Succinct Summations of Week’s Events 1.10.20 (plus U.S. Cost of Healthcare)

Below please find the usual weekly summation, the positive being the killing of the Iranian general, the negative being the killing of the Iranian general.  Positives also included the unemployment rate remaining at 3.5% and the negatives also included payrolls rising below expectations.  As is often the case, the positives and negatives sort of cancel each other.  The bonus this Sunday is a very telling and instructive graphic illustrating healthcare costs in the U.S. and how it quite unfavorably compares to most other countries.  Hope everyone dealt with all the flooding okay this weekend. 

Succinct Summations of Week’s Events 1.10.20

January 10, 2020 4:30pm by Barry Ritholtz

Succinct Summations for the week ending January 10th, 2020

Positives:

1. US eliminates Iranian General behind numerous terrorist attacks;
2. Unemployment rate remains unchanged at 3.5%.
3. Home mortgage apps rose 5.0% w/o/w, above previous decrease.
4. ADP private payrolls at 202k, above the expectations.
5. Jobless claims fell from 223k to 214k w/o/w, below expectations;
6. ISM Non-Mfg index came in at 55.0 for December, above expectations.

Negatives:

1. POTUS plays into Iranian hardliners hands in impulsive, strategy-free attack.
2. Non-farm payrolls rose 145k m/o/m, below expectations.
3. Same store sales rose 6.1 w/o/w, decelerating from previous month.
4. Consumer credit = $12.5B for November, below expectations.
5. Factory orders fell 0.7% m/o/m, below the previous increase.
6. Wholesale trade fell 0.1% m/o/m, below the previous increase.

Health Insurers in U.S. Pay Much More for Hospital Care