Communist Party of China at age 102
The Communist Party of China (CPC) will celebrate its 102th birthday tomorrow. So, it is a good time to better understand what the CPC truly is …
Tonight, Tomorrow, Next Day, Five Days, and Intermediate-Term Outlooks for the U.S. and a Six-Day Forecast for the World: posted June 30, 2023
Updated at 5:02 p.m. EDT Friday, June 30, 2023
Here is what we are paying attention to in the next 48 to 72 hours. The article also includes weather maps for longer-term outlooks and a five-day World weather forecast.
We start with the U.S. Information.
Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
340 PM EDT Fri Jun 30 2023Valid 00Z Sat Jul 01 2023 – 00Z Mon Jul 03 2023
…More severe thunderstorms and areas of heavy rain to track eastward
from the central Plains to the Ohio Valley for the next couple of days……Excessive Heat Warnings and Advisories across much of California into
the Desert Southwest as well as through the lower and mid-Mississippi
Valley……Air Quality alerts over parts of the Midwest, Great Lakes, central
Appalachians, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic…
29 June 2023 Market Close & Major Financial Headlines: Markets Opened Fractionally Lower, Trended Higher, Closing Near Session Highs
Summary Of the Markets Today:
- The Dow closed up 270 points or 0.80%,
- Nasdaq closed flat 0.00%,
- S&P 500 closed up 0.45%,
- Gold $1,916 down $6.10,
- WTI crude oil settled at $70 up $0.28,
- 10-year U.S. Treasury 3.842% up 0.128 points,
- USD Index $103.33 up $0.42,
- Bitcoin $30,617 up $543,
*Stock data, cryptocurrency, and commodity prices at the market closing.
Click here to read our Economic Forecast for July 2023
Today’s Economic Releases Compiled by Steven Hansen, Publisher:
CoreLogic’s monthly Loan Performance Insights Report for April 2023 shows mortgage performance remained strong with overall delinquencies at minimal levels and serious delinquencies at a 23-year low. 2.8% of all mortgages in the U.S. were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure), representing a 0.1 percentage point decrease compared with 2.9% in April 2022 and a 0.2 percentage point increase compared with 2.6% in March 2023. So far, there is no indication of stress in the mortgage sector.
The third estimate of real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an improved annual rate of 2.0%. In the fourth quarter, real GDP increased 2.6%. The updated estimates primarily reflected upward revisions to exports and consumer spending that were partly offset by downward revisions to nonresidential fixed investment and federal government spending. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, were revised down. The table below shows the changes in GDP estimates for 1Q2023.
Pending home sales shrunk 2.7% in May 2023 from the previous month and declined 22.2% year-over-year. Existing home sales remain in a depression. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun added:
Despite sluggish pending contract signings, the housing market is resilient with approximately three offers for each listing. The lack of housing inventory continues to prevent housing demand from being fully realized.
In the week ending June 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims 4-week moving average was 257,500, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the highest level for this average since November 13, 2021 when it was 260,000. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 255,750 to 256,000.
Here is a summary of headlines we are reading today:
- How Russia’s Failed Coup Could Impact Global Commodities Markets
- Putin’s Plummeting Political Clout Is A Disaster For Xi
- Global Oil Reserves Could Increase Global Temperatures By 0.2°C
- Supreme Court rejects affirmative action at colleges as unconstitutional
- Dow closes 200 points higher as major banks pop on stress test results, GDP revised upward: Live updates
- Virgin Galactic completes first commercial flight in major step for space tourism company
- Fed paper argues ‘bleak’ stock market returns could slide to 2% annually
- Movers & Shakers: Bank of America, Rite Aid stocks rise, Micron and Virgin Galactic shares fall, and other stocks on the move
Click on the “Read More” below to access these, other headlines, and the associated news summaries moving the markets today.
July 2023 Economic Forecast: Our Forecast Continues To Suggest No Recession In Sight
Authored by Steven Hansen
EconCurrent‘s Economic Index improved and remains in positive territory. We do not see a recession baked in but there are now three major indicators signaling a recession Read on to understand the currents affecting our economic growth.
Weekly Crop Report June 29, 2023
This article is based primarily on the June 27, 2023, USDA Crop Bulletin which covers the June 19 to June 25 period of time. The USDA report usually becomes available on Tuesdays but due to a personal problem, I was not able to publish it until Wednesday night.
It now seems more like an average crop. Both corn and soybeans had a very good start but the quality of the crop has been somewhat compromised by drought. Soybeans are doing a bit better than corn. The condition report is a bit worse this week. The weather was not that bad but key crops did not recover from a long period of inadequate precipitation.
We also include the recent report on cattle on feed. I vary these reports to give readers information on different crops.
The article includes a short international review of agricultural conditions.
