Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
- Latest: US initial claims fell to 803k last week
- Another 397k seek help under PUA programme
- Introduction: President demands larger stimulus cheques
- Brexit talks rumble on
- France lifts UK travel ban
In another sign of the impact of Covid-19, US household spending fell 0.4% in November – for the firs time in seven months.
US economic data continues to flash warning signs. Consumer spending fell for the first time in 7 months in Nov, pulling the 1yr trend deeper into the red: https://t.co/Ai1t1PgnXD Jobless claims rose less than forecast last week but the 803k rise is still huge & a macro threat: pic.twitter.com/PapLOVeKw5
Although the number of new US jobless claims dropped last week, it’s still higher than in the autumn, before the resurgence of coronavirus cases.
And it’s also many times higher than before the pandemic (when initial claims were typically in the low 200,000s).
Total initial claims (nsa) fell but are still well above 1 million. Better direction than the last two weeks of ticking up, but magnitude is still a problem. pic.twitter.com/f41k3vrRMb
