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☆ Friday’s jobs report will likely determine the size of the Fed’s rate cut
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-05 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —The US economy appears to be on a knife’s edge, and Friday’s jobs report will be the deciding factor as to the next direction. Economists are expecting that the August report should reaffirm that the labor market is merely cooling versus outright weakening. Inflation had cooled, and the labor market was rolling right along and doing its part to keep consumers spending and the economy churning. Friday’s jobs report should provide further reassurance that the labor market is merely softening and not collapsing, economists predict. “It would be a mistake to define the labor market as being excessively weak at this stage.”Instead, the signals indicate that the labor market has moved from being extremely strong and into better balance, she said.

Persons: ” Tuan Nguyen, —, ” Karin Kimbrough, “, ” Oliver Allen, ” Allen, ”, Andrew Challenger, Nick Bunker, Pantheon’s Allen, Beryl “, Mike Skordeles Organizations: CNN, RSM, Federal, LinkedIn, Labor, Department of Labor, “ Companies, Pantheon Macroeconomics, BLS, Employers, ADP, Challenger, Technology, “, North America, Bank of America Locations: US, Michigan, Texas

☆ Kamala Harris’ economic pitch just got a lot more complicated
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

It may be even harder now that cracks are forming in the labor market. The jobs report was not a disaster, by any stretch, and it’s no guarantee of a looming recession. But it was a surprise, and economists expressed concerns about how quickly the labor market appears to have downshifted. For Wall Street, the surprise slowdown was the bitter cherry on top of a sundae of disappointing tech earnings. (In other words, Wall Street may have overreacted because, well, that’s just kinda the way Wall Street does things.)

Persons: Harris, couldn’t, that’s, ”, Heidi Shierholz, Kamala Harris, Sam Stovall, it’s, It’s, Joe Biden’s, Jason Smith of, “, Biden Organizations: New, New York CNN, Biden, Economic Policy Institute, Democratic, CFRA Research, ”, Dow, Nasdaq, Republicans, GOP, Harris Administration, Connecticut GOP Locations: New York, Jason Smith of Missouri, Connecticut

☆ Stock market today: Stocks trade mixed as investors get ready for Tesla and Alphabet earnings
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Stock were mixed early Tuesday as investors awaited earnings from big companies. Markets are getting ready to pick through results from Tesla and Alphabet after the closing bell. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementUS stock moves were muted on Tuesday, with investors getting ready to go over earnings results from Tesla and Google parent Alphabet after the closing bell. Tesla and Alphabet are the first of the Magnificent Seven tech cohort to post second-quarter results.

Persons: —, Russell, Bill Adams, Adams Organizations: Service, Tesla, Google, Nasdaq, Federal

☆ Your Ford pickup could be one of the half million trucks being recalled for suddenly shifting gears
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Ford has issued a recall notice for over 550,000 of its 2014 model F-150 pickup trucks in the US. The recall came after users complained that the trucks would suddenly drop to first gear. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. AdvertisementFord has issued a recall for half a million of its F-150 pickup trucks after receiving hundreds of complaints that they suddenly downshifted to first gear.

Persons: Ford, —, downshifted Organizations: Service, National, Traffic Safety Administration

☆ JPMorgan is cautious on crypto as retail investors dump following ETF hype
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Retail dollars flowed out of bitcoin ETFs in April, and investors should adopt a cautious stance on the cryptocurrency for now, according to JPMorgan. "The past two weeks saw significant selling/profit taking with perhaps retail investors playing a bigger role than institutional investors," JPMorgan's Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said in a note Thursday. "Indeed, not only have spot bitcoin ETFs seen outflows in April but our proxies of the retail impulse into equities have also downshifted over the past month." Panigirtzoglou noted that in addition to crypto, retail investors also sold equities in April and that the impulse into stocks has also shifted down. "This is shown by … the net flow into equity funds including ETFs and mutual funds, typically used by retail investors … [which] turned negative in April after strong buying in February and March," he said.