We begin with the National Agriculture Summary. The Tables below the summary have additional data. The boxes with my comments may be incomplete so for crops of interest check the data out yourself to be sure.
Tonight, Tomorrow, Next Day, Five Days, and Intermediate-Term Outlooks for the U.S. and a Six-Day Forecast for the World: posted June 29, 2023
Update at 6:46 p.m. on Thursday, June 29, 2023
Here is what we are paying attention to in the next 48 to 72 hours. The article also includes weather maps for longer-term outlooks and a five-day World weather forecast.
We start with the U.S. Information.
Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
356 PM EDT Thu Jun 29 2023Valid 00Z Fri Jun 30 2023 – 00Z Sun Jul 02 2023
…Slight Risks of Excessive Rainfall are in effect over the central US on
Thursday and Saturday……There is an Moderate Risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of the
Middle Mississippi and Ohio Valleys on Thursday, and an Enhanced Risk of
severe weather over the Central High Plains Thursday evening……Excessive Heat Warnings and Advisories over parts of the
Central/Southern Plains, Middle/Lower Mississippi Valley, and Central Gulf
Coast……Air Quality alerts over parts of the Upper/Middle Mississippi Valley,
Great Lakes, Western Ohio Valley, Central Appalachians, Northeast, and
Mid-Atlantic…
28 June 2023 Market Close & Major Financial Headlines: Wall Street Trading Mostly Sideways Near The Unchanged Line, Markets Closed Mixed
Summary Of the Markets Today:
- The Dow closed down 74 points or 0.22%,
- Nasdaq closed up 0.27%,
- S&P 500 closed down 0.04%,
- Gold $1,919 down $4.50,
- WTI crude oil settled at $69 up $1.64,
- 10-year U.S. Treasury 3.716% down 0.052 points,
- USD Index $102.96 up $0.47,
- Bitcoin $30,085 down $606,
*Stock data, cryptocurrency, and commodity prices at the market closing.
Click here to read our Economic Forecast for June 2023
Today’s Economic Releases Compiled by Steven Hansen, Publisher:
None
Here is a summary of headlines we are reading today:
- Sanctioned Goods Are Sneaking Into Russia Through Kazakhstan
- Russian Aluminum Stockpiles Undermine LME’s Credibility
- EIA: Energy Trade Between U.S. And Mexico Hits Record Levels
- China To Release Millions Of Barrels Of Imported Oil Stuck At Ports
- U.S. Clean Energy Jobs Jumped In 2022
- Nvidia’s chips fuel A.I. — here’s why the U.S. worries about China’s access
- S&P 500 closes near flat as Powell warns that more restrictive policy could be on the way: Live updates
- The S&P 500 is headed for a big first-half gain. Three key stocks have more than doubled
- “We’re In The Midst Of A Coup” – Martin Armstrong Warns NeoCons Will Rig 2024 Election
- Futures Movers: U.S. oil prices end at highest in a week as EIA reports a nearly 10 million-barrel weekly drop in U.S. crude supplies
Click on the “Read More” below to access these, other headlines, and the associated news summaries moving the markets today.
Is America exceptional, really?
Yes, America is exceptional in many ways. But I believe it is time to point out that America is exceptionally dangerous to mankind, because America, if not fixed soon, may destroy us all as a species by provoking WWIII, via Ukraine, Taiwan, or somewhere else!
To fix America, we must dispel the conventional notion of American exceptionalism by highlighting some other exceptions, which is what this post is about.
Weather: Tonight, Tomorrow, Next Day, Five Days, and Intermediate-Term Outlooks for the U.S. and a Six-Day Forecast for the World: posted June 28, 2023
Updated at 4;52 p.m. June 28, 2023
Here is what we are paying attention to in the next 48 to 72 hours. The article also includes weather maps for longer-term outlooks and a five-day World weather forecast.
We start with the U.S. Information.
Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
300 PM EDT Wed Jun 28 2023Valid 00Z Thu Jun 29 2023 – 00Z Sat Jul 01 2023
…Record heat expected from the Central to Southern Plains into the Lower
Mississippi Valley, Lower Ohio Valley,Lower Tennessee Valley and Central
Gulf coast……Smoke from Canadian wildfires to continue to produce poor air quality
from the Northern Plains into the Great Lakes, Mid West Ohio Valley and
Mid-Atlantic……Heat also forecast to build through the interior valleys of
California……Severe Thunderstorms possible from the Central Plains into the Mid
Mississippi Valley and Lower Ohio Valley……Elevated to critical Fire Weather conditions to persist from the Four
Corners region into the Southwest…
“Dancing Queens”: The Final Review
The final episode (Episode 8) of the reality TV show “Dancing Queens” was aired on June 27. It is briefly reviewed here, followed by a summary of all my eight reviews, thus concluding this endeavor of mine.