Initial Jobless Claims were reported worse than expected. This is especially disappointing after there had been some signs of improvement in the labor markets, based on previous reports. Continuing Unemployment Claims rose to a record 6.56M, but this high reading has to be taken with a grain of salt, as part of the government stimulus package is to extend unemployment benefits, which makes it easier for people to collect payments for a longer period of time - thus remaining on the Continuing Claims count.

Inflation at the wholesale level moved higher in April, driven by an increase in food prices. The Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 0.3% last month, slightly higher than the 0.2% expected. Core PPI, which strips out food and energy, was inline at 0.1%. As we know, any signs of increased inflation will be perceived negatively by the Bond market, and as a result, Bond prices were pushed a bit lower to test underlying support.

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