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☆ Here's the inflation breakdown for January 2024 — in one chart
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The consumer price index, a key inflation gauge, rose 3.1% in January relative to a year earlier, the U.S. Labor Department said Tuesday. Where inflation was high in JanuaryCartons of orange juice on display in a grocery store in Los Angeles. Mario Tama | Getty ImagesDespite broad disinflation, there are specific categories where inflation remains relatively high. watch nowAdditionally, shelter inflation is up 6% in the last 12 months. Shelter is the largest component of the average household's budget, and stubbornly high inflation in the category has propped up overall inflation readings.

Persons: Spencer Platt, That's, Mark Zandi, it's, Zandi, J.P, Mario Tama, beefsteaks, Amy Smith, Smith Organizations: Getty, U.S . Labor Department, Moody's Analytics, Workers, Labor Department, Morgan's, Investment, Group, Consumer, University of Michigan, Finance Locations: Brooklyn, U.S, Los Angeles, Brazil, Florida

The 2-year Treasury yield nearly three basis points lower at 4.47%. U.S. Treasury yields were slightly lower Monday as investors looked ahead to key economic data and fresh comments from Federal Reserve officials that could provide hints about the interest rate outlook. January's consumer price index is due Tuesday, before the producer price index, retail sales figures and further data points which are slated for later in the week. Investors are hoping that the data will suggest that the Fed could begin cutting rates sooner rather than later. On Friday, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics revised December's consumer price index lower, saying it had risen by 0.2% that month.

Persons: Jerome Powell Organizations: Treasury, U.S, Federal Reserve, Investors, Fed, Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics

☆ S&P 500 could rise to 5,300 after hitting latest milestone, says UBS wealth head
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

While the S & P 500 has more doubled since hitting its pandemic low in March 2020, UBS thinks stock values are "well supported" and that the benchmark could exceed its original forecast for 2024. UBS global wealth management chief Mark Haefele said things were lining up for the S & P 500 to make a run toward 5,300 this year, about 6% upside from current levels. Haefele's base case for 2024 was a gain to around 5,000, but the S & P 500 has already reached that point in a hurry, up 5% year-to-date. "In this event, we believe the S & P 500 has the potential to rise to around 5,300 this year." The benchmark is on pace for five-straight positive weeks as tech shares rally and companies report higher fourth-quarter earnings than expected.

Persons: Mark Haefele, Haefele Organizations: UBS, Labor Department Locations: Thursday's

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Friday will announce the investment of $5 billion in a public-private consortium aimed at supporting research and development in advanced computer chips. That 2022 law aims to reinvigorate the computer chip sector within the United States through targeted government support. The center would help to fund the design and prototyping of new chips, in addition to training workers for the sector. Companies say they need a skilled workforce in order to capitalize on the separate $39 billion being provided by the government to fund new and expanded computer chip plants. Labor Department data say that about 375,000 people are employed in the production of computer chips with an average income of $82,830.

Persons: —, Biden, Gina Raimondo Organizations: WASHINGTON, National Semiconductor Technology, Companies, Labor Department, Industry, White Locations: United States

☆ Inflation in December was even lower than first reported, the government says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The prices consumers pay in the marketplace rose at an even slower pace than originally reported, according to closely watched revisions the government released Friday. Revisions to the consumer price index showed that the broad basket of goods and services measured increased 0.2% on the month, less than the originally reported 0.3%, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Indications that inflation in 2022 rose more than anticipated drove Treasury yields higher and sparked worry from investors that the Fed might keep monetary policy more restrictive. Excluding food and energy, so-called core CPI increased 0.3% for the month, the same as originally reported. Fed policymakers tend to focus more on core measures as they provide a better indication of long-run movements in inflation.

Organizations: Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve, Treasury, Reuters

The number of Americans filing for jobless claims fell last week despite more layoff announcements from high-profile companies recently. Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 9,000 to 218,000 for the week ending Feb. 3, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Weekly unemployment claims are seen as a proxy for the number of U.S. layoffs in a given week. They have remained at extraordinarily low levels despite efforts by the U.S. Federal Reserve to cool the economy. In total, 1.87 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits during the week that ended Jan. 27, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week.

