Latest news with #InstituteForSupplyManagement
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US weekly jobless claims rise for second straight week
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits last week increased for a second straight week, pointing to softening labor market conditions amid mounting economic headwinds from tariffs. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 247,000 for the week ended May 31, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 235,000 claims for the latest week. Companies are generally hoarding workers after struggling to find labor during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, but mounting uncertainty because of President Donald Trump's tariffs is forcing some to layoff workers. The Federal Reserve's Beige Book report on Wednesday showed "comments about uncertainty delaying hiring were widespread," noting that "all districts described lower labor demand, citing declining hours worked and overtime, hiring pauses and staff reduction plans. It said while some districts reported layoffs in certain sectors, "these layoffs were not pervasive." An Institute for Supply Management survey also made similar observations, reporting steady employment in the services sector in May, but also pointing out that "higher scrutiny is being placed on all jobs that need to be filled." Economists expect claims this month will break above their 205,000-243,000 range for 2025, mostly driven by difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations and following a similar pattern in recent years. The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, slipped 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.904 million during the week ending May 24, the claims report showed. The elevation in the so-called continuing claims aligns with consumers' ebbing confidence in the labor market. A separate report from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas showed U.S-based employers announced 93,816 job cuts in May, down 12% from April. Layoffs were, however, 47% higher from a year ago. The claims data have no bearing on the Labor Department's closely watched employment report for May, scheduled to be released on Friday, as it falls outside the survey period. Nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 130,000 jobs last month after advancing by 177,000 in April, a Reuters survey of economists showed. The unemployment rate is forecast being unchanged at 4.2%. (Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Premarket: Global shares mostly rise after Wall Street's rally stalls on U.S. economic data
Global shares were mostly higher Thursday, after Wall Street's big recent rally lost some momentum following a pair of potentially discouraging reports on the American economy. France's CAC 40 added 0.3% in early trading to 7,826.43, while the German DAX rose 0.5% to 24,378.64. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.1% to 8,811.29. The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2%. The future for the S&P 500 gained nearly 0.1%. In Asian trading, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 shed 0.5% to finish at 37,554.49, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was little changed at 8,538.90. In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 1.5% to 2,812.05 after the country's new president and leading liberal politician Lee Jae-myung began his term, vowing to restart talks with North Korea and beef up a trilateral partnership with the U.S. and Japan. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.1% to 23,906.97, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.21% to 3,384.10. One report released earlier this week said that activity contracted for U.S. retailers, finance companies and other businesses in the services industries last month, when economists were expecting to see growth. Businesses told the Institute for Supply Management in its survey that all the uncertainty created by tariffs is making it difficult for them to forecast and plan. A second report from ADP suggested U.S. employers outside of the government hired far fewer workers last month than economists expected. That could bode ill for Friday's more comprehensive jobs report coming from the U.S. Labor Department, which is one of Wall Street's most anticipated data releases each month. So far, the U.S. job market has remained remarkably resilient despite years of high inflation and now the threat of President Donald Trump's high tariffs. But weakness there could undermine the rest of the economy. Following the reports, traders built up bets that the Federal Reserve will need to cut interest rates later this year in order to prop up the economy, which in turn caused the fall for Treasury yields. The weaker-than-expected ADP report also led Trump to urge Fed Chair Jerome Powell to deliver cuts to rates more quickly. ''Too Late' Powell must now LOWER THE RATE,' Trump said on his Truth Social platform. 'He is unbelievable!!!' The Fed has yet to cut interest rates this year after slashing them through the end of 2024. Part of the reason for the pause is that the Fed wants to see how much Trump's tariffs will hurt the economy and raise inflation. While lower interest rates could boost the economy, they could also give inflation more fuel. Investors are hoping for deals that will lower Trump's tariffs. But nothing is assured. The European Union's top trade negotiator, Maro efovi, met Wednesday with his American counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. In other dealings early Thursday, benchmark U.S. crude fell 14 cents to $62.71 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, edged down 4 cents to $64.82 a barrel. The U.S. dollar rose to 143.27 Japanese yen from 142.78 yen. The euro cost $1.1413, little changed from $1.1418. The Associated Press
Associated Press
a day ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Asian shares trade mixed after Wall Street's rally stalls on U.S. economic data
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed on Thursday, as Wall Street's big recent rally lost some momentum following a pair of potentially discouraging reports on the American economy. U.S. futures edged lower and oil prices declined. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 shed 0.2% to 37,658.46, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined nearly 0.1% to 8,535.10. In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 2.1% to 2,829.48 after the country's new president and leading liberal politician Lee Jae-myung began his term, vowing to restart talks with North Korea and beef up a trilateral partnership with the U.S. and Japan. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.9% to 23,856.54, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed, inching down less than 0.1% to 3,374.30. