The numbers: Sales at U.S. retailers rebounded 0.4% in April largely because of strong...
The numbers: Sales at U.S. retailers rebounded 0.4% in April largely because of strong demand for new autos and higher consumer spending online, offering a respite from a broad slowdown in consumer spending. Sales had been forecast to rise 0.8%, based on a Wall Street Journal poll of economists.
Retail sales are a big part of consumer spending and offer clues about the strength of the economy. Before April’s increase, retail sales had fallen in four of the prior five months.
Retail sales rose a somewhat stronger 0.6% in April if auto dealers and gas stations are excluded. Car and gasoline purchases exaggerate overall retail spending.
Key details: Sales of new vehicles and auto parts, an up-and-down category, rose 0.4% last month.
Crude oil prices turned things around in Monday’s trading, rising a...
Crude oil prices turned things around in Monday’s trading, rising a dollar a barrel while energy stocks saw some major gains with the exception of ONEOK which plummeted 9% following word of its nearly $19 billion acquisition of Magellan Midstream.
West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.07 or 1.5% to close at $71.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Global benchmark Brent crude gained $1.06 or 1.4% to finish at $75.23 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
Natural gas rose 11 cents or 4.81% to close at $2.38 per thousand cubic feet.
Dow snaps 5-session skid as investors await next debt-ceiling talks
U.S. stocks ended higher on Monday, with Dow industrials advancing for the first time in six...
U.S. stocks ended higher on Monday, with Dow industrials advancing for the first time in six sessions, as investors monitored efforts to resolve a U.S. debt-ceiling standoff ahead of a potential default.
The Dow Jones Industrial AverageDJIA, +0.14% finished up 47.98 points, or 0.1%, at 33,348.60, after swinging between gains and losses, and snapped a five-session streak of losses.
The S&P 500 SPX, +0.30% ended up 12.20 points, or 0.3%, at 4,136.28.
The Nasdaq Composite COMP, 0.66% closed up by 80.47 points, or almost 0.7%, at 12,365.21.
The S&P 500 fell 0.3% last week, while the Dow dropped 1.1%. The S&P 500’s decline was cushioned by mega-cap tech-related stocks, which also helped lift the Nasdaq Composite out of a bear market. The Nasdaq gained 0.4% last week.
A recession and a credit crunch could spark $1 trillion of corporate debt defaults, according...
A recession and a credit crunch could spark $1 trillion of corporate debt defaults, according to Bank of America. They added that even if a full-blown downturn doesn't hit in the coming years, a credit crunch would only be delayed, not averted. Read more.
Markets are growing jittery over the prospect of a future downturn, with the New York Fed's US Recession Probability Index predicting a 68% chance that a recession will arrive by April 2024. The risk stems from the Fed aggressively raising interest rates over the past year to tame inflation.
North Dakota oil, natural gas production 'mixed bag'
Oil production in North Dakota, the US's third-largest oil-producing state, dropped 3% to 1.12 million...
Oil production in North Dakota, the US's third-largest oil-producing state, dropped 3% to 1.12 million barrels daily in March, while natural gas production held steady. There are 39 drill rigs in the state, down from 46 in February, and 17,650 active oil wells.