Persons: JPMorgan's Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, Panigirtzoglou, cryptocurrencies Organizations: JPMorgan, Metrics, Investors, Federal

☆ The new office ritual? Zyn nicotine pouches
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Sarah Jackson | Tim Paradis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

AdvertisementShipments of the nicotine pouches in the US in 2023 were up 62% year-over-year. Zyn pouches have found favor with everyone from high-powered Wall Street traders to Tucker Carlson and GOP lawmakers. But after not using nicotine for a while, he wasn't prepared for the hit he got when he popped a 6 mg pouch of Zyn. AdvertisementPalmer sees using Zyn as an important part of his ritual around essential work. "If I could go back and never start using nicotine, I would."

Persons: Clay Coomer, Coomer, Coomer isn't, —, Clay, Zyn, Philip Morris, Tucker Carlson, Raymond Niaura, Niaura, there's, Nate Palmer, wasn't, Palmer, he's, it's, I've, Chandler, I'm, Sam Dashiell, Dashiell, JUULs Organizations: Service, Business, Philip Morris International, Swedish, GOP, New York University, FDA, Labs

☆ Consumers Pulled Back on Spending, Inflation Eased in October
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Gwynn Guilford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Markets are betting new data from the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, one of the most closely-watched gauges of inflation, will put the Fed on pace to cut rates in 2024. Illustration: John RucoskyAmericans slowed their spending in October and inflation continued cooling as the economy downshifted into fall after a fast-paced summer. Consumer spending rose 0.2% in October, down sharply from a 0.7% rise in September, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The October reading marked the slowest increase since May. The combination of ebbing income growth, high interest rates and prices, dwindling pandemic savings and the resumption of student-loan payments is eroding Americans’ ability to keep boosting their spending as briskly as they did through the summer, economists say.

Persons: Dion Rabouin, John Rucosky Organizations: Commerce Department

☆ Consumers Pulled Back on Spending in October
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Gwynn Guilford | Nick Timiraos | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Consumers saw inflation cool in October after gasoline prices fell and underlying price pressures eased. The report suggests the Fed is likely done raising interest rates. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesAmericans slowed their spending in October and inflation continued cooling as the economy downshifted from a fast-paced third quarter. Consumer spending rose 0.2% in October, down sharply from a 0.7% rise in September, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The combination of ebbing income growth, high interest rates and prices, dwindling pandemic savings and the resumption of student loan payments are eroding Americans’ ability to keep boosting their spending as briskly as they did through the summer, economists say.

Persons: Brandon Bell Organizations: Getty, Commerce Department

☆ Consumers Likely Pulled Back Spending in October
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Gwynn Guilford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Dwindling pandemic savings and student loan payments resuming are some of the factors eroding Americans’ ability to keep spending. Photo: Rachel Wisniewski for The Wall Street JournalAmericans slowed their spending in October and inflation ebbed as the economy downshifted from a fast-paced third quarter, forecasters say. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal estimate consumer spending rose 0.2% in October, down from a 0.7% rise in September and the slowest increase since May. Core prices rose 0.2% in October from the prior month, down from the 0.3% monthly gain in September, they said. Core prices rose at a 2.8% annualized rate in April through September, down from a 4.5% annualized rate in the prior six-month period.

Persons: Rachel Wisniewski Organizations: Wall Street Journal, Wall, Federal

☆ A former Russian minister who fled to the US says he now makes the same working as a truck driver after the ruble crashed
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A former Russian minister turned US truck driver says he earns as much now as he did as an official. Denis Sharonov fled Russia last year and has spent the last six months driving a truck. They say I downshifted, from a regional minister to truck driver." But Sharonov insisted his decision to work as a truck driver was about "feeling free" and doing an "honest job". "Working as a truck driver seemed like the most straightforward way to make a living," he said, adding: "I am proud of what I do."

Persons: Denis Sharonov, Sharonov, Sharonov didn't Organizations: Service, Guardian Locations: Russian, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Komi Republic, Mexico

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationLONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - The dollar touched a four-week peak against major peers on Thursday after upbeat labour market data a day earlier, while sterling remained lower after the Bank of England downshifted to a smaller 25 basis point hike. The dollar index , which measures the currency against six major peers, rose as high as 102.84, its highest level in four weeks. Earlier, the currency fell to a four-week low of 143.89 per dollar. The New Zealand dollar similarly earlier slid to its lowest since end-June at $0.6063, having tumbled more than 1% on Wednesday. "The U.S. dollar actually strengthened against most other currencies (and) there were risk-aversion trades across all the asset classes."

