil inventories of 4.577 million barrels for the week ending October 23.
The build was confirmed on Wednesday by the EIA, and oil prices dived 5 percent on concerns about oil demand with surging COVID-19 cases.
Brent prices had already slid below the $40 a barrel mark on Wednesday, and on Thursday, the rout extended with Brent prices slipping to $36 — the lowest level since the middle of May.
Oil market participants are concerned that the return of lockdowns in Europe will significantly weigh on economic recovery and fuel demand.
Two of the largest economies in Europe, Germany, and France, announced lockdowns, which the market was not expecting two or three weeks ago.
Industry professionals and executives did not believe that countries would resort again to nationwide lockdowns.
Yet, France did, and as of Friday, people will be allowed to go out only for shopping for essential items, for medical reasons, or for an hour-long exercise.
The measure will last until the end of November, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
Germany, the biggest economy in Europe, is also restoring a form of lockdown, although a partial one, for the month of November, restricting social gatherings and closing bars and restaurants except for takeaway.
Both crude benchmarks “slumped to the bottom of their respective ranges with surging virus cases in Europe and the U.S. as well as a bigger-than-expected jump in U.S. crude stockpiles taking its toll on the market."
"Adding to this an ongoing production surge from Libya, the market is likely to trade defensively ahead of Tuesday’s major risk event,” John Hardy, Head of FX Strategy at Saxo Bank, said early on Thursday.
“Brent support at $38.80/b and WTI at $37/b with the risk of a market rout should they give way,” Hardy noted.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-Gene ... eturn.html
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
CNBC
"Treasury yields jump after better-than-expected economic data"
Yun Li @YunLi626 Vicky McKeever @vmckeevercnbc
Published Thu, Oct 29 2020
Treasury yields climbed on Thursday after economic data pointed to a continuing recovery.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained 5 basis point to around 0.836%.
While the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond also rose a similar amount to 1.627%.
Yields move inversely to prices.
U.S. GDP for the third quarter bounced back at a record pace of 33.1%, better than the 32% estimate from economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
The rapid growth followed a 31.4% plunge in the second quarter.
“The record-shattering GDP numbers this morning, were a welcome light of good news in an otherwise dark week of Covid numbers spiking, Europe locking down again,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance.
Meanwhile, initial weekly U.S. jobless claims came in at 751,000 for the week ending Oct. 24, better than a Dow Jones estimate of 778,000.
The total marked its lowest level since March at the depth of the coronavirus pandemic.
Traders are also monitoring rising cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. and abroad.
Average daily Covid-19 cases in the U.S. set another all-time high on Wednesday, marking the fourth consecutive day the nation topped its prior day record.
Rising cases in Europe prompted German Chancellor Angela Merkel to implement a four-week shutdown of restaurants, bars and some other facilities and French President Emmanuel Macron imposed a new nationwide lockdown that goes into effect from Friday.
In addition, $30 billion worth of four-week bills go up for auction today, along with $35 billion of eight-week bills.
Another $53 billion in seven-year notes is also up for auction.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/29/us-bond ... ected.html
"Treasury yields jump after better-than-expected economic data"
Yun Li @YunLi626 Vicky McKeever @vmckeevercnbc
Published Thu, Oct 29 2020
Treasury yields climbed on Thursday after economic data pointed to a continuing recovery.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained 5 basis point to around 0.836%.
While the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond also rose a similar amount to 1.627%.
Yields move inversely to prices.
U.S. GDP for the third quarter bounced back at a record pace of 33.1%, better than the 32% estimate from economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
The rapid growth followed a 31.4% plunge in the second quarter.
“The record-shattering GDP numbers this morning, were a welcome light of good news in an otherwise dark week of Covid numbers spiking, Europe locking down again,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance.
Meanwhile, initial weekly U.S. jobless claims came in at 751,000 for the week ending Oct. 24, better than a Dow Jones estimate of 778,000.
The total marked its lowest level since March at the depth of the coronavirus pandemic.
Traders are also monitoring rising cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. and abroad.
Average daily Covid-19 cases in the U.S. set another all-time high on Wednesday, marking the fourth consecutive day the nation topped its prior day record.
Rising cases in Europe prompted German Chancellor Angela Merkel to implement a four-week shutdown of restaurants, bars and some other facilities and French President Emmanuel Macron imposed a new nationwide lockdown that goes into effect from Friday.
In addition, $30 billion worth of four-week bills go up for auction today, along with $35 billion of eight-week bills.
