U.S. Economic News
June 18, 2020
U.S. Economic Indicators
Initial jobless claims fell 58,000 to 1,508,000 last week. The four week moving average fell 234,500 to 1,773,500. DOL Report
The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (“LEI”) increased 2.8% in May following a 6.1% decline in April. While improvements in the labor market, housing permits, and stock prices helped bolster the index in May, the large drop between February and April suggests that the economy is unlikely to recover from recessionary territory in the near term. Conference Board Report
U.S. News
According to the Wall Street Journal, more than 100 million student, auto, and personal loans have gone unpaid since the coronavirus hit the United States earlier this year. While the federal stimulus package permits deferred payments for student loans and federally-backed mortgages for now, lenders will not be able to withstand unpaid loans indefinitely and delinquencies may rise sharply as the recession persists. WSJ