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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40001117

Jobless claims set a pandemic low as GOP-led states move to slash unemployment benefits

WASHINGTON – Some 444,000 Americans filed first-time unemployment claims last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, chalking up another pandemic low as the labor market continues to recover and a cluster of state lawmakers threaten to slash benefits.

That’s down 34,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised level, marking the third consecutive weekly decline in initial unemployment claims. Georgia, Kentucky, Texas, Michigan and Alabama saw some of the biggest drop-offs in filings. New Jersey, Washington and Oklahoma were among the only states with spikes in claims greater than 1,000.

At this time last year, weekly unemployment claims ballooned past 2.3 million.

Now, claims are at their lowest level since mid-March 2020. The report comes as a wave of 22 Republican-led states say they will opt out of expanded unemployment benefits, which they argue are preventing people from returning to the labor market. The temporary $300 weekly benefit was slated to expire in September, but states such as Texas, Arizona and Ohio plan to cut it off in June.

Job openings hit a record high in March, surging 8% to 8.1 million as loosening pandemic restrictions and widespread vaccinations boosted activity, the Labor Department reported. But businesses around the country say they are struggling to find workers: Applebee’s is offering free appetizers to job applicants, while a Florida McDonald’s is paying $50 to those who show up for an interview. About 44% of small businesses had job openings they couldn’t fill in April, a record high according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

“The current situation is extremely complicated, even as we rejoice over the progress with vaccinations, lower COVID case counts and the ability to resume previously restricted activities,” Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate.com, said Thursday in comments emailed to The Post. “There are challenges to address including what the return to office or work looks like and resolving constraints of labor and supplies.”

Calls to slash benefits started after April’s jobs report came in wildly below expectations, with just 266,000 positions added to the U.S. economy when economists had been projecting 1 million. While Republican governors blamed overly generous benefits for hampering the labor market, Democrats and labor experts say the reality is more complicated. It’s the problems the pandemic has compounded: unaffordable child care, unsafe working conditions, low wages, in-person work requirements and the inconsistency of unemployment insurance.

Cuts are likely to fall hardest on roughly 3.4 million people who benefit from stimulus programs that Congress adopted at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, including one targeting those who either are self-employed or work on behalf of gig-economy companies such as Uber. Beginning next month, many of these workers are likely to receive no aid at all.

States reported more than 95 million initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, for gig and self-employed workers, for the week that ended May 15. Nearly 6.6 million PUA claims were continued in early May for the benefits that are set to expire in September.

While initial claims declined, continuing unemployment claims edged up 111,000 from the previous week, to 3.75 million. The total number of Americans drawing some form of unemployment benefits is nearly 16 million, near historic highs.

Published : May 21, 2021

By : The Washington Post · Taylor Telford

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40001112

Bitcoin claws back as Wall Street set to break losing streak

Bitcoin clawed back some of its declines on Thursday after suffering brutal losses in a broad sell-off that vaporized several billion dollars in the cryptocurrency market.

The most valuable digital token rose to $40,000 Thursday afternoon, after falling below $35,000 Wednesday to price levels not seen since January. Financial observers attributed the marketwide nosedive to negative headlines, the destabilizing pronouncements of billionaire executive Elon Musk and to the cascading effects of speculative trading.

Crypto holders are not the only investors feeling the pain. Wall Street has suffered three consecutive days of losses, but Thursday’s trading session offered the first sign of relief, as all three major indexes closed the day in positive territory. Stocks climbed as the Labor Department reported another pandemic low of new jobless claims. But the promising report also arrived as 22 Republican-led states were positioning themselves to opt out of expanded unemployment benefits, and as weekly unemployment claims exceeded 2.3 million.

Musk, the technologist behind Tesla and SpaceX who has a penchant for tweeting through tense moments, entered the fray once again, promoting his favored token, Dogecoin, and sending prices upward Thursday morning. By the afternoon, settling at about 40 cents, the meme-inspired token is still well below its recent high of 57 cents established last week. “How much is that Doge in the window?” Musk tweeted, alongside an image with the word “cyberviking.”

In recent days Musk, a longtime Dogecoin supporter, has unleashed market-moving posts. Following his May 8 appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” he has said that his electric-car company would no longer accept bitcoin as payment. He went on to suggest that Tesla would sell or had already sold its bitcoin holdings, only to clarify later that his company had not dumped its investment.

Published : May 21, 2021

By : The Washington Post · Hamza Shaban

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40001111

Techs lead U.S. equity rebound after jobs report

Technology companies led a rebound in U.S. equities on Thursday after a report showing applications for state unemployment insurance fell last week to a fresh pandemic low rekindled optimism in the economic recovery.