Another $53 billion in seven-year notes is also up for auction.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/29/us-bond ... ected.html
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
CNBC
"U.S. GDP booms at 33.1% rate in Q3, better than expected"
Jeff Cox @jeff.cox.7528 @JeffCoxCNBCcom
Published Thu, Oct 29 2020
Key Points
* U.S. GDP accelerated at a 33.1% annualized pace in the third quarter, the Commerce Department reported.
* That was better than the 32% estimate from a Dow Jones economist survey.
* A surge in business and residential investment along with stronger consumer activity helped the economy after its worst-ever quarter in Q2.
Coming off the worst quarter in history, the U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace ever in the third quarter as a nation battered by an unprecedented pandemic started to put itself back together, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
Third-quarter gross domestic product, a measure of the total goods and services produced in the July-to-September period, expanded at a 33.1% annualized pace, according to the department’s initial estimate for the period.
The gain came after a 31.4% plunge in the second quarter and was better than the 32% estimate from economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
The previous post-World War II record was the 16.7% burst in the first quarter of 1950.
Markets reacted positively to the news, with Wall Street erasing a loss at the open and turning mostly positive.
“It’s obviously good news that the economy bounced back in the third quarter,” said Eric Winograd, senior economist at AllianceBernstein.
“There’s still a lot of work to do here and the pace of improvement ... is going to slow."
"The stimulus programs that provided much of the economic lift last quarter have expired or are expiring."
"Fiscal support is diminishing."
"That is part of the reason that the pace of growth is going to slow from here.”
Increased consumption along with sold gains in business and residential investment as well as exports fueled the third-quarter rebound.
Decreases in government spending following the expiration of the CARES Act rescue funding subtracted from GDP.
The powerful growth pace came after states across the country shut down large swaths of activity in an effort to stem the spread of Covid-19, which the World Health Organization declared a pandemic on March 11.
Some 228,000 people have died in the U.S. from the virus, which has infected nearly 9 million in the country.
The economy has been in a technical recession since February, as first-quarter growth declined at a 5% pace.
While the news on Q3 was good for the $21.2 trillion economy, the U.S. faces a tougher road ahead as coronavirus cases increase and worries grow over the health and economic impacts.
Nearly half the 22 million jobs lost in March and April remain unfilled and the unemployment rate remains at 7.9%, more than double its pre-pandemic level as 12.6 million Americans are still out of work.
The GDP release came just five days before Election Day, which culminates a heated battle between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden.
Trump has promised a return to the strong growth prior to the pandemic, while Biden has accused the Republican incumbent of taking a thriving economy into a ditch due to mismanagement of the virus.
“This is going to be seized upon by both ends of the political spectrum as either evidence of the strength of the post-lockdown economic rebound or a cursory warning that the gains could be short-lived,” said James McCann, senior global economist at Aberdeen Standard Investments.
“The reality is that the GDP numbers demonstrate that the U.S. economy did indeed rebound strongly as lockdown measures were lifted.”
In a tweet, Trump noted the “Biggest and Best in the History of our Country” GDP number and said growth in 2021 will be “FANTASTIC!!!”
For his part, Biden noted that while the economy improved “visits to food banks haven’t slowed, and poverty has grown.”
Q3 growth came amid a resurgence in consumer activity, which accounts for 68% of GDP.
Though most of the country remained in a cautious reopening, shoppers began returning to stores and the bar and restaurant industry entered the first tepid phase of resuming business despite restrictions on capacity.
Personal consumption increased 40.7%, while gross private domestic investment surged 83% amid a 59.3% increase on the residential side.
While the headline number “looks spectacular,” it still leaves growth 3.5% beneath its level at the end of 2019, according to Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
Shepherdson expects the consumer and business investment rebound that led Q3 to “rise much less quickly” in the final three months of the year.
“Absent new stimulus, and with Covid infections spreading rapidly, we’re sticking to our 4% forecast for Q4 growth, though the margin of error here is large at this point,” he added.
Economic activity was strong in the real estate sector, and consumer and business executive surveys showed that confidence has remained high despite virus-related setbacks.
Personal income fell sharply for the quarter as transfer payments from coronavirus relief efforts dissipated.
Personal savings also declined but remained strong at a 15.8% rate, down from the record 25.7% in Q2.
The annualized measure represents how much GDP would grow over the course of a year at the current pace from the same level a year ago.
In terms of raw percent change from a year earlier, the economy contracted 9% in the second quarter and 2.9% in Q3.
