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☆ Retailers predict a slower holiday shopping season
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Retailers are projecting slower growth this holiday shopping season as inflation, higher borrowing costs, and the resumption of student loan repayments cause many consumers to pull back. The government reported that strong consumer spending drove the economy to a robust 4.9% annual growth rate in the July-September quarter. Consumer confidence dropped for the third consecutive month despite the booming economy. The resumption of student loan repayments last month after a three-year pause could also impact consumer spending. “Student loan repayments will diminish the already dwindling savings among younger households,” Moody’s said in a report this week.

Persons: Matthew Shay, ” Dana Peterson, “ Consumers, ”, ” Moody’s, ” Shay Organizations: New, New York CNN — Retailers, National Retail Federation, “, Consumer, Conference Board, Consumers Locations: New York, splurging

☆ U.S. Job Openings Were Steady in September
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Santul Nerkar | More About Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The Federal Reserve closely monitors job openings to understand whether the economy is running too hot. The overall trend of slowing job openings is a sign that rate increases have cooled the economy, according to experts. Job openings, which reached a record of more than 12 million in March 2022, have trended down, as has the job-quitting rate, while separations have been flat. As openings rose slightly in September, the number of openings per unemployed worker was flat, at 1.5, the same as August. Job openings remain much higher than they were before the pandemic, and the number of unemployed workers per job opening is much lower.

Persons: Julia Pollak, ”, Sarah House, Stephen Juneau, What’s Organizations: Federal Reserve, Fed, ” Fed, Bank of America, Treasury, Labor Department Locations: Wells Fargo, September’s

☆ US consumer confidence dropped for third consecutive month despite the booming economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

For the third month in a row, the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell — dropping to 102.6 in October from an upwardly revised 104.3 in September. The decline in consumer confidence was not evident across all age groups and household income levels. People above the age of 55 exhibited the biggest monthly decline in consumer confidence. Meanwhile, consumers with a household income between $25,000 to $35,000 saw the biggest decline in confidence about the economy over the past month. In contrast, consumers with a household income between $100,000 to $125,000 saw the biggest jump in confidence over the past month.

Persons: ” Dana Peterson, “ Consumers, ”, Bill Adams, ” Peterson, Jeffrey Roach Organizations: New, New York CNN, Conference, Board, Conference Board, “, Big Three, United Auto Workers, Comerica Bank, LPL Financial, Federal Locations: New York, Israel

Home prices rose 0.4% in August and at an annual rate of 2.6%, as low inventories buoyed prices even while mortgages hit the 7% level. The CoreLogic Case-Shiller index for the month found 12 of the 20 cities in the index saw higher prices in August from the year-ago period. home prices continued to rise in August 2023,” said Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI. “The year’s increase in mortgage rates has surely suppressed housing demand, but after years of very low rates, it seems to have suppressed supply even more. Political Cartoons on the Economy View All 604 Images“The affordability challenge is being exacerbated by persistently higher mortgage rates,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist for Bright MLS.

Persons: ”, Craig J, Lazzara, ” Selma Hepp, Lisa Sturtevant, Hannah Jones, That’s, Rhys Williams, It’s, Venkat Balakrishnan, –, Dana Peterson, “, ” Peterson Organizations: Bright MLS, Federal Reserve, ”, Census Bureau, “, Realtor.com, Management, Fed, Conference Board, Hamas, Financial Group Locations: Chicago, New York, Detroit, Las Vegas, “, Israel

☆ People on 4 continents can look up to see ‘a bite taken out of’ the moon this weekend
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Surrounding the partial eclipse will be a penumbral eclipse that begins at 2:01 p.m. The full beaver moon begins to pass through the Earth's shadow during a total lunar eclipse in November in New York. A total lunar eclipse is more aligned than a partial lunar eclipse, with the moon moving completely into Earth’s shadow, while a partial lunar eclipse features the moon passing through only part of Earth’s shadow. The partial lunar eclipse on Saturday comes two weeks after an annular solar eclipse that made a “ring of fire” in the sky over the Americas. More celestial eventsThe next lunar eclipse will be a penumbral lunar eclipse that will be visible to stargazers in North America and will not occur until March 25, 2024.