The Nasdaq 100 Index jumped to a two-week high, with gains in megacaps including Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Tesla Inc. powering the advance. Tech stocks rose the most in the S&P 500 as all of the major industry groups moved higher. Ford Motor Co. rose for the first time in three sessions on plans to create a joint venture to manufacture electric-vehicle batteries in the U.S.

The latest jobs report comes after mounting concern that faster inflation will prompt authorities to ease back on stimulus has weighed on risk assets in recent sessions. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed some officials were open to a debate at “upcoming meetings” on scaling back bond purchases if the U.S. economy continued to progress rapidly.

“While inflation has been the star of the show, keep in mind that the Fed’s mandate is twofold, with employment as the other side,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*Trade Financial. “The jobless claims read shows once again that we’re heading in the right direction, but we’re a ways away from where we were pre-pandemic.”

Thursday’s rally pushed the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 above its average price for the past 50 days. That level is a key trend indicator for traders and has proven to be a buy signal in past rebounds.

Cryptocurrencies pared gains after the U.S. Treasury Department called for stronger tax compliance. Bitcoin, which whipsawed investors with huge price swings on Wednesday, was up less than 5% at 4 p.m. in New York after climbing as much as 11%.

Oil extended declines to a three-week low after Iran’s president said the broad outline of a deal to end sanctions on its oil had been reached. Yields on 10-year Treasuries fell as the dollar weakened. The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell for a third day.

These are some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

– The S&P 500 rose 1.1% as of 4:01 p.m. EDT

– The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.9%

– The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.5%

– The MSCI World index rose 1%

Currencies

– The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4%

– The euro rose 0.4% to $1.2226

– The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.4189

– The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 108.78 per dollar

Bonds

– The yield on 10-year Treasurys declined four basis points to 1.63%

– Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.11%

– Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 0.84%

Commodities

– West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.1% to $62 a barrel

– Gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,877 an ounce

Published : May 21, 2021

By : Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Vildana Hajric, Claire Ballentine

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40001103

Thai stocks down as US Fed signals QE tapering

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,554.54 on Thursday, down 7.70 points or 0.49 per cent. Total transactions amounted to THB90 billion with an index high of 1,568.72 and a low of 1,554.54.

In the morning session, Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to fluctuate between 1,555 and 1,570 points after minutes of a key Federal Reserve meeting in April showed officials were cautiously optimistic about a US recovery.

The Fed also signalled it would be open “at some point” to discussing a scaling back of the central bank’s massive bond purchases (quantitative easing or QE). QE tends to boost stock prices around the world by increasing the money supply.

Also pressuring the SET are the falling oil price amid progress on an Iran nuclear deal, plus the outflow of foreign funds, Krungsri Securities said.

“However, the index would rebound from mass buy-ups of shares which gained positive sentiment, and on hopes of Thai economic recovery after mass vaccination launches in June,” it added.

The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were TIDLOR, PTT, KBANK, STGT, PTTEP, CPF, BEC, KEX, STEC and THCOM.

Other Asian indices were mixed:

Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 28,098.25, up 53.80 points or 0.19 per cent.

China’s Shanghai SE Composite Index closed at 3,506.94, down 4.02 points or 0.11 per cent, while the Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 14,535.10, up 50.64 points or 0.35 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 28,450.29, down 143.52 points or 0.50 per cent.

South Korea’s KOSPI closed at 3,162.28, down 10.77 points or 0.34 per cent.

Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 16,042.36, down 90.30 points or 0.56 per cent.

Published : May 20, 2021

By : The Nation

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40001090

SET expected to fluctuate amid cautious optimism of a US recovery

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index fell by 5.21 points or 0.33 per cent to 1,557.03 at 10.12am on Thursday. The volume of transactions was THB9.94 billion with an index high of 1,566.18 points and a low of 1,555.55.

Krungsri Securities predicted the day’s index would fluctuate between 1,555 and 1,570 points as minutes of a key Federal Reserve meeting in April showed officials were cautiously optimistic about a US recovery.

Meanwhile, the Fed signalled that it would be open “at some point” to discussing a scaling back of the central bank’s massive bond purchases.

Also pressuring the SET are the falling oil price amid progress of an Iran nuclear deal, plus the outflow of foreign funds, Krungsri Securities said.

“However, the index would rebound from mass buy-ups of shares which gained positive sentiment and on hopes of a Thai economic recovery after mass vaccinations commence in June,” it added.

It recommended investors buy:

▪︎ BDMS, BCH and CHG, which would gain positive sentiment from mass vaccinations.

