European Economics Preview: Germany Foreign Trade Data Due

Foreign trade figures from Germany and unemployment from Spain are the only major statistical reports due on Friday.

At 2.00 am ET, Destatis is scheduled to release Germany’s foreign trade figures. Exports are forecast to fall 2.3 percent on month and imports to climb 0.8 percent.

At 2.30 am ET, Swiss employment data for the second quarter is due.

At 3.00 am ET, unemployment figures are due from Spain and Austria.

At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat publishes euro area producer prices data for July. Economists expect producer price inflation to remain unchanged at 35.8 percent.

U.S. Factory Orders Unexpectedly Show Sharp Pullback In July

A report released by the Commerce Department on Friday unexpectedly showed a sharp pullback in new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in the month of July.

The Commerce Department said factory orders slumped by 1.0 percent in July after surging by a revised 1.8 percent in June.

The steep drop surprised economists, who had expected factory orders to edge up by 0.2 percent compared to the 2.0 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

The unexpected pullback in factory orders was partly due to a notable decrease in orders for non-durable goods, which tumbled by 1.9 percent in July after shooting up by 1.4 percent in June.

The report also showed durable goods orders edged down by 0.1 percent in July after spiking by 2.3 percent in June. Last week, the Commerce Department said durable goods orders were virtually unchanged.

The Commerce Department also said shipments of manufactured goods slid by 0.9 percent in July following sixteen consecutive monthly increases.

Meanwhile, the report said inventories of manufactured goods inched up by 0.1 percent in July after rising by 0.4 percent in June.

With inventories edging higher and shipments falling, the inventories-to-shipments ratio ticked up to 1.47 in July from 1.46 in June.

Stream These 10 Titles Before They Leave Netflix This Month

A bunch of movies and TV shows are leaving the streaming service for U.S. subscribers in September. There are the ones not to miss.

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By Jason Bailey

The Dreamiest Shrimp Pasta Anchors This Summery Menu

Overindulge at the market? Turn sweet peppers into a starter, toss the corn into a pasta main and finish the meal with a berry-topped lemony Prosecco slush.

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By David Tanis

Ford Raises Price Of Electric Mustang Mach-E

Ford Motor Co. (F) is raising the starting prices of its electric Mustang Mach-E crossover by nearly $8,000 for some models.

The company on Thursday announced that it is reopening U.S. order banks for the Mustang Mach-E with updated pricing and features as it continues to increase production for the popular all-electric SUV.

Ford’s U.S. electric vehicle sales were up 168.7 percent in July with Mustang Mach-E up 74.1 percent, the second best-selling electric SUV in America, the company said in a statement.

Ford said the markups, which range between $3,000 and $8,475, is due to “significant material cost increases, continued strain on key supply chains, and rapidly evolving market conditions, and will continue to monitor pricing across the model year.”

The adjusted price will go into effect for new orders placed starting Tuesday. Customers who have existing, unscheduled 2022 Model Year orders will receive a private offer to convert to a 2023 Model Year.

The starting prices for the 2023 Mustang Mach-E will now range from about $47,000 to $70,000, up from roughly $44,000 to $62,000 for the 2022 model year.

Ford earlier this month also raised the starting prices of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup by between $6,000 and $8,500, depending on the model.

U.S. Construction Spending Drops More Than Expected In July

With a decrease in spending on private construction more than offsetting a jump in spending on public construction, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing U.S. construction spending fell by more than expected in the month of July.

The report showed construction spending dropped 0.4 percent to an annual rate of $1.777 trillion in July after falling by 0.5 percent to a revised rate of $1.784 trillion in June.

Economists had expected construction spending to edge down by 0.1 percent compared to the 1.1 percent slump originally reported for the previous month.

The bigger than expected decrease in total construction spending came as spending on private construction slid by 0.8 percent to an annual rate of $1.424 trillion.

Spending on residential construction spending tumbled by 1.5 percent to a rate of $920.4 billion, more than offsetting a 0.4 percent increase in spending on non-residential construction to a rate of $503.9 billion.

Meanwhile, the report showed spending on public construction jumped by 1.5 percent to an annual rate of $353.1 billion, reflecting a 4.3 percent spike in spending on highway construction to a rate of $102.7 billion.

8% Rise In US Covid Casualties

After a prolonged period of decrease in the number of people dying in the United States due to Covid, in the last two weeks, the toll has increased by 8 percent.

All other Covid metrics are continuing to show a falling trend, according to New York Times’ latest tally.

Seven percent fall is reported in the number of patients getting infected with coronavirus in the last fortnight.

U.S. Covid hospitalizations fell to 37,453. 4,476 of these patients are admitted in intensive care units.

The nation’s current test positivity rate is 14 percent.

With 679 additional deaths reporting on Thursday, the total number of people losing their lives due to coronavirus infection in the country has risen to 1,047,030, as per Johns Hopkins University’s latest data.

117615 new infections on the same day took the total U.S. Covid cases to 94,652,294. North Carolina reported the most number of deaths – 492 – and cases – 21,898.

Florida reported the most number of deaths – 102 – while Ohio led in cases – 25,280

2527 additional deaths were reported globally on Thursday, taking the total number of people who lost their lives due to the pandemic so far to 6,498,009.

92,172,274 people have so far recovered from the disease, the Worldometer tally shows.