RIGZONE
"Oil Prices Finish Higher as OPEC+ Yield Leeway for Modifications"
by Bloomberg|Julia Fanzeres and Alex Longley
Thursday, December 02, 2021
Oil emerged higher from a volatile morning after OPEC and its partners left themselves room to quickly adjust output plans if the pandemic drastically changes the market.
West Texas Intermediate was about 1% higher after earlier falling as much as 4.8% on Thursday.
Futures recovered from their steep plunge after the group said it was keeping its meeting open to adjust plans on short notice if necessary.
It’s an unusual step that underscores the uncertain outlook amid a resurgent pandemic.
Traders had widely expected OPEC+ to defer the 400,000 barrel a day supply increase with concern growing that the omicron coronavirus variant will hurt demand.
Prices have plunged into a bear market in recent days, and as the group met, Germany announced strict coronavirus curbs, underscoring the risk to demand.
“The genius move was keeping this meeting open,” Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at consultant Energy Aspects Ltd. said in a Bloomberg Television interview.
“You will not be brave enough to sell against that.”
Oil has dropped more than 20% since late October on a White House-led coordinated reserves release and, more recently, the new virus variant.
An increasingly hawkish tone from the Federal Reserve is also weighing on the growth outlook for the U.S. economy.
A major, as yet unanswered, question is whether existing virus drugs will work against omicron.
Still, there are those who think oil’s drop has been overdone.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said prices have “far overshot” the impact of omicron.
Bank of America Corp. said it was sticking to its $85-a-barrel forecast in 2022, with possible surges past $100 if air travel rebounds.
The recent selloff in prices has stretched all the way along the futures curve.
The key Dec.-Red-Dec. spread, a gauge used by traders to bet on the health of the market, is at its weakest since February.
Options markets have been roiled too, with volatility soaring to its highest since May last year.
Prices
WTI for January delivery rose 43 cents to $66 a barrel as of 1:06 p.m. in New York.
Brent for February settlement rose 30 cents to $69.17 a barrel.
As OPEC+ gathers, there are continued negotiations around the revival of the Iran nuclear deal.
Officials from the country presented proposals for the process of sanctions removal, local media said, though there remains little sign of an imminent deal to return supply to the market.
The U.S., meanwhile, is sticking to its guns on the reserves sale.
There are no plans to change the timing or amount of the announced release of 50 million barrels, the Energy Department said in a statement.
(With assistance from Javier Blas)
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/oil_p ... 5-article/
THE DAILY NEWS
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
CNBC
"U.S. 10-year Treasury yield steady near 1.45% amid persistent omicron variant fears"
Maggie Fitzgerald @MKMFITZGERALD Vicky McKeever @VMCKEEVERCNBC
PUBLISHED THU, DEC 2 2021
U.S. Treasury yields were steady on Thursday, amid continued fears around the omicron Covid-19 variant.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note ticked 1 basis point higher to 1.448% at around 4:00 p.m. ET, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond moved 1 basis point lower, slipping to 1.77%.
Yields move inversely to prices.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Wednesday that the omicron variant had made its way into the U.S., with the first confirmed case found in California.
A second case was reported in Minnesota on Thursday.
The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that 23 countries had identified cases of the highly mutated omicron variant.
That number is expected to grow.
Investors are also preoccupied by the possibility of the Federal Reserve tapering its asset purchasing program at a faster-than-expected pace.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell told U.S. House members on Wednesday that the “economy is very strong and inflationary pressures are higher, and it is therefore appropriate in my view to consider wrapping up the taper of our asset purchases, which we actually announced at the November meeting, perhaps a few months sooner.”
Cole Smead, president and portfolio manager at Smead Capital Management, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Thursday that this more hawkish tone on monetary policy represented a “mea culpa.”
“What Jay Powell is saying is ’I was wrong,” he said, adding that it is not yet fully understood what this change in tone means for Fed policy and the value of assets.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose last week but held at levels consistent with how the job market looked before the Covid-19 pandemic devastated the U.S. jobs picture, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
First-time filings for the week ended Nov. 27 totaled 222,000, less than the 240,000 Wall Street expected.
That was higher than the 194,000 from the previous week, but that total, the lowest since 1969, was revised even lower from the initial 199,000 reported.
Auctions are slated to be held on Thursday for $10 billion of 4-week bills and $25 billion of 8-week bills.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/02/us-bond ... rsist.html
"U.S. 10-year Treasury yield steady near 1.45% amid persistent omicron variant fears"
Maggie Fitzgerald @MKMFITZGERALD Vicky McKeever @VMCKEEVERCNBC
PUBLISHED THU, DEC 2 2021
U.S. Treasury yields were steady on Thursday, amid continued fears around the omicron Covid-19 variant.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note ticked 1 basis point higher to 1.448% at around 4:00 p.m. ET, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond moved 1 basis point lower, slipping to 1.77%.
Yields move inversely to prices.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Wednesday that the omicron variant had made its way into the U.S., with the first confirmed case found in California.
A second case was reported in Minnesota on Thursday.
The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that 23 countries had identified cases of the highly mutated omicron variant.
That number is expected to grow.
Investors are also preoccupied by the possibility of the Federal Reserve tapering its asset purchasing program at a faster-than-expected pace.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell told U.S. House members on Wednesday that the “economy is very strong and inflationary pressures are higher, and it is therefore appropriate in my view to consider wrapping up the taper of our asset purchases, which we actually announced at the November meeting, perhaps a few months sooner.”
Cole Smead, president and portfolio manager at Smead Capital Management, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Thursday that this more hawkish tone on monetary policy represented a “mea culpa.”
“What Jay Powell is saying is ’I was wrong,” he said, adding that it is not yet fully understood what this change in tone means for Fed policy and the value of assets.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose last week but held at levels consistent with how the job market looked before the Covid-19 pandemic devastated the U.S. jobs picture, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
First-time filings for the week ended Nov. 27 totaled 222,000, less than the 240,000 Wall Street expected.
That was higher than the 194,000 from the previous week, but that total, the lowest since 1969, was revised even lower from the initial 199,000 reported.
Auctions are slated to be held on Thursday for $10 billion of 4-week bills and $25 billion of 8-week bills.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/02/us-bond ... rsist.html
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
REUTERS
"Risk-on sentiment, Fed taper talk lift yields"
By Karen Pierog
December 2, 2021
CHICAGO, Dec 2 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields rose on Thursday as investors returned to riskier assets and Federal Reserve officials talked up a quicker end to the central bank's bond purchases.
The benchmark 10-year yield , which had fallen to a session low of 1.409%, was last less than a basis point higher at 1.4375%.
Yields move inversely to prices.
The 30-year yield was last 2.8 basis points lower at 1.7499%.
Earlier in the session, it tumbled to its lowest level since January at 1.737%, benefiting from flight-to-quality trade sparked by concerns about the impact of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.
The two-year yield rose to a one-week high of 0.63%.
It was last up 5.8 basis points at 0.6206%.
Jim Vogel, interest rate strategist at FHN Financial in Memphis, Tennessee, pointed to the rally on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 rose about 1.4%.
"You've got a little bit of a movement back into risk assets, but more importantly you have Fed speakers on the tape reinforcing the faster taper message," he said.
"Everyone in the market is reading tea leaves that a faster taper improves the odds, if not guarantees the odds, that we're going to see a first-half hike based on what we know now," Vogel added.
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic told the Reuters Next conference on Thursday it would be appropriate to conclude the tapering of the central bank's bond-buying program by the end of March.
He also said if inflation continues to run as high as 4% through next year, that would present a good case for pulling forward interest rate hikes.
At another event, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said it might be time to start crafting a plan for raising interest rates to address above-target inflation.
A rates outlook released by BofA Global Research on Thursday pegged the 10-year yield at 1.75% in 2022's first quarter, rising to 2% in the fourth quarter.
Investors also returned to risky U.S. corporate junk bonds, which on Tuesday ended their worst month since the onset of the pandemic.
