The job market is hotter than the Last Dab. The US economy added 350,000 jobs in January—about double what economists had expected. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%, meaning it’s been below 4% for two years and, according to CNN, you’d have to go back to when President Nixon was in office to see it stay that low for that long. While that’s good news for working Americans and job seekers, it probably means Jerome Powell and Co. won’t be in any rush to cut interest rates since it doesn’t appear the economy is cooling down.
Tesla is recalling 2.2 million cars because their warning lights are too small. But it’ll just be an over-the-air software update that doesn’t require drivers to do anything out of the ordinary.
Greta Thunberg was cleared of charges stemming from her participation in a protest that blocked the entrance to a London oil and gas industry conference.
A federal judge has pushed back the trial date for Donald Trump’s election interference case in Washington, DC, which had been set for March 4, while the Supreme Court weighs the former president’s claim that he’s immune from prosecution.
Carl Weathers, best known for his roles in the Rocky films and Predator, has died at age 76.
U.S. Conducts Retaliatory Strikes in Iraq and Syria Against Iranian Proxies
The United States on Friday carried out a series of military strikes against Iran-backed...
The United States on Friday carried out a series of military strikes against Iran-backed militants in half a dozen sites in Iraq and Syria, according to a U.S. Defense Department official, marking a sharp escalation of the war in the Middle East that the Biden administration has for four months sought to avoid.
President Biden had promised to respond to a drone attack in Jordan on Sunday that killed three American soldiers and injured at least 40 more service members. The military action sought to send a message to Iran and the militias it backs that continued attacks on U.S. troops in the region and international ships in the Red Sea would draw a response.
S&P 500, Dow log fresh record highs as Big Tech stocks boost market
U.S. stocks finished higher on Friday, driven by strong gains from Big...
U.S. stocks finished higher on Friday, driven by strong gains from Big Tech stocks like Meta Platforms Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Nvidia Corp.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average logged fresh record closing highs, their seventh and ninth of the year, respectively, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite logged a fresh 52-week closing high.
Here's where the main indexes finished, according to preliminary closing data from FactSet.
The S&P 500 gained 52.40 points, or 1.1%, to 4,958.60.
The Nasdaq Composite rose by 267.31 points, or 1.7%, to 15,628.95.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 134.78 points, or 0.4%, to 38,654.62.
Gains on Friday were largely concentrated in shares of mega-cap technology companies, with communications services stocks on the S&P 500 seeing their best day since April, while consumer discretionary and information technology stocks also saw strong gains.
Industrials, financials, and energy stocks also finished higher.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil for March delivery fell $1.54 to $72.28 per barrel Friday. Brent crude for April delivery fell $1.37 to $77.33 per barrel.
Wholesale gasoline for March delivery fell 4 centsto $2.15 a gallon. March heating oilfell 5 centsto $2.66 a gallon. March natural gasrose 3 cents to $2.08 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Chevron reported earnings of $2.3 billion ($1.22 per...
Chevron reported earnings of $2.3 billion ($1.22 per share - diluