Today, I'd like to provide an update on the coronavirus, including the economic and market implications. It was another bad week on the medical front. The viral outbreaks in several states continued to get worse, with some health care systems reaching capacity. Further, new cases at the national level broke 60,000 per day for the first time, and the daily spread rate reached 2 percent per day. Although the risks are rising, the affected states have started to impose the needed restrictive measures, and the public has begun to modify its behavior. As such, we can reasonably expect these outbreaks to peak and then decline in the next couple of weeks.

The rest of 2020 will be all about the virus. We’re seeing localized outbreaks, but the necessary countermeasures are in place. So, we can reasonably expect the virus to remain under control. Despite the medical setbacks, millions of jobs have returned, along with consumer confidence and spending. The recovery remains on track and is likely to continue. And that's exactly what the markets are expecting.

Today, I'd like to discuss the coronavirus, including its effects on the economy and markets. Over the past week, we had some bad news on the pandemic front. There were growing viral outbreaks in several states, and the national number of new cases broke the 50,000 per day level for the first time. Although the risks are certainly rising, the appropriate measures are being taken, and we can reasonably expect the outbreaks to peak and start to decline in the next couple of weeks.

June was a great month for the markets. In part, markets were reacting to progress on the viral front, with drops in the daily case growth rate and increased testing. They were also responding to the continued economic recovery. Millions of jobs returned, and consumer confidence bounced back. Of course, there were setbacks, with some states seeing an uptick in virus cases.

Today, I'd like to discuss the coronavirus, including the economic and market implications. We’ve had some setbacks on the pandemic front this week, with notable outbreaks in Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas. Although we’re not yet seeing a national second wave, the risks are rising. Both the daily spread rate (now at 1.6 percent per day) and daily case growth (about 40,000 per day) have jumped from last week, in large part due to the four outbreak states. Despite this concerning medical news, the economic news was good. Layoffs continued to decline, while hiring continued to improve. Plus, with metrics like consumer confidence, consumer spending, and housing all showing signs of improvement, it appears the overall recovery remains well on track.

Today, I'd like to discuss the coronavirus, including its effect on the economy and markets. Over the past week, we’ve seen some state-level outbreaks of the virus. Still, there’s no sign of a national second wave of infections, with the daily spread rate at just above 1 percent and the daily case growth at 25,000 per day. So, despite some bad news at the local level, the virus remains under control and is actually showing signs of improvement in many states. On the economic front, the news was better. Layoffs continued to decrease, while hiring continued to improve. Perhaps the biggest news, however, was that consumer retail spending came in much better than expected, meaning consumers have jobs and are feeling confident.

Today, I'd like to provide an update on the coronavirus pandemic, including the economic and market implications. The virus remains under control, with the case growth rate at about 1 percent per day and daily case growth at about 20,000 per day. But while we didn’t see any signs of a national wave of second infections, it was a different story at the local level. Infection rates started to tick up in some states, which is something we need to keep an eye on. The news on the economic side, however, was better. Thus far, the reopening has been happening faster and more successfully than most imagined. In fact, last week’s jobs report revealed 2.5 million jobs were created in May. With economists anticipating a loss of 7.5 million jobs, this result was certainly a positive surprise. Plus, we saw a bounce in consumer and business confidence, as well as a rise in consumer spending.

Today, I'd like to discuss where we are in the coronavirus crisis, including the latest economic and market news. It was a good week in terms of virus control here in the U.S. The daily spread growth rate dropped to 1.1 percent, and the number of new cases ticked down to 20,000 per day. Still, the possibility of a second wave of infections remains, especially given the protests happening across the country. Turning to the economy, we had more good news. Layoffs continued to decline, more people returned to work, and business and consumer confidence showed signs of improvement. The markets certainly took note of these positive developments, as evidenced by the steady rise in the stock market.

In May, we saw real progress in the coronavirus, which allowed the economy to begin reopening. Hundreds of thousands returned to work, people began to shop again, and confidence started to stabilize. In turn, U.S. markets rose to just above their long-term trend line and are now fully expecting a V-shaped recovery.

Today, I'd like to provide an update on the coronavirus pandemic, including the economic and market implications. We had some good news in the past week, as there were no signs of a second wave of infections even as the economy continued to reopen. The daily spread rate remained at 1.5 percent per day in 9 of the past 10 days, bringing us to the lowest level since the pandemic started. Plus, the daily case growth continued to hold steady, and the number of active cases has begun to level off. On the economic front, layoffs continued to decrease, and people have started returning to work. We’re also seeing positive signs that consumers have the confidence to spend, as shown in the uptick in restaurant bookings and mortgage applications.