Highlights of key economic statistics from last week compiled by Putnam Investments.
- The goods and services trade deficit declined in June, according to the Census Bureau.
- Construction spending fell 1.1% in June compared with May, the Census Bureau stated.
- Initial jobless claims rose by 6,000 to 260,000 in the week ended July 30, 2022, the Department of Labor found.
- The U.S. added 528,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in July from 3.6% in June, according to the Department of Labor.
- As of July 29, 2022, of the 278 S&P 500 Index companies reporting second-quarter earnings, 209 beat analysts’ expectations, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.
- Consumers expect economic growth will be more negative and unemployment will rise in the next 12 months, according to the European Central Bank’s Consumer Expectations Survey.
- The S&P Global Eurozone Composite PMI Output Index fell to 49.9 in July from 52.0 in June.
- Eurostat found euro area industrial producer prices climbed 1.1% in June compared with May.
- Eurostat reported euro area retail trade fell by 1.2% in June compared with May.
- The yield on the 10-year Treasury note increased.
- The Bank of England raised the bank rate to 1.75%.
- Rising energy prices, worsened by the Russia-Ukraine War, increase the risk of stagflation and recession, even as central banks seek monetary policy normalization.
- Declining liquidity and deteriorating financial conditions, combined with high valuations, are contributing to a substantial uptick in risk asset volatility.
- Global leverage is at worrisome levels and will eventually need to be paid for, at a time when most developed markets are facing a fiscal drag from the end of post-pandemic stimulus.
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