BY: MARSHALL BARTLETT
Senior Vice President / Portfolio Manager
In this morning’s data, Initial Jobless Claims were 870,000 for the week ending September 19th, an increase from the previous week and higher than expected. Continuing Claims were 12,580,000 as of September 12th, also higher than expected. Overall, the increases in initial and continuing claims data show the labor market remains challenged even with the improvement from the extreme levels seen during the pandemic. The choppy economic reopening process is impacting the Leisure & Hospitality industry as reflected in the continuing claims data. Given these dynamics and the lack of agreement on the terms for an additional fiscal stimulus package, the Federal Reserve should remain accommodative for the foreseeable future, as they have stated in recent communications. In all, bond yields are little changed and equity futures are lower as we head into the market open.
This material is intended to be for informational purposes only and is intended for current or prospective clients of Argent Trust Company. This information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, and its accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed. Information does not constitute a recommendation of any investment strategy, is not intended as investment advice and does not take into account all the circumstances of each investor. Forward‐looking assumptions are Argent Trust Company’s current estimates or expectations of future events or future results based on proprietary research and should not be construed as an estimate or promise of results that a portfolio may achieve. Actual results could differ materially from the results indicated by this information. Investments can go down as well as up. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
