The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in six months last week as layoffs remain at relatively healthy levels. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claim applications fell by 4,000 to 217,000 for the week of Nov. 9. That’s less than the 225,000 analysts forecast. The four-week average […]
The average age of U.S. homebuyers has risen to an all-time high, as the median home down payments nearly match annual U.S. household incomes, according to a yearly survey of the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The NAR’s 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers survey, tracking transactions between July 2023 and June 2024, found […]
WOLFSBURG, Germany—Volkswagen plans to shut at least three factories in Germany, lay off tens of thousands of staff and shrink its remaining plants in Europe’s biggest economy as it plots a deeper-than-expected overhaul, the carmaker’s works council head said. Europe’s biggest carmaker has been negotiating for weeks with unions over its plans to revamp its […]
New research by a pair of prominent economists suggests that the U.S. economy has been in a recession for the last two years after inflation adjustments are taken into account. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, cumulative inflation since 2019 has totaled nearly 25 percent. But inflation figures have been understated by nearly half, […]
A proposed stopgap funding bill with the SAVE Act attached failed to pass the House of Representatives on Wednesday. NTD spoke with Richard Stern, director of budget policy at The Heritage Foundation and a former budgetary advisor to House Speaker Mike Johnson, to discuss the speaker’s next steps and the potential implications of a government […]
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in four months last week. Jobless claims slid by 12,000, to 219,000, for the week of Sept. 14, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than economists’ expectations for 230,000 new filings. Weekly filings for unemployment benefits, considered largely representative of layoffs, […]
News Analysis The winds of change are upon the U.S. economy as the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates for the first time in four years, affecting everyone from Main Street to Wall Street. After the Fed launched its inflation-fighting crusade in March 2022, higher interest rates have significantly raised consumer borrowing costs, […]
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said this week that a fate worse than recession for the U.S. economy—namely, stagflation—can’t be ruled out. Speaking at the Council of Institutional Investors’ fall conference in New York City on Sept. 10, Dimon expressed concern about the possibility that stagflation—a detrimental mix of economic stagnation and inflation—could well be […]
The U.S. economy created fewer jobs than the market projected in August as the overheated labor market of the past few years continues to show signs of cooling off. Last month, payrolls increased by 142,000, falling short of the consensus estimate of 160,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The unemployment rate eased […]
U.S. job openings plunged in July to their lowest level since January 2021, suggesting that the labor market is slowing down and may trigger the Federal Reserve to issue a large rate cut later this month. July’s job openings, considered a key measure of labor demand, fell by 237,000 to 7.673 million for the month, […]
U.S. stocks fell sharply on Sept. 3 as weak manufacturing reports and a decline in construction spending fanned fears of an economic slowdown. According to preliminary data at market close, the benchmark S&P 500 lost 118.64 points, or 2.10 percent, to end at 5,529.76 points, while the Nasdaq lost 576.06 points, or 3.25 percent, to […]
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday “the time has come” for the U.S. central bank to cut interest rates as increasing risks to the job market left no room for further weakness. Powell said that a slowdown in the labor market is “unmistakable,” and that “the downside risks to employment have increased.” NTD […]
Employment and inflation data have depicted an evolving situation in the U.S. economy, indicating that “the time has come for policy to adjust,” says Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Speaking at the central bank’s annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, Powell gave the green light to change the institution’s monetary policy stance. He stopped short of […]
Presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris has revealed some of her economic plans, but garnered mixed reactions. Harris says her focus is on some of the “sharpest pain points for American families.” She’s proposing to cap prescription drug prices, help first-time home buyers with their down payments, and end what she called price-gouging on groceries, […]
The U.S. economy created 818,000 fewer jobs—or 30 percent—than the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported from April 2023 to March 2024, representing the largest downward revision to payrolls since the global financial crisis. The updated numbers were a part of the Department of Labor’s annual benchmark revisions to the payroll data. The BLS adjusts […]
In a post on his social media platform X, Elon Musk announced that he would step up to the task if asked to serve at the White House as a government efficiency regulator under the Trump administration. “I am willing to serve,” wrote the Tesla and Space X CEO, sharing an AI-generated image of himself […]
With the U.S. central bank poised to start lowering rates, 30-year mortgage rates have dropped to the lowest level since May 2023. The Fed signaled that a slowing economy and labor market could mean a rate cut as soon as September. Meanwhile, the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report showed the unemployment rate jumped in July. […]
Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, warned that the chance of the U.S. economy making a “soft landing” is not a certainty, coming amid volatility spikes seen in the major U.S. stock indexes over the past week. “There’s a lot of uncertainty out there,” Dimon told CNBC on Wednesday. “I’ve always pointed to […]
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week, delivering a hopeful sign that the labor market is holding up despite a recent spate of data suggesting it may be cracking. Initial jobless claims, which are a high-frequency data point seen as a proxy for unemployment, fell by 17,000 to 233,000 for the […]
LONDON/TOKYO—European stocks fell and U.S. futures slipped on Thursday after turbulent sessions in Asia and on Wall Street, as investors struggled to find their footing in a wild week for markets. The yen and U.S. bonds rose as traders waited for U.S. weekly jobless claims data, which has taken on extra significance after weak employment […]
