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.”
Proctor & Gamble is raising prices on a range of goods as higher commodity and freight costs are set to take a bite out of its profits.
Stocks ended higher on Wall Street Wednesday, bringing the S&P 500 to the brink of another record high.
Netflix has posted sharply higher third-quarter earnings thanks to a stronger slate of titles. Those include “Squid Game,” the dystopian show from South Korea that the company says became its biggest-ever TV show.
In the latest milestone for the cryptocurrency industry, an easy-to-trade fund tied to Bitcoin began trading on Tuesday.
The stock market certainly shook when hundreds of thousands of regular people suddenly piled into GameStop early this year, driving its price to heights that shocked professional investors. But it didn’t break.
Stocks are closing higher on Wall Street Tuesday, giving the S&P 500 its fifth straight gain and getting it closer to the record high it set in early September.
The global energy crisis is about to hit home in the U.S. this winter as high energy prices and expectations of a colder winter than last year put pressure on common heating fuels.
Facebook says it plans to hire 10,000 workers in the European Union over the next five years to work on a new computing platform.
Stocks wobbled to a mixed finish on Wall Street Monday as the market’s momentum slowed down following its best week since July.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