The iShares iBoxx High-Yield Corporate Bond exchange-traded fund (HYG.P) clawed back some losses from Wednesday's fall to $85.32, its lowest level since November 2020.
It closed Thursday up about 0.7% at $86.
Meanwhile, some Treasury bills due this month were trading at elevated yields on fears the U.S. government could run out of money in as soon as two weeks.
On Friday, all eyes will be on the U.S. government's employment report.
According to a Reuters survey of economists, non-farm payrolls probably increased by 550,000 jobs in November after rising 531,000 in October.
The unemployment rate is forecast dipping to 4.5% from 4.6% in October.
Ahead of the data, the ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday showed private payrolls increased by 534,000 last month, while the Labor Department reported on Thursday that initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 28,000 to a seasonally adjusted 222,000 for the week ended Nov. 27.
"With the ADP number, the claims number, the employment story seems to be intact and pretty solid, so (the jobs report) would have to be something that either is aggressively stronger or weaker to derail that narrative," said Tony Rodriguez, head of fixed income strategy at Nuveen.
Yield curves flattened with the closely watched gap between two-year and 10-year note yields at its narrowest in 11 months.
It was last down 2.8 basis points at 82.10 basis points.
The five-year note and 30-year bond yield curve was last 5.5 basis points flatter at 54.80 basis points.
The U.S. Treasury on Thursday announced auctions next week for $54 billion of three-year notes, $36 billion of 10-year notes, and $22 billion of 30-year bonds.
Reporting by Karen Pierog, Tom Westbrook and Yoruk Bahceli; Editing by Devika Syamnath, Angus MacSwan, Susan Fenton, Dan Grebler and Richard Chang
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/omic ... 021-12-02/
"Risk-on sentiment, Fed taper talk lift yields"
By Karen Pierog
December 2, 2021
CHICAGO, Dec 2 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields rose on Thursday as investors returned to riskier assets and Federal Reserve officials talked up a quicker end to the central bank's bond purchases.
The benchmark 10-year yield , which had fallen to a session low of 1.409%, was last less than a basis point higher at 1.4375%.
Yields move inversely to prices.
The 30-year yield was last 2.8 basis points lower at 1.7499%.
Earlier in the session, it tumbled to its lowest level since January at 1.737%, benefiting from flight-to-quality trade sparked by concerns about the impact of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.
The two-year yield rose to a one-week high of 0.63%.
It was last up 5.8 basis points at 0.6206%.
Jim Vogel, interest rate strategist at FHN Financial in Memphis, Tennessee, pointed to the rally on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 rose about 1.4%.
"You've got a little bit of a movement back into risk assets, but more importantly you have Fed speakers on the tape reinforcing the faster taper message," he said.
"Everyone in the market is reading tea leaves that a faster taper improves the odds, if not guarantees the odds, that we're going to see a first-half hike based on what we know now," Vogel added.
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic told the Reuters Next conference on Thursday it would be appropriate to conclude the tapering of the central bank's bond-buying program by the end of March.
He also said if inflation continues to run as high as 4% through next year, that would present a good case for pulling forward interest rate hikes.
At another event, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said it might be time to start crafting a plan for raising interest rates to address above-target inflation.
A rates outlook released by BofA Global Research on Thursday pegged the 10-year yield at 1.75% in 2022's first quarter, rising to 2% in the fourth quarter.
Investors also returned to risky U.S. corporate junk bonds, which on Tuesday ended their worst month since the onset of the pandemic.
The iShares iBoxx High-Yield Corporate Bond exchange-traded fund (HYG.P) clawed back some losses from Wednesday's fall to $85.32, its lowest level since November 2020.
It closed Thursday up about 0.7% at $86.
Meanwhile, some Treasury bills due this month were trading at elevated yields on fears the U.S. government could run out of money in as soon as two weeks.
On Friday, all eyes will be on the U.S. government's employment report.
According to a Reuters survey of economists, non-farm payrolls probably increased by 550,000 jobs in November after rising 531,000 in October.
The unemployment rate is forecast dipping to 4.5% from 4.6% in October.
Ahead of the data, the ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday showed private payrolls increased by 534,000 last month, while the Labor Department reported on Thursday that initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 28,000 to a seasonally adjusted 222,000 for the week ended Nov. 27.
"With the ADP number, the claims number, the employment story seems to be intact and pretty solid, so (the jobs report) would have to be something that either is aggressively stronger or weaker to derail that narrative," said Tony Rodriguez, head of fixed income strategy at Nuveen.
Yield curves flattened with the closely watched gap between two-year and 10-year note yields at its narrowest in 11 months.
It was last down 2.8 basis points at 82.10 basis points.
The five-year note and 30-year bond yield curve was last 5.5 basis points flatter at 54.80 basis points.
The U.S. Treasury on Thursday announced auctions next week for $54 billion of three-year notes, $36 billion of 10-year notes, and $22 billion of 30-year bonds.
Reporting by Karen Pierog, Tom Westbrook and Yoruk Bahceli; Editing by Devika Syamnath, Angus MacSwan, Susan Fenton, Dan Grebler and Richard Chang
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/omic ... 021-12-02/
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
REUTERS
"Fed's Daly says officials may need to start crafting plan for rate increase"
Reuters
December 2, 2021
Dec 2 (Reuters) - As Federal Reserve officials always need to be prepared for various economic scenarios and it might be time to start crafting a plan for raising interest rates to address above target inflation, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said on Thursday.
Fed officials might need to start dialing down some of the extra accommodation they're "giving to the economy and start crafting a plan to, at least, you know, think about raising the interest rate," Daly said during a virtual event organized by the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Reporting by Jonnelle Marte
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/feds ... 021-12-02/
"Fed's Daly says officials may need to start crafting plan for rate increase"
Reuters
December 2, 2021
Dec 2 (Reuters) - As Federal Reserve officials always need to be prepared for various economic scenarios and it might be time to start crafting a plan for raising interest rates to address above target inflation, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said on Thursday.
Fed officials might need to start dialing down some of the extra accommodation they're "giving to the economy and start crafting a plan to, at least, you know, think about raising the interest rate," Daly said during a virtual event organized by the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Reporting by Jonnelle Marte
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/feds ... 021-12-02/
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
REUTERS
"Unfazed by Omicron, Fed policymakers show greater consensus for faster taper"
By Ann Saphir and Lindsay Dunsmuir, Jonnelle Marte
December 2, 2021
Dec 2 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve policymakers on Thursday sounded sanguine about the economic impact of the latest COVID-19 variant, but flagged rising inflation in remarks that suggested growing consensus for an earlier end to bond buys and, perhaps, earlier interest rate hikes next year.
Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic told the Reuters Next conference on Thursday it would be appropriate to end the central bank's bond-buying program by the end of March to allow the Fed to raise rates to deal with inflation.
The Fed, which began tapering its bond-buying last month at a pace that would end the program by June, is set to consider compressing that timeline when policymakers meet on Dec. 14 and 15.
With robust growth, an improving job market and inflation more than twice the Fed's 2% target, "I think having this finished some time before the end of the first quarter would be in our interest," Bostic said.
And if inflation continues as high as 4% through next year, as some forecasters project, "there’s going to be a good case to be made that we should be pulling forward more interest rate increases and perhaps even do more than the one I’ve penciled in."
Only half of Fed policymakers in September thought the Fed should start raising rates next year, with the rest expecting the first rate hike in 2023.
Since then, several appear to have moved their rate hike expectations earlier.
After this week's hawkish Fed commentary, rate futures traders now see the first Fed rate hike in May.
Though the new Omicron variant's severity and transmissibility will determine how afraid people are, Bostic said each successive wave of COVID-19 has led to milder economic slowdowns.
If that holds, the economy will continue to grow through it, he said.
Bostic is hardly the Fed's lone hawkish voice.
Earlier this week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he wants a faster taper timeline on the table at this month's meeting.
Bostic said he doesn't see "tension" between the Fed's two goals of price stability and full employment at the moment.