Organizations: Labor Department, U.S . Federal Reserve

☆ Weekly mortgage demand from homebuyers is flattening as interest rates rise
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Mortgage demand is struggling to contend with what appears to be another upswing in interest rates. Total mortgage application volume rose 3.7% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Together, those two jumps made for the third-biggest increase in mortgage rates since March 2020. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 35.4% of total applications from 34.2% the previous week. Mortgage rates fell back slightly on Tuesday, but the move higher was an adjustment to surprisingly strong economic data, according to Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily.

Persons: Joel Kan, Matthew Graham, They've Organizations: Mortgage, U.S . Labor Department, Mortgage News Daily, Mortgage News, CNBC PRO

“Mar-Jac and its affiliates have a long and sordid history of willful disregard for worker safety,” the lawsuit reads. In July, Duvan became the third worker to die in less than three years at the Hattiesburg, Mississippi, plant owned by Mar-Jac, a Georgia-based poultry production company. After Duvan's death, Onin filed a notice with the state to avoid paying worker's compensation,the lawsuit claims. OSHA had issued at least eight citations for safety violations at the plant before Duvan's death, the lawsuit says. After the accident, Labor Department officials said Duvan’s death offered a reminder that children remain vulnerable to exploitation in the U.S. workplace.

Persons: JACKSON, Edilma Perez Ramirez, Mar, Jac, Duvan Perez, “, Duvan, Joel Velasco Toto, Bobby Butler, Perez Ramirez, Onin, Toto, Butler, Seth Hunter, Perez Ramirez's, Chick, ” Hunter, ___ Michael Goldberg Organizations: U.S . Department, Safety, Health Administration, Mar, OSHA, Onin Staffing, Labor, Associated Press, America Statehouse News Initiative, America Locations: Miss, Mississippi, Forest, Guatemala, Hattiesburg , Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, U.S, @mikergoldberg

☆ Gold slides as US jobs data dampens bets of early rate cut
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Gold prices fell on Monday, as the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields surged after a robust jobs report crushed expectations of near-term interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Spot gold was down 0.5% at $2,029.03 per ounce by 0556 GMT. Traders are betting on four quarter-point Fed rate cuts for 2024, down from six last Monday, according to LSEG's interest rate probability app IRPR. Investors are awaiting remarks from a host of Fed speakers this week for further clues on rate cuts. Spot silver fell 0.5% to $22.56 per ounce, palladium dropped 0.8% to $939.26, while platinum rose 0.5% to $894.99.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Matt Simpson, Simpson Organizations: U.S ., Treasury, Federal Reserve, Index, Traders, U.S . Labor, Reuters, Fed Locations: Singapore

Where does the economy go from here? Consumers are feeling better, expecting that the economy will do well and inflation will subside in the coming 12 months. While the economy ended last year on a strong note, the expectation was that it would cool down as the calendar turned to 2024. Last week, the International Monetary Fund boosted its projection for global growth to 3.1% from its October estimate of 2.9%, citing “greater-than-expected resilience” in the U.S. economy. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow forecast has the U.S economy growing at a 4.2% clip in the first quarter.

Persons: ”, Jerome Powell, Powell, ” Powell, Lightcast, Rachel Sederberg, “, That’s Organizations: Federal, Labor Department, ” Comerica Bank, Fed, CBS, International Monetary Fund, Federal Reserve Bank, Atlanta’s, Santander Bank, ” Locations: U.S, ” Santander