Data also provided by Reuters
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/29/us-gdp- ... -2020.html
"U.S. GDP booms at 33.1% rate in Q3, better than expected"
Jeff Cox @jeff.cox.7528 @JeffCoxCNBCcom
Published Thu, Oct 29 2020
Key Points
* U.S. GDP accelerated at a 33.1% annualized pace in the third quarter, the Commerce Department reported.
* That was better than the 32% estimate from a Dow Jones economist survey.
* A surge in business and residential investment along with stronger consumer activity helped the economy after its worst-ever quarter in Q2.
Coming off the worst quarter in history, the U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace ever in the third quarter as a nation battered by an unprecedented pandemic started to put itself back together, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
Third-quarter gross domestic product, a measure of the total goods and services produced in the July-to-September period, expanded at a 33.1% annualized pace, according to the department’s initial estimate for the period.
The gain came after a 31.4% plunge in the second quarter and was better than the 32% estimate from economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
The previous post-World War II record was the 16.7% burst in the first quarter of 1950.
Markets reacted positively to the news, with Wall Street erasing a loss at the open and turning mostly positive.
“It’s obviously good news that the economy bounced back in the third quarter,” said Eric Winograd, senior economist at AllianceBernstein.
“There’s still a lot of work to do here and the pace of improvement ... is going to slow."
"The stimulus programs that provided much of the economic lift last quarter have expired or are expiring."
"Fiscal support is diminishing."
"That is part of the reason that the pace of growth is going to slow from here.”
Increased consumption along with sold gains in business and residential investment as well as exports fueled the third-quarter rebound.
Decreases in government spending following the expiration of the CARES Act rescue funding subtracted from GDP.
The powerful growth pace came after states across the country shut down large swaths of activity in an effort to stem the spread of Covid-19, which the World Health Organization declared a pandemic on March 11.
Some 228,000 people have died in the U.S. from the virus, which has infected nearly 9 million in the country.
The economy has been in a technical recession since February, as first-quarter growth declined at a 5% pace.
While the news on Q3 was good for the $21.2 trillion economy, the U.S. faces a tougher road ahead as coronavirus cases increase and worries grow over the health and economic impacts.
Nearly half the 22 million jobs lost in March and April remain unfilled and the unemployment rate remains at 7.9%, more than double its pre-pandemic level as 12.6 million Americans are still out of work.
The GDP release came just five days before Election Day, which culminates a heated battle between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden.
Trump has promised a return to the strong growth prior to the pandemic, while Biden has accused the Republican incumbent of taking a thriving economy into a ditch due to mismanagement of the virus.
“This is going to be seized upon by both ends of the political spectrum as either evidence of the strength of the post-lockdown economic rebound or a cursory warning that the gains could be short-lived,” said James McCann, senior global economist at Aberdeen Standard Investments.
“The reality is that the GDP numbers demonstrate that the U.S. economy did indeed rebound strongly as lockdown measures were lifted.”
In a tweet, Trump noted the “Biggest and Best in the History of our Country” GDP number and said growth in 2021 will be “FANTASTIC!!!”
For his part, Biden noted that while the economy improved “visits to food banks haven’t slowed, and poverty has grown.”
Q3 growth came amid a resurgence in consumer activity, which accounts for 68% of GDP.
Though most of the country remained in a cautious reopening, shoppers began returning to stores and the bar and restaurant industry entered the first tepid phase of resuming business despite restrictions on capacity.
Personal consumption increased 40.7%, while gross private domestic investment surged 83% amid a 59.3% increase on the residential side.
While the headline number “looks spectacular,” it still leaves growth 3.5% beneath its level at the end of 2019, according to Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
Shepherdson expects the consumer and business investment rebound that led Q3 to “rise much less quickly” in the final three months of the year.
“Absent new stimulus, and with Covid infections spreading rapidly, we’re sticking to our 4% forecast for Q4 growth, though the margin of error here is large at this point,” he added.
Economic activity was strong in the real estate sector, and consumer and business executive surveys showed that confidence has remained high despite virus-related setbacks.
Personal income fell sharply for the quarter as transfer payments from coronavirus relief efforts dissipated.
Personal savings also declined but remained strong at a 15.8% rate, down from the record 25.7% in Q2.
The annualized measure represents how much GDP would grow over the course of a year at the current pace from the same level a year ago.
In terms of raw percent change from a year earlier, the economy contracted 9% in the second quarter and 2.9% in Q3.
Data also provided by Reuters
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/29/us-gdp- ... -2020.html