September’s nonfarm payrolls data fell well short of expectations with an increase of 661K. This compares to August’s revised 1.5M gain and consensus expectations of 859K. The miss signals the rate of improvement in employment data we have seen from initial unemployment claims.
Consumer Confidence increased significantly in September across both the present underlying conditions and expected conditions, well above expectations while still short of pre-pandemic levels.
Q2 GDP was revised slightly up to -31.4% annualized rate, vs. -31.7% previously.
The political arena dominated the news this week with the first Presidential debate between Biden and Trump on Tuesday. Then, the President was diagnosed with COVID-19 and headed to Walter Reed hospital Friday afternoon. 
