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The National
3 days ago
- Business
- The National
Wall Street lifted by upbeat US jobs report and Tesla rebound
Wall Street closed higher on Friday, buoyed by a better-than-expected US jobs report and a rebound in Tesla Motors shares, although concern about the Federal Reserve's rates policy remained. The Labour Department reported on Friday that the American economy added 139,000 jobs in May, slower than previous months but beating analyst estimates, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.2 per cent. It also indicated that wages grew at a solid pace, which may mean the Fed is unlikely to cut interest rates – something that US President Donald Trump has demanded from the US central bank. Mr Trump on Thursday increased the pressure on Fed chairman Jerome Powell, urging him to cut interest rates by a full percentage point. Mr Powell so far has resisted the calls from the White House and maintains that policy decisions will be data dependent. He met Mr Trump at the White House last week and was firm that rate decisions will be made 'as required by law'. 'The labour market's resilience puts the Fed in a difficult spot: inflation pressures remain sticky and the cooling many expected simply hasn't materialised in the data that matters most,' said Nigel Green, chief executive of Dubai-based financial services firm deVere Group. 'This report puts another nail in the coffin for any talk of rate cuts in the summer. The Fed has said time and again it needs to see weakness in the labour market to move. This isn't weakness. It's strength with staying power.' Investors also continue to monitor the tariff situation between the US and China. After imposing substantial tit-for-tat levies on imports, the world's two biggest economies agreed to a detente on their trade war on May 12. Talks appear to be progressing: Mr Trump on Thursday spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and on Friday Mr Trump said trade officials from Washington and Beijing will meet in London on Monday to resume discussions. 'Investors couldn't care less. Dips in equity markets are still seen as opportunities to buy cheaper. And while the data is fun to watch, it remains secondary to the blind bullishness,' said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote Bank. 'That's the takeaway from the post – April 2 rally: the world may be wobbling, but markets march on,' she added, referring to the day Mr Trump announced his sweeping global tariffs programme. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both settled 1 per cent higher, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.2 per cent. Tesla, whose stock plummeted 14 per cent on Thursday in response chief executive Elon Musk's escalating public feud with Mr Trump, rebounded to close 3.7 per cent higher. The Texas-based company's shares rose by as much as 6 per cent. For the week, the S&P was up 1.5 per cent, the Dow added 1.2 per cent and the Nasdaq rose 2.2 per cent. Year-to-date, the indices are up 2 per cent, 0.5 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively. In Europe, markets were mostly up after the US jobs report eased fears of an economic slowdown. London's FTSE 100 closed up 0.3 per cent, boosted by banking stocks. Paris' CAC 40 added 0.2 per cent, while Frankfurt's DAX retreated 0.1 per cent. Earlier in Asia, major indices were mixed, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 adding 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declining 0.5 per cent and the Shanghai Composite closing flat. In commodities, oil prices jumped nearly 2 per cent on Friday to post their first weekly gain in three weeks amid hopes for a US-China deal on tariffs and the jobs report. Brent rose 1.73 per cent to settle at $66.47 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate closed 1.91 per cent higher at $64.58 a barrel. Gold, meanwhile, fell more than 1 per cent on investor concerns that the US jobs report won't sway the Fed to cut rates soon. The precious metal, a hedge against inflation, declined nearly 1.3 per cent to $3,311.70 an ounce.
See - Sada Elbalad
5 days ago
- Business
- See - Sada Elbalad
Labour Min. Meets President of World Employment Confederation to Activate Cooperation in Common Areas
Taarek Refaat Minister of Labour Mohamed Gebran met, at the Egyptian mission headquarters, with Bettina Schaller, President of the World Employment Confederation (WEC), and her accompanying delegation to discuss areas of cooperation between the ministry and the confederation in common areas. This came on the sidelines of his participation in the 113th Session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva. The two sides agreed to form a joint committee to review and study the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two parties, as the Minister affirmed the Egyptian state's readiness to provide skilled and trained Egyptian workers. He pointed to the ministry's ongoing development of the vocational training system in cooperation with the private sector to qualify young people for professions needed by the Labour market at home and abroad, after granting them professional practice certificates and measuring their actual skills. He also noted that the Ministry is ready to respond to job applications using international skills. Gebran reviewed some of the measures related to employment and recruitment, including the ongoing preparations for issuing the National Employment Strategy, as well as the establishment of the Supreme Council for Planning and Employment of the Workforce to engage the government, employers, and workers in formulating general employment policy. This council will link employment to the needs of the Labour market at home and abroad, and ensure that work is compatible with the worker's experience, skills, or academic qualifications by assessing their skill level and granting them a license to practice the profession. The minister emphasized that the state should not monopolize employment and licensing agencies to conduct employment operations at home and abroad, while establishing the necessary controls to supervise and monitor them. He pointed out that employment agencies should also be encouraged to open new Labour markets abroad. The new Labour Law specifies the cases in which a company's license may be revoked, leaving this to ministerial decisions. This provides protection, guarantees, and security for companies in their work, while ensuring their compliance with the law. It also regulates electronic recruitment processes to ensure their seriousness and establishes reliable databases of their results. On her part, Schaller provided an explanation of the capabilities and services of the World Employment Confederation. She praised the Ministry of Labour's efforts in the vocational training and qualification system for youth in the