☆ Powell insists the Fed will move carefully on rate cuts, with probably fewer than the market expects
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell holds a press conference following the release of the Fed's interest rate policy decision at the Federal Reserve in Washington, U.S., January 31, 2024. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell vowed in an interview aired Sunday that the central bank will proceed carefully with interest rate cuts this year and likely will move at a considerably slower pace than the market expects. "We want to see more evidence that inflation is moving sustainably down to 2%," Powell added. We just want some more confidence before we take that very important step of beginning to cut interest rates." Powell was broadly optimistic about the economy, noting that inflation, while still above the Fed's target, has moderated while the jobs market is strong.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell, wouldn't, Scott Pelley, payrolls, hasn't, haven't Organizations: Federal Reserve, Federal, CBS, Labor Department Locations: Washington , U.S, Jackson Hole , Wyoming

Recent job cuts have been concentrated mainly in just a few sectors: technology, finance and media. Relative to the U.S. labor force of 160 million people, layoffs so far have been dwarfed by consistently vigorous hiring — a monthly average of 248,000 jobs added over the past six months. THE LAYOFFS ARE SPREAD OVER TIMEHigh-profile job cuts typically involve many layoffs that aren't implemented immediately. So they weren't included in the January jobs data that was released Friday because the layoffs hadn't yet taken place. Jobs cuts are deeply distressing and disruptive for people who suffer them.

Persons: they've, —, They're, That's, binges, Todd McKinnon, ” Organizations: WASHINGTON, Blockbuster, eBay, UPS, Spotify, Manufacturers, Labor Department, Companies Locations: Federal, U.S

☆ U.S. economy added 353,000 jobs in January, much better than expected
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Nonfarm payrolls expanded by 353,000 for the month, much better than the Dow Jones estimate for 185,000, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Job growth was widespread on the month, led by professional and business services with 74,000. The report also indicated that December's job gains were much better than originally reported. The January payrolls count comes with economists and policymakers closely watching employment figures for direction on the larger economy. The fourth quarter saw GDP increase at a strong 3.3% annualized pace, closing out a year in which the economy defied widespread predictions for a recession.

Persons: Dow Jones, Jerome Powell Organizations: Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve, Labor, Gross, Atlanta, Fed Locations: U.S

☆ Treasury yields rise ahead of key jobs report
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The 2-year Treasury yield was last up by over four basis points to 4.2352%. U.S. Treasury yields were higher on Friday as investors looked ahead to key labor market figures and assessed the outlook for interest rates. Investors awaited the January jobs report due on Friday and considered the path ahead for interest rates after the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy decision and guidance was issued earlier in the week. The U.S. Labor Department's jobs report comes after ADP's private payrolls report, which was published earlier in the week, slowed more sharply than expected in January. That comes as uncertainty around the outlook for interest rates, especially regarding a timeline for rate cuts, remains high.

Persons: Dow Jones, payrolls, Jerome Powell Organizations: Treasury, U.S, Federal, Labor, Companies

☆ Job Market Starts 2024 With a Bang
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The United States produced an unexpectedly sizable batch of jobs last month, a boon for American workers that shows the labor market retains remarkable strength after three years of expansion. Employers added 353,000 jobs in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported on Friday, and the unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent. The report also put an even shinier gloss on job growth for 2023, including revisions that added more than 100,000 to the figure previously tallied for December. All told, employers added 3.1 million jobs last year, more than the 2.7 million initially reported. After the loss of 14 percent of the nation’s jobs early in the Covid-19 pandemic, the labor market’s endurance despite aggressive interest rate increases has caught economists off guard.

Organizations: Employers, Labor Department Locations: States

☆ Tech's longtime highfliers are growing up by getting smaller
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

They're still out hunting for the best technical talent, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence, but headcount growth is measured. Last year, tech companies were responding to dramatically changing market conditions — soaring inflation, rising interest rates, rotation out of risk — after an extended bull market. Meta slashed over 20,000 jobs in 2023, Amazon laid off more than 27,000 people, And Alphabet cut over 12,000 positions. Other than Nvidia , which had a banner 2023 due to soaring demand for its AI chips, none of the other mega-cap tech companies have been growing at their historic averages. By late this year, analysts are projecting growth at Meta will be back down to the low teens at best.

