tyb
>thanks for the spin, gracious of ya
o7
GTMO842 US Navy Beech on ground at Ft. Lauderdale Int'l
VVLT621 US Navy P-3 Orion south
_169549 US Navy P-8 Poseiden off Space Coast
VVLL803 P-8 doing runs over Huntsville Int;l and finished
VVLL817 P-8 went to Knoxville, TN-Tyson-McGhee Airport and also fininshed
SNTRY50 USAF E-3 Sentry AWACS over outer NC from Tinker AFB, OK
PAT108 US Army C-560 from Newport News Int'l west to Lynchburg Regional Airport, fly by and ne
can't take credit for that one
GRZLY39 USMC C-560 nw from 29 Palms to Salinas Metro Airport and now se
PAT642 US Navy C-560 west from Ft. Worth JRBNAS
VENUS61 USAF G5 over Columbus, OH-east of, at low altitude with some fly bys at Rickenbacker Airport
French AF MERCO45 C-135 Tanker out of Niger in southern Mali
U.S. consumer spending tanks; savings hit record high
U.S. consumers cut spending by the most on record for the second straight month in April while boosting savings to an all-time high, and the growing frugality reinforced expectations the economy could take years to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The report from the Commerce Department on Friday, together with news that monthly exports collapsed, left economists anticipating the largest contraction in gross domestic product in the second quarter since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Data has also been dismal this month on the labor market, manufacturing production and homebuilding.
The Commerce Department said consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, plunged 13.6% last month, the biggest drop since the government started tracking the series in 1959. It eclipsed the previous all-time decrease of 6.9% in March.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending would plummet 12.6% in April. Spending was depressed by a decrease in outlays on healthcare as dental offices closed and hospitals postponed elective surgeries and non-emergency visits to focus on patients suffering from COVID-19. The disease has killed over 100,000 people in the United States, the highest death toll in the world.
Spending declined at restaurants, which have shifted to delivery and pick-up service only, and hotels and motels. Spending on food and beverages fell in April. But the COVID-19 crisis boosted incomes for consumers in April as the government’s historic fiscal package worth nearly $3 trillion doled out one-time $1,200 checks to millions of people and boosted unemployment benefits for the roughly 31 million out of work to cushion against economic hardship wrought by the pandemic.
Personal income surged a record 10.5% last month after falling 2.2% in March. Savings soared to a historic $4 trillion, with the saving rate hitting a record 33%. But business closures weighed on wages, which dropped 8.0% in April after falling 3.5% in March.
“The saving rate represents both opportunity and a warning,” said Chris Low, chief economist at FHN in New York. “If the economy reopens quickly without consequence these savings represent considerable spending power in the second half. If it takes longer to reopen the economy, these savings will be used for sustenance over the next few months.” The economy is gradually reopening after nonessential businesses were shuttered in mid-March to slow the spread of COVID-19, raising hope economic slump was nearing a bottom.
Stocks on Wall Street were trading lower as investors braced for a U.S. response to China’s national security law on Hong Kong. The dollar fell against a basket of currencies, while U.S. Treasury prices rose.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy/u-s-consumer-spending-tanks-savings-hit-record-high-idUSKBN2352CI