Labour Market. She also stated that the Egyptian Labour market is extremely promising, given the size of its workforce, particularly among youth. Finally, the WEC president pointed out that the components of the Labour market in Egypt are ready to embrace changes in the world of employment and that it is attractive to investment and has all the elements for success, which explains why international companies are investing in it. read more CBE: Deposits in Local Currency Hit EGP 5.25 Trillion Morocco Plans to Spend $1 Billion to Mitigate Drought Effect Gov't Approves Final Version of State Ownership Policy Document Egypt's Economy Expected to Grow 5% by the end of 2022/23- Minister Qatar Agrees to Supply Germany with LNG for 15 Years Business Oil Prices Descend amid Anticipation of Additional US Strategic Petroleum Reserves Business Suez Canal Records $704 Million, Historically Highest Monthly Revenue Business Egypt's Stock Exchange Earns EGP 4.9 Billion on Tuesday Business Wheat delivery season commences on April 15 News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War Arts & Culture Zahi Hawass: Claims of Columns Beneath the Pyramid of Khafre Are Lies News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks News Shell Unveils Cost-Cutting, LNG Growth Plan Videos & Features Video: Trending Lifestyle TikToker Valeria Márquez Shot Dead during Live Stream
RNZ News
07-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Pacific unemployment surges to nearly double national rate
By 'Alakihihifo Vailala , PMN Photo: 123RF New data from Stats NZ shows unemployment among Pacific people has surged to 10.8 percent, nearly twice the national rate of 5.1 percent. Despite overall employment figures remaining stable, Labour's Pacific peoples spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni describes the figures for Pacific unemployment as "shameful". "It's disheartening to see more Pacific people unemployed as the government chooses to cut public service jobs and scrap housing and infrastructure projects, while giving billions to landlords and the tobacco lobby," Sepuloni says. "We have thousands fewer roles in construction, agriculture, forestry and fishing - industries where many Pacific people are employed. "We want our Pacific people to be in secure, well-paying jobs and we will continue bringing their voices to the forefront to challenge a government which has thus far ignored them." Carmel Sepuloni Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver Finance Minister Nicola Willis acknowledges the latest labour data as "encouraging," highlighting wage growth of 4.5 percent over the past year. "I know people are still struggling in this economy, that's why on May 22 the government will deliver a Budget that continues the work to get the books back in order, while building on the foundations we've laid to foster economic growth," Willis says. "It will be a responsible Budget that secures New Zealand's future." The upcoming Budget will see the operating allowance being cut from $2.4 billion to $1.3b. "This means we will be spending billions less over the forecast period than would have otherwise been the case," Willis says. "This will reduce the amount of extra borrowing our country needs to do over the next few years and it will keep us on track towards balanced books and debt reduction." Sepuloni strongly criticises the upcoming Budget, calling it a "slash-and-burn" plan likely to exacerbate existing inequalities. She criticises the government's recent Equal Pay Amendment Bill which changes the rules around how individuals can request pay equity. "This also comes as the Government takes more money out of Pacific women's pockets and looks to remove the living wage for workers in cleaning, catering, and security services, dealing a huge blow to the many Pacific workers in those jobs." The pay gap for Pacific workers in the public service has widened to 17.2 percent, up from 16.6 percent last year. Pacific women are experiencing the largest disparity, earning 20.9 percent less than the average male wage. The unemployment figures follow last November's findings where the Pacific unemployment rate rose to 9.9 percent. Barbara Edmonds Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone At the time, Labour MP Barbara Edmonds had raised concerns over the lack of targeted interventions for Pacific youth, whose unemployment had reached a critical 24.4 percent, which is one in every four Pacific youths. Edmonds points out the Government's reduction of funding for programmes supporting Pacific youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET). "If a sector of your population has higher unemployment rates, you need targeted interventions, and we're not seeing that under this government," Edmonds says. -This article was first published by PMN .
Arab Times
02-04-2025
- Business
- Arab Times
UAE sets guidelines for domestic worker recruitment fee refunds
ABU DHABI, April 2: The UAE's Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) has outlined four specific cases where employers are entitled to a refund of domestic worker recruitment fees. Agencies are required to process these refunds within two weeks of a worker's return or the reporting of their absence. Failure to comply will result in legal and administrative action. Employers are eligible for a refund under the following conditions: 1. The worker is deemed incompetent or professionally unsuitable during the probation period. 2. The worker terminates the contract or abandons the job without a valid reason. 3. The employer ends the contract due to the agency's failure to meet agreed conditions. 4. The worker is found medically unfit during the probation period, in which case the agency must also reimburse government fees paid by the employer. In a report published in its Labour Market magazine, MOHRE revealed that 36 recruitment agencies faced legal and administrative action in January and February 2025. Of these, 22 agencies were penalized in February for 37 violations of the Domestic Workers Law, while 14 agencies faced action in January for 22 infractions. The most common violations involved failing to refund recruitment fees within the required two-week period or neglecting to report a worker's absence. MOHRE issued a strict warning to agencies, emphasizing that non-compliance will result in legal action, including the potential revocation of licenses for serious breaches. The ministry reaffirmed its commitment to stringent monitoring to ensure compliance and protect all parties involved in employment contracts, while also recognizing agencies that adhere to regulations and deliver quality services. MOHRE reiterated its zero-tolerance policy, warning that agencies found guilty of misconduct risk losing their licenses. The ministry pledged to maintain rigorous oversight to ensure that legal and contractual obligations are met.
