Tag Archives: U.S. Non Farm Payrolls

Coming Up…U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls

Here’s today’s ‘Just A Minute’ bringing you a 60 second summary of what’s happening in the financial markets:

Main Trading Event Of The Day: U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls @ 12.30 GMT

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING TODAY

U.S. Job Growth May Be Slowing But Expected To Remain Solid In July

With NFP data due today, U.S. job growth is likely to have cooled slightly in July but should retain enough momentum to suggest the economy remains solid. Non-farm payrolls are expected to have increased by 233,000, a pull back from June’s 288,000 job gain and the monthly average of 272,000 jobs added in the second quarter. It would still, however, mark the sixth straight month that employment has expanded by more than 200,000 jobs, a stretch not seen since 1997. The unemployment rate likely held at a six year-low of 6.1 percent, but could surprise on the downside after surveys showed Americans becoming more upbeat about jobs. The economy grew at a 4.0 percent annual pace in the second quarter after shrinking at a 2.1 percent rate in the first three months of year. While restocking by businesses lifted the figure, growth is seen remaining sturdy for the rest of 2014. The Labor Department will release its employment report, which is closely watched by financial markets around the globe, at 12:30 GMT today. It is set to muster even more attention in the months ahead, as investors seek to gauge when the Federal Reserve is likely to raise benchmark interest rates from near zero, where they have been since December 2008. Fed officials on Wednesday acknowledged that labour market conditions were improving, but that significant slack remained, signaling patience on the rate front. Most economists look for the first increase in the second quarter of next year.The Labour Department will release its employment report, which is closely watched by financial markets around the globe, at 12:30 GMT today.

Dollar Pauses Near Highs Ahead Of Employment Data

Dollar bulls took a step back today ahead of a closely watched jobs report that has the potential to make or break a rally that saw the dollar post its best monthly performance in over a year. The dollar index was steady at 81.449 .DXY having risen 2.1 percent in July to a 10-1/2 month peak of 81.573. The dollar bought 102.78 yen after peaking at a four-month high of 103.15. The question now is whether this is the beginning of a continuing uptrend, one that has frustrated dollar bulls for much of this year or just another false start. The U.S. jobs report due today could provide a clue. With the Federal Reserve not providing any real hints as to when interest rates will rise, markets are looking more and more to economic data to make their own bets. The euro, meanwhile, traded at $1.3389 EUR steadying near a nine-month trough of $1.3366 plumbed earlier in the week. Working against the common currency was data that showed annual inflation in the euro zone fell in July to its lowest since the height of the financial crisis in 2009. This should keep the risk of deflation on policymakers’ radar, although it is unlikely to spur the European Central Bank into immediate policy action when it meets next week.

Market Volatility? Keep Calm And Carry On…

Equity markets have entered a period of increased volatility amid growing uncertainty over the timing of the Federal Reserve’s first rate hike but the message from analysts to retail investors is to keep calm and carry on. The short-term spikes in volatility we have been experiencing could lead to a couple of down days and although volatility is trending higher, it does not mean the equity market will go down. The CBOE Volatility Index, which shows the market’s expectation of 30-day volatility, spiked 27 percent to 16.95 on Thursday, its highest level since April 11, but below the historical average of 20. The move came as the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 1.9 percent, erasing its gains for the year, and the S&P 500 dropped 2 percent. The U.S. economy expanded at an impressive 4 percent annual rate in the second quarter as activity picked up broadly after shrinking at a revised 2.1 percent pace in the first three months of the year. Furthermore, there are more signs of an improving labour market. With the economy getting stronger, this has fuelled concerns that the Fed may hike rates sooner rather than later.

That sums up today’s highlights! Keep tuned in for all the latest trading news via our social platform and don’t forget to watch closely for today’s NFP data!

We hope you have a profitable day on the markets.

Investors Await U.S. Payroll Data

Here’s today’s ‘Just A Minute’ bringing you a 60 second summary of what’s happening in the financial markets:

Main Trading Event Of The Day: US Non-Farm Employment Change (NFP) @ 12.30 GMT

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING TODAY

Investors Await U.S. Payroll Data

The U.S. non-farm payrolls data is due later today and is widely expected to show the biggest gain in hiring since last November of more than 200,000 new jobs. Analysts are looking to see if the increase in hiring is broad-based and whether wages are continuing to rise. The pace of hiring has been up and down since last fall and presently, job creation appears to be shifting higher. A recent poll reveals a net increase of 215,000 in April, which would mark the biggest bump since a 274,000 gain in November. What may not be clear straight away is how much of the increase is the result of warmer weather. A harsh winter disrupted many industries such as construction and manufacturing and some companies either cut back production or put off new hires. So far this year the economy has added an average of 178,000 jobs a month, below the 2013 level of 194,000. The bullish case would be aided by a broad increase in hiring across a range of industries. More limited gains will be regarded as a negative sign.