Once the Fed does start raising rates, he said, it will likely do so at a "slow and steady" pace.
Though if inflation does not recede as expected over the next year or two, it may need to "take more strident steps" to rein it in, he said.
But other Fed policymakers appear increasingly worried they may need to put the brakes on growth before the labor market has fully healed and millions of unemployed Americans find jobs.
“If we didn't have higher inflation readings, you might let the economy go a little bit more to see if we can get through COVID and have those individuals come back,” said San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, who as recently as last month was calling for "patience" in the face of high inflation.
“Right now, we're dealing with inflation that's above our target and inconsistent in its current readings with our longer run views on price stability,” Daly said during a virtual event held by the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
“We have to deal with that.”
Speaking alongside Daly at the Peterson event, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said it is important for the Fed to keep long-run inflation expectations anchored.
"I do take seriously actual inflation and its impact, and that's why I'm supportive of normalizing policy as we're doing," he said.
HAWKISH STANCE
Fed Governor Randal Quarles, in his final public appearance before leaving his post this month, took an even more hawkish stance.
He said at an American Enterprise Institute event he believes "sustained higher demand" is stoking inflation and the Fed should "constrain that demand" to allow supply chains to catch up.
Given strength of economic data, "I certainly would be supportive of moving the end of the taper forward," he said.
If inflation is still over 4% by next spring, the Fed would have to consider rate hikes, he said.
The Omicron variant could prolong some of the supply chain challenges.
"On the supply side, it means the inflationary pressures will probably persist even longer," Kristin Forbes, an economics professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management, told the Reuters Next conference.
Reporting by Ann Saphir, Lindsay Dunsmuir and Dan Burns; Editing by Chizu Nomyama and Cynthia Osterman
https://www.reuters.com/business/financ ... 021-12-02/
"Unfazed by Omicron, Fed policymakers show greater consensus for faster taper"
By Ann Saphir and Lindsay Dunsmuir, Jonnelle Marte
December 2, 2021
Dec 2 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve policymakers on Thursday sounded sanguine about the economic impact of the latest COVID-19 variant, but flagged rising inflation in remarks that suggested growing consensus for an earlier end to bond buys and, perhaps, earlier interest rate hikes next year.
Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic told the Reuters Next conference on Thursday it would be appropriate to end the central bank's bond-buying program by the end of March to allow the Fed to raise rates to deal with inflation.
The Fed, which began tapering its bond-buying last month at a pace that would end the program by June, is set to consider compressing that timeline when policymakers meet on Dec. 14 and 15.
With robust growth, an improving job market and inflation more than twice the Fed's 2% target, "I think having this finished some time before the end of the first quarter would be in our interest," Bostic said.
And if inflation continues as high as 4% through next year, as some forecasters project, "there’s going to be a good case to be made that we should be pulling forward more interest rate increases and perhaps even do more than the one I’ve penciled in."
Only half of Fed policymakers in September thought the Fed should start raising rates next year, with the rest expecting the first rate hike in 2023.
Since then, several appear to have moved their rate hike expectations earlier.
After this week's hawkish Fed commentary, rate futures traders now see the first Fed rate hike in May.
Though the new Omicron variant's severity and transmissibility will determine how afraid people are, Bostic said each successive wave of COVID-19 has led to milder economic slowdowns.
If that holds, the economy will continue to grow through it, he said.
Bostic is hardly the Fed's lone hawkish voice.
Earlier this week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he wants a faster taper timeline on the table at this month's meeting.
Bostic said he doesn't see "tension" between the Fed's two goals of price stability and full employment at the moment.
Once the Fed does start raising rates, he said, it will likely do so at a "slow and steady" pace.
Though if inflation does not recede as expected over the next year or two, it may need to "take more strident steps" to rein it in, he said.
But other Fed policymakers appear increasingly worried they may need to put the brakes on growth before the labor market has fully healed and millions of unemployed Americans find jobs.
“If we didn't have higher inflation readings, you might let the economy go a little bit more to see if we can get through COVID and have those individuals come back,” said San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, who as recently as last month was calling for "patience" in the face of high inflation.
“Right now, we're dealing with inflation that's above our target and inconsistent in its current readings with our longer run views on price stability,” Daly said during a virtual event held by the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
“We have to deal with that.”
Speaking alongside Daly at the Peterson event, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said it is important for the Fed to keep long-run inflation expectations anchored.
"I do take seriously actual inflation and its impact, and that's why I'm supportive of normalizing policy as we're doing," he said.
HAWKISH STANCE
Fed Governor Randal Quarles, in his final public appearance before leaving his post this month, took an even more hawkish stance.
He said at an American Enterprise Institute event he believes "sustained higher demand" is stoking inflation and the Fed should "constrain that demand" to allow supply chains to catch up.
Given strength of economic data, "I certainly would be supportive of moving the end of the taper forward," he said.
If inflation is still over 4% by next spring, the Fed would have to consider rate hikes, he said.
The Omicron variant could prolong some of the supply chain challenges.
"On the supply side, it means the inflationary pressures will probably persist even longer," Kristin Forbes, an economics professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management, told the Reuters Next conference.
Reporting by Ann Saphir, Lindsay Dunsmuir and Dan Burns; Editing by Chizu Nomyama and Cynthia Osterman
https://www.reuters.com/business/financ ... 021-12-02/
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
REUTERS
"Wall Street ends higher in robust rebound from Omicron-driven rout"
By Stephen Culp
December 2, 2021
Summary
* Boeing jumps on progress towards China approval of 737 MAX
* U.S. President Biden steps up measures to battle Omicron variant
* Indexes up: Dow 1.82%, S&P 1.42%, Nasdaq 0.83%
NEW YORK, Dec 2 (Reuters) - A broad rally sent Wall Street to a sharply higher close on Thursday, recovering ground lost over recent sessions as market participants snapped up bargains while digesting the implications of a shifting pandemic.
All three U.S. indexes advanced, with investors favoring value over growth, and economically sensitive smallcaps and transports outperforming the broader market.
Of the three, the Dow gained the most, notching its highest one-day percentage gain since March 5, with Boeing Co providing the biggest lift to the blue-chip industrial average.
"We went 29 days in a row in the S&P 500 without a 1% change, up or down, but boom - Omicron hits and five days we’ve had this blast of volatility," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"After the worst two-day drop in more than a year, we’re finally seeing a bit of a bounce," Detrick added.
"Buyers are starting to nibble after the recent weakness and pushed stocks higher, but the uncertainty of Omicron is still out there."
As world governments scramble to determine how to respond to the emergent COVID-19 Omicron variant, the United States is set to require private health insurance companies to provide at-home tests, a policy expected to go into effect on Jan. 15.
The Omicron variant has spooked markets for about a week, hitting travel-related stocks particularly hard as a patchwork of new restrictions were enacted around the globe, but those companies were bouncing back in Thursday's session.
The S&P 1500 Airlines and Hotel and Restaurants indexes jumped 7.5% and 3.8%, respectively.
It was the S&P 1500 Airlines index's best one-day performance since Nov. 9, 2020, when Pfizer Inc announced the vaccine it developed with BioNTech was more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 infection.
Jobless claims and planned layoffs data provided further evidence that employers are increasingly disinclined to hand out pink slips amid a tight labor market, the result of booming demand colliding with worker scarcity and low labor market participation.
Labor scarcity, combined with stubbornly persistent supply chain constraints, has helped erase the word "transitory" from the Federal Reserve's inflation vocabulary as wages and prices continue to rise, and could very well translate into rate hikes coming sooner and faster than many had hoped.
Market participants now train their gaze on the Labor Department's hotly anticipated November employment report, expected on Friday.
"We're optimistic we’ll have another strong number, suggesting the economy continues to be on very firm footing," Detrick added.
"We’re watching wage growth for any hints of potential inflationary worries."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 617.75 points, or 1.82%, to 34,639.79, the S&P 500 gained 64.06 points, or 1.42%, to 4,577.1 and the Nasdaq Composite added 127.27 points, or 0.83%, to 15,381.32.
