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.”
Pearson CEO Andy Bird joined Cheddar's "Opening Bell" to talk about a new partnership with famed recording artist manager Simon Fuller to launch a new performing arts school, the Academy of Pop, focused on cultivating the next round of rising stars. While the school will focus predominantly on the arts, Fuller said Bird wanted to partner with the learning company Pearson to add structure to the curriculum. "I think in many areas, the performing arts have suffered within education, and so part of our goal is to sort of put the 'A' into STEM and turn it into STEAM," he said. The first studio is slated to open in Hollywood.
Kathy Mulvey, the Accountability Campaign Director for the Union of Concerned Scientists, joined Cheddar News to break down Thursday's congressional hearing on climate change with big oil executives and lobbyists.
TikTok is testing out a new program that would allow creators to receive tips for their posted content. The video-sharing platform also said it will allow creators to retain 100 percent of their tipped revenue.
Tonya Evans, professor at Penn State Dickinson Law, joined Cheddar to talk about the meme coin war flaring up between the Shiba Inu and Dogecoin tokens. She noted that one of the most fascinating takeaways from the crypto craze is the "power of community" being able to manipulate market prices. Evans also talked about the rising number of coins coming to market and how to assess if they are worth investing in.
Social media giant 'Facebook' has rebranded itself as 'Meta' in a move that has many talking about the motive behind the timing of the announcement as the company finds itself getting negative press almost daily. Editor In Chief of Investopedia Caleb Silver breaks down the change and how the vision of Meta and the Metaverse could change the future.
Third quarter Shopify earnings fell below expectations in both revenue and earnings per share. Though the e-commerce retailer has seen growth in partnerships with Target and Spotify, as well as adoption of a buy now, pay later payment option, Hatem Dhiab, Managing Partner at Gerber Kawasaki explains the impact that ongoing supply chain issues have had on Shopify's bottom line.
Alphabet reported an earnings beat on the top and bottom lines, proving to be immune to Apple's privacy policy changes and the supply chain shortages. Cheddar News was joined by Martin Garner, COO of CCS Insight to dive into the numbers and the future of Google.
