U.S. first-time unemployment claims lower in latest week
The numbers: Initial jobless claims fell by 3,000 to 192,000 in the week ending Feb....
The numbers: Initial jobless claims fell by 3,000 to 192,000 in the week ending Feb. 18, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the sixth straight week below 200,000, which is a signal of a strong labor market, and the lowest level in three weeks.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had estimated new claims would rise by 3,000 to 197,000.
Last week claims were unchanged at 195,000. That compared with the initial estimate of a decline of 1,000 to 194,000.
Key details: The number of people already collecting jobless benefits fell by 37,000 to 1.65 million. That number has been slowly trending higher since last May when it hit 1.31 million.
Big picture: Initial jobless claims have been very low despite some well-publicized layoffs.
U.S. stocks finish mostly lower as investors weigh Fed minutes
The S&P 500 ended lower for a fourth straight session on Wednesday after the release of the ...
The S&P 500 ended lower for a fourth straight session on Wednesday after the release of the Federal Reserve’s minutes of its February policy meeting bolstered expectations for higher interest rates to tame inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA fell about 83 points, or 0.3%, ending near 32,046, while the S&P 500 index SPX closed 0.2% lower, cementing a fourth session in a row of declines. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP turned positive in the final leg of the trade, ending up 0.1%. The Fed minutes showed unanimous backing for continued interest-rate hikes in coming meetings. Importantly, the latest jobs report and inflation data since the Fed meeting also point to the potential need for higher rates for longer. Investors hoping for a pivot away from restrictive interest rates this year helped fuel a rally in stocks to kick off 2023 that has been fading in recent sessions, with the Dow now in the red for the year, the S&P 500 up 4%, and the Nasdaq higher by 10%, according to FactSet data.
US refinery capacity expansion may not turn out as planned
Proposed US refinery capacity additions totaling about 807,000...
Proposed US refinery capacity additions totaling about 807,000 barrels per day have little chance of being finished on time, if at all, with energy consultancy IRR seeing low completion probability for more than half of the planned projects. "IRR Energy has all of these at low probability right now and they will not be increasing probability until they [the refineries] reach final investment decision," said IRR's Hillary Stevenson at the Argus Americas Crude Summit.
Don Lemon is returning as co-host of CNNThis Morning today after taking several days off following his controversial remarks about women in their “prime.”
Tesla’s Model 3 sells for $4,930 less than the average new vehicle sold in the US, per Bloomberg. That’s the cheapest it’s ever been relative to other new cars.
145,000 cans of Enfamil ProSobee baby formula are being recalled over potential bacterial contamination.