All 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 closed in positive territory, with industrials, energy and financials enjoying the biggest percentage gains.
Boeing shares had their best day since Feb. 24, jumping 7.5% after China's aviation authority gave its seal of approval the planemaker's 737 MAX aircraft.
Grocery retailer Kroger Co raised its full-year sales and profit forecasts, sending its stock bounding 11% higher.
Consumer credit companies Visa Inc, Mastercard Inc and American Express Co all advanced more than 4%.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.49-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.79-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted four new 52-week highs and 12 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 15 new highs and 559 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 12.85 billion shares, compared with the 11.40 billion average over the last 20 trading days.
Reporting by Stephen Culp; additional reporting by Devik Jain and Anisha Sircar in Bengaluru; Editing by Marguerita Choy
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ ... 021-12-02/
"Wall Street ends higher in robust rebound from Omicron-driven rout"
By Stephen Culp
December 2, 2021
Summary
* Boeing jumps on progress towards China approval of 737 MAX
* U.S. President Biden steps up measures to battle Omicron variant
* Indexes up: Dow 1.82%, S&P 1.42%, Nasdaq 0.83%
NEW YORK, Dec 2 (Reuters) - A broad rally sent Wall Street to a sharply higher close on Thursday, recovering ground lost over recent sessions as market participants snapped up bargains while digesting the implications of a shifting pandemic.
All three U.S. indexes advanced, with investors favoring value over growth, and economically sensitive smallcaps and transports outperforming the broader market.
Of the three, the Dow gained the most, notching its highest one-day percentage gain since March 5, with Boeing Co providing the biggest lift to the blue-chip industrial average.
"We went 29 days in a row in the S&P 500 without a 1% change, up or down, but boom - Omicron hits and five days we’ve had this blast of volatility," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"After the worst two-day drop in more than a year, we’re finally seeing a bit of a bounce," Detrick added.
"Buyers are starting to nibble after the recent weakness and pushed stocks higher, but the uncertainty of Omicron is still out there."
As world governments scramble to determine how to respond to the emergent COVID-19 Omicron variant, the United States is set to require private health insurance companies to provide at-home tests, a policy expected to go into effect on Jan. 15.
The Omicron variant has spooked markets for about a week, hitting travel-related stocks particularly hard as a patchwork of new restrictions were enacted around the globe, but those companies were bouncing back in Thursday's session.
The S&P 1500 Airlines and Hotel and Restaurants indexes jumped 7.5% and 3.8%, respectively.
It was the S&P 1500 Airlines index's best one-day performance since Nov. 9, 2020, when Pfizer Inc announced the vaccine it developed with BioNTech was more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 infection.
Jobless claims and planned layoffs data provided further evidence that employers are increasingly disinclined to hand out pink slips amid a tight labor market, the result of booming demand colliding with worker scarcity and low labor market participation.
Labor scarcity, combined with stubbornly persistent supply chain constraints, has helped erase the word "transitory" from the Federal Reserve's inflation vocabulary as wages and prices continue to rise, and could very well translate into rate hikes coming sooner and faster than many had hoped.
Market participants now train their gaze on the Labor Department's hotly anticipated November employment report, expected on Friday.
"We're optimistic we’ll have another strong number, suggesting the economy continues to be on very firm footing," Detrick added.
"We’re watching wage growth for any hints of potential inflationary worries."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 617.75 points, or 1.82%, to 34,639.79, the S&P 500 gained 64.06 points, or 1.42%, to 4,577.1 and the Nasdaq Composite added 127.27 points, or 0.83%, to 15,381.32.
All 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 closed in positive territory, with industrials, energy and financials enjoying the biggest percentage gains.
Boeing shares had their best day since Feb. 24, jumping 7.5% after China's aviation authority gave its seal of approval the planemaker's 737 MAX aircraft.
Grocery retailer Kroger Co raised its full-year sales and profit forecasts, sending its stock bounding 11% higher.
Consumer credit companies Visa Inc, Mastercard Inc and American Express Co all advanced more than 4%.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.49-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.79-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted four new 52-week highs and 12 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 15 new highs and 559 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 12.85 billion shares, compared with the 11.40 billion average over the last 20 trading days.
Reporting by Stephen Culp; additional reporting by Devik Jain and Anisha Sircar in Bengaluru; Editing by Marguerita Choy
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ ... 021-12-02/
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
"Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin arraigned in state probe - Politician faces felonies over the alleged misuse of campaign funds"
Kenneth C. Crowe II, Brendan J. Lyons
Dec. 1, 2021
Updated: Dec. 1, 2021 7:29 p.m.
TROY — Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin stands accused of misusing campaign funds and falsifying campaign finance filings after a judge on Wednesday unsealed an indictment emerging from a long-running investigation by the state attorney general's office and the FBI.
McLaughlin, a Republican, was indicted on two felony counts, grand larceny and offering a false instrument for filing.
The state attorney general's probe began as an investigation of his 2017 campaign for county executive and also examined his financial dealings when he was a member of the state Assembly.
McLaughlin allegedly stole $5,000 in funds from his campaign account on Nov. 21, 2017 — just weeks after winning election to his county post — and then falsely reported the expense in campaign documents filed with the state Board of Elections.
According to the charges, McLaughlin wrote a check from his campaign account to Hudson Valley Strategies, a consulting firm owned and operated by his closest confidant, Richard W. Crist, who is the county's director of operations.
Crist allegedly deposited the check in his firm's bank account and then drafted a new check — for $3,500 — that he brought to McLaughlin's former campaign treasurer, Jennifer R. Polaro, who had previously worked as McLaughlin's chief of staff in the state Assembly. .
Crist, according to the indictment, delivered the payment to Polaro at a State Police barracks in Sand Lake.
At the time, Polaro and McLaughlin had recently had a falling out; she claimed that he owed her money as well as a laptop and iPad that she had loaned to him.
Polaro had gone to the barracks, in part, because McLaughlin had accused her of harassing him, and she had countered that he owed her money.
A trooper, apparently unaware of the origin of the funds, facilitated the exchange between Polaro and Crist.
In the weeks preceding the transaction, Polaro had learned that McLaughlin was not intending to set her up with a job with his new administration in Rensselaer County.
Although they had worked closely together for several years, McLaughlin and Polaro also had a fiery relationship.
Two months before the alleged payment from the campaign funds was made, the Times Union had reported that Polaro had accused McLaughlin of roughing her up at his Brunswick residence.
In an audio recording of the incident obtained by the Times Union, Polaro warned the then-assemblyman that at least two neighbors may have witnessed an argument between them.
The Times Union did not name Polaro at the time.
“You put your hands on me for the last time today,” she could be heard telling McLaughlin on the recording.
“Did you ever think I was going to let you beat me up and get away with it?”
McLaughlin responded, “I didn’t touch you."
"I didn’t (expletive) touch you.”
His campaign later produced a recording in which Polaro recanted the allegations — though she subsequently told the Times Union she had been pressured to do that.
McLaughlin arrived in the courtroom for his arraignment at around noon Wednesday in front of Judge Jennifer Sober.
The newly reelected county executive, who was represented by attorney Benjamin W. Hill, has until Jan. 17 to enter a plea.
He was released on his own recognizance.
McLaughlin didn't speak during the proceedings before Sober.
He rushed from the courtroom without responding to reporters' questions.
The Times Union first reported Tuesday on the likelihood that criminal charges would be filed against him.
The Rensselaer County Legislature's Democratic minority leadership called for McLaughlin to resign, while the Republican chairman of the GOP-controlled legislature stuck by him.
"I think he should step down."
"It's a public trust issue.," Minority Leader Peter Grimm, D-Troy, said.
County Legislature Chairman Michael Stammel, R-Rensselaer, said, "He's still innocent until proven guilty."
The investigation has been in the backdrop of the county's rough-and-tumble political community since it began in 2019.