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Lefteris Farmakis, nonfarm, Fitch, Sterling meanwhile, BOE, John Leiper, Tina Teng, Samuel Indyk, Rae Wee, Shri Navaratnam, Nick Macfie, Andrew Heavens, Giles Elgood Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of England, U.S . Treasury, Treasury, Barclays, Titan Asset Management, Bank of Japan, New Zealand, CMC Markets, U.S, Thomson Locations: U.S, Asia, Beijing

☆ Tesla’s new burden: shouldering the market
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Back then, Tesla had three-quarters of the U.S. electric vehicle market, according to Cox Automotive. Its U.S. growth flatlined in 2022, Cox reckons, as the overall quarterly growth rate of electric sales downshifted. It needs the entire electric-vehicle market to grow beyond its current 7% share of the U.S. market, to bring in new buyers. Cox found 51% of consumers are now at least interested in an electric car. But Tesla’s operating margin has fallen to under 10%.Gross profit per car delivered is also down, 44% year-over-year, despite costs also declining.

Persons: Elon, Tesla, Cox, Biden, can’t, Musk, Gross, Elon Musk, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, General Motors, U.S, Cox Automotive, Ford, Thomson Locations: U.S, United

☆ The first quarter of 2023 is about to end. 'Fast Money' traders look ahead to earnings season
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In the first quarter of 2023, the S & P 500 is up more than 3%. .SPX YTD mountain S & P 500 YTD However, the "Fast Money" traders said investors are failing to price in tightening credit conditions, as well as a weaker macro environment, ahead of first quarter earnings — particularly in the tech sector. Nathan said consensus estimates for tech stocks are elevated, even as those companies contend with a higher interest rate and inflationary environment. Similarly, investors piled into mega-cap tech stocks after the recent banking crisis, citing their "stability," Grasso said. Trader Karen Finerman was less negative on the sector, saying supply chain issues and a pullback in the stronger dollar have eased this year, weighing less on mega-cap tech stocks.

☆ Jerome Powell isn't winning any popularity contests among investors as markets booed his testimony on Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

If you missed Jerome Powell's remarks from his first day on Capitol Hill yesterday, the TLDR is that more rate hikes are coming because the economy's still running hot. The market response to Powell's testimony was anything but muted. The idea is to eventually lower inflation — which most recently clocked in at 6.4% — but the more rate hikes we see, the greater the risk of a recession. So in short: stocks sold off, bond yields jumped, and traders eyed greater potential for a bigger rate hike this month. "If the totality of the data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted, we would be prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes," Powell said.

☆ Fed minutes show officials mulled financial stability risk amid aggressive hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Michael S. Derby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - At their last monetary policy meeting, Federal Reserve officials took stock of how the financial system was faring in the face of very aggressive rate rises. The commentary came as part of the release of meeting minutes for the Federal Open Market Committee meeting held on Jan. 31-Feb. 1, released Wednesday. The meeting minutes showed that officials believed more rate rises were needed to cool inflation, in a gathering where officials saw considerable uncertainty surrounding the outlook. The minutes showed Fed policymakers were also worried about the unsettled efforts by elected officials to raise the nation's debt ceiling. "A number of participants stressed that a drawn-out period of negotiations to raise the federal debt limit could pose significant risks to the financial system and the broader economy," the minutes said.

☆ Fed Vice Chair Brainard: Inflation is easing, but our work isn't done
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

That’s the message Thursday from Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard, speaking at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. “Even with the recent moderation, inflation remains high, and policy will need to be sufficiently restrictive for some time to make sure inflation returns to 2% on a sustained basis,” Brainard said. After four consecutive blockbuster hikes that were three-quarters of a point in size, the Fed downshifted during its last meeting, approving a half-point increase. Still, Brainard said she believes it’s possible the Fed could achieve a soft landing — a reduction in inflation without a significant amount of job loss. “That said, I’d say for the United States, recent data suggests slightly better prospects that we could see continued disinflation in the context of moderate growth.”The next two-day meeting for the Fed’s rate-setting committee starts January 31.

