Durable Goods Orders drop 2.8% this month, which is what glass-half-full analysts were expecting. A durable good is something we buy that is expected to last more than a year. That number could be down because 265,000 Americans filed for their first unemployment check last week, which is a 2.2% increase over last week. If you don’t have a job, you are less likely to you out and buy a new TV–which is ironic because you have a lot of free time to enjoy that TV now.
In honor of Good Friday and Easter, the bond market will close at noon today and be closed all day tomorrow. Usually we see prices drop before a long weekend so traders can close positions and cut out early. And then they go to the Hamptons and watch TV.
