Business News for Kids – Today Shapes Tomorrow

Yield Curves?	How to read stock info?
Currency Manipulation and Tariff Impact?	Black Monday?
What is a Tariff?	Great Depression vs. Recession of 08′
How do Businesses raise money?	Depression vs. Recession
Emigration in the U.S.?	Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index?
Stock Performance since 2008?	Consumer confidence?
Is Full Employment good?	Expansions and Contractions in service and manufacturing
Presidents and the Economy	CEO, CFO, Shareholders, and Board
How do we have a $17T deficit?	What is sales tax?
What is the debt ceiling?	Mergers and Acquisitions?
What is inflation?	ADR?
What is a credit score?	Buying back shares?
Basics of the Economy	Starting a Lemonade Stand
Does Studying Pay Off?	Supply and Demand
What is Currency and Foreign Currency Exchange rate?	Quantitative Easing?
What is stronger or weaker currency?	Working and Unemployed?
What does the dollar slide mean?	Bank Loans and 2008
How does money grow in a bank?	International Debt Rankings
What is a federal funds rate?	Fed Tapering of Q.E.
What is interest and APR?	New Federal Reserve Chair
	1st Woman Fed Reserve Chair

Published Every Monday Since 2007 | Volume 743| February 20, 2021

So far YTD these many weeks were up (Bull), down (Bear), or draw (Bull/Bear) …
Bulls (Markets UP) = 04…
Bears (DOWN) = 04… and
Draw = 0

The DOW slips 449 points for the week

The DOW was down -449 points or -1.4%, S&P500 -74 points or -1.9%, and the NASDAQ -522 points or -2.4% for the week ending Feb 26th.
Markets are now off their record peaks. Many experts believe that it is a market correction as recently stock prices have increased significantly, especially the technology stocks.
Many believe that as bond interest rates rise risk averse investors tend to move money from stocks (riskier investments) to bonds which are consider less riskier. Federal Chair Powell has iterated that Federal Reserve does not see the economic signs that will require it to raise interests rates anytime in the near future which is one of the key force behind increasing rates. However, the short term Treasury bonds and the 10-year Treasury bonds rose due to investors interest in protecting their investments from the stock market gyrations.
Oil rose $2.7 or +4.5% to $61.66 per barrel. Oil prices continue to rise due to expectation that economic growth and recent severe cold weather in US will significantly increase the oil and gas demand.
COVID STIMULUS BILL – Over the weekend House voted on party lines to pass $1.9 trillion pandemic aid package which includes $1400 stimulus payments, enhanced unemployment aid, small business assistance, money for childcare, aid for states and school, increased support for vaccine, and long awaited minimum wage increase to $15. Now this bill goes to Senate where some of these provision will be debated and amended, including the minimum wage to $15.

US Covid-19 deaths have crossed unfortunate mark of 523K (+15K from last week). US Covid deaths > than US lives lost in WW I, II, and Vietnam wars Combined!!
Global Covid cases ~114 million (+3M); Global deaths > 2.5 million;
US Covid cases = ~29 million (+1M and ~26% of world); US deaths ~ 523K (or ~21% of the world)
The richest nation on earth US has about 4.3% of the world population but it has lost 20% of the lives lost worldwide! Source: www.worldometers.info

In YTD 2020 Dow is up +1.1%, S&P500 is +1.5% and the NASDAQ is +2.4%
In 2020 Dow was up +7.2%, S&P500 is UP+16.3% and the NASDAQ is UP +43.6%
In 2019 DOW was up +22.3%, S&P500 up +28.9% and NASDAQ up +35.2%
In 2018 the DOW was down -6.7%, S&P500 down -7.0% and NASDAQ down -4.6%.
In 2017 the DOW was up 25.1%, S&P500 up 19.4% and NASDAQ up 28.2%