The retailer, which sells nearly everything for a dollar in its namesake chain, plans to add more products at slightly higher prices, highlighting the pressure on companies to offset cost increases for a range of goods.
Read More ->
Tight Labor Market Seen Keeping New Jobless Claims in Check
Worker filings for unemployment benefits are expected to have fallen last week as the number of Covid-19 cases declined and hurricane-related disruptions eased.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal estimate that initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, declined by 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 335,000 for the week ended Sept. 25. That would place new applications near the lowest level since the pandemic took hold in the U.S. in March 2020. The Labor Department plans to release the latest numbers at 8:30 a.m. EDT Thursday.
Read More ->
In Bond Market Rout, Investors See Overdue Correction
Investors often claim the U.S. government bond market is the best place to look for insights into the shifting outlook for the economy and interest rates. Right now, some think it isn't.
In the waning days of the third quarter, yields on U.S. government bonds shot higher. That might be taken as an encouraging sign about the prospects for the economy because yields, which rise when bond prices fall, generally tend to climb with forecasts for growth and inflation.
Read More ->
Eurozone Unemployment Rate Falls
The jobless rate in the eurozone continued to decline in August as the reopening after the easing of pandemic-related restrictions fueled a strong economic recovery over the summer.
The eurozone jobless rate fell to 7.5% in August from 7.6% in July, data from the European Union's statistics agency, Eurostat, showed Thursday.
Read More ->
China's Manufacturing Weakens, as Power Cuts Threaten More Damage
BEIJING-China's manufacturing activity contracted in September, ending an 18-month expansion that powered the country's recovery from the pandemic, with power curbs in hubs threatening further disruption.
China's manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 49.6 in September, the National Bureau of Statistics in Beijing said Thursday. That marks the gauge's first drop below the 50 mark that separates an expansion of activity from contraction since February 2020, when the metropolis of Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province were shut down to contain the fast-spreading virus.
Read More ->
Gas Markets Will Get Even More Exciting
Gas is the relatively clean fossil fuel many hoped would smooth the transition to low-carbon energy. Instead it is turning out to have its own transition problems.
Natural-gas prices around the world have jumped in recent months, lifting energy bills, stoking worries about higher inflation and even prompting factory shutdowns. The tight market can be attributed mainly to unexpectedly extreme weather, maintenance catch-up following the pandemic, supply bottlenecks and a dash of geopolitics.
Read More ->
Powell Says Supply-Chain Bottlenecks Could Lead to Somewhat Longer Interval of High Inflation
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that a recent spell of higher inflation might last longer than central bank officials had anticipated, but he repeated his expectation that the price surge should eventually fade during a panel discussion on Wednesday.
Rising vaccination rates and nearly $2.8 trillion in federal spending approved since December have produced a recovery like none in recent memory. Inflation has soared this year, with so-called core prices that exclude volatile food and energy categories up 3.6% in July from a year earlier, using the Fed's preferred gauge. The gains largely reflect disrupted supply chains and shortages associated with the reopening of the economy.
Read More ->
House Republicans Confront Dilemma on Infrastructure Vote
WASHINGTON-Plenty of House Republicans support what is in the roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. The vast majority of them won't vote for it.
Unlike its passage in the Senate, where the infrastructure bill secured the support of 19 Republicans alongside all 50 members of the Democratic caucus, the bill faces a more complicated path in the House, where a much smaller slice of the caucus is expected to back the measure when it comes up for a vote as soon as Thursday.
Read More ->
Infrastructure Bill's Fate Uncertain Heading Into Planned House Vote
WASHINGTON-A crucial piece of President Biden's domestic agenda hung in the balance Thursday, as Democratic leaders moved toward a planned House vote on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that many progressive Democrats have threatened to oppose.
Congress did appear poised to avert a government shutdown, with the Senate and then the House expected to easily approve a measure extending government funding through Dec. 3. Without passage of that bill, funding would expire and a partial government shutdown would begin at 12:01 a.m. EDT Friday.
Read More ->
Rohingya Civil-Rights Leader Mohib Ullah Killed in Bangladesh
A leader of the Rohingya Muslim community was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen in a refugee camp in Bangladesh, prompting calls from rights advocates for an investigation.
Mohib Ullah, who his colleagues say was 48 years old, was among the most high-profile advocates for the Rohingya, a stateless minority from Myanmar that was targeted in a 2017 military offensive that forced more than 740,000 to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. United Nations investigators have called for Myanmar army leaders to face genocide charges over the attacks.
