Being financially secure can reduce stress and give a person peace of mind.

According to a new Boston College study, 51% of U.S. households are at risk of not being able to meet their standard of living in retirement.In other words, people half of the population is set to have to make sacrifices in their twilight years -- the opposite of which should be true. 

The figures keep getting worse.

In a year literally plagued with bad news and uncertainties about public health, social unrest, and a political crisis, the stock market posted robust returns.From an investment standpoint, the strength across many asset classes has led to a surge in “FOMO,” or fear of missing out on returns.

Many investors are rushing into the markets, pushing sentiment from pessimistic in the spring to optimistic today.

Initial jobless claims in the U.S. came in less than expected last week, based on data from Labor Department.

The number of first-time unemployment benefits claims was 803,000 in the week ended Dec. 19, compared to the  888,000 expected by economists polled by Dow Jones.The upwardly revised initial claims of the preceding week was 892,000 (the highest figure since early September).

Continuing jobless claims (seasonally adjusted)fell to a 5.3 million in the week ended Dec. 12, from 5.5 million a week earlier.

Earlier this week, Congress approved a $900 billion coronavirus economic stimulus package, which includes $300 weekly federal supplemental unemployment benefits, $600 direct payments to most individuals, and around $325 billion for small business aid, among other items.

Congress approved a coronavirus economic relief package and government spending bill Monday night.

Both chambers agreed to the more than $2 trillion legislation in votes, including $900 billion in pandemic aid and a $1.4 trillion measure to fund the government through Sept. 30.

The coronavirus stimulus package includes $300 weekly supplemental federal benefits to the jobless, more small business loans, $600 direct payments to individuals and funds for distribution of Covid-19 vaccine, among other items.

A leading gauge of U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly dropped in December to a four-month low, amid surging coronavirus cases that have recently propelled tighter restrictions in many states.

The Conference Board index fell to 88.6 in December, from a downwardly revised 92.9 in November.However, the expectations sub-index rose from a four-year low.

The Conference Board latest survey results differ from the University of Michigan’s measure of U.S. consumer sentiment that increased in early December to the second-highest level since March.

 

Initial jobless claims for the US state unemployment benefits unexpectedly climbed to the highest level in three months, amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

In the week ended Dec. 12, seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims rose by +23,000 to 885,000, according to Labor Department data.The figure is well above the 818,000 expected by economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

However, continuing claims for state programs fell by -273,000 to 5.51 million in the week ended Dec. 5, compared to 5.7 million forecast by Bloomberg survey.

The increase in initial claims includes increasing filings in California and Illinois, states that are experiencing  particularly restrictive lockdowns.

 The latest figure is above the 712,000 that economists polled by FactSet had expected. According to the Labor Department, around20 million workers were receiving unemployment benefits in mid-November.But 8.56 million Americans were claiming Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits through Nov. 21, while 4.533 million individuals were claiming Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits – these programs are scheduled to expire by the year-end. Congress has a deadline of Dec. 18 to get a fiscal stimulus package to include year-end spending .

New  jobless claims in the U.S. rose for the first time in five weeks, amid surging COVID-19 cases. According to the Dept.The figure is also higher than the 700,000 expected by Economists polled by FactSet. Continuing claims stood at 6.372 million for the week ended Nov. 7, down from a revised 6.801 million the previous week, the Labor Department showed. Meanwhile, the number of U.S. coronavirus cases topped 250,000 this week .

The number of Americans applying for initial jobless claims registered a decrease last week, falling below 800,000 for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began to hurt jobs market. According to the Dept.of Labor, 787,000 Americans filed for initial jobless benefits for the week ended Oct. 17, compared to a revised 842,000 the week earlier.

On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that the U.S. economic recovery is "strong but incomplete".He mentioned that around 22 million jobs have been lost since the coronavirus pandemic reared its head  in early March, and noted the current outlook remains "highly uncertain". Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Washington continue to debate the  size of the next coronavirus relief bill.  

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin hinted at a possible agreement  on a new coronavirus stimulus package with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Mnuchin told CNBC that he would be speaking with Pelosi Wednesday afternoon, and expects to reach an  “understanding” with Pelosi by Thursday on a relief package. “I say we’re going to give it one more serious try to get this done and I think we’re hopeful that we can get something done,” Mnuchin said.“I think there is a reasonable compromise here.”