Persons: Tayfun, There's, Daniel Flax, Neuberger Berman, CNBC's, Morgan Stanley, Brian Nowak, Brian Olsavsky, They're, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Olsavsky, Phil Spencer, Justin Sullivan, Okta, Zuora, Evan Sohn, Recruiter.com, " Sohn, Susan Li, Ben Barringer, Cheviot, Barringer, —, Annie Palmer Organizations: Anadolu Agency, Getty Images Technology, Amazon, Meta, hasn't, Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, SAN FRANCISCO, Activision, FTC, Getty, Federal, Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, Tech, Nvidia, Finance, CNBC Locations: Menlo Park , California, Silicon Valley, CALIFORNIA, San Francisco , California

☆ Gold set for best week in 7 as dollar softens ahead of US jobs data
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bullion has climbed 1.8% this week, set for its best weekly gain since late December. Lower interest rates boost non-yielding bullion's appeal. Spot gold rose nearly 1% on Thursday after data from the U.S. Labor Department showed initial jobless claims rose more than expected last week. Fed Chair Jerome Powell pushed back on the idea of an interest rate cut in the spring, but expressed confidence in inflation moving towards the desired 2% range. Money market pricing shows traders are nothing but sure about a rate cut in May.

Persons: Brian Lan, Jerome Powell Organizations: Novosibirsk Refining Plant, Treasury, Federal Reserve, GoldSilver, U.S . Labor Department Locations: Novosibirsk, Russia, Singapore, U.S

☆ January Jobs Report U.S. Job Growth Expected to Be Solid
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

PinnedThe labor market is looking more like 2019 every month, and that’s not a bad place to be. The share of people quitting their jobs, which surged during the pandemic, is back to 2019 levels. A broad measure of wages, salaries and benefits known as the Employment Cost Index has been falling since early 2022. Employment growth has been narrowing, with sectors like education, health care and government, which vary less with economic cycles, powering most of the gains. Most of those displaced workers have shifted to positions where their skills are still needed, keeping joblessness in check — so far.

Persons: that’s, “, ”, Satyam Panday Organizations: Labor Department, Bureau of Labor Statistics

Consumers are happy, the stock market is near record highs, inflation is moderating and the labor market is defying all forecasts. Apparently, very little as the latest reading on consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan confirmed on Friday. The final consumer sentiment survey for January posted a 13% increase to 79, almost a 10-point surge from December’s 69.7 reading, echoing earlier estimates. “This morning’s strong jobs report diminished the chances of the Fed cutting in March,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial. This means businesses are in a good position despite the macro headwinds and uncertainty about growth expectations.”

Persons: “, ”, Joanne Hsu, ” Hsu, –, David Royal, Jeffrey Roach Organizations: University of Michigan, Federal Reserve, Labor Department, Federal Reserve Bank, Atlanta’s, LPL

☆ The unemployment rate of Black men rose in January, underscoring continued inequality in labor market
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

These workers had the highest unemployment rate when breaking down Black, Hispanic and white workers by gender. By comparison, white men saw a jobless rate of just 3.3% in January, holding steady from December. The overall unemployment rate was unchanged from December at 3.7%. This underscores the impact of job losses among Black men, especially considering the fact that the rate for Black women was unchanged between December and January at 4.8%. The tight labor market experienced during the pandemic helped close the gap in work-related opportunities among Black and white men, she said.

Persons: Elise Gould, Gould, it's Organizations: Fs, Getty, Labor Department, Economic, Institute

The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits rose last week to the highest level in 11 weeks, though layoffs remain at historically low levels. Applications for unemployment benefits climbed to 224,000 for the week ending Jan. 27, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Weekly unemployment claims are seen as a proxy for the number of U.S. layoffs in a given week. Though layoffs remain at low levels, there has been an uptick in job cuts recently across technology and media. Overall, 1.9 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits during the week that ended Jan. 20, an increase of 70,000 from the previous week.

