Americans applied for fewer unemployment benefits at the end of 2019, the Labor Department announced Thursday. The number dropped by 2,000 to 222,000 in the seven days up until December 28, although the four-week average ticked up by 4,750 to 233,250.
The report beat expectations that had predicted 225,000 new claims, according to Reuters. The result marks the third consecutive weekly decline.
“I think we’re definitely going to see slightly smaller growth month by month than what we saw in 2019 and that’s consistent with economists expectations’ of the macroeconomy weakening slightly,” in the labor market, Beth Akers, Manhattan Institute senior fellow, told Cheddar.
She will be keeping an eye on manufacturing trends and changes in policy regarding trade for indications about how job numbers will grow (or shrink) in 2020.
“If you’re looking to something to be concerned about, you can look at the four-week moving average, which is up from what it’s been over the course of the year,” Akers said. “But, by and large, these are really strong, positive numbers for the labor market.”
Not only has the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency become the 13th most valuable cryptocurrency by market cap with a worth of over $23 billion, but it has made one duo, known as the Shiba Brothers, millionaires. The brothers, Tommy and James, and Oskar Kowalski, Founder of The Global Incubator, join Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where they discuss their collaboration on Legends of Bezogia.
Fintech startup UNest is providing financial planning tools for parents saving on behalf of their children and has raised $26 million to accelerate its mission. Ksenia Yudina, Founder and CEO at UNest, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she discusses how her company is closing the wealth gap and leveling the playing field for the next generation.
Stocks closed sharply higher Thursday after several days of investor skittishness over the COVID-19 Omicron variant. This rebound comes despite several cases of the variant being reported in the United States. Gene Goldman, Chief Investment Officer at Cetera, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss today's close, the Fed's recent announcement about speeding up their taper timeline, and more.
Austin Winsberg, creator of the NBC series "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to dish out some details about the holiday movie special "Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas" now on Roku. Despite initial plans for producing a new Season 3 despite being canceled by the network, Winsberg said that it is not necessary to have seen the first two seasons in order to enjoy the movie. He noted that following cancellation fans rallied behind the show, campaigning for it to come back, which led to a movie being greenlit by Lionsgate to be completed within just a four-month window, according to Winsberg.
As the Leonardo DiCaprio-backed, pure-play electric vehicle company Polestar plans to close a SPAC IPO with Gores Guggenheim, CEO Thomas Ingenlath talked to Cheddar about how the company positioned itself to be able to go public. With competition tightening in the electric vehicle sector, Ingenlath noted what differentiates his cars from the competitors. "Scandinavian cool design and of course the road to zero emissions is something that we take very, very seriously," he said.
Bitcoin is slowly coming back to life after plunging recently, but everyone's favorite cryptocurrency needs to chart a 77% rally in the next four weeks to reach the widely forecast year-end value of $100,000. Bitcoin was trading more than 0.8% percent lower on Thursday morning, Ethereum was also declining. David Nage, portfolio manager at Arca, joins Cheddar News to talk discuss the market.
Jack Dorsey is stepping down as CEO of Twitter. In a statement, he says he is leaving because the company is ready to move on from its founders. Twitter's chief technology office Parag Agrawal will take over as CEO. Ian Sherr, editor at large at CNET, joins Cheddar News to talk about the announcement.
Actor Chris Diamantopolous joined Cheddar's "Between Bells" to talk about his new Netflix movie "Red Notice," starring alongside Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson, and Gal Gadot, and the massive success it has seen since its release. Diamantopoulos discussed what it was like stepping into the role of the villain, being able to play a character so different from himself in real life. He also talked about playing a heavy in another hit Netflix production, "True Story," and what it was like working with Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes.
Michelle Holder, president of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth and a labor economist at John Jay College joins Cheddar News to discuss the October jobs report.