It was anticipated McLaughlin would face legal action in the spring of 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic shut down the state court system, halting grand jury presentations.
Members of the attorney general’s public integrity unit last month presented their case to a county grand jury, which returned the indictment.
As part of the same investigation of McLaughlin, Polaro was arrested by the State Police on March 11, 2020, and charged with a misdemeanor larceny charge over an incident in Schenectady in March 2017.
A person briefed on the investigation, but not authorized to publicly comment, said the charge against Polaro stemmed from an ATM withdrawal that had been made at Rivers Casino that month from a campaign account.
The Times Union reported in January 2020 that the investigation had also examined whether McLaughlin, 58, had given bonuses or pay increases to former staffers in the state Assembly in exchange for them returning some of the funds to him or using the money to donate to his campaign account, according to multiple people who were interviewed by investigators.
But there are no charges related to those allegations.
Under state law, McLaughlin — whose second term begins in January — would have to leave office if he's convicted of a felony.
He would be succeeded by the deputy county executive until a special election could be held.
Stacey A. Farrar, the director of budget, is the current deputy county executive.
Republicans have speculated that she may be replaced by Jim Gordon, the county director of purchasing and a McLaughlin confidant.
Gordon is a North Greenbush councilman-elect and a former Troy councilman whose unsuccessful 2015 campaign for Troy mayor was rattled by the disclosure that his wife called 911 during a domestic disturbance at the couple's Lansingburgh residence.
McLaughlin was a four-term state assemblyman when he was first elected county executive in 2017.
In the Assembly, he maintained a small staff that at times included members of his campaign team, including Polaro, who was his former longtime campaign treasurer, and Nick Wilock, who served as his Assembly campaign manager and remains employed as a Republican aide in that chamber.
Polaro and Wilock each served as McLaughlin's chief of staff at different times.
The investigation by the FBI and state attorney general's office had also focused on Crist.
Neither he not his attorney could be reached for comment.
In March 2019, Crist was placed on leave from his $105,000-a-year county job — with McLaughlin's consent — after the Times Union reported that he was a focus of the criminal investigation.
Crist returned to work five months later, and people close to him had claimed the probe had found no wrongdoing.
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article ... 09a3f12c1f
Kenneth C. Crowe II, Brendan J. Lyons
Dec. 1, 2021
Updated: Dec. 1, 2021 7:29 p.m.
TROY — Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin stands accused of misusing campaign funds and falsifying campaign finance filings after a judge on Wednesday unsealed an indictment emerging from a long-running investigation by the state attorney general's office and the FBI.
McLaughlin, a Republican, was indicted on two felony counts, grand larceny and offering a false instrument for filing.
The state attorney general's probe began as an investigation of his 2017 campaign for county executive and also examined his financial dealings when he was a member of the state Assembly.
McLaughlin allegedly stole $5,000 in funds from his campaign account on Nov. 21, 2017 — just weeks after winning election to his county post — and then falsely reported the expense in campaign documents filed with the state Board of Elections.
According to the charges, McLaughlin wrote a check from his campaign account to Hudson Valley Strategies, a consulting firm owned and operated by his closest confidant, Richard W. Crist, who is the county's director of operations.
Crist allegedly deposited the check in his firm's bank account and then drafted a new check — for $3,500 — that he brought to McLaughlin's former campaign treasurer, Jennifer R. Polaro, who had previously worked as McLaughlin's chief of staff in the state Assembly. .
Crist, according to the indictment, delivered the payment to Polaro at a State Police barracks in Sand Lake.
At the time, Polaro and McLaughlin had recently had a falling out; she claimed that he owed her money as well as a laptop and iPad that she had loaned to him.
Polaro had gone to the barracks, in part, because McLaughlin had accused her of harassing him, and she had countered that he owed her money.
A trooper, apparently unaware of the origin of the funds, facilitated the exchange between Polaro and Crist.
In the weeks preceding the transaction, Polaro had learned that McLaughlin was not intending to set her up with a job with his new administration in Rensselaer County.
Although they had worked closely together for several years, McLaughlin and Polaro also had a fiery relationship.
Two months before the alleged payment from the campaign funds was made, the Times Union had reported that Polaro had accused McLaughlin of roughing her up at his Brunswick residence.
In an audio recording of the incident obtained by the Times Union, Polaro warned the then-assemblyman that at least two neighbors may have witnessed an argument between them.
The Times Union did not name Polaro at the time.
“You put your hands on me for the last time today,” she could be heard telling McLaughlin on the recording.
“Did you ever think I was going to let you beat me up and get away with it?”
McLaughlin responded, “I didn’t touch you."
"I didn’t (expletive) touch you.”
His campaign later produced a recording in which Polaro recanted the allegations — though she subsequently told the Times Union she had been pressured to do that.
McLaughlin arrived in the courtroom for his arraignment at around noon Wednesday in front of Judge Jennifer Sober.
The newly reelected county executive, who was represented by attorney Benjamin W. Hill, has until Jan. 17 to enter a plea.
He was released on his own recognizance.
McLaughlin didn't speak during the proceedings before Sober.
He rushed from the courtroom without responding to reporters' questions.
The Times Union first reported Tuesday on the likelihood that criminal charges would be filed against him.
The Rensselaer County Legislature's Democratic minority leadership called for McLaughlin to resign, while the Republican chairman of the GOP-controlled legislature stuck by him.
"I think he should step down."
"It's a public trust issue.," Minority Leader Peter Grimm, D-Troy, said.
County Legislature Chairman Michael Stammel, R-Rensselaer, said, "He's still innocent until proven guilty."
The investigation has been in the backdrop of the county's rough-and-tumble political community since it began in 2019.
It was anticipated McLaughlin would face legal action in the spring of 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic shut down the state court system, halting grand jury presentations.
Members of the attorney general’s public integrity unit last month presented their case to a county grand jury, which returned the indictment.
As part of the same investigation of McLaughlin, Polaro was arrested by the State Police on March 11, 2020, and charged with a misdemeanor larceny charge over an incident in Schenectady in March 2017.
A person briefed on the investigation, but not authorized to publicly comment, said the charge against Polaro stemmed from an ATM withdrawal that had been made at Rivers Casino that month from a campaign account.
The Times Union reported in January 2020 that the investigation had also examined whether McLaughlin, 58, had given bonuses or pay increases to former staffers in the state Assembly in exchange for them returning some of the funds to him or using the money to donate to his campaign account, according to multiple people who were interviewed by investigators.
But there are no charges related to those allegations.
Under state law, McLaughlin — whose second term begins in January — would have to leave office if he's convicted of a felony.
He would be succeeded by the deputy county executive until a special election could be held.
Stacey A. Farrar, the director of budget, is the current deputy county executive.
Republicans have speculated that she may be replaced by Jim Gordon, the county director of purchasing and a McLaughlin confidant.
Gordon is a North Greenbush councilman-elect and a former Troy councilman whose unsuccessful 2015 campaign for Troy mayor was rattled by the disclosure that his wife called 911 during a domestic disturbance at the couple's Lansingburgh residence.
McLaughlin was a four-term state assemblyman when he was first elected county executive in 2017.
In the Assembly, he maintained a small staff that at times included members of his campaign team, including Polaro, who was his former longtime campaign treasurer, and Nick Wilock, who served as his Assembly campaign manager and remains employed as a Republican aide in that chamber.
Polaro and Wilock each served as McLaughlin's chief of staff at different times.
The investigation by the FBI and state attorney general's office had also focused on Crist.
Neither he not his attorney could be reached for comment.
In March 2019, Crist was placed on leave from his $105,000-a-year county job — with McLaughlin's consent — after the Times Union reported that he was a focus of the criminal investigation.
Crist returned to work five months later, and people close to him had claimed the probe had found no wrongdoing.
