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.”
Wall Street closed its first losing week in the last four with an up-and-down Friday, as investors brace for the Federal Reserve to tighten the brakes on the economy more aggressively to beat down inflation.
Baseball is as American as — Apple TV+. The National Pasttime has a new media partner this season, as the MLB will be streaming Friday night doubleheaders on the Apple streaming service. Noah Garden, the league's chief revenue officer, spoke to Cheddar News to break down the details of what's being offered in the new package and why Major League Baseball felt the need to make the move this year. "We've been in a situation where we've lost reach, even within the cable bundle. There are situations where people in the local market don't have access to watch their favorite team and their local team on top of that," he said. "You have cord cutters and even probably more importantly, cord nevers. So streaming offers of some ability to gain reach that we've lost over the the last couple of years, and Apple was really the perfect partner for us."
It's National Beer Day! Miller Lite is celebrating with its new Beer Drops meant to "improve" the flavor of other light beers to be more like Miller Lite. Elizabeth Hitch, senior director of marketing at Molson Coors, joined Cheddar News to discuss the cheeky product taking a jab at the competition. “We found is that a lot of these beer brands were giving away free product, free beer, and we thought what good is it to have a free beer if it doesn't taste good, right? So, we thought about these flavor-enhancing beer drops to actually add flavor to other light beers to give them as much taste as Miller Lite," she said. Hitch also addressed ongoing concerns with aluminum shortages amid supply constraints as well as a foray into NFTs.
