Economists and business executives now expect supply-chain disruptions and key labor shortages to persist through the end of the year.
Airport Travelers
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on Sunday screened more than 2 million travelers at airports – the highest number since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.
ESA Sold
Shareholders approve Extended Stay America sale to Blackstone and Starwood Capital for $20.50 per paired share. The transaction includes the Extended Stay America brand, management operations and its owned hotel portfolio, which at the close of 2020 comprised 563 properties. The deal is scheduled to close on June 16.
Inflation Hedge
Investors looking to cushion their portfolios against inflation helped real-estate stocks lead the S&P 500 in recent weeks. The real-estate sector, which focuses on companies that rent properties, has gained 14% this quarter, more than double the 6.9% gain of the broader stock index.
Return to Office
The number of employees who are back in the office has been inching up since vaccines began rolling out in the U.S. but only 31% of office workers had returned to the workspaces they occupied before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Retirements
The 2.6 million people who retired since February 2020 was higher during this pandemic recession-recovery than in previous recession-recoveries.
Hotel Index
The Baird-STR Hotel Stock Index — comprising 20 of the largest hotel companies publicly traded on a U.S. stock exchange by market capitalization — was down 2.8% from April to May, underperforming the S&P 500 which grew by 0.5% for the month. Year to date as of May 28, the hotel stock index value has grown 12.8%.
Bank Deposits
Bank deposits have continued to surge this year. Between late March and May 26, they rose by $411 billion to $17.09 trillion. That is slower than the pace last spring, but still nearly four times the average of the past 20 years.
Fed Selling
The Federal Reserve will begin selling off the corporate bonds and exchange-traded funds it amassed last year through an emergency-lending vehicle set up to contain the Covid-19 pandemic’s economic fallout. The Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility holds $5.21 billion of bonds and $8.56 billion of exchange-traded funds that hold corporate debt.
BX QTS
Blackstone Group Inc. has struck a roughly $6.7 billion deal to buy QTS Realty Trust Inc. and take the data-center operator private.