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article ... 09a3f12c1f
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
REUTERS
"Labor market tightening; layoffs lowest in nearly 30 years"
By Lucia Mutikani
December 2, 2021
Summary
* Weekly jobless claims increase 28,000 to 222,000
* Continuing claims drop 107,000 to 1.956 million
* Layoffs plunge 34.8% to 14,875 in November
WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased less than expected last week, pointing to tightening labor market conditions, while layoffs tumbled to the lowest level in 28-1/2 years in November.
The weekly unemployment claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday, the most timely data on the economy's health, also showed jobless benefits rolls falling below 2 million for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic started in the United States nearly two years ago.
The upbeat news on the labor market added to strong consumer spending and manufacturing data in suggesting that the economy was accelerating after hitting a speed bump in the third quarter.
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus, however, poses a risk to the brightening picture.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in a nod to the strengthening economy told lawmakers this week that the U.S. central bank should consider accelerating the pace of winding down its bond purchases at its Dec. 14-15 policy meeting.
"Companies are not laying off workers like they did during the recession," said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS in New York.
"Powell was right to hint the Fed might speed up the tapering process because a tight labor market means increasing wage demands will stoke the fires of inflation."
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 28,000 to a seasonally adjusted 222,000 for the week ended Nov. 27.
Claims dropped to 194,000 in the prior week, which was the lowest number since 1969.
They tend to be volatile around this time of the year.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 240,000 applications for the latest week.
Claims have declined from a record high of 6.149 million in early April 2020.
Unadjusted claims fell 41,622 to 211,896 last week amid sharp declines in filings in California, Texas and Virginia, which offset notable rises in North Carolina and Wisconsin.
"Before seasonal adjustment, claims generally move higher in the colder months, but the related layoffs may not be occurring like normal this year because of the tight labor market," said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.
"This could continue to occur in the coming weeks."
Stocks on Wall Street were trading higher.
The dollar dipped against a basket of currencies.
U.S. Treasury prices fell.
EYES ON PAYROLLS
The claims data has no bearing on the department's closely watched employment report for November, scheduled to be published on Friday, as it falls outside the period during which the government surveyed businesses and households for the nonfarm payrolls count and the unemployment rate.
Claims declined between mid-October and mid-November.
According to a Reuters survey of economists, nonfarm payrolls probably increased by 550,000 jobs last month after rising 531,000 in October.
The unemployment rate is forecast dipping to 4.5% from 4.6% in October.
Also arguing for continued improvement in the labor market, the ADP National Employment report on Wednesday showed private payrolls increased by 534,000 jobs last month.
A measure of manufacturing employment rose to a seven-month high, a survey from the Institute for Supply Management showed.
The Conference Board's labor market differential - derived from data on consumers' views on whether jobs are plentiful or hard to get - jumped to a record high in November.
The run of good news on the labor market continued, with another report on Thursday from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showing job cuts announced by U.S.-based employers dropped 34.8% in November to 14,875, the fewest since May 1993.
But worker shortages are hindering faster job growth.
The Fed's Beige Book on Wednesday described employment growth ranging from "modest to strong" across the U.S. central bank's districts during October and early November, with contacts noting "persistent difficulty in hiring and retaining employees."
There were 10.4 million job openings as of the end of September.
The workforce is down 3 million people from its pre-pandemic level, despite generous federal government-funded benefits expiring, schools reopening for in-person learning and companies raising wages.
Thursday's claims report showed the number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid plunged 107,000 to 1.956 million in the week ended Nov. 20.
The lowest level in the so-called continuing claims since mid-March 2020 likely reflected a combination of people exhausting their benefits as well as finding work.
A total 2.31 million people were receiving unemployment checks under all programs in mid-November.
Still, labor supply could remain tight.
A survey from the Chamber of Commerce on Thursday showed no urgency to return to work among many Americans who lost their jobs during the pandemic and remain unemployed.
"It is increasingly clear that the workforce challenges facing our country extend beyond those induced by the pandemic and we cannot simply assume that people will return to the workforce," said Chamber of Commerce President Suzanne Clark.
Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrea Ricci
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-w ... 021-12-02/
"Labor market tightening; layoffs lowest in nearly 30 years"
By Lucia Mutikani
December 2, 2021
Summary
* Weekly jobless claims increase 28,000 to 222,000
* Continuing claims drop 107,000 to 1.956 million
* Layoffs plunge 34.8% to 14,875 in November
WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased less than expected last week, pointing to tightening labor market conditions, while layoffs tumbled to the lowest level in 28-1/2 years in November.
The weekly unemployment claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday, the most timely data on the economy's health, also showed jobless benefits rolls falling below 2 million for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic started in the United States nearly two years ago.
The upbeat news on the labor market added to strong consumer spending and manufacturing data in suggesting that the economy was accelerating after hitting a speed bump in the third quarter.
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus, however, poses a risk to the brightening picture.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in a nod to the strengthening economy told lawmakers this week that the U.S. central bank should consider accelerating the pace of winding down its bond purchases at its Dec. 14-15 policy meeting.
"Companies are not laying off workers like they did during the recession," said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS in New York.
"Powell was right to hint the Fed might speed up the tapering process because a tight labor market means increasing wage demands will stoke the fires of inflation."
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 28,000 to a seasonally adjusted 222,000 for the week ended Nov. 27.
Claims dropped to 194,000 in the prior week, which was the lowest number since 1969.
They tend to be volatile around this time of the year.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 240,000 applications for the latest week.
Claims have declined from a record high of 6.149 million in early April 2020.
Unadjusted claims fell 41,622 to 211,896 last week amid sharp declines in filings in California, Texas and Virginia, which offset notable rises in North Carolina and Wisconsin.
"Before seasonal adjustment, claims generally move higher in the colder months, but the related layoffs may not be occurring like normal this year because of the tight labor market," said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.
"This could continue to occur in the coming weeks."
Stocks on Wall Street were trading higher.
The dollar dipped against a basket of currencies.
U.S. Treasury prices fell.
EYES ON PAYROLLS
The claims data has no bearing on the department's closely watched employment report for November, scheduled to be published on Friday, as it falls outside the period during which the government surveyed businesses and households for the nonfarm payrolls count and the unemployment rate.
Claims declined between mid-October and mid-November.
According to a Reuters survey of economists, nonfarm payrolls probably increased by 550,000 jobs last month after rising 531,000 in October.
The unemployment rate is forecast dipping to 4.5% from 4.6% in October.
Also arguing for continued improvement in the labor market, the ADP National Employment report on Wednesday showed private payrolls increased by 534,000 jobs last month.
A measure of manufacturing employment rose to a seven-month high, a survey from the Institute for Supply Management showed.
The Conference Board's labor market differential - derived from data on consumers' views on whether jobs are plentiful or hard to get - jumped to a record high in November.
The run of good news on the labor market continued, with another report on Thursday from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showing job cuts announced by U.S.-based employers dropped 34.8% in November to 14,875, the fewest since May 1993.
But worker shortages are hindering faster job growth.
The Fed's Beige Book on Wednesday described employment growth ranging from "modest to strong" across the U.S. central bank's districts during October and early November, with contacts noting "persistent difficulty in hiring and retaining employees."
There were 10.4 million job openings as of the end of September.
The workforce is down 3 million people from its pre-pandemic level, despite generous federal government-funded benefits expiring, schools reopening for in-person learning and companies raising wages.
Thursday's claims report showed the number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid plunged 107,000 to 1.956 million in the week ended Nov. 20.
The lowest level in the so-called continuing claims since mid-March 2020 likely reflected a combination of people exhausting their benefits as well as finding work.
A total 2.31 million people were receiving unemployment checks under all programs in mid-November.
Still, labor supply could remain tight.
A survey from the Chamber of Commerce on Thursday showed no urgency to return to work among many Americans who lost their jobs during the pandemic and remain unemployed.
"It is increasingly clear that the workforce challenges facing our country extend beyond those induced by the pandemic and we cannot simply assume that people will return to the workforce," said Chamber of Commerce President Suzanne Clark.
Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrea Ricci
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-w ... 021-12-02/
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
THE HILL
"Jan. 6 panel recommends contempt charges for Trump DOJ official"
BY REBECCA BEITSCH
12/01/21 07:22 PM EST
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol voted Wednesday night to refer Trump Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Clark for prosecution by the very agency where he once worked, the second such censure by the panel.
The unanimous vote comes as the committee is now planning to convene a second hearing for Clark on Saturday following a note at 8 p.m. Tuesday from his lawyer asking for a chance to plead his Fifth Amendment right to protection against self-incrimination before the committee.
The vote advances the contempt process.
Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) called Clark's offer to return a “last-ditch attempt to delay the Select Committee’s proceedings,” noting that the committee would still forward the matter for consideration by the full House.
The Saturday meeting will allow Clark to plead the Fifth on a question-by-question basis.
Clark, a midlevel attorney at the Department of Justice (DOJ), became a central figure in former President Trump’s quest to have the Justice Department investigate his baseless claims of voter fraud, with Clark pushing superiors to send a letter encouraging states to delay certification of their election results.
Trump weighed installing him as acting attorney general as other DOJ officials resisted his efforts.
In a contempt of Congress report released Tuesday, the committee released a transcript of its brief Nov. 5 deposition with Clark, who, alongside his attorney, largely refused to answer the committee’s questions.
They have argued that the DOJ official should be exempt from responding due to executive privilege concerns — an assertion Trump himself has not made in regard to Clark.
But the committee said Clark’s behavior is willful defiance of its subpoena, which sought information on a wide range of topics, including other ways Trump may have planned to overturn the election.
“If you want to know what contempt of Congress really looks like, read the transcript of Mr. Clark’s deposition and his attorney’s correspondence with the Select Committee."
"Because what you find there is contempt for Congress and for the American people. ..."
"Faced with specific questions, he refused to offer any specific claim of privilege that could shield him from answering."
"Instead, he hid."
"Again and again and again."
"Behind his attorney’s 12-page letter and vague claims of privilege."
"Then he said, and I’m quoting, ‘I think that we’re done.’"
"And he walked out,” Thompson said Wednesday evening.
In forwarding its contempt of Congress report, the matter will now go to the full House, which will weigh whether to formally recommend DOJ file charges for criminal contempt of Congress.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) suggested such a vote would take place this week, but the Saturday deposition will likely delay the vote.
The move is hardly an empty gesture — the DOJ is currently pursuing a case against onetime White House strategist Stephen Bannon, who now faces two charges for failing to provide documents or sit to testify, together carrying as much as two years of jail time and up to $200,000 in fines.
Unlike Bannon, Clark did make a physical appearance before the committee, but Wednesday’s vote could serve as a warning shot to future witnesses who may attempt to thread the needle by showing up for the deposition only to fail to answer questions.
At the deposition, Clark’s lawyer Harry MacDougald handed investigators the 12-page letter presenting a complicated argument to suggest that Clark should be covered by earlier claims of executive privilege from Trump.
It also suggests his conversations with Trump should be covered by attorney-client privilege, portraying Clark as a regular legal adviser to Trump — something that would be unusual for someone who primarily worked on environmental issues during his time at the DOJ.
The committee has flatly rejected the idea that Trump has the power to limit compliance with congressional subpoenas, saying only the sitting president can wield executive power.
But even Trump’s attorney at the time notified Clark and other DOJ officials in August that they should feel free to speak with the committee.
The report also includes a July 26 letter from the Department of Justice encouraging Clark to cooperate with congressional investigators from other committees, highlighting “exceptional circumstances warranting an accommodation to Congress in this case.”
Clark and his lawyer refused to give the committee an hour to review the letter, leaving their meeting with investigators at 11:30 that morning.
They also failed to return for a 4 p.m. meeting, which the committee asked for shortly after 12:30 p.m.
MacDougald responded a few hours later to say he was already flying back to his office in Atlanta.
Clark also refused to sit with investigators from the Senate Judiciary Committee report that offered the most detailed picture yet of how top DOJ officials, including former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and his deputy, Richard Donohue, threatened to resign as Clark relayed Trump’s plans to install him amid his push to unwind the election results.
“How did this plan with Mr. Clark originate?"
"Who else was involved?"
"How did it progress so far?"
"The American people are entitled to all of these answers."
"And we need the full story in order to legislate effectively,” Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said at the meeting.
The full subpoena to Clark, released for the first time in the contempt report, details the extent that the Jan. 6 committee planned to follow up on the Senate panel’s work.
It asks whether Trump weighed "filing documents in the United States Supreme Court regarding allegations of election fraud and/or the certification of the results of the election” and whether Clark knew about any plans to seize Dominion voting equipment.
It also asks for a wide range of Clark’s communications, including any discussions with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, a central figure in several of Trump’s election efforts who has also been subpoenaed by the committee.
It also inquires about conversations with Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), who introduced Clark to Trump, or any other member of Congress about delaying certification of election results.
Finally, it asks Clark about any communication with John Eastman, another figure subpoenaed by the committee who crafted the memos outlining Trump’s alleged ability to challenge the election through state electors and by having former Vice President Mike Pence buck his ceremonial duty to certify the election results.
The vote to censure Clark comes as Meadows has reached a tentative agreement to cooperate with the committee.
Thompson pointed to Meadows’s cooperation as a reason Clark should as well.
“There’s nothing extraordinary about Congress seeking the testimony of a former Executive Branch official."
"Even the former White House Chief of Staff is now cooperating with our investigation," he said.
Thompson expressed frustration with Clark for not asserting his Fifth Amendment rights at his original deposition.
“Of course, Mr. Clark had the opportunity to assert this privilege and any other in response to questions we intended to ask him at his November 5th deposition."
"He declined to do so."
"He walked out,” Thompson said.
“Even though Mr. Clark previously had the opportunity to make these claims on the record, the Select Committee will provide him another chance to do so."
"I have informed Mr. Clark’s attorney that I am willing to convene another deposition at which Mr. Clark can assert that privilege on a question-by-question basis, which is what the law requires of someone who asserts the privilege against self-incrimination."
"Mr. Clark has agreed to do so,” he added.
https://thehill.com/policy/national-sec ... j-official
"Jan. 6 panel recommends contempt charges for Trump DOJ official"
BY REBECCA BEITSCH
12/01/21 07:22 PM EST
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol voted Wednesday night to refer Trump Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Clark for prosecution by the very agency where he once worked, the second such censure by the panel.
The unanimous vote comes as the committee is now planning to convene a second hearing for Clark on Saturday following a note at 8 p.m. Tuesday from his lawyer asking for a chance to plead his Fifth Amendment right to protection against self-incrimination before the committee.
The vote advances the contempt process.
Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) called Clark's offer to return a “last-ditch attempt to delay the Select Committee’s proceedings,” noting that the committee would still forward the matter for consideration by the full House.
The Saturday meeting will allow Clark to plead the Fifth on a question-by-question basis.
Clark, a midlevel attorney at the Department of Justice (DOJ), became a central figure in former President Trump’s quest to have the Justice Department investigate his baseless claims of voter fraud, with Clark pushing superiors to send a letter encouraging states to delay certification of their election results.
Trump weighed installing him as acting attorney general as other DOJ officials resisted his efforts.
In a contempt of Congress report released Tuesday, the committee released a transcript of its brief Nov. 5 deposition with Clark, who, alongside his attorney, largely refused to answer the committee’s questions.
They have argued that the DOJ official should be exempt from responding due to executive privilege concerns — an assertion Trump himself has not made in regard to Clark.
But the committee said Clark’s behavior is willful defiance of its subpoena, which sought information on a wide range of topics, including other ways Trump may have planned to overturn the election.
“If you want to know what contempt of Congress really looks like, read the transcript of Mr. Clark’s deposition and his attorney’s correspondence with the Select Committee."
"Because what you find there is contempt for Congress and for the American people. ..."
"Faced with specific questions, he refused to offer any specific claim of privilege that could shield him from answering."
"Instead, he hid."
"Again and again and again."
