Europe’s manufacturing economy continues to rebound while services still droop. The IHS Markit Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for Germany’s manufacturing sector climbed to a three-year high of 60.6 in January, up from 57.1 the month before; France’s PMI for the sector added 3.4 points to reach 55. The pan-European PMI in manufacturing rose from 54.8...
Tag: feb 23 2021
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CORPORATE CREDIT DOWNGRADES RISE
The number of corporations seeing their credit rating fall last year was 4.67 times more than those with rising ratings, according to ratings service DBRS Morningstar. The pace of downgrades surpassed 2008’s 3.08 ratio and approached the 5.39 mark set in 2009 at the worst of the Great Recession. Morningstar recorded 70 downgrades in 2020,...
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GLOBAL SHUTDOWN COST 225 MILLION JOBS, U.N. SAYS
The COVID War that politicians have been fighting now for one year by locking down entire nations, has wiped out 225 million jobs worldwide… four times more than the Great Recession, according to a new report from United Nations’ International Labor Organization (ILO). The loss took out 8.8 percent of the economy’s worked hours, using...
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PHARMA EXECUTIVES REAP WINDFALL PROFITS FROM VACCINES
Executives and directors at pharmaceutical firms Pfizer, Moderna, and 11 other drug companies sold more than 8.5 million shares of the firms’ stocks, reaping $496 million as share prices rose last year on news of positive developments in COVID vaccine development, the Wall Street Journal reported on 18 February. In contrast, executives at those companies sold 4.7...
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USED RESTAURANT EQUIPMENT FLOODS THE MARKET
Since February 2020, about 110,000 U.S. restaurants – about 17 percent of the total – have closed permanently, according to the National Restaurant Association (NRA). Those failures have brought a boon to people dealing in and shopping for used commercial stoves, mixers, steam tables, and other gear. Grafe Auction, a Minnesota firm that helps restaurants...
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HEDGE FUND BUYS TRIBUNE NEWSPAPER CHAIN
Tribune Publishing, which owns the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, New York Daily News, six other newspapers, and a news syndicate, is being taken over for $630 million by hedge fund Alden Global Capital in a reportedly all-cash deal. In 2019, Alden bought 32 percent of the company, becoming its largest shareholder. Hundreds of Tribune staffers...
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U.S. HIGHER ED SHEDS 650,000 JOBS DURING PANDEMIC
The 4,000 U.S. colleges and universities cut 13 percent of their collective workforce in the past 12 months, axing about 650,000 jobs, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Custodians, kitchen workers, and other low-wage employees took the brunt of the cuts as dorms and dining halls closed when students were ordered home last March. Many...
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RETAIL SALES REBOUND IN JANUARY
U.S. retail sales in stores, eating and entertainment venues, and online grew 5.3 percent in January over December’s lackluster holiday sales, the U.S. commerce department reported. The sales jump marked the largest rise in consumer spending since June as shoppers spent their $600 federal stimulus stipends, economists said. Consumer spending comprises almost 70 percent of...
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BIDEN PPP RULES CHANGE FAVORS SMALL BUSINESSES
The Biden administration has announced changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that favors small businesses and the self-employed. For two weeks beginning 24 February, the forgivable loan program will be open only to businesses with fewer than 20 employees. Beginning 1 March, new eligibility rules will allow more self-employed persons to receive higher payments;...
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BIDEN STIMULUS CAN YIELD FULL EMPLOYMENT, YELLIN SAYS
President Biden’s $1.9-trillion stimulus plan could return the U.S. economy to full employment within a year, treasury secretary Janet Yellin said in an 18 February CNBC interview. Even though the economy is showing signs of gradual recovery, the full $1.9 trillion is still essential, she argued. “It’s very important to have a big package that...