Good morning,
It’s job day in the U.S. –a day early in honor of the July 4th national holiday on Friday. Once the pivotal data point of the month, the jobs report has become a bit more ho-hum now that the market is well into a multi-year expansion. Policymakers aren’t beholden to the unemployment rate as they once were. A Bloomberg survey says it should edge down to 5.4%; nonfarm payrolls are expected to be up 233,000 in June, down from 280,000 in May. The report gets published at 8:30 a.m. ET. Both European and U.S. markets are on hold following a roller coast week driven by Greece.
What to look for in the jobs report: We are looking now at the quality of the recovery: wage gains, which have been weak; the long-term unemployment rate — the U-6 — which has been stubbornly high; the impact of lower oil prices (a positive), and the labor force participation rate. Bloomberg
Greece is still broke. Nothing new to report here. The eurozone ministers are still irked that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sent a letter crying “uncle” but then lobbied Greeks to vote “yes” in a referendum to reject austerity.
Riksbank unexpectedly slashes interest rates. Taking a page off Monty Python’s Spanish Inquisition, Sweden’s Riksbank came out of nowhere and slashed interest rates to -0.35% from -0.25%, catching traders flat-footed and sending the Krona down against the Euro. The bank has been trying to cap the currency’s gains recently as it struggles to avoid deflation. Bloomberg
China boldly tries to calm the markets. It failed. In an effort to soothe panicky retail traders, Chinese regulators have recently relaxed collateral rules on margin loans, allowing brokers to roll-over loans to let people continue trading and stop selling. It didn’t work though, Shanghai’s SHCOMP is currently down 3.5% as jittery investors continue to sell, sell, sell. Financial Times (paywall)
Saudi Prince to give away $32 billion. Some people just have the best problems. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the 60-year old nephew of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, has announced that he will be donating his entire $32 billion fortune to charity, an effort he hopes will “help build bridges to foster cultural understanding, develop communities, empower women, enable youth, provide vital disaster relief and create a more tolerant and accepting world”. Bill Gates called the move “an inspiration.” BBC
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