Revised employment figures for March and February are regarded just as important as new job creation. Throughout most of the recovery, the government’s preliminary estimates of new jobs have proven too conservative. In most months the number of jobs added to the economy has been revised sharply higher, based on more complete data. From September through February, for example, the employment numbers have been revised upward by an average of 26,000 a month. If this trend continues, job creation early in 2014 will look a lot better than it initially did. A steady pickup in hiring over the past three years has dragged the unemployment rate down to 6.7% from 9%. And economists predict the unemployment rate will drop another notch to 6.6% in April, matching a post-recession low. However, some 3.7 million people are still counted as long-term unemployed. Until the ranks of the long-term unemployed are vastly reduced, companies are unlikely to boost wages and the economy will continue to struggle to achieve its historical growth rate of 3.3% a year. Growth has averaged about 2% annually since the U.S. exited the last recession.

U.S. NFP today @ 12.30 GMT

Gold In Holding Pattern Ahead Of Jobs Report; Stocks Mixed

Gold prices inched higher Friday, as investors hesitated to commit to either direction ahead of the highly anticipated U.S. jobs report later in the day. Gold for June delivery was up at $1,283.50 an ounce. A day earlier, gold broke below levels not seen since early last week, as a rise in consumer spending and income threw a wet blanket on demand ahead of the jobs number. While the employment data is arguably the most important economic news of the month, troubles globally will continue to shape gold trading. With the Ukraine situation likely to get worse before it gets any better, gold and other safe-haven assets will likely at least see selling interest limited due to some extent.

U.S. stocks fluctuated on Thursday, a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to a record finish as investors took a cautious approach before the April nonfarm payrolls report. European shares, meanwhile are set for mixed open in advance of the US jobs data. The U.K.’s FTSE index is expected to open level at 6808, with Germany’s DAX seen 19 points higher at 9624 and France’s CAC called 7 points lower at 4480.

Pfizer Raises Offer For Astrazeneca To GBP 50 Per Share

U.S. drugmaker Pfizer said on Friday it had raised its offer for AstraZeneca to GBP 50 ($84.47) a share, adding that the British drugmaker was reviewing the proposal. AstraZeneca earlier rebuffed a proposal valuing it at just under $100 billion, or GBP 46.61 per share. Buying AstraZeneca would give Pfizer a lower tax rate and a portfolio of experimental cancer drugs. Stockholders would get 15.98 pounds in cash and 1.845 shares of the combined company for each share in AstraZeneca. The new bid is 39 percent above the closing price Jan. 3, before AstraZeneca made its initial offer. AstraZeneca rose 3.2 percent to close at 48.15 pounds a share in London, giving it a market value of 60.8 billion pounds. Pfizer fell 0.4 percent to $31.15.

That sums up today’s highlights! Keep posted on all the day’s important events via our Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn pages. We hope you have a profitable day on the markets!

U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls: High Hopes For March Jobs Report

Here’s today’s ‘Just A Minute’ bringing you a 60 second summary of today’s key events in the financial markets:

Main Trading Event Of The Day: USD Non-Farm Employment Change @ 12.30 GMT

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING TODAY

U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls: High Hopes For March Jobs Report

With U.S. non-farm payrolls expected today, employers most likely increased hiring in March. The consensus forecast of economists is 200,000 nonfarm payrolls and an unemployment rate of 6.6 percent, compared with the 175,000 jobs added in February and an unemployment rate of 6.7 percent, according to Thomson Reuters. Traders are, however, speculating that today’s jobs report could top economists’ forecasts with data being as high as 220,000 to 240,000. The recent winter that brought heavy snowfalls well into March could still have some negative effect on hiring but some traders are hopeful that there was enough pent-up demand to cause a strong bounce back.

Gold meanwhile, was languishing near a seven-week low on Tuesday, after posting its first monthly drop of the year. The metal dropped nearly 1 percent on Monday, hitting a low of $1,282.04, the lowest since Feb. 11. Yesterday, gold gave up a chunk of its recent gains as the dollar moved up after the European Central Bank’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged. Today, gold tipped into positive territory, gaining 50 cents to $1,285.10 an ounce but stayed in a tight range as traders await today’s jobs report.