▪︎ Hana, KCE, TU, CPF and EPG, which benefit from a weakening baht.

▪︎ CK, STEC, ITD, NWR, Uniq, which benefit from e-bidding for the Den Chai-Chiang Khong double-track railway project.

The SET Index closed at 1,562.24 on Wednesday, down 4.56 points or 0.29 per cent. Total transactions amounted to THB83.53 billion with an index high of 1,570.05 points and a low of 1,557.83.

Published : May 20, 2021

By : The Nation

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40001089

Baht expected to weaken in short term

The baht opened at 31.43 to the US dollar on Thursday, strengthening slightly from Wednesday’s closing rate of 31.45.

The Thai currency is likely to move between 31.40 and 31.50 during the day, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool said.

He predicted that the baht would weaken in the short term due to the market situation and the Covid-19 crisis in Thailand.

However, Poon believed the baht would strengthen in the near future because of a weakening dollar as well as Covid-19 vaccinations for the general Thai public, which would draw investors back to the country.

Published : May 20, 2021

By : The Nation

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40001087

Gold continues upward streak after mass purchases

The price of gold in Thailand rose by THB100 per baht weight in morning trade on Thursday, thanks to mass buy-ups of the safe-haven asset in response to a fall in US stock markets and cryptocurrencies after China announced it would ban all cryptocurrency transactions.

A Gold Traders Association report at 9.25am showed the buying price of a gold bar at THB27,700 per baht weight and selling price at THB27,800, while gold ornaments cost THB27,197.04 and THB28,300, respectively.

At close on Wednesday, the buying price of a gold bar was THB27,600 per baht weight and selling price THB27,700, while gold ornaments cost THB27,106.08 and THB28,200, respectively.

The spot gold price on Thursday was US$1,872 (THB58,789) per ounce compared to the price on Wednesday, when it rose by $13.50 to $1,881.50 per ounce.

The Hong Kong gold price meanwhile rose by HK$30 to $17,330 (THB70,091) per tael, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society reported.

Published : May 20, 2021

By : The Nation

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40001066

Thai health-food exporters urged to tap soaring demand during pandemic

The Commerce Ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) has urged Thai businesses to take advantage of the soaring global demand for health food, supplements and vitamins during the Covid-19 crisis.

Thailand exported over 794 million baht in vitamins and supplements last year alone.

The TPSO said consumers were focusing more and more on health products as a way of boosting their immune systems. This trend offered opportunities for Thai food companies to leverage the strengths of Thai medicinal herbs and supplements to expand to international markets where demand was high, it added.

European consumers are leaning towards vegan and low-lactose products, while the trend in North America was for GMO-free food, said TPSO chief Phusit Ratanakul Sereroengrit, citing consumer data from research firm Mintel. Meanwhile, consumers in Asia favour natural products free from additives, according to the data.

Twenty-seven per cent of consumers in the US, one of Thailand’s largest food-export markets, would pay more for whole-foods while 35 per cent want to know the origin of the product.

The data also offers the following five trends in supplements and vitamins that consumers around the world are paying attention to.

1. Holistic health: More than 70 per cent of global consumers take nutritional supplements or vitamins, focusing on natural herbal extracts to maintain digestive and skin health, and prevent allergies and oral disease.

2. New and emerging health concerns: 35 per cent of American consumers buy nutritional supplements and alternative beverages to boost their immune systems, compared to 47 per cent of Thai consumers.

3. Align with food and drink: Plant-based and protein-based dietary supplements and alternative proteins are increasingly popular. Twenty-four per cent of Australians are concerned with making environmentally-friendly food choices, while 45 per cent of European consumers believe that a plant-base diet is beneficial for their body, and 34 per cent and 35 per cent of Polish and French consumers, respectively, prefer plant-based beverages such as soy milk and yoghurt.

4. Beauty benefits: Hyaluronic acid has gained great popularity over the past five years for its anti-aging and moisturising properties. 51 per cent of Thai consumers are interested in food and beverages that improve their skin. Chinese consumers pay attention to products that contain nutritional supplements and vitamins in fruit juices, and Chinese manufacturers have begun to introduce hyaluronic acid into jelly and beverage formulas.

5. Clear and transparent labelling: Manufacturers need to focus on clear labelling indicating plant-based ingredients, organic products, GMO-free, allergy-free, or no preservatives, etc.

In 2020, Thai exported about 1,617 tonnes of supplements and vitamins worth a total 794.27 million baht. Vietnam and Myanmar accounted for half of all Thai supplement and vitamin exports.

Published : May 20, 2021

By : The Nation