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.”
The Week's Top Stories is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street.
Between Bells EP Conor White recaps some of the biggest stories of the week, while Baker Machado and Hena Doba test their knowledge, and maybe learn a thing or two. It's This Week in Trivia!
The social marketplace Poshmark recently revealed its survey on spring cleaning with tips on how decluttering might lead to cash. Steven Tristan Young, the company's chief marketing officer, joined Cheddar News to talk about the survey of its customers, especially how Millennials and Gen Z'ers are gravitating toward cleaning out their closets to reboot their wardrobes. "I think style and fashion and image is so important to this audience that this is probably one of the reasons why they're really thinking about this spring cleaning, and our hope is turning it into spring selling," he noted.
U.S. regulators are sounding the alarms about the meme stock mania fueled by retail investors. FINRA, the regulator for all brokerage firms and exchanges in the U.S. is warning that retail traders could easily get in over their heads due to their lack of knowledge about complex investments like options, ETF's and structured notes. Thomas Gorman, Attorney, Dorsey Whitney & former Securities Exchange Commission Regulator joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss how regulators and trading platforms can crack down on retail investors.
The deadline for filing federal taxes is just a few weeks away. Experts are warning taxpayers to brace for yet another year of delays and complications, as the pandemic causes backlogs and obstacles to the system. Dan Geltrude, Managing Partner at Geltrude & Co, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to give some tips on tax season.
Sophie Karp, Equity Research Analyst at Keybanc Capital Markets, talks about the push toward clean energy amid rising oil prices and highlights the challenges the U.S. faces in shifting toward renewables.
The next generation of investors has a host of concerns about retirement with inflation and broader uncertainty topping the list. Rita Assaf, Vice President of Retirement, Fidelity Investments, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss Fidelity Investments' State of Retirement Planning Study.