Persons: EarthSky, Gary Hershorn, Dr, Shannon Schmoll, ” Schmoll, it’s, Schmoll, Leonids, Geminids, Ursids Organizations: CNN, Corbis, NASA, Michigan State University, “, Farmers Locations: Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, North, South America, New York, Americas, North America

He was a violinist who became a soldier with Ukraine’s special forces. “We did it so that people in Ukraine and in occupied Crimea don’t lose spirit and keep faith in Crimea returning to Ukraine,” Muzykant said. Russian forces illegally annexed Crimea in 2014. Vasco Cotovio/CNNMuzykant said the dangerous operation took months of planning to prepare the Ukrainian soldiers for the many risks they would face. Stringer/ReutersMuzykant knows there’s still some time and plenty of hard work before Ukrainian forces are able to launch a bigger offensive on Crimea but more – and more daring – raids are on the horizon.

Persons: ”, Muzykant, ” Muzykant, Vladimir Putin, Vasco Cotovio, CNN Muzykant, “, Batallion, It’s, Dmytro Korchynskyi, ” Korchynskyi, Korchynskyi, Atesh, ” Atesh, Stringer, Reuters Muzykant, there’s Organizations: Ukraine CNN, CNN, “, Raptors, Fleet, Storm Shadow, Black, Russia, Planet Labs, Reuters CNN, Federal Security Service, Partisans, Reuters Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Crimea, Ukrainian, Russia’s, Moscow, Russian, CNN Moscow, ”, Crimean, Sevastopol, Kerch, Russia, Kherson, Melitopol

☆ LinkedIn is cutting more than 650 jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

In a blog post, the social media site for professionals said it is making changes to its organizational structure and streamlining its decision making. Microsoft bought LinkedIn in 2016. Recently, LinkedIn announced an AI-assisted candidate discovery for recruiters using the site. And in Microsoft’s most recent earnings report, LinkedIn reported its AI-powered collaborative articles are the fastest-growing traffic driver on the site. LinkedIn already cut 716 positions in May and shut down its jobs app in mainland China.

Persons: Ryan Roslansky, Satya Nadella Organizations: New, New York CNN, LinkedIn, Microsoft Locations: New York, China

☆ The celestial phenomenon of October’s solar eclipse
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A "ring of fire" can be seen around the moon during an annular eclipse visible from Chiayi in southern Taiwan on June 21, 2020. Alberto Buzzola/LightRocket/Getty ImagesSaturday’s annular solar eclipse will create a dazzling “ring of fire” across the Americas. Make sure you have certified eclipse glasses or solar viewers, and check out our tips to safely take in every aspect of the annular or partial eclipse, depending on where you are. Clouds may spoil the view for some, and the eclipse may even affect the weather, but never fear: NASA will share live streams from multiple locations within the path of the annular eclipse. They find wonder in planets beyond our solar system and discoveries from the ancient world.

Persons: it’s, Alberto Buzzola, Thyra, ”, Lisbeth, Erika Blumenfeld, Joseph Aebersold, REx, Dante Lauretta, Sriram Murali, Laurent Ballesta, Luke Skywalker, Jimmy Buffett, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, NASA, Viking, National Museum of Denmark, University of Arizona, London’s, Museum, Tiger, Wildlife, “ Star, Florida, CNN Space, Science Locations: Taiwan, United States, Oregon, Texas, Gulf, Nevada , Utah, New Mexico, California , Idaho , Colorado, Arizona, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Natal, Brazil, Denmark, Viking, Copenhagen, Norway, Tamil, California

☆ ‘Ring of fire’ annular eclipse: Here’s where to see it
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Terry Ward | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Path of the ‘ring of fire’ eclipseBehold the beauty of an annular solar eclipse. For many, the event is being seen as a sort of warm-up for the 2024 total solar eclipse, which professor Mark Littmann calls “the gold standard” of eclipse viewing. It gives you a kind of an omen of what a total eclipse would look like.”Viewing an annular eclipse is far from routine: The next one won’t happen over the contiguous United States until 2046. Corpus Christi, TexasCorpus Christi residents and visitors will among the last to witness the annular eclipse on the US mainland. Santa Fe National Park, PanamaSanta Fe National Park in Panama will also enjoy the spectacular event.

