Coffee With Greta: Nothing More Than a Bear Market Rally
DJIA Futures: -53 (-0.2%)
SPX Futures: -6 (-0.2%)
NASDAQ Futures: -1 (-0.01%)
Good morning friends!
Futures are slightly lower as this week’s big rally appears to have been nothing more than a bear market bounce.
Let’s get right to it!
Weekly Jobless Claims Jump
This week’s jump in jobless claims is the largest since June.
The Labor Department reported 219,000 Americans filed initial claims for unemployment benefits last week.
That was up by 29,000 from the week before and higher than 203,000 expected.
Continuing claims also rose by 10,000 to 1.36 million in the week ending September 24.
This is the final piece of jobs data this week before the official September jobs report on Friday.
Economists expect that to show the U.S. economy added 275,000 jobs last month with the unemployment rate unchanged at 3.7%.
Peloton Slashes 500 More Jobs
Peloton (PTON) shares are up 1.8% after announcing more job cuts.
The exercise equipment maker is cutting 500 more jobs, which amounts to about 12% of its workforce.
CEO Barry McCarthy told CNBC, “The restructuring is done with today’s announcement. Now we’re focused on growth.”
McCarthy took over as CEO earlier this year and has pushed for drastic changes to the business model to return to growth.
He said, “I’m feeling about as optimistic as I’ve ever felt” and that Peloton is on track to meet its cash flow goals for this fiscal year.
Ford Hikes F-150 Lightning Price
Ford (F) shares are down 0.3% in premarket trade after the automaker hiked the starting price for its F-150 Lightning electric pickup on Wednesday.
The entry-level price for the 2023 model year will rise by $5,000 to $51,974.
That’s up nearly 11% from the previous price hike and 30% from the original price in May 2021.
The F-150 Lightning will top out at $97,000.
Ford said the price hike is ““due to ongoing supply chain constraints, rising material costs and other market factors. We will continue to monitor pricing across the model year.”
Oil Prices Hover Near 3-Week High
Oil prices are up slightly this morning after OPEC+ voted for its largest supply cut since 2020 on Wednesday.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures are up 0.1% to just under $88 bbl while Brent crude futures are up 0.1% to just over $93 bbl.
OPEC+ voted to decrease output by 2 million barrels per day starting in November.
The move is meant to support oil prices as crude prices are down sharply from the high of over $130 bbl in the spring.
The White House denounced the decision in a statement saying the President was, “disappointed by the shortsighted decision by OPEC+ to cut production quotas while the global economy is dealing with the continued negative impact of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.”
The statement said Biden has ordered the release of another 10 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve next month and “will also consult with Congress on additional tools and authorities to reduce OPEC’s control over energy prices.”
Meanwhile, the Energy Information Administration reported U.S. crude inventories fell by 1.4 million barrels last week vs 1.5 million expected.
Gasoline stockpiles fell by 4.7 million barrels vs 2.3 million expected.
In Case You Missed It
- Activity in the U.S. services sector slowed less than expected in September. The Institute for Supply Management’s services PMI fell to 56.7% from 56.9% in August. That was higher than expectations for a drop to 56%. New orders and employment both rose while production and prices paid fell.