 The companies range across 12 different sectors. The companies include Apple, Verizon,  AT&T, 3M, Adobe, and the U.S. units of Toyota Motor , Volkswagen  , and Daimler. This month, the Fed started purchasing  individual corporate bonds, (in addition to just ETFs that it started buying earlier).in the primary market). Tickeron's AI-powered scorecard rates SPDR® S&P 500 ETF Trust as SELL. SPY enters a Downtrend because Momentum Indicator dropped below the 0 level on June 26, 2020 This indicator signals that SPY's price has further to drop, since it moved below its price 14 days ago.

For the week ended June 6, the Labor Department reported that Americans made initial jobless claims of 1.542 million, down from the 1.877 million claims for the week earlier.The figure is close to the 1.5 million claims anticipated by economists polled by FactSet. More than 47 million claims for unemployment benefits have been made since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in March, a record figure in the history of the US labor market. Seasonally adjusted continuing claims ( the number of people who have already filed an initial claim and who have experienced a week of unemployment and then filed a continued claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment) was 20.929 million for the week ended May 30.  

The U.S. economy’s employment fell by -20.5 million in April. The coronavirus crisis led to unemployment rate soaring to 14.7% in the U.S, the highest rate in the Bureau of Labor Statistics-tracked series history that goes back to 1948. However, the figures were better compared to several economists'/analysts' forecasts of 22 million job losses and 16% unemployment rate.  Another unemployment measure that includes those who have stopped looking for work as well as those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons also touched an all-time high of 22.8%.

Economists surveyed by FactSet had predicted 21 million private payroll job losses last month.  Big businesses with more than 500 employees reduced workforce by almost 9 million. Medium-sized firms (50-499 employees) shed 5.27 million. Companies with fewer than 50 workers cut some 6 million positions. Service sectors shed just over 16 million;  trade, transportation and utilities lost 3.44 million jobs.

In the week ending April 11, an additional 5.245 million initial unemployment insurance claims were filed in the US, as the US economy continues to get crushed by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the April 11 week jobless claims were lower than the 5.803 million in claims expected by analysts polled by FactSet.Over the past month, nearly 22 million jobless claims were filed, the highest on record. Continuing jobless claims  was 11.9 million for the latest reported week. Several analysts and economists expect job losses in April to be as high as 20 million, which would translate into a jobless rate of around 15%.

Banks might be the first in line to seize the $1,200 coronavirus pandemic relief checks,  according to a news report.  The American Prospect emphasized that Congress did not exempt Cares Act payments from private debt collection – which means, banks have the power to  use the transferred checks to settle consumers’ delinquent loan or past-due fees.  Congress exempted individuals from debt collection only if the debt is owed to federal or state agencies, unless the debt involves a child-support payment.   

 According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), COVID-19 crisis is likely to push the global economy into  the worst recession since the Great Depression. “It is very likely that this year the global economy will experience its worst recession since the Great Depression, surpassing that seen during the global financial crisis a decade ago,” said IMF Economic Counsellor Gita Gopinath, in the latest World Economic Outlook report.  The U.S economy is predicted to contract by -5.9 percent. However, IMF also mentioned that if the coronavirus pandemic subsides in the second half of 2020 and if effective policy actions are taken around the globe, the global economic growth will rebound to 5.8 percent next year. 

The Federal Reserve launched an additional $2.3 trillion in lending program for small and mid-size US businesses as well as local governments, to support the economy amid COVID-19 pandemic. On Thursday, the US central bank announced that it will pump upto $600 billion into small and mid-size companies, as part of its Main Street lending facility.Loans will be directed towards businesses with upto 10,000 employees or less than $2.5 billion in revenue. The Fed will also directly inject up to $500 billion into local governments, by directly buying municipal bonds with up to two year’s duration.

The figure represents the largest monthly job losses since March 2009.  leisure and hospitality accounted for almost two-thirds of the job losses, concentrated in food services and drinking places.Other industries that shed jobs significantly included healthcare and social assistance, professional and business services, retail trade, and construction The full-month unemployment rate could be even worse, since the recent data reflects developments up to March 21 - before states began implementing non-essential shutdowns of business . On Thursday, it was revealed that the initial jobless claims in the US was 6.6 million in the week ended March 28, which is almost double the new claims made just a week earlier.