Daily Briefing – 158
Cuomo: State Looking Into Covid-19 Spread in Brooklyn, Mid-Hudson Region
State health officials are looking into Covid-19 clusters in Brooklyn, Rockland County and Orange County that led to a slight uptick in the state’s overall coronavirus infection rate this weekend, Gov. Cuomo said Monday. After weeks of seeing a positivity rate of about 1 percent, Cuomo said recent outbreaks in Brooklyn, the Mid-Hudson region and the Southern Tier pushed the state’s infection rate up to 1.5 percent as of Sunday.
In the Governor’s press release yesterday afternoon he provided an overview of New York’s COVID-19 tracking data from Sunday, September 27th. The State’s infection rate increased to 1.5 percent. This uptick has been traced to ten zip codes with high infection rates, which accounted for 27% of positive COVID-19 test results. The State is deploying rapid testing equipment to high infection areas. Governor Cuomo noted that outside the top 20 zip codes for new coronavirus cases, the infection rate in the rest of the state remains at one percent.
Read the press release and see which zip codes saw the uptick
Manufacturing Mutterings: Council of Industry Podcast With Lt. Governor Kathleen Hochul
Council of Industry President Harold King talks with the Lt. Governor about her role as the head of the State’s Regional Economic Development Councils and Workforce Development Initiative as well as how she came to appreciate manufacturing and recognize its economic significance, the challenges we face rebuilding the economy in a COVID-19 world, apprenticeship, workforce development, business climate and more.
Pelosi Believes Coronavirus Stimulus Deal Still Possible
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday said another coronavirus stimulus plan is possible as House Democrats try to forge ahead on a smaller aid package costing about $2.4 trillion, roughly $1 trillion less than their initial proposal but more than what the Trump administration has signaled it will accept.
The chamber could vote on the bill as soon as next week. Pelosi, facing growing pressure from moderate Democrats, has tried to convince Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to increase the administration’s $1.3 trillion offer by an additional $1 trillion. However, Mnuchin signaled earlier this month that the administration would not approve a plan that was larger than $1.5 trillion.
China’s Yuan Is Riding High as Economy Recovers, Foreign Investors Pump In Money
The yuan is closing out its strongest quarter against the dollar in more than a decade, boosted by optimism over China’s economic outlook and by the country’s comparatively high interest rates.
From the start of July through Friday’s close, the yuan has strengthened 3.7% against the dollar. That puts the yuan on track for its biggest quarterly gain since early 2008, FactSet data shows. The only other bigger quarterly gains on record are from the 1970s and 1980s, long before China began reforming its currency market in 1994.
NAM Manufacturing Economy Report – Core Capital Goods, Manufacturing PMI, Housing, Jobs and More
New orders for durable goods rose 0.4% in August, extending the 11.7% gain in July and rising for the fourth straight month despite growing well below the consensus estimate of around 1.5%. Overall, the durable goods manufacturing sector has continued to rebound from steep declines in March and April due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but current activity remains off 4.6% from the pace in August 2019.
Despite the slower-than-expected headline number for durable goods, nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft (or “core capital goods”)—a proxy for capital spending in the U.S. economy—rose 1.8% to the highest level since July 2018 and increased 2.8% year-over-year.
Monday Economic Report 2020-0928
Eurozone PMI – Business Activity Stagnates, Manufacturing a Bright Spot
Business activity stalled across the eurozone in September, albeit with increasingly divergent trends by sector and country. Faster growth of manufacturing, led by Germany, was offset by a renewed downturn in the service sector, which was often linked to resurgent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection rates. A net loss of jobs continued to be reported, though the rate of payroll reduction eased, notably in manufacturing, thanks in part to improved future expectations. Price pressures meanwhile moderated during the month.
Manufacturing output growth accelerated in September to the fastest since February 2018, fueled by the largest rise in new orders seen over this period.
Forecast: US auto sales to rise 3.3% in September
J.D. Power and LMC Automotive forecast a 3.3% increase in US auto sales in September on a month-over-month basis. With the expected September growth, fueled in part by the Labor Day holiday, annual sales are forecast at 15.7 million vehicles, an increase of 500,000 vehicles from seasonally adjusted annual sales pace last month.
Consumers Expect Modest Increase in Spending Growth and Continued Government Support
The New York Fed’s Center for Microeconomic Data released its August 2020 SCE Household Spending Survey and SCE Public Policy Survey. The authors highlight the key takeaways from the data releases regarding the evolution of households’ spending and public policy expectations.
This Friday- Broadcasting Live From Stanfordville Machine, Mfg Day 2020
WKIP’s Hudson Valley Focus Live will be broadcasting live the morning of October 2nd from Stanfordville Machine, Victory Lane in Poughkeepsie.
Hosted as always by Tom Sipos, guests will include Stanfordville CEO Neal Johnsen, the Council of Industry’s Johnnieanne Hansen and Harold King, and many other manufacturers, educators and economic development professionals.
Tune in at WKIP or with the iHeart Radio App
