Widespread Commodity Shortages Raise Inflation Fears
For products as diverse as lumber and microchips, price increases are filtering through the economy.
An apartment complex in Orlando, Fla., being built by Roger B. Kennedy Construction, which says many of its suppliers are raising their prices 10 to 20 percent.Credit.Octavio Jones for The New York Times
May 3, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON In a normal year, Ron Whelan, vice president of Roger B. Kennedy Construction, receives one or two “Dear Valued Customer” letters from suppliers notifying him of price increases for certain materials. This year, a stack of 30 such warnings sits on his desk in Orlando, Fla., alerting him that things as diverse as lumber, drywall, aluminum and steel are going to cost 10 to 20 percent more.
Nasdaq Turns Negative But Dow, S&P 500 Remain Positive
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving to the upside early in the session, the major U.S. stock indexes have turned mixed over the course of the trading day on Monday. While the Dow and the S&P 500 are holding on to gains, the tech-heavy Nasdaq has pulled back into negative territory.
Currently, the major averages remain on opposite sides of the unchanged line. The Nasdaq is down 39.42 points or 0.3 percent at 13,923.26, but the Dow is up 314.91 points or 0.9 percent at 34,189.76 and the S&P 500 is up 18.35 points or 0.4 percent at 4,199.52.
The early strength on Wall Street partly reflected recent upward momentum, which helped propel the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to new record highs last week.
Treasuries Pull Back Off Best Levels But Still Close Higher
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Treasuries showed a strong move to the upside in morning trading on Monday but gave back ground as the day progressed.
Bond prices pulled back well off their highs of the session but still closed in positive territory. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped by 2.4 basis points to 1.607 percent after hitting a low of 1.578 percent.
The advance by treasuries came following the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing an unexpected slowdown in the pace of growth in U.S. manufacturing activity.
5/03/2021 10:04:00 AM
(Posted with permission). The ISM manufacturing index indicated expansion in March. The PMI® was at 60.7% in April, down from 64.7% in March. The employment index was at 55.1%, down from 59.6% last month, and the new orders index was at 64.3%, down from 68.0%.
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in April, with the overall economy notching an 11th consecutive month of growth, say the nation s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.
The report was issued today by Timothy R. Fiore, CPSM, C.P.M., Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee:
“
The April Manufacturing PMI® registered 60.7 percent, a decrease of 4 percentage points from the March reading of 64.7 percent. This figure indicates expansion in the overall economy for the 11th month in a row after contraction in April 2020. The New Orders Index registered 64.3 percent, declining 3.7 percentage poin