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 finished the day virtually unchanged at 5,970.81 and remained 2.8% below its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% to 42,427.74, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.3% to 19,460.49. The action was stronger in the bond market, where Treasury yields tumbled following the weaker-than-expected economic updates. One said that activity contracted for U.S. retailers, finance companies and other businesses in the services industries last month, when economists were expecting to see growth. Businesses told the Institute for Supply Management in its survey that all the uncertainty created by tariffs is making it difficult for them to forecast and plan. A second report from ADP suggested U.S. employers outside of the government hired far fewer workers last month than economists expected. That could bode ill for Friday's more comprehensive jobs report coming from the U.S. Labor Department, which is one of Wall Street's most anticipated data releases each month. So far, the U.S. job market has remained remarkably resilient despite years of high inflation and now the threat of President Donald Trump's high tariffs. But weakness there could undermine the rest of the economy. Following the reports, traders built up bets that the Federal Reserve will need to cut interest rates later this year in order to prop up the economy, which in turn caused the fall for Treasury yields. The weaker-than-expected ADP report also led Trump to urge Fed Chair Jerome Powell to deliver cuts to rates more quickly. ''Too Late' Powell must now LOWER THE RATE,' Trump said on his Truth Social platform. 'He is unbelievable!!!' The Fed has yet to cut interest rates this year after slashing them through the end of 2024. Part of the reason for the pause is that the Fed wants to see how much Trump's tariffs will hurt the economy and raise inflation. While lower interest rates could boost the economy, they could also give inflation more fuel. Longer-term Treasury yields have also been rising in recent weeks because of reasons outside the Fed's control. Investors have been demanding the U.S. government pay more in interest to borrow because of worries about whether it's set to add trillions of dollars to its debt through tax cuts under discussion on Capitol Hill. Investors are hoping for deals that will lower Trump's tariffs. But nothing is assured. The European Union's top trade negotiator, Maroš Šefčovič, met Wednesday with his American counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.35% from 4.46% late Tuesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks traders' expectations for what the Fed will do with overnight interest rates, eased to 3.86% from 3.96%. In other dealings early Thursday, benchmark U.S. crude fell 8 cents to $62.77 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, edged up 1 cent to $64.87 a barrel. The U.S. dollar rose to 142.87 Japanese yen from 142.78 yen. The euro cost $1.1413, little changed from $1.1418. ___ AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Weak US Services Activity, ADP Hiring Signal Some Tariff Strain
Activity at US service providers unexpectedly contracted last month for the first time in nearly a year and companies throttled back hiring, indicating the grip on the economy from higher tariffs is getting tighter. The Institute for Supply Management's index of services dropped 1.7 points in May to 49.9 — a touch below the 50 level that separates expansion and contraction. A separate report from ADP Research showed private-sector payrolls rose just 37,000 last month, the least in two years.
Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Wall Street drifts following some discouraging updates on the economy
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting on Wednesday following some potentially discouraging updates on the U.S. economy. The S&P 500 was edging up by 0.1% in midday trading, as momentum slowed following a big rally that had brought it back within 2.8% of its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 28 points, or 0.1%, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher. The action was stronger in the bond market, where Treasury yields fell following a pair of weaker-than-expected reports on the economy. One said that activity contracted for U.S. retailers, finance companies and other businesses in the services industries last month, when economists were expecting to see growth. Businesses told the Institute for Supply Management in its survey that all the uncertainty created by tariffs is making it difficult for them to forecast and plan. A second report suggested U.S. employers outside of the government hired far fewer workers last month than economists expected. The report from ADP said private employers hired just 37,000 more workers than they fired, down from the prior month's 60,000. That could bode ill for Friday's more comprehensive jobs report coming from the U.S. Labor Department, which is one of Wall Street's most anticipated data releases each month. So far, the U.S. job market has remained remarkably resilient despite years of high inflation and now the threat of President Donald Trump's high tariffs. But weakness there could undermine the rest of the economy. To be sure, ADP's report historically has not been a perfect predictor of what the U.S. Labor Department's report will say. 'Whether this report is accurate or not, traders and investors will read today's number as a dark result for trading today,' according to Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. 'This may be the tip of an iceberg, but it also could be a false start.' Following the reports, traders built up expectations that the Federal Reserve will need to cut interest rates later this year in order to prop up the economy, which in turn caused the fall for Treasury yields. The weaker-than-expected ADP report also pushed Trump to call on Fed Chair Jerome Powell to deliver cuts to rates more quickly. ''Too Late' Powell must now LOWER THE RATE,' Trump said on his Truth Social platform. 'He is unbelievable!!! Europe has lowered NINE TIMES!' The Fed has yet to cut interest rates this year after slashing them through the end of last year. Part of the reason is that the Fed wants to see how much Trump's tariffs will hurt the economy and raise inflation. While lower interest rates could boost the economy, they could also give inflation more fuel. Longer-term Treasury yields have also been rising in recent weeks because of reasons outside the Fed's control. Investors have been demanding the U.S. government pay more in interest to borrow because of worries about whether it's set to add trillions of dollars to its debt through tax cuts under discussion on Capitol Hill. On Wall Street, Hewlett Packard Enterprise rose 1% after delivering a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Wells Fargo rose 0.8% after the Federal Reserve on Tuesday lifted restrictions placed on the bank in 2018 for having a toxic sales and banking culture. Wells Fargo has spent the better part of a decade trying to restore its image with the public and convince policymakers that it had changed its ways. CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity company that Delta Air Lines has sued for a technology outage last summer, fell 4.4% despite reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its revenue fell just short of Wall Street's target, as did its forecast for revenue in the current quarter. In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia as the wait continued for more updates on trade talks that could convince Trump to lower his tariffs. Hopes for such deals have been a big reason U.S. stocks have roared back after falling roughly 20% below their record two months ago. But nothing is assured, and Trump early Wednesday said of China's leader Xi Jinping, 'I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!' The European Union's top trade negotiator, Maroš Šefčovič, met Wednesday with his American counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.37% from 4.46% late Tuesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks traders' expectations for what the Fed will do with overnight interest rates, eased to 3.88% from 3.96%.
