U.S. Economic News
March 12, 2020
U.S. Economic Indicators
The headline Producer Price Index (“PPI”) for final demand fell 0.6% in February but is up 1.3% from February of last year. The core — which removes volatile prices of food, energy, and trade services — ticked down 0.1% (up 1.4% from a year ago). BLS Report
Initial jobless claims declined by 4,000 to 211,000 last week. The four-week moving average rose 1,250 to 214,000. DOL Report
U.S. News
According to the Wall Street Journal, investors’ hasty retreat from risky assets as stock prices plunge and the oil price war intensifies has raised concerns that the pain might spread to the real economy by constraining lending. Shares in the largest financial institutions have dropped over 30% over the past few weeks as the post-financial crisis regulatory regime faces its first real test. WSJ