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.”
A turbulent week for markets ended with a late burst of buying, breaking a three-week losing streak and giving major indexes their biggest gains of the year.
Huge spinning wheels, “floating” wooden blocks and suspended geometric shapes hovered over a surreal mini-golf course Tuesday at Chanel’s remarkable couture show.
Despite wild fluctuations and increasing competition from other canine-themed coins such as Shiba Inu and Dogelon Mars, Dogecoin has held onto the top spot of meme coins.
December home sales fell 4.6%, but overall capped off a year of strong home sales. Lower supply was cited as the biggest factor in December's dip. Ed Moya, chief marketing strategist at Oanda, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the data, mortgage rates, sales numbers, and more.
Tesla Inc. has posted record fourth-quarter and full-year earnings as deliveries of its electric vehicles soared despite a global shortage of computer chips.
Stocks gave up an early rally and closed lower on Wall Street Thursday as a streak of market volatility continued.
The Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday that it plans to begin raising its benchmark interest rate as soon as March, a key step in reversing its pandemic-era low-rate policies that have fueled hiring and growth but also escalated inflation.
Heirs of Pablo Picasso, the famed 20th-century Spanish artist, are vaulting into 21st-century commerce by selling 1,010 digital art pieces of one of his ceramic works that has never before been seen publicly.
Boeing is reporting a fourth-quarter loss of $4.16 billion after taking a big charge against earnings to cover delays in delivering one of its jets to airline customers.
An early market rally gave way to a broad slide for stocks and a surge in bond yields Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signaled it plans to begin raising interest rates “soon” to fight a spike in inflation.
