BY: MARSHALL BARTLETT
Senior Vice President / Portfolio Manager
Announced this morning, Initial Jobless Claims were 1,542,000 for the week ending June 6th, slightly less than expected. Continuing Claims, which are for people who are covered by unemployment insurance and currently receiving benefits, were 20,929,000 for the week ending May 30th, remaining above the 20M mark. Overall, even though initial claims are trending lower, there is still a long way to go for the job market to get back to pre-COVID-19 levels. Meanwhile, in the announcement following yesterday’s meeting the Federal Reserve reiterated caution as the economy will likely take time to recover and they expect interest rates to not increase through 2022. In all, bond yields are lower and equity futures are sharply lower this morning as markets contemplate the road to recovery with moves higher in recent weeks.
This material is intended to be for informational purposes only and is intended for current or prospective clients of Argent Trust Company. This information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, and its accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed. Information does not constitute a recommendation of any investment strategy, is not intended as investment advice and does not take into account all the circumstances of each investor. Forward‐looking assumptions are Argent Trust Company’s current estimates or expectations of future events or future results based on proprietary research and should not be construed as an estimate or promise of results that a portfolio may achieve. Actual results could differ materially from the results indicated by this information. Investments can go down as well as up. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.