Category: TRENDS ON THE U.S. ECONOMIC FRONT

Airlines have predicted that business travel will return this fall, but now the companies may be wondering if their optimism is premature.  Business travelers slowly have been returning to the road, with business bookings reaching 40 percent of pre-crisis levels, the Wall Street Journal reported. (See “Business Travel Rebound?,” Trends Journal, 8 June, 2021.) American...

Rents for houses and apartments have shot up an average of 10 percent since July 2020, with the median rate reaching $1,244, a 9.4-percent increase since March 2020, just before the COVID War began, according to the website Apartment List. Share prices of companies owning rental homes and flats have risen in tandem. FTSE’s Nareit...

The U.S. trade deficit expanded 6.7 percent in June from May to a record $75.75 billion, the U.S. commerce department reported, as a resurgent economy boosted demand for foreign-made goods while some sectors of the American economy have yet to return to pre-crisis strength. (See “Trade War? U.S. Lost It,” Trends Journal, 9 February, 2021.)...

Including dividends, the share value of private equity firm Blackstone has tripled since 1 April 2020, the date on which the economic recovery began, according to The Wall Street Journal. The firm’s $140-billion treasure chest now exceeds that of Goldman Sachs and rival Blackrock. KKR’s stock has done slightly better than Blackstone’s, the WSJ noted....

Blackrock and Wells Fargo, two major financial companies, announced Thursday that they will delay their plans to have employees return to the office for about a month. The companies moved back their September returns to October, citing the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant. “Today, given rising COVID-19 case rates around the US, we are...

Due, in large measure, to this year’s significant federal stimulus spending, the U.S. economic recovery is progressing well enough that the Federal Reserve should be able to consider raising its key interest rate from near zero early in 2023, Richard Clarida, Fed vice-chair, said in a 4 August speech. Current projections for employment and inflation...

Beijing, China will be canceling all large scale exhibitions and events for the remainder of August, according to a 6 August 2021 article in The Wall Street Journal.  Events canceled include the Third Annual World 5G Conference, which was to be held in a 215,000 sq. ft. exhibition facility; the same facility was to host,...

STRONG JOBS REPORTS LIFTS DOW, S&P TO NEW HIGHS Friday’s report of better-than-expected job gains in July lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average to close last week up 0.4 percent to 35,208 and pushed the S&P 0.2 percent higher to finish at 4,436, both new record highs. (See related story.) The tech-heavy NASDAQ slid 59...

McDonald’s sold $5.9 billion worth of fast food in the second quarter, 57 percent more than 2020’s second quarter, the company reported. Sales beat analysts’ forecast of $5.6 billion for the period.  Same-store sales for the quarter were 7 percent higher than in 2019’s Q2, with gains in U.S. business leading the increase. Revenue increased...

Square, the card-swiping payment system co-founded by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, has agreed to buy Australia’s Afterpay for $29 billion in stock in a deal set to close in 2022’s first quarter, CNBC reported. Buying Afterpay expands Square’s presence in the growing “installment loan” payment realm popular with younger consumers. Many Millennials and young adults...