Durable Goods Rose 0.2%

2/2/2021

847,000

The numbers of Americans filing for the first-time unemployment claims declined slightly to 847,000 in the ended Jan. 23, the U.S Department of Labor reported. The figure is slightly less than economists predicted a total of 875,000 claims and a decline from the 914,000 filings in the previous week. Continuing claims, which track the aggregate total of Americans applied for jobless benefits, fell to a seasonally adjusted 4.8 million in the week ended Jan. 16 - down from nearly 5 million in the previous week, according to The Wall Street Journal. Furthermore, for the week ending January 23, there were 426,856 workers applied for PUA (Pandemic Unemployment Assistance), a program for the self-employed and gig workers, the report shows.

4.1%

According to the Labor Department, payrolls continued to recover in the U.S. South in December while the rest of the country experienced job losses. Southern states posted job growth in services industries, the report shows. December seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment increased in 15 states — significant increases in 6 states in the South, 4 in the West, and 5 in the Midwest. Meanwhile, payroll fell in 11 states and was essentially unchanged in 24 states and the District of Columbia. Through December, the economy had recovered nearly 12 million jobs from the 22 million lost in March and April of last year. The total jobs in the South were 4.1% in December — less before the pandemic compared to February 2020. Simultaneously, there is 6.5% less in the Midwest, 6.7% less in the West, and 9.2% less in the Northeast.

4.3%

The Commerce Department reported that real gross domestic product increased at 4.0% in the Q4 of 2020 after a record 33.4% annualized gain in the Q3 fueled by the reopening of the economy in the summer. Compared from year to year, the economy got contracted with 3.5% — the worst performance since World War II. The economy got shrank up to 2.5% in the fourth quarter compared with the previous year. According to the economist’s survey by The Wall Street Journal, they have forecast 4.3% growth, while the International Monetary Fund projected that the U.S economy to grow up to 5.1% this year and 2.5% in 2022.

400,000

The Small Business Administration said that from Jan. 11 through Jan. 24, it has approved more than 400,000 pandemic relief loans nationally, which has worth roughly $35 billion since the program reopened as a persistent economic crisis means small businesses are still seeking help. Most of the applicants are second-time borrowers, said lenders. Approximately 4,500 lenders nationwide have participated in the second iteration of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), compared to the nearly 5,500 that made more than 5.5 million loans totaling nearly $588 billion during the first iteration of PPP last year. These loans indicate that smaller businesses are benefiting from the PPP and confidently moving their business forward while keeping their workforce employed during the pandemic, said Martin Golden, SBA Pacific Northwest Acting Regional Administrator.

0.2%

The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that new orders for durable goods increased 0.2% to $244.2 billion in December. It marked the eighth straight month of gains, followed by a 1.2% November increase. Economists predicted a 0.8% increase in December, but the figure is less than expected, The Wall Street Journal reported. Orders for non-defense capital goods, which exclude aircraft and military hardware, surged 0.6% last month after an upwardly revised 1% advance in November. Excluding transportation, shipments of core capital goods increased 0.5%. Excluding defense, new orders increased 0.7%, the report shows.

0.7%

According to the National Association of Realtors, the existing home sales in December 2020 reaching their highest level compared to 2006. Sales of US existing homes rose 0.7% from the previous month, beating market forecasts of 6.55 million and giving the U.S. economy a rare bright spot in a global pandemic. The median sales price for all housing types was $309,800, up 12.9% year over year. Considering full 2020, sales surged to 6.48 million, which represented a 5.6% gain from the 5.34 million previously owned homes sold in 2019. The sales have been boosted by ultralow interest rates and as Americans moving to larger homes for flexible remote work. As a result, the strong house-buying demand is anticipated to continue through 2021, say economists

54

Meanwhile, we have a new Guinness World Record. A man caught 54 pieces of popcorn with his mouth within the time span of 1 minute. The man named David Rush who has crossed 150 Guinness World Records that helps in promoting STEM education has collaborated with Jonathan Hannon, who is ambidextrous threw most popcorn and then David catch with the mouth. Rush has experienced that it is complex to predict where the lightweight popcorn would go when thrown. David Rush managed to catch 54 pieces of popcorn and crossed the previous record of 37 that has been set in the year 2016 by Ashrita Furman and Bipin Larkin, according to the UPI.