Stock futures decline as regional banks remain concerned; Safe haven gold expands records

The economic data blackout could become a data dark age as the lockdown continues

17 minutes ago

Economic reports that government statistical agencies never received led economists to wonder what would happen if the data never arrived.

Experts assume that government statistical agencies will try to play catch-up once the government reopens and publish delayed reports for October, as they did in previous shutdowns. But with the current shutdown looking like it could be the longest in history, economists are starting to think about what would happen if agencies abandoned the October report entirely and it became a blank dot on future historical charts.

“As the lockdown continues with no end in sight, risks are rising for the October report,” Sarah House and Nicole Cervi, economists at Wells Fargo Securities, wrote in a commentary. “At a minimum, collection rates are expected to be lower as data collection remains suspended, and the risk is rising that the publication of the October CPI report could be skipped entirely.”

The problem is that the data, including data on inflation and job creation, is based on large-scale surveys. With the closure of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, these surveys were not conducted. (With the important exception of the September CPI report, which is scheduled to be published on October 24.)

“If the shutdown continues, it is likely that for the first time in at least six decades, there will be a full-month gap in data on jobs and unemployment in the U.S. economy,” Elise Gould, chief economist at the progressive Economic Policy Institute, a think tank, and Joe Fast, a research assistant, wrote in a commentary.

Read the full article here.

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Stock futures decline as regional bank concerns persist

48 minutes ago

Futures contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%.

Standard & Poor’s 500 futures fell 0.8%.

Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.1%.