Read More ->
North Korea Sees U.S. as Ongoing Threat, Kim Jong Un Says in Speech
SEOUL-Kim Jong Un said the U.S. threat against North Korea remains "utterly unchanged" under President Biden, accusing Washington of using increasingly cunning methods and words.
In a policy speech to his rubber-stamp legislature, Mr. Kim didn't mention or criticize Mr. Biden by name, though specified his assessment was proved by the American deeds done over the past eight months, according to a Thursday state-media report of his remarks. The North Korean leader ordered officials to take tactical measures that would firmly protect the country's sovereignty.
Read More ->
GM CEO Mary Barra to Lead Business Roundtable
General Motors Co. Chief Executive Mary Barra has been appointed the next chairman of the Business Roundtable, a trade group representing U.S. business interests in Washington, D.C.
On Jan. 1, Ms. Barra will take over as chairman of the coalition of chief executives of some of the biggest U.S. companies. She will be the first woman to lead the Business Roundtable.
Read More ->
Write to sarka.halas@wsj.com
TODAY IN CANADA
Earnings:
Nothing major scheduled
Economic Indicators (ET):
N/A Canada: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Stocks to Watch:
No items published
Other News:
No items published
Market Talk:
No items published
Expected Major Events for Thursday
01:00/JPN: Aug Steel Imports & Exports Statistics
04:30/JPN: Aug Preliminary Report on Petroleum Statistics
05:00/JPN: Aug Housing Starts
05:00/JPN: Aug Construction Orders
06:00/UK: 2Q Balance of Payments
06:00/UK: 2Q UK quarterly national accounts
06:00/UK: Sep Nationwide House Price Index
06:45/FRA: Aug PPI
06:45/FRA: Aug Household consumption expenditure in manufactured goods
06:45/FRA: Sep Provisional CPI
07:55/GER: Sep Labour market statistics (incl unemployment)
08:00/GER: Sep Bavaria CPI
08:00/GER: Sep Hesse CPI
08:00/GER: Sep Baden-Wuerttemberg CPI
08:00/ITA: Aug Unemployment
08:30/GER: Sep North Rhine Westphalia CPI
08:30/UK: 2Q Business investment revised results
09:00/GER: Sep Saxony CPI
09:00/ITA: Sep Provisional CPI
09:00/ITA: Sep Cities CPI
12:00/GER: Sep Provisional CPI
12:30/US: 2Q Revised Corporate Profits
12:30/US: 2Q 3rd estimate GDP
12:30/US: 09/25 Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report - Initial Claims
12:30/US: U.S. Weekly Export Sales
13:00/RUS: Weekly International Reserves
13:45/US: Sep Chicago Business Barometer - ISM-Chicago Business Survey - Chicago PMI
13:45/US: Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
14:30/US: 09/24 EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report
19:00/US: Aug Agricultural Prices
20:30/US: Foreign Central Bank Holdings
20:30/US: Federal Discount Window Borrowings
23:30/JPN: Aug Labour Force Survey
23:50/JPN: 3Q Tankan Survey of Enterprises in Japan
All times in GMT. Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Thursday
AngioDynamics (ANGO) is expected to report $-0.15 for 1Q.
Bassett Furniture Industries Inc (BSET) is expected to report $0.30 for 3Q.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY) is expected to report $0.52 for 2Q.
CCUR Holdings Inc (CCUR) is expected to report for 3Q.
CarMax Inc (KMX) is expected to report $1.96 for 2Q.
Jefferies Financial Group Inc (JEF) is expected to report $0.85 for 3Q.
McCormick & Co (MKC) is expected to report $0.72 for 3Q.
Paychex Inc (PAYX) is expected to report $0.81 for 1Q.
US Global Investors (GROW) is expected to report for 4Q.
Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.
ANALYST RATINGS ACTIONS
Arch Resources Raised to Buy From Neutral by Citigroup
AutoNation Raised to Equal-Weight From Underweight by Morgan Stanley
Boeing Raised to Outperform From Market Perform by Bernstein
CDW Raised to Neutral From Underweight by JP Morgan
Conagra Brands Raised to Neutral From Underperform by Credit Suisse
Eli Lilly Raised to Buy From Neutral by Citigroup
Essex Property Raised to Buy From Neutral by Mizuho
HP Cut to Neutral From Overweight by JP Morgan
InnovAge Holding Cut to Neutral From Buy by Citigroup
Morgan Stanley Cut to Perform From Outperform by Oppenheimer
Occidental Petroleum Raised to Outperform From In-Line by Evercore ISI Group
This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-30-21 0607ET
