US Dollar is down; Nasdaq hits new high

The U.S. dollar retreats Thursday amid investors doubt that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year. In the WSJ Dollar Index (US$ vs 16 other currency) was down by 0.1% to 86.297. The dollar went down against the euro, British pound and some emerging-market currencies but was higher against the Japanese yen.

Last Wednesday, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged but signaled it could tighten policy in the months ahead. Still, investors remain doubtful that rates will go up this year. According to Fed officials they want to raise short-term borrowing costs but have been repeatedly stymied by turmoil in global markets and a string of soft data, from U.S. economic growth to productivity. Even though reports about the U.S. economy is in good shape and unemployment rate is falling.

The central bank also has acknowledged that rates are likely to remain lower in the future as economic growth slows, which analysts see as a negative for the dollar.

The biggest question is why there are reports that the economy is doing great and umployment rate is improving but when it comes to the Feds the sky is falling? Maybe Donald Trump is right about the Federal Reserve, doing what President Barack Obama wants by keeping interest rates low.

U.S. stocks extend gains as Nasdaq rallies to record high

U.S. stocks climbed for a third session Thursday as the Nasdaq finished at a record-high close following the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep the interest rates low. The S&P 500 rose 14 points, or 0.6%, to end at 2,177 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 98 points, or 0.5%, to finish at 18,391. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 44 points, or 0.8%, to close at 5,339 after touching an intra-day record of 5,342.88. The Fed on Wednesday kept rates unchanged even as Chairwoman Janet Yellen hinted that a tighter monetary policy is likely by the year end.

- U.S. jobless claims drop to two-month low
- Amazon.com hits all-time high on analyst report
- Indexes up: Dow 0.54 pct, S&P 0.65 pct, Nasdaq 0.84 pct (Updates with close of U.S. markets)

U.S. household income up by 5.2% in 2015 but still poorer than it was 15 years ago

The Middle-class Americans and the poor American families have experience their first gain in eight years. The Census Bureau reported Tuesday, that the median household income rose 5.2% from a year earlier, after adjusting for inflation, or $2,800, to $56,500. The rise broke a long streak of disappointment for American workers but did not fully repair the damage inflicted by the Great Recession. The household incomes now is around 1.6% below the 2007 level, before the last recession began, and around 2.4% below the all-time high reached in 1999.

Officials at the Census Bureau said that the 5.2% growth rate was not statistically distinguishable from five other previous increases in the data over a 50-year period, most recently the 3.7 percent jump from 1997 to 1998.

There are some statistics that suggested that the year 2015 was strong for US workers. Just last week, the Agriculture Department reported their yearly data on hunger in the United States. It shows that food insecurity declined substantially last year for the first time since the recession.

Economic growth has lagged in 2016, but the labor market has remained strong, suggesting continued income gains. The unemployment rate declined to 4.9% last month. Adjusted for inflation, wages for full-time workers were up by nearly 2% in the first half of the year, compared with the same point in 2015.

The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index is down from last year.

Asian Shares Gave Varied Results Ahead of U.S. Jobs Report

Asian markets gave varied results Friday as investors awaited latest U.S. job data that could influence the Fed's interest rate policy. If there's a sooner than expected rate increase in September by the Federal Reserve, it could pull foreign capital out of emerging markets in Asia, according to analysts. Even though a December rate increase would have already been priced in by investors.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.9%, with the Nikkei Stock Average flat, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index falling 0.4%. South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.2 percent to 2,037.40. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.5 percent to 23,275.83 and the Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China slipped 0.1 percent to 3,060.06. Benchmarks in Taiwan and Thailand fell while indexes in the Philippines, Indonesia and New Zealand rose.

A report on U.S. jobs due out later Friday is likely to be the big market moving event of the day, though Asian investors won't get a chance to react until next week. Economists forecast that the nonfarm payroll report will show employers added 180,000 jobs in August, according to a survey by data provider FactSet. That would be under July's 255,000 extra jobs and 292,000 in June, which was an eight-month high.

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