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U.S. Jobless Claims fall as S&P 500 gains
On the day before the U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls report, it was confirmed that the number of Americans seeking state unemployment benefits has fallen.
Figures released by the State Department revealed that jobless claims decreased by 36,000 and came in at 837,000 for the week which ended September 26th vs the expected number of 850,000 applications in the latest week.
This news came as it was also reported by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) that factory activity dropped to 55.4 last month from 56 in August.
As of writing the S&P 500 gained 0.53% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.17%, but the DOW was down 0.16%.
UK records 7,000+ daily COVID-19 cases on consecutive days
Data from the UK revealed that coronavirus cases are once again on the rise, which has led to many wondering if there will be a second national lockdown.
Britain confirmed 7,108 new cases of COVID-19 today. Which is slightly lower than yesterday’s number of 7,143. Although there was a marginal drop, many believe that we may see cases continue to come in at this level for a sustained period.
This is the second time that daily cases have been over 7,000 and these numbers are the highest recorded numbers since the crisis began.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.23% today after declines of 0.58% yesterday. Many believe that the rise of the FTSE was attributed to declines in GBPUSD.
The share price of Royal Dutch Shell today fell to its lowest level in 25 years as the company announced it will be letting go of 9,000 of its employees.
This comes as the oil industry was one of the biggest losers in the global battle against COVID-19. Demand for oil fell rapidly in 2020, as lockdown restrictions were employed the world over. Leading to decreasing oil prices fell including briefly negative prices in April.
Shell’s shares closed at 907.3p on today, which is the lowest level since November 1995. Rival BP also fell to a 25 year low, closing at 218.2p.
U.S. charges BitMEX Founders with failing to prevent money laundering
Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 2% as the founders of the second largest crypto-derivatives exchange were charged by U.S. authorities in New York on a number of counts. BitMEX invented the perpetual Bitcoin futures product that helped broaden the market for trading in cryptocurrency.
Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed were indicted in New York, where federal prosecutors claim the digital-asset exchange served American customers while flouting U.S. banking laws. Hayes said the exchange was incorporated in the Seychelles because they could bribe authorities there for the cost of “just a coconut,” according to the indictment, that was unsealed on Thursday.
Quote of the day – “We want to perceive ourselves as winners, but successful traders are always focusing on their losses.”
Peter Borish
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