Persons: Mark Littmann, ”, ” Littman, Debra Ross, ” Ross, Richard Tresch Fienberg, Bryce, ” Clark, Dave Clark, Del, Campspot, Yogi Bear’s, Clark, Christi, Chichén, Matthias Kestel Organizations: CNN, University of Tennessee, North, Eclipse, Task Force, “, CNN Travel, Utah, Capitol, Navajo Tribal, Boulder Mail, NASA, NOAA, Roswell Public Library, Grande Recreation, Alamo Beer Company, Omni, Corpus Christi, Christi, UNESCO, Santa Fe, Panama Santa Fe Locations: United States, Oregon , New Mexico, Texas, Antonio , Texas, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China, Oregon, Central, South America, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Arizona, New Mexico , Utah, Colorado, Boulder, Bryce, annularity, Albuquerque, Roswell , New Mexico, New Mexico, Roswell, Grande, Antonio, San Antonio, Jose, Del Rio, Kerrville, Guadalupe, Bandera, Garner, Corpus Christi , Texas, Christi, Corpus Christi, Mexico, Corpus, North Padre, Uzmal, Mérida, Edzná, Campeche, of Mexico, Santa, Panama Santa, Santa Fe

☆ Why Wall Street investors are freaking out
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Here’s why investors are freaking out:Rates and the Fed: A surge in corporate debt sales and rising bond yields have sent stocks lower. Moody’s, the only major credit rating firm to keep a perfect score for the United States, has warned that a government shutdown would be “credit negative” for the United States. Geopolitical risks are still elevated as Russia’s war on Ukraine continues and relations between the United States and China remain tense. October also marks the end of the fiscal year for many mutual funds in the United States. Statistical evidence doesn’t quite support the phenomenon, but the level of superstitious caution on Wall Street is real.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, ”, Michael Reinking, Mark Twain, ” Sam Bankman, Sam Bankman, Allison Morrow, Judge Lewis Kaplan, “, ” Kaplan, SFB, SBF, Caroline Ellison, Bernie Madoff, Chris Isidore, Vanessa Yurkevich Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Dow, Federal Reserve, Fed, Markets, Republicans, “, Prosecutors, GM, Ford, Motors, United Auto Workers, Michigan Assembly, Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, UAW Locations: New York, America’s Congress, United States, Ukraine, China, Manhattan, Fairfax, Kansas City , Kansas, Toledo, Lockport, Michigan, Wayne , Michigan, Kokomo , Indiana

CNN —Russia is formally seeking to rejoin the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, nearly 18 months after it was suspended from the body following its invasion of Ukraine. Russia has been accused of a huge number of human rights abuses over the course of its war in Ukraine, and the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for its President Vladimir Putin over an alleged scheme to deport Ukrainian children to Russia. Russia had joined the council in January 2021, as one of 15 countries elected to serve a three-year term. Russia remains one of five permanent members of the UN’s Security Council, and no clear legal framework exists to remove it from that post. Moscow last took the presidency of that council, which rotates among the 15 members on a monthly basis, in April.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Moscow “, Muammar Gaddafi Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Human Rights Council, UN, NATO, Human Rights, Human, European States, Assembly, UN’s Security Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Albania, Bulgaria, China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Vietnam, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Libya

☆ Why you should be traveling to Europe in fall, not summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Terry Ward | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

And now it’s fall, when the continent really comes into its own as the leaves – and visitor numbers – start to drop. A recent report from luxury travel network Virtuoso named Paris, London and Florence as the most booked cities for fall travel. “Fall is one of the best times to visit Europe because of the vast variety of interests [the season] can cater to,” says Mina Agnos, president of luxury travel company Travelive. If you’re ready for a different take on Europe this fall, we’ve got ideas. Fall also means it’s harvest time in Rebland – an area southwest of Baden-Baden famous for its Riesling.

