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.”
Social media platforms are often flooded with unverified information, and many people use their news feeds as their main source of news. But Snap is working to set itself apart as it partners with global news outlets to launch Dynamic Stories. Vetted news content will be available for users on the Discovery tab, and news outlets will have an easy way to push content out and reach more people. Alan Wolk, Co-Founder and Lead Analyst at TVREV, joins Closing Bell to discuss Snap's push into news, how it will monetize clicks, whether or not another social media site will imitate the feature, and more.
Melissa Cohn, Regional Vice President at William Raveis Mortgage, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the Mortgage Bankers Association's decision to lower its 2022 outlook, as surging prices and tight supply weigh on the market.
Apparel e-commerce platform Rent the Runway posted a beat estimated revenue, and Barbara Doran, the CEO and CIO at BD8 Capital, joined Cheddar News to discuss the earnings report along with other topics affecting the market. "This is also a secular growth story because they do occupy a unique niche," she said of Rent the Runway. "They did identify an important need." Doran was impressed by the company's numbers in terms of subscription growth.
"New Collar" is a recent term coined for tech jobs that don’t necessarily require a degree but do need a specified technological skillset. Matt Calkins, CEO at cloud-computing and software company Appian, joined Cheddar News to discuss the latest. "This new collar movement is about switching the track you’re on and getting out to a higher value track, making the most of your skills," he said.
Ron Carson, CEO and Founder of Carson Wealth, sits down with Cheddar's Hena Doba to share how he keeps a strong connection to nature and prioritizes mental health in his formula for success.
Ice Cube's 3-on-3 basketball league, the Big3, is introducing decentralized team ownership to fans with the chance to own a minority stake in the 12 teams through blockchain technology, a first for professional sports. The rapper, actor, and filmmaker joined Cheddar News to talk about the new ownership model using NFTs. "This is a perfect time to offer it to fans and not just wait for fat cats to come and want to buy the teams but for fans to be able to be a part of it,” he said.
John Petrides, portfolio manager at Tocqueville Asset Management, breaks down the factors that led to narrowing margins for the banking giant JP Morgan Chase and the concerns for an overall economic slowdown. "The miss was really driven by an accounting feature called CECIL, current expected credit losses, which is something that was rolled out a couple of years ago and is now in full play," he said. "Basically what that means is every loan a bank makes, now they have to assign some probability of a loss to the loan at the moment that they issued a loan."
This March 19, 2018, file photo shows the Yelp app on an iPad in Baltimore. Yelp reports financial results Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019. The online review service will cover the travel expenses of employees who have to travel out of state for abortions, joining the ranks of major employers trying to help workers affected by restrictions being placed on the procedure in Texas and other states. The benefit announced Tuesday, April 12, 2022 covers Yelp's entire workforce of 4,000 employees, but seems most likely to have its biggest immediate impact on its 200 workers in Texas, which has passed a law banning abortions within the state after six weeks of pregnancy. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
