General Comments There was no joy in the world's financial markets today. It started with a lower-than-expected China Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) number and finished with a terrible U.S. jobs number. Here are a few of the details:
China's PMI fell from 53.3 in April to 50.4 in May. The EU unemployment rate is at 11 percent with Spain over 20 percent. The U.S. economy only created 69,000 jobs in May compared to estimates of 150,000. March and April job creation numbers were also revised lower. The U.S. unemployment rate rose unexpectedly from 8.1 percent to 8.2 percent. Ten-year bond yields dropped to less than 1.5 percent as more money flowed into the bond markets and out of equities and commodities. Crude oil dropped below...
Key Takeaways: President Trump announced $8 billion in additional agricultural assistance through the Harvest Fuel Relief Program, as USDA projects farm fuel and oil expenses will increase 28.8 percent in 2026. The package follows $12 billion in earlier relief, while government farm payments w...
Key Takeaways: A student group from the University of Chicago is protesting to bring back onion futures trading. Trading in onion futures was banned in 1958 following a spectacular bout of market manipulation that resulted in a corner of the physical market. The ban on onion futures led t...
Beef packer margins deteriorated to $141/head last week, down $55 from the prior week as fed cattle prices strengthened while the Choice cutout remained nearly unchanged. The cutout held near $373/cwt while fed cattle prices climbed $4/cwt to $224/cwt, narrowing processor profits. Despite the d...