Persons: ”, Mina Agnos, foodies, Brian Young, we’ve, Sérgio Duarte, Octant, Val, Culinarium Urtijei, Christopher Hill, Holger Leue, it’s, Jack Ezon, Samantha Pearson, Notte Bianca, Valery Bareta, Belle, Caracalla Organizations: CNN, EMEA, G, Gran Canaria, UNESCO, ADLER, Mallorca Locations: Europe, Paris, London, Florence, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Croatia, Greece, Sicily, Slovenia, Gibraltar, Tenerife, Ibiza, Mallorca, Gran, Alentejo, Douro, Val Gardena, Dolomites, Italy, Northern Italy, South, Ortisei, Romania, Brasov, Baia Mare, Saxon, Moșna, Mallorcan, Pollença, Palma . Thessaloniki, Thermaic, Santorini, Greece’s, Balkans, Mount Olympus, Thessaloniki, Malta Malta, Malta, Gozo, Comino, Valletta, Madeira, Morocco, Terrabona, Funchal, Savoy, Baden, Germany Baden, Black, Friedrichsbad

Gonzalez is set to face the surprise second-place finisher Daniel Noboa in a run-off election in October, according to the National Electoral Council of Ecuador (CNE), as neither candidate won more than 50% of the ballot. Ecuador presidential candidate Daniel Noboa makes remarks as he arrives to participate in a presidential debate on August 13. Crime has topped the agenda of this year’s presidential race, which was punctuated by the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, an outspoken anti-corruption journalist. Gunfire interrupted Noboa’s caravan on Thursday as he was traveling in Guayas province, but authorities say the presidential candidate was not the target of the incident. But the winner of October’s run-off vote will have relatively little time to work on a solution.

Persons: CNN — Luisa González, Gonzalez, Daniel Noboa, Ecuadorians, Diana Atamaint, González, Rafael Correa –, Álvaro Noboa –, Guillermo Lasso, Karen Toro, Fernando Villavicencio, Pedro Briones, Christian Zurita, October’s Organizations: CNN, Movimiento Revolución, Sunday, Electoral, Accion Democratica Nacional, Electoral Council Locations: Ecuador, Belgium, Esmeraldas province, Guayas, Quito, Russia, Ukraine, China, Bangladesh

☆ Peak oil demand could be hit this decade, IEA says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Global oil demand is projected to peak in the next few years even as some major energy companies announce plans to reinvigorate their fossil fuel businesses. “The shift to a clean energy economy is picking up pace, with a peak in global oil demand in sight before the end of this decade,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. The agency expects global oil demand to reach nearly 106 million barrels per day in 2028. The IEA’s latest forecasts update its prediction in October that demand for oil would plateau by the mid-2030s. BP now plans to slash oil output by 25% by 2030 from 2019 levels, whereas it previously aimed to cut output by 40% against this benchmark.

Persons: ”, Fatih Birol, Birol, “ Organizations: London CNN — Global, International Energy Agency, Investment, IEA, Shell, CNN, BP, “ Oil Locations: Paris, Ukraine

☆ Madonna's 'Sex' photos go to auction for the first time at Christie's
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Carlie Porterfield | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Prints of photographs from Madonna’s wildly popular 1992 coffee table book “Sex” will be available for purchase for the first time at Christie’s New York this fall, part of ongoing projects to mark the 30th anniversary of the controversial publication. In October, over 40 prints first published in “Sex” will go up for sale as part of a special standalone auction. “Thirty years on, ‘Sex’ is still somewhat controversial, but it still reads as a very body-positive, sex-positive book,” Himes said. “Sex” also featured Madonna’s then-boyfriend, rapper Vanilla Ice, and stars like supermodel Naomi Campbell and socialite Tatiana von Fürstenberg. The prints will go on display at Christie's galleries in London, Paris and New York before the October auction.

☆ Déjà coup: How election lies sparked the violent attack on Brazil’s government
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Election lies lead to election violence. And, like in the US, the warning signs were apparent for some time, with election deniers mobilizing on social media ahead of the attack. “We did see this coming,” Wendy Via, the president of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told the Associated Press. I say 100%, because it’s the same playbook.”That playbook is one of information warfare, where a propagandistic media machine is wielded to disseminate lies casting doubt on unfavorable election outcomes. This can have a devastating effect swaying public opinion, especially in our modern society where lies quickly go viral on social media and trust in mainstream institutions has weakened.

☆ As China abandons zero-Covid, what will the economy look like in 2023?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And with the global economy now facing significant challenges, including energy shortages, slowing growth and high inflation, China’s reopening could provide a much-needed and timely boost. China’s historic property downturn and a potential global recession could also cause more headaches in the new year, they added. They expect China’s economy to contract by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2023, before rebounding in the second quarter. Trade had powered much of China’s economic growth earlier this year, as exports were boosted by rising prices of the country’s goods and a weaker currency. “But a looming global recession means they probably have further to fall over the next few quarters.”

