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.”
As life inches toward a post-pandemic world, many people are trying to navigate how to transition from their work-from-home look to a new back-to-office style for the first time in two years. Dina Scherer, the owner of Modnitsa Styling, joined Cheddar News to provide some styling suggestions for those returning to the office. 'I do hear this from a lot of my clients that they just have no idea how to transition from sweat pants, athleisure, into a work office environment outfit that's both appropriate and comfortable,' she noted.
Kelly Johnson, Portfolio Strategist, Charles Schwab, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he breaks down the results of the 2022 Ariel-Schwab Black Investor Survey. In doing so, he dives into why White American investing activity is at an all-time low and why more Black Americans are gravitating toward cryptocurrencies.
U.S. stocks closed Friday's session mostly lower to end the first full trading week of April. For the week, the S& 500 dropped 1.26%, the Dow fell 0.27%, and the Nasdsaq saw a more significant decline of 3.86%. Melissa Armo, founder and owner of The Stock Swoosh, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
U.S. stocks saw a jump in the final hour of Thursday's session, and ultimately closed slightly higher for the day. Tim Pagliara, Chief Investment Officer of CapWealth, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. "The markets have had to digest a lot of action from the federal reserve this quarter and it's affecting everything from mortgage rates to how they value stocks," he said.
Herold Meyerson, Editor at Large of 'The American Prospect,' joined Closing Bell to discuss the recent uptick in unionization efforts across the U.S. and what it might mean for large corporations like Amazon and Starbucks, where workers are increasingly pushing to unionize.
Alma Angotti, a former SEC Enforcement Attorney and Global Regulatory Risk Leader at the consulting firm Guidehouse, joined Closing Bell to discuss the SEC probe of Amazon's business practices related to third-party seller data, and whether it will have any impact.
The month of April is also known as financial literacy month, and Investopdia marked the occasion this year by surveying 4,000 U.S. adults - 1,000 each from Generation Z, millennial, Generation X, and baby boomer generations - to try to get a better sense of where each generation stands when it comes to their understanding of all things money. The survey found that while many Americans have invested in crypto, most have much more to learn about digital currency. Investopedia Editor in Chief Caleb Silver joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Michael Cassau, Founder and CEO of Grover, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains how Grover is establishing itself in the tech marketplace with its subscription-based offering and how he plans to deploy the $330 million in new funding.
Michael Chime, Co-Founder and CEO of Prepared, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains how his platform is bringing the emergency call system into today's tech-driven era and discusses how his company plans to utilize $9.8 million it just raised in new funding.
Christine McDaniel, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to break down the long list of sanctions that the U.S. has levied against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine, and the impact - or lack thereof - they are having on Russia.
