Tag: jul 21 2020

The Eurozone’s retail sales soared 17.8 percent in May from April as consumers began to emerge from stringent lockdowns. Clothing, electronics, and furniture were high on shopping lists, especially in France and Germany, where consumer spending rose to about 93 percent of pre-pandemic levels. In previous economic reversals, business spending led recoveries. But European analysts...

The U.S. Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index rose 0.6 percent in June after falling sharply during the previous three months. Prices were pushed up by demand for a range of goods as stores reopened and consumers restocked basic items, replaced worn-out goods, and indulged in discretionary spending that had been postponed. Gasoline prices rose 12.3...

After an initial rush of pent-up consumer spending last month as the state’s lockdown order eased, California businesses are losing the hope the initial surge brought. Capacity restrictions and distancing requirements often do not allow enough trade to cover costs. Stringent requirements around cleaning protocols and strict, often conflicting, rules imposed by various state and...

After posting a record 18-percent month-to-month jump in May, U.S. retail sales added another 7.5 percent gain in June. The size of June’s increase surprised analysts, who had expected a 5-percent bump. Low interest rates have enticed buyers with secure jobs and higher incomes to purchase homes, cars, and other big-ticket items during the economic...

Internet radio broadcaster Sirius XM Holdings will buy Stitcher, a leading podcast depot, for $265 million in cash. Sirius has said it could add as much as $65 million to the price if Stitcher reaches certain financial targets in 2020 and 2021. Other media companies, including Spotify Technology and iHeartMedia, are strengthening their presence in...

BuzzFeed, the news website, was poised to make its first profit, about $30 million, this year, after 14 years online. Group Nine, owner of The Dodo and Thrillist sites, was due for black ink after four years in the red. Then the global lockdown struck. Conventional newspapers and magazines with paid subscribers were already in...

Political and public health uncertainties, the U.S. Federal Reserves’ interest rate cuts, and recovering economies abroad while America’s remains hobbled are likely to continue to weaken the dollar, analysts say, making American goods cheaper overseas. The dollar’s value slipped 0.4 percent in June and another 0.7 percent this month against a collection of six other...

During the week of 7 July, investors pulled $491 million out of ProShares UltraPro OOO, an exchange-traded fund that invests in surging tech stocks. The weekly outflow was the largest since the fund’s founding in 2010. Despite the outflow, the fund ended the week with a record $7.1 billion in assets, due in part to...

Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo have expanded to $28 billion their pool of cash to cover loans that may begin to go bad as $600 weekly federal unemployment benefits run out at the end of this month. The banks said the projected value of loans expected to fail is greater now than was expected...

The U.S. Federal Reserve set up the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) last March to enable low-interest “student loans, auto loans, credit card loans… and certain other assets.” TALF sells bundles of loans to investors at low interest rates, which are passed on to the businesses and individuals who took out the loans. So...