☆ Why Southwest is melting down
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

By Monday, air travel was more or less back to normal – unless you booked your holiday travel with Southwest Airlines. More than 90% of Tuesday’s US flight cancellations are Southwest, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Southwest warned that it would continue canceling flights until it could get its operations back on track. Similar to this month’s service mayhem, Southwest fared far worse than its competitors last October. While Southwest canceled hundreds of flights in the days following the peak of October’s disruption, competitors quickly returned to normal service.

☆ China Nov aluminium imports fall amid rising domestic supply
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The latest November output number showed a ninth consecutive increase to 3.41 million tonnes. For the first 11 months of the year, the world’s top aluminium maker produced 36.77 million tonnes, up 3.9% from the corresponding period in 2021. Total imports in the first 11 months were 2.13 million tonnes, down 28.2% from the corresponding period last year. Imports of bauxite, the main source of aluminium ore, came in at 11.79 million tonnes last month. That was up 31.3% from October’s 8.98 million tonnes and up 53.6% from 7.7 million in November last year.

☆ Premarket stocks: The Grinch comes for retailers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

What’s happening: US retail sales, which measure the total amount of money that stores make from selling goods to customers, fell 0.6% in November, the weakest performance in nearly a year. The Fed factor: November’s report could indicate that consumers are feeling the double-punch of sky-high inflation and painful interest rate hikes from the central bank. This retail sales data adds to recessionary concerns, as it suggests that consumers may be becoming more cautious with their spending. Those increases were spurred by the Federal Reserve’s unprecedented campaign of harsh interest rate hikes to tame soaring inflation. The Fed announced on Wednesday that it will continue to raise interest rates — albeit by a smaller amount than it has been.

☆ November Retail Sales Fell in Biggest Drop in Nearly a Year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Harriet Torry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

U.S. retail sales fell sharply in November as the holiday shopping season got under way, posting their biggest drop in nearly a year as inflation cooled. Sales at U.S. retail stores, online sellers, and restaurants fell by a seasonally-adjusted 0.6% in November from the previous month, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That was a slowdown from October’s robust 1.3% sales increase.

☆ China's economy faltered before major Covid policy shift, retail sales and unemployment data show
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Retail sales declined 5.9% in November from a year ago, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. It was the worst contraction in retail spending since May, when widespread Covid lockdowns, including in the country’s richest city Shanghai, pummeled the economy. Property sales by value plummeted by more than 26%. Last week, customs data showed the country’s exports contracted 8.7% in November from a year ago, the worst performance since February 2020. China’s economy has been battered by its stringent zero-Covid policy and persistent property woes this year.

☆ US consumers pulled back their spending last month as inflation took a toll
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Pullbacks in auto sales helped drive the decline — the largest monthly decrease seen all year — but even excluding autos, monthly sales declined by 0.2%, despite cooling inflation. Economists had expected monthly sales to shrink by 0.1%, down from October’s 1.3% increase, according to consensus estimates on Refinitiv. Retail sales, which are not adjusted for inflation, were up 6.5% in November from the year prior, according to the report. That’s the slowest year-over-year retail sales growth since 2020, said Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst for Bankrate. “Credit card rates going up could cause more of a contraction, but hopefully [the Fed] gets a nice feather landing.”This story is developing and will be updated.

The New York Fed survey began in 2013. The one-year ahead expected inflation reading was also the lowest of the year. GOOD NEWS FOR FED'S INFLATION STRUGGLESThe expected path of inflation is a key variable in that process. A large part of the near-term fall in expected inflation is likely tied toward recent declines in always-volatile gasoline prices. The New York Fed reported that respondents said in November they see household incomes rising by 4.5%, from October’s 4.3%, a record-high reading.

☆ Americans said in November they're expecting inflation pressures to wane
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Michael S. Derby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Americans said last month that they are expecting notably weaker inflation pressures over coming years, the New York Fed said Monday in its latest Survey of Consumer Expectations. The bank reported that respondents foresee a record month-to-month drop in inflation a year from now, with inflation expected to rise by 5.2% versus the 5.9% projected increase in October. The New York Fed survey began in 2013. The one-year ahead expected inflation reading was also the lowest of the year. It came as the respondents said in the report that they are expecting smaller price rises for a range of key goods and services.

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