Chaotic presidential debate, jobs cuts add to recovery fears, and there’s still no progress on stimulus talks.
Rancorous
The first of three presidential debates happened last night, and if you watched it, you’ve probably already made up your mind about it. If you didn’t, you were probably avoiding it for a reason. If you really are looking for a recap of the often chaotic 90 mins, there’s one here.
Job cuts
There were more signs that the “return to normal” for the global economy may take longer than hoped for in a couple of major layoff announcements. Walt Disney Co. made one of the deepest workforce reductions of the Covid-19 era after it announced yesterday it was firing 28,000 workers. Oil major Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it will cut as many as 9,000 jobs as it struggles with low demand and tries to restructure towards low-carbon energy. There is a check on the health of the U.S. labor market this morning when ADP releases its employment report while September payrolls data is due on Friday.
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No progress
There are few signs of progress on agreeing a new stimulus package after yesterday’s talks between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The pair are scheduled to talk again today, with Pelosi saying her party is waiting for Mnuchin’s counter-offer. She has already asked Democrats to deliver a “strong” vote for the $2.2 trillion package in the House which could be scheduled for as early as today before lawmakers leave for election campaigning. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow expressed skepticism over the need for such a large package.
Markets mixed
Investors are taking some risk off the table in the wake of last night’s acrimonious debate. Overnight the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.6%, while Japan’s Topix index closed 1.9% lower, its biggest one-day drop since July. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.3% lower at 5:50 a.m. Eastern Time with travel and technology shares hardest hit. S&P 500 futures pointed to a drop at the open, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 0.651% and gold slipped.
Coming up…
ADP employment change is at 8:15 a.m. The third reading of U.S. second-quarter GDP is at 8:30 a.m. Pending home sales for August is at 10:00 a.m. The oil market will be hoping for some good news in U.S. inventories data at 10:30 a.m. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard all speak later. Ex-FBI Director James Comey appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