"Behind his attorney’s 12-page letter and vague claims of privilege."
"Then he said, and I’m quoting, ‘I think that we’re done.’"
"And he walked out,” Thompson said Wednesday evening.
In forwarding its contempt of Congress report, the matter will now go to the full House, which will weigh whether to formally recommend DOJ file charges for criminal contempt of Congress.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) suggested such a vote would take place this week, but the Saturday deposition will likely delay the vote.
The move is hardly an empty gesture — the DOJ is currently pursuing a case against onetime White House strategist Stephen Bannon, who now faces two charges for failing to provide documents or sit to testify, together carrying as much as two years of jail time and up to $200,000 in fines.
Unlike Bannon, Clark did make a physical appearance before the committee, but Wednesday’s vote could serve as a warning shot to future witnesses who may attempt to thread the needle by showing up for the deposition only to fail to answer questions.
At the deposition, Clark’s lawyer Harry MacDougald handed investigators the 12-page letter presenting a complicated argument to suggest that Clark should be covered by earlier claims of executive privilege from Trump.
It also suggests his conversations with Trump should be covered by attorney-client privilege, portraying Clark as a regular legal adviser to Trump — something that would be unusual for someone who primarily worked on environmental issues during his time at the DOJ.
The committee has flatly rejected the idea that Trump has the power to limit compliance with congressional subpoenas, saying only the sitting president can wield executive power.
But even Trump’s attorney at the time notified Clark and other DOJ officials in August that they should feel free to speak with the committee.
The report also includes a July 26 letter from the Department of Justice encouraging Clark to cooperate with congressional investigators from other committees, highlighting “exceptional circumstances warranting an accommodation to Congress in this case.”
Clark and his lawyer refused to give the committee an hour to review the letter, leaving their meeting with investigators at 11:30 that morning.
They also failed to return for a 4 p.m. meeting, which the committee asked for shortly after 12:30 p.m.
MacDougald responded a few hours later to say he was already flying back to his office in Atlanta.
Clark also refused to sit with investigators from the Senate Judiciary Committee report that offered the most detailed picture yet of how top DOJ officials, including former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and his deputy, Richard Donohue, threatened to resign as Clark relayed Trump’s plans to install him amid his push to unwind the election results.
“How did this plan with Mr. Clark originate?"
"Who else was involved?"
"How did it progress so far?"
"The American people are entitled to all of these answers."
"And we need the full story in order to legislate effectively,” Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said at the meeting.
The full subpoena to Clark, released for the first time in the contempt report, details the extent that the Jan. 6 committee planned to follow up on the Senate panel’s work.
It asks whether Trump weighed "filing documents in the United States Supreme Court regarding allegations of election fraud and/or the certification of the results of the election” and whether Clark knew about any plans to seize Dominion voting equipment.
It also asks for a wide range of Clark’s communications, including any discussions with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, a central figure in several of Trump’s election efforts who has also been subpoenaed by the committee.
It also inquires about conversations with Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), who introduced Clark to Trump, or any other member of Congress about delaying certification of election results.
Finally, it asks Clark about any communication with John Eastman, another figure subpoenaed by the committee who crafted the memos outlining Trump’s alleged ability to challenge the election through state electors and by having former Vice President Mike Pence buck his ceremonial duty to certify the election results.
The vote to censure Clark comes as Meadows has reached a tentative agreement to cooperate with the committee.
Thompson pointed to Meadows’s cooperation as a reason Clark should as well.
“There’s nothing extraordinary about Congress seeking the testimony of a former Executive Branch official."
"Even the former White House Chief of Staff is now cooperating with our investigation," he said.
Thompson expressed frustration with Clark for not asserting his Fifth Amendment rights at his original deposition.
“Of course, Mr. Clark had the opportunity to assert this privilege and any other in response to questions we intended to ask him at his November 5th deposition."
"He declined to do so."
"He walked out,” Thompson said.
“Even though Mr. Clark previously had the opportunity to make these claims on the record, the Select Committee will provide him another chance to do so."
"I have informed Mr. Clark’s attorney that I am willing to convene another deposition at which Mr. Clark can assert that privilege on a question-by-question basis, which is what the law requires of someone who asserts the privilege against self-incrimination."
"Mr. Clark has agreed to do so,” he added.
https://thehill.com/policy/national-sec ... j-official
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
RIGZONE
"Omicron Extended Pressure on Oil this Week"
by Bloomberg | Julia Fanzeres
Friday, December 03, 2021
Oil slid for a sixth straight week, marking the longest stretch of weekly declines since 2018, as the omicron variant jolts markets and OPEC+ continues to hike supply.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 2.8% this week.
The spread of the omicron variant has investors concerned about any potential hit to demand as the U.S. reported at least six states with cases.
Covid-19 infections in South Africa have almost quadrupled since Tuesday.
Meanwhile, OPEC and its allies this week decided to add 400,000 barrels a day of crude to global markets in January, ultimately bowing to consumer pressure.
“The short-term demand outlook was shaky at best and if the U.S. sees new restrictions, the oil market could see a supply surplus by the end of the month,” said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp.
Crude has dropped sharply since late October amid moves by major consuming nations to tap their reserves and the emergence of the new virus variant.
A more hawkish Federal Reserve was put in a tough spot Friday as U.S. jobs data missed expectations.
Meanwhile, the sharp increase in volatility has oil traders heading for the exit, with open interest across the main oil futures contracts plunging to its lowest level in years.
While OPEC+ decided to continuing supplying the market with barrels, the group essentially placed a floor under prices by giving itself the option to change the plan at short notice.
Prior to this week’s meeting, ministers indicated they were concerned about the impact of omicron on crude demand but were struggling to figure out how serious the new strain would become.
By effectively keeping its monthly meeting open, the alliance now has more flexibility to address price swings.
Prices
West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery slipped 24 cents to settle at $66.26 a barrel in New York.
Brent for February settlement rose 21 cents to settle at $69.88 a barrel.
Meanwhile, in Vienna, diplomats attempting to restore the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers face substantial challenges that need urgent solutions, the top European envoy said Friday.
Talks are set to resume in the middle of next week.
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/omicr ... 0-article/
"Omicron Extended Pressure on Oil this Week"
by Bloomberg | Julia Fanzeres
Friday, December 03, 2021
Oil slid for a sixth straight week, marking the longest stretch of weekly declines since 2018, as the omicron variant jolts markets and OPEC+ continues to hike supply.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 2.8% this week.
The spread of the omicron variant has investors concerned about any potential hit to demand as the U.S. reported at least six states with cases.
Covid-19 infections in South Africa have almost quadrupled since Tuesday.
Meanwhile, OPEC and its allies this week decided to add 400,000 barrels a day of crude to global markets in January, ultimately bowing to consumer pressure.
“The short-term demand outlook was shaky at best and if the U.S. sees new restrictions, the oil market could see a supply surplus by the end of the month,” said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp.
Crude has dropped sharply since late October amid moves by major consuming nations to tap their reserves and the emergence of the new virus variant.
A more hawkish Federal Reserve was put in a tough spot Friday as U.S. jobs data missed expectations.
Meanwhile, the sharp increase in volatility has oil traders heading for the exit, with open interest across the main oil futures contracts plunging to its lowest level in years.
While OPEC+ decided to continuing supplying the market with barrels, the group essentially placed a floor under prices by giving itself the option to change the plan at short notice.
Prior to this week’s meeting, ministers indicated they were concerned about the impact of omicron on crude demand but were struggling to figure out how serious the new strain would become.
By effectively keeping its monthly meeting open, the alliance now has more flexibility to address price swings.
Prices
West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery slipped 24 cents to settle at $66.26 a barrel in New York.
Brent for February settlement rose 21 cents to settle at $69.88 a barrel.
Meanwhile, in Vienna, diplomats attempting to restore the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers face substantial challenges that need urgent solutions, the top European envoy said Friday.
Talks are set to resume in the middle of next week.
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/omicr ... 0-article/