Update for July 27, 2020
Highlights of key economic statistics from last week compiled by Putnam Investments.
- Existing home sales surged 20.7% in June, according to the National Association of Realtors.
- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index increased in June.
- New home sales rose 13.8% in June, the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported.
- Initial jobless claims reached 1.4 million in the week ended July 18, 2020, the Department of Labor announced.
- As of July 23, 2020, of the 110 S&P 500 Index companies reporting second-quarter earnings, 86 beat analysts’ estimates, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.
- The European Commission’s Flash Consumer Confidence Indicator for the euro area declined slightly in July, remaining well below average.
- The Markit Flash Eurozone Composite PMI Output Index climbed to 54.8 in July from 48.5 in June.
- Germany’s Producer Price Index was unchanged in June versus May, the Federal Statistical Office stated.
- In the United Kingdom, retail sales grew 13.9% in June, compared with May, the Office for National Statistics found.
- The yield on the 10-year Treasury note declined slightly.
- Many countries around the world are now in recession as a result of the "sudden stop" induced by governments to contain the spread of COVID-19.
- The liquidity-fueled recovery in risk assets will at some point need to resolve with the pace of recovery in fundamentals, and the latter may happen over a longer horizon than hoped.
- The possibility of a "blue wave" in the U.S. November election, with Democrats winning control of the House, Senate, and Presidency, could mean a future rollback of corporate tax cuts.
