Weekly newsletter August 1 to August 5
August 1, 2022
August 2, 2022
Monkeypox cases are increasing across the U.S. Monkeypox infections have nearly quintupled in two weeks, and they continue to increase across the country. The disease has been found in every state except Montana and Wyoming. Cases had been recorded in all but two states as of Monday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 44 states and Washington, D.C., at the end of July and from 14 states and Washington, D.C., at the beginning of June.
Photo: PennLive.com.
USDA cracking down on salmonella in chicken products The federal government on Monday announced proposed new regulations that would force food processors to reduce the amount of salmonella bacteria found in some raw chicken products or risk being shut down.
In total, the U.S. has reported nearly 6,000 cases since the beginning of May. The total worldwide exceeds 20,000. According to an NBC News analysis of CDC data, the seven-day average of reported new cases increased from an average of 45 on July 11 to an average of 214 on July 25.
The proposed U.S. Department of Agriculture rules would declare salmonella an adulterant in breaded and stuffed raw chicken products. Products would be considered adulterated when they exceed a very low level of salmonella contamination and would be subject to regulatory action, including shuttering plants that fail to reduce salmonella bacteria levels in their products, Eskin said. The USDA has performance standards that poultry processing plants have to meet to reduce contamination, but the agency cannot stop products from being sold, Eskin said. "This action and our overall salmonella initiative underscore our view that our job is to ensure that consumers don't get sick from meat and poultry products," she said. "They shouldn't be sold if they're contaminated to the degree that people get sick." The agency notified the new rules will be published in the Federal Register this fall and the USDA's Food Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/salmonella-in-chicken-products-usda/ Safety and Inspection Service will seek public comment before finalizing the rules and setting a date for implementation.
Photo: Spencer Platt
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/monkeypox-cases-map-spreadoutbreak-us-rcna40924
August 3, 2022
August 4, 2022
Jobless Claims Tick Up Slightly as Labor Market Continues to Cool The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly to 260,000 last week, as the labor market continues to soften under the pressure of inflation and higher interest rates. The four-week moving average was 254,750, an increase of 6,000 from the prior period, the Labor Department reported on Thursday.
Photo: AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson
US Stocks Rise Following Solid Earnings Reports Stocks on Wall Street closed broadly higher Wednesday as investors welcomed encouraging economic data and quarterly earnings reports from big companies including Starbucks. The S&P 500 rose 1.6% to an almost 2-month high, while the Nasdaq gained 2.6%. Both indexes more than recouped losses earlier in the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3% and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies ended 1.4% higher.
The health of the labor market is a key factor in the Federal Reserve’s attempt to curb inflation, now running at a 9.1% annual rate. So far, businesses have continued hiring and posting for new openings, though there are indications a slowdown has begun. Last week, the release of gross domestic product for the second quarter showed the economy contracted by 0.9% in the period following a decline of 1.6% in the first quarter. That has led many to say the U.S. is in a recession, but others have argued that is not the case given the robust nature of the labor market and consumer spending still rising even after accounting for inflation
Some weak recent data on the economy heightened speculation that the peak for inflation and for the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes may be approaching or has already passed. The weak data, though, also shows the risk of a recession as the Fed puts the brake on the economy. The S&P 500 rose 63.98 points to 4,155.17. It had been down nearly 1% for the week heading into Wednesday. It's now up 0.6% for the week. The Dow gained 416.33 points to 32,812.50. The Nasdaq added 319.40 points to end at 12,668.16. The Russell 2000 picked up 26.48 points to 1,908.93. Nearly three-quarters of companies within the benchmark S&P 500 have reported earnings for the latest quarter and the results have mostly beaten analysts' forecasts. Source: https://apnews.com/article/inflation-taiwan-stock-marketstokyo-asia-6176a85c2f575f7c2306549450af69b7
Photo: L Y N N E S L A D K Y / A P
Source: https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2022-08-04/jobless-claims-tickup-slightly-as-labor-market-continues-to-cool
August 5, 2022
Photo: AP/ Paul Wiseman
US employers add 528,000 jobs; unemployment falls to 3.5% Defying anxiety about a possible recession and raging inflation, America's employers added a stunning 528,000 jobs last month, restoring all the jobs lost in the coronavirus recession. Unemployment fell to 3.5%, lowest since the pandemic struck in early 2020. The red-hot jobs numbers from the Labor Department on Friday arrive amid a growing consensus that the U.S. economy is losing momentum. The U.S. economy shrank in the first two quarters of 2022 — an informal definition of recession. But most economists believe the strong jobs market has kept the economy from slipping into a downturn. The jobless rate fell as the number of Americans saying they had jobs rose by 179,000 and the number saying they were unemployed dropped by 242,000. But 61,000 Americans dropped out of the labor force in July, trimming the share of those working or looking for work to 62.1% last month from 62.2% in June. The strong job numbers are likely to encourage the Federal Reserve to continue raising interest rates to cool the economy and combat resurgent inflation. "The strength of the labor market in the face of ... rate tightening from the Fed already this year clearly shows that the Fed has more work to do,' said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist at Allianz Investment Management. "Overall, today's report should put the notion of a near-term recession on the back-burner for now.'' There are, of course, political implications in the numbers being released Friday: Voters have been worried about rising prices and the risk of recession ahead of November's midterm elections as President Joe Biden's Democrats seek to maintain control of Congress. The unexpectedly strong hiring number will be welcomed at the White House. interest rates to cool the economy and combat resurgent inflation.
Source: https://www.startribune.com/us-employers-add-528000-jobs-unemployment-fallsto-3-5/600195911/