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.”
Nouveau Monde Graphite says it wants to power the sustainable energy revolution. The Canadian company is developing carbon-neutral battery materials to serve the growing EV and cleantech markets and is doing so via a mining and manufacturing operation in Quebec. Eric Desaulniers, founder, president & CEO of Nouveau Monde Graphite, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Stocks closed near session lows Wednesday as investors showed concerns about rising oil prices, supply shortages, and renewed risk of inflation. While investors began the week on a confident note, today's jump in oil prices has them once again worried that inflation will not go away any time soon. John Traynor, Chief Investment Officer at People's United Advisors, joins Closing Bell to discuss today's market close, the Federal Reserve's comments and actions taken to combat inflation, and more.
John Logan, Director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University, joined Cheddar News to discuss the growing unionization push by employees at Starbucks and Amazon, and the wider implications of employee organization at these big companies.
Adidas is now the first major sports brand to create a program for paying college athletes. The new "name, image and likeness" network will allow more than 50,000 students across NCAA Division 1 schools to become paid spokespeople for the brand. Thilo Kunkel, Associate Professor and Director of Sport Industry Research Center at Temple University, tells us why this new program is only the beginning of an exciting time for student athletes.
The U.S. is bracing for a potential cyberattack as both the FBI and President Biden warn that Russia is 'exploring' a hack. This comes amid a recent rise in hacks on U.S. companies including Microsoft, Okta, and Nestle. Chris Pierson, founder & CEO, BlackCloak joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
The co-owner and managing partner at Key Advisors Group Eddie Ghabour joined Cheddar News to break down the many factors impacting the market today, including the war in Ukraine, Fed rate hikes, inflation, and job numbers. Ghabour explained that he sees a bear market bounce currently leading to a downturn as the Federal Reserve is forced to be hawkish — even hinting at a recession. "I can't stress enough, you have a Fed that's telling us they're going to raise rates by 50 basis points in May during this type of environment," he said. "That's gonna be the knockout punch for this market and this economy in the short term and worst case for the consumer, unfortunately, in our opinion."
Michele Schneider, Partner and Director of Trading Research & Education at MarketGauge, talks about the challenges the Fed has in avoiding rising inflation and how the commodity shock is impacting long-term growth.
Craig Erlam, Senior Market Analyst at OANDA, breaks down the geopolitical risks impacting U.S. investors and how one can position their portfolio in a down-trending market.
Catching you up on what you need to know Mar 24, 2022, with NATO meeting updates, Ukraine retaking suburbs around Kyiv, the spread of omicron subvariant BA.2 in China, Google Pay launching a third-party billing option, and a 16-year-old is suspected of being the Lapsus$ mastermind behind hacks of Microsoft and others.
