Closing post
Time for a recap.
Evidence is mounting that America’s jobs market slowed over the summer, ahead of tomorrow’s eagerly awaited non-farm payroll report.
Today we have learned:
Private job creations slowed in August, with payrolls rising by just 54,000 last month, according to data provider ADP
Layoffs jumped, with US-based employers announcing 85,979 job cuts last month,
More Americans sought unemployment benefit in the final week of August, with the initial claims total rising by 8,000, to 237,000.
On the ADP payrolls slowdown, Kathy Jones, chief fixed income strategist at Schwab, says:
“The report should solidify the expectations for a rate cut later this month and increase the odds of another cut this year.
However, the drop in bond yields may be limited by the elevated level of inflation and the overall solid pace of GDP growth.”
The latest economic signals from the UK are worrying too:
Calm has returned to the bond markets today, after the sell-off earlier this weeks abated. The yield, or interest rate, on UK 30-year bonds has dipped back to 5.56%, having hit 5.75% yesterday – the highest since 1998.
Electric van demand doubles as UK market shrinks again
Back in the UK, registrations of electric vans have doubled even as the overall market shrinks.
The SMMT has reported that UK demand for new light commercial vehicles shrank by -13.3% in August with 14,365 new vans, pickups and 4x4s joining UK road. Volumes have fallen every month this year, a worrying sign for the economy.
According to the SMMT, new pickup registrations saw the largest percentage drop, down -25.8% to 1,040 units, impacted by recent fiscal changes to reclassify double-cab pickups as cars for benefit-in-kind and capital allowance purposes.
Sales of battery electric van (BEV) models rose by 109.5% year-on-year, to 1,902 units.