USD Non-Farm Payrolls today @ 12.30 GMT

Apple Inc: New Products Will Bring Stock Revival

Traders are betting that new Apple products will propel the world’s largest company after it rebounded from the worst monthly loss in a year. The stock lost 4.3 percent last quarter, including an 11 percent retreat in January. A range of new products to be introduced this year will sustain a sales boom and help keep the stock afloat. Apple will introduce a TV set-top box and is negotiating with Time Warner Cable Inc. and other potential partners to add video content and is also exploring a smartwatch, prompting some analysts to recommend holding Apple stock.

That sums up today’s highlights! Don’t forget to keep in touch with us via our Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn pages for up-to-the minute news and event updates! We hope you have a profitable day on the markets.

Just A Minute!

Here’s today’s ‘Just A Minute’ bringing you a 60 second summary of what’s happening in the markets.

Main Trading Events Of The Day: Several today including USD Non-Farm Employment Change @ 13.30, USD Trade Balance @ 13.30 & USD Employment Rate @ 13.30 GMT

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING TODAY

U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls: Gains In Job Growth Expected

Stock markets are ready for a soft jobs report due later today. Data is expected to show that employers in the U.S. hired more workers in February than a month earlier, indicating that companies were confident that demand will bounce back from a weather-induced slowdown. Payrolls increased 149,000 last month after a 113,000 gain in January, according to a Bloomberg survey ahead of figures from the Labor Department. The jobless rate held at 6.6 percent, the lowest since 2008, the survey also showed.

Even with last month’s pickup, job gains remain smaller than those seen for most of last year as the harsh weather conditions across the eastern U.S. slow consumer spending, housing and manufacturing. The Federal Reserve is trying to determine how much of the recent cooling has been due to weather, which means the outlook for monetary policy may not become clearer until March data becomes available but analysts believe that the weather is not the only factor behind the lull in activity - businesses are working through a large amount of unsold goods accumulated in the second half of 2013, which means they have no incentive to place new orders with manufacturers.

The U.S. dollar, meanwhile, is set for its biggest weekly gain in three months versus the yen before the release of U.S. payrolls data, with Federal Reserve officials reiterating the threshold for changing its stimulus tapering is high. The U.S. currency yesterday was at its strongest versus the yen since January as reports showed fewer Americans filed claims for jobless benefits. The dollar was little changed at 102.97 yen, from 103.07 yen yesterday, and has climbed 1.2 percent this week, the biggest advance since the period ended Nov. 29.

Meanwhile, Gold traded near the highest level in more than four months and headed for a fifth weekly advance before U.S. payrolls data. Gold rose 1.8 percent this week and closed at $1,350.02 an ounce yesterday, when prices rose 1 percent on expectations that U.S. borrowing costs will hold at a record low and European inflation will gradually accelerate. The metal reached $1,354.87 on March 3, the highest since Oct. 30, as tension between Ukraine and Russia escalated.

U.S. Non-Farm Employment Change @ 13.30 GMT.

What Is The Impact Of The Ukraine Crisis For Investors?

The recent Russia/Ukraine situation has caused some pronounced unrest in the currency markets, as well as a sharp selloff in the Russian equity market. Should investors be worried and is the safety trade the best trade? Much of this depends on whether Western influence can stop Russia invading. It is unlikely that the United States can stop Putin, but it can make it very uncomfortable for him to proceed. It is worth remembering that Russia has major pipelines running through Ukraine that deliver natural gas to the rest of Europe. Mistreating Ukraine to the point that it shuts down those pipelines would be economically devastating to Russia. It is unlikely that Ukraine will mount any meaningful military resistance to Russia simply because Ukraine is effectively broke. The Ukrainians cannot finance a war as they teeter on the edge of bankruptcy. What will punish Russia significantly will likely be the damage to asset prices that will be the consequence of investment funds leaving the country. Russia was forced to raise its overnight lending rate by 1.5 percent to defend the value of the ruble.

What does this mean for investors? Should investors be pulling up stakes in Russia and repatriating their funds home? Probably not, when you take into consideration what matters to Russia. First, oil is of great importance. Russia is one of the top producers of oil, and rising prices for crude means better revenues for Russia. Gold also matters to Russia. Russia is sensitive to the price of gold and other metals. Rising gold prices benefit Russia’s miners. The reality is that Russia likely will benefit from any spikes in commodity prices that these events cause. Russia’s markets are down significantly here and many believe they should be bought. With regard to equity prices, these are mainly dependent on earnings growth. Analysts believe that none of the events in Ukraine or Russia are likely have any impact on the earnings of companies here or in Russia. Earnings are expected to continue rising, and sooner or later the uncertainty in Russia will dissipate. Those investors who buy during the days of bad news will likely be winners once the political unrest blows over.

That sums up today’s highlights! We hope you have a profitable day on the markets.

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