Stocks Rally Despite Higher Jobless Claims

April 15 is traditionally Tax Day, although not this year. In my opinion, April 8 is a better representation of the power of government versus the people. There were three key events that defined government power that happened on April 8.

On April 8, 1895, the Supreme Court ruled Congress’s income tax unconstitutional. This decision was later overruled by the 16th Amendment.

On April 8, 1952, President Truman nationalized the steel industry. Most Americans don’t realize this happened. Once again, the Supreme Court overruled the decision.

Perhaps the biggest one came in 1943. That’s when FDR froze wages and prices, prohibited workers from changing jobs unless the war effort would be aided thereby, and barred rate increases by common carriers and public utilities.

Now, onto the stock market. The S&P 500 got as high as 4,093.87. This morning’s jobless claims came in at 744,000 which was 50,000 higher than expected. The post-pandemic low was two weeks ago at 658,000.

Earnings season is almost here. On Monday, a few of the big banks – JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs – are set to report earnings. The other big banks will follow later in the week. Right now, it looks like Stepan will be our first Buy List stock to report this season, on Tuesday, April 20. We don’t have all the earnings dates just yet.

Posted by on April 8th, 2021 at 11:18 am


The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.