Labor Department

U.S. personal consumption expenditures and employment data on deck; Monsanto releases quarterly results; Harbin, China celebrates ice and snow.

“We may see a lot of scary things happen as the demand for food outstrips supply,” says Adam Patti, CEO of IndexIQ, an asset manager based in Rye, NY. Soaring demand for food will create opportunities for investors, though. In March, Patti launched the IQ Global Agribusiness Small Cap ETF, which is listed on NYSE Arca under the symbol CROP.

Industrial production in the U.S. failed to meet expectations for a modest acceleration from stagnant growth while core consumer prices increased by the most in almost three years, according to Bloomberg.

The latest economic data for the U.S. has painted a picture of an unsteady economic recovery, leaving consumers uncertain about the outlook for personal finances and the economy as a whole, according to Bloomberg.

The number of new claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. increased slightly in the latest week, adding fuel to increasing concern that the labor market and the overall economy is stalling, according to Reuters.

The leader of the U.S. central bank offered a gloomy perspective on the state of the country’s economic recovery, although he expects growth to improve towards the end of the year, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The latest monthly labor market data has shown that hiring in the U.S. has slowed dramatically since the last check while the unemployment rate has increased, raising concerns about the strength of the economic recovery, according to Reuters.

New claims for jobless benefits in the U.S. increased in the latest week as the labor market recovery struggles to maintain momentum, while consumer sentiment improved slightly on easing gas prices, according to Bloomberg.

The latest data has shown that recent job growth in the U.S. was broad-based with the majority of states posting an increase in employment and a drop in the jobless rate to open the second quarter, according to Bloomberg.

The number of first-time claims for jobless benefits dropped in the latest week to a level that suggests job growth may be returning to a level that will bring down the unemployment rate, according to Reuters.