Organizations: Labor Department, U.S . Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve, Fed Locations: U.S

☆ January hiring was the lowest for the month on record as layoffs surged
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The job outplacement firm said planned layoffs totaled 82,307 for the month, a jump of 136% from December though still down 20% from the same period a year ago. It was the second-highest layoff total and the lowest planned hiring level for the month of January in data going back to 2009. Amazon also said it would be cutting as did UPS in the biggest month for layoffs since March 2023. Tech layoffs totaled 15,806, the highest since May 2023. Additionally, climate change and immigration policies are influencing labor dynamics and operational challenges in this sector," Challenger said.

Persons: Amazon, Andrew Challenger Organizations: Challenger, Technology, Microsoft, PayPal, Tech, Food, Labor Department

☆ Private payroll growth slowed to just 107,000 in January, below expectations, ADP reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A 7-Eleven convenience store has a sign in the window reading "Now Hiring" in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., July 8, 2022. Private payroll growth declined sharply in January, a possible sign that the U.S. labor market is heading for a slowdown this year, ADP reported Wednesday. Only one sector — information services (-9,000) — reported a decline, but hiring was slow across virtually all sectors. While the ADP data can provide a barometer for private sector hiring, the two reports often differ, with ADP often undershooting the Labor Department's numbers. On wage gains, ADP reported a 5.2% annual rise, a number that has run above the government's measure of average hourly earnings.

Persons: Dow Jones, —, nonfarm, Nela Richardson Organizations: ADP, Companies, Labor, CNBC PRO Locations: Cambridge , Massachusetts, U.S

☆ The Federal Reserve is fed up with data revisions
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said large revisions in data are tainting his assessments of how the economy is doing. Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesThat’s well above the average month-over-month revised change in job totals from 1973 to the latest available revision data, according to the BLS. The official summary of what Fed officials said and discussed during their September meeting — also known as the Fed minutes — stated: “A few participants observed that there were challenges in assessing the state of the economy because some data continued to be volatile and subject to large revisions.”Spokespeople from the Federal Reserve declined to answer which data Fed officials were referring to. Frequent and large revisions to economic data are weighing on Federal Reserve decision-making, Governor Michelle Bowman said. “We want to be data dependent, but not data point dependent,” Williams said.

Persons: Christopher Waller, Waller, it’s, Al Drago, ” Waller, ”, Michelle Bowman, —, Spokespeople, he’s, don’t, Erica Groshen, David Wilcox, Laura Kelter, Kelter, Groshen, Wilcox, John Williams, ” Williams, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN — Federal Reserve, ”, of Labor Statistics, BLS, Federal, Bloomberg, Getty, Fed, Ohio Bankers League, Federal Reserve, Commerce Department, Department, Census, Labor, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Employment, CNN, Wilcox . New York Fed Locations: New York, Wilcox . New

☆ Fed meeting walkup: Chair Powell expected to announce rates will hold steady
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Washington, DC CNN —The Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady Wednesday for the fourth consecutive meeting, leaving them at a 23-year high as policymakers likely discuss the timing of rate cuts. That’s because, if inflation drifts lower but interest rates remain elevated, it causes “real” interest rates to rise, unnecessarily squeezing the economy and risking job losses. A rapidly weakening economy threatening mass job losses is an obvious reason to cut rates, which most economists aren’t currently forecasting. But another concern that has gained some traction is the rise of inflation-adjusted interest rates, which is an argument for rate cuts. The Fed is set to announce its latest policy decision at 2 pm ET on Wednesday, followed by a press conference from Chair Powell at 2:30 pm ET.

Persons: Jerome Powell’s, —, ” Sarah House, “, ”, Christopher Waller, it’s, Mary Daly, they’re, aren’t, Austan Goolsbee, Subadra Rajappa, Générale, Powell Organizations: DC CNN, Federal Reserve, Fed, CNN, ” San Francisco Fed, Fox Business, Chicago Fed, CNBC, PCE, Labor Department Locations: Washington, Wells, ” San

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