☆ Fed Governor Lael Brainard sees high rates ahead even with progress on inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said Thursday that interest rates need to remain high, even though there are signs inflation is starting to ease. Brainard pointed to a number of areas where she sees inflation starting to come down. Housing costs remain high, but Brainard and other Fed officials expect those to ease later in the year as apartment leases catch up with declines in commercial real estate. Instead, traders see the rate topping out about a quarter percentage point below that, and the Fed starting to reduce rates later this year. "Inflation is high, and it will take time and resolve to get it back down to 2%.

In a note to employees, CEO Satya Nadella attempted to address the divergent outlook for different parts of the business. Nadella said the layoffs, affecting less than 5% of Microsoft's workforce, would conclude by the end of March, with notifications beginning Wednesday. Along with Amazon, Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) announced cuts of 11,000 jobs, while cloud-based software company Salesforce Inc (CRM.N) said it would cut 10% of its 80,000-member workforce. Under U.S. law, most employers are required to report staff cuts affecting 50 or more workers at a single location. But growth dropped to 35% in the first fiscal quarter of 2023, and the company projects more declines to come.

The layoffs, far larger than cuts by Microsoft last year, add to the tens of thousands of job cuts across the technology sector, which has downshifted following a strong growth period during the pandemic. Nadella said the layoffs, affecting less than 5% of Microsoft's workforce, would conclude by the end of March, with notifications beginning Wednesday. The cuts reflect broader belt-tightening in the technology sector. The CEO of another company serving enterprises, Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR.N), this week told Reuters that reducing cloud spending was a top-ten priority for his customers. Microsoft's cloud revenues soared in recent years from an explosion in corporate demand to host data online and handle computing in the so-called cloud.

☆ Asian shares higher on signs of U.S. Fed slowdown, China stimulus
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Asian shares tracked Wall Street higher on Thursday, buoyed by signals the U.S. Federal Reserve may slow the pace of interest rate hikes and news of fresh economic stimulus from China, with the dollar failing to recoup losses. S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%, while Nasdaq futures <NQc1> rose 0.3%, after modest gains in U.S. stocks on Wednesday. "However, the minutes also reveal an emerging divergence of views among members about the peak rate, and uncertainty about the peak rate." In Japan, data on Thursday showed manufacturing activity contracted at the fastest pace in two years in November. Meanwhile, in China, COVID cases continued to surge, with the economic toll from mobility restrictions and lockdowns piling up.

☆ Jim Cramer says the Fed should consider retail earnings over economic data for its inflation strategy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CNBC's Jim Cramer on Wednesday said the Federal Reserve must pay attention to recent retail earnings reports to plan the rest of its battle against inflation. At the same time, October sales data showed that retail spending increased slightly more than expected. However, Cramer said that the individual retailers' earnings reports are more indicative of the state of the economy than macroeconomic data. TJ Maxx and Marshalls parent TJX Companies reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings boosted by the industry-wide inventory glut. Disclaimer: Cramer's Charitable Trust owns shares of TJX Companies.

☆ Australia central bank cuts growth outlook, rates need to rise to cool red-hot inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A man walking past the Reserve Bank of Australia in the central business district of Sydney on June 7, 2022. However, the silver lining, according to the bank, is medium-term inflation expectations and wages growth have remained consistent with the inflation target, and it is important that this remains the case. The central bank lifted its cash rate by 25 basis points on Tuesday to a nine-year peak of 2.85%, bringing its tightening to a steep 275 basis points since May. It also acknowledged that higher inflation is eroding real household incomes against the backdrop of a possible global recession. However, the bank reaffirmed its determination to bring inflation back to target, warning that rates will need to rise further.

☆ Morning Bid: Closer to fine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom Westbrook. Having jumped the gun a few times, markets are again pricing in a pivot in monetary policy and might be getting closer to the mark. Bonds are rejoicing at this week's step-down in hiking speed at the Bank of Canada and hints the European Central Bank is getting closer to satisfied with its progress. Ten-year Italian BTPs are eyeing their best week in a decade, with yields down 73 basis points since last Friday's close. Markets now price a peak in the Fed funds rate around 4.8%, after flirting with 5% a week ago.

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