Economic indicators

Initial jobless claims continued to slide, but remain above the 3 million mark, as an expected ugly unemployment report is on deck.

The Federal Reserve has been proactive and the secondary market could be next up for assistance.

Chicago Fed president said there is no reason to raise rates "anytime soon."

The impact of COVID-19 is still ripping through the economy as the Institute for Supply Management-New York index fell to a new low of 4.3 in April and factory orders slumped 10.3% in March.

Issuance in the public finance sector is likely to contract in 2020, S&P Research says.

Thursday’s jobless claims at 3.839 million, weaker income and spending data show COVID-19 continues to dampen economic activity.

Pessimism about the economic situation in the United States continues to affect the way consumers view the economy and their financial position.

The Commerce Department reported that new orders for manufactured durable goods fell 14.4% in March while the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index dropped to 71.8 in April, the largest monthly decline on record.

While the number of people filing for unemployment dropped to 4.4 million, there are now 26 million Americans without work and economists expect the unemployment rate to hit 20%.

Existing home sales fell 8.5% last month as the Philadelphia Fed said its indexes fell to record lows in April.

Fed officials also talk about the muni liquidity facility and efforts to help the economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jobless claims fell in the latest week though now 22 million Americans filed for unemployment since late March.

Coronavirus takes its toll on business and sales activity around the states and across the nation.

Uncertainty remains the only constant regarding the coronavirus pandemic, and two Federal Reserve Bank presidents offered positive thoughts, although no definitive answers.

Jobless claims declined 261,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 6.87 million, originally reported as 6.65 million.

While some economists expect a V-shaped recovery, others say it will not be as sharp as the decline, and it could be years before output rises to pre-coronavirus levels.

Coronavirus-driven job losses are way beyond predicted, and expected to get worse, but most still see a V-shaped recovery.

Incoming data continued to show massive hits from the efforts to stem the spread of COVID-19, with jobless claims doubling and the New York manufacturing sector hitting all-time lows in activity.

Wednesday’s economic data were not as bad as projected, but included just the beginning of the effects of the coronavirus on the economy.

Consumer confidence dropped in March as the economy shut down to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but economists expected a larger decline.