What we’re reading (12/4)
“U.S. Added 245,000 Jobs Last Month As Hiring Slowed” (Wall Street Journal). “U.S. job growth slowed sharply in November, suggesting the labor-market recovery is losing steam amid a surge in coronavirus cases and new business restrictions. Employers added 245,000 jobs last month, less than half the 610,000 jobs added in October, the Labor Department reported Friday. The unemployment rate edged down slightly to 6.7% in November from 6.9% a month earlier.”
“Warren Buffett’s Favorite Market Indicator Nears Record High, Signaling Stocks Are Overvalued And A Crash May Be Coming” (Business Insider). “Warren Buffett's favorite market gauge is flirting with a fresh high, signaling stocks are overvalued and could plunge in the coming months. The "Buffett indicator" divides the total market capitalization of a country's publicly traded stocks by its quarterly gross domestic product. Investors use it as a rough measure of the stock market's valuation compared with the size of the economy.”
“Senate Confirms Christopher Waller To The Fed Board As Judy Shelton’s Path Narrows” (Washington Post). “The Senate on Thursday confirmed Christopher J. Waller to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, in what could be President Trump’s last addition to the central bank, while the prospects of the more controversial nomination of Judy Shelton have dimmed…[a] macroeconomist, Waller is the director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. His main research areas include monetary theory and macroeconomic theory. Before joining the St. Louis Fed in 2009, Waller led the economics department at the University of Notre Dame, among other academic postings.”
“More Oil Is About To Hit Markets. Wall Street Isn’t Scared” (CNN Business). “Saudi Arabia, Russia and other oil producing countries have agreed to start pumping more oil next month, even as the coronavirus pandemic continues to cloud the outlook for demand. But that's not dissuading investors, with crude prices at their highest level since early March…[s]o why have oil prices pushed even higher Friday? It could have been worse. [And] [a]s with stocks, prices have been buoyed by optimism about Covid-19 vaccines, which are expected to usher in an explosion of demand. Oil prices are also getting a boost from a weaker US dollar, which makes crude cheaper for buyers in emerging markets[.]”
“Cheesecake Factory Settles With SEC Over Misleading Covid Risk Disclosures, A First For A Public Company” (CNBC). “The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged and settled with the Cheesecake Factory for misleading investors with its Covid-19 disclosures. This is the first time that the regulator has charged a company for misleading investors about the financial impacts of the pandemic. Without admitting to the SEC’s findings, the restaurant company has agreed to pay a $125,000 fine and to not conduct further violations of the reporting provisions of securities laws. The Cheesecake Factory’s regulatory filings from March 23 and April 3 were ‘materially false and misleading,’ according to the SEC. The company said that its restaurants were ‘operating sustainably’ during the pandemic as states across the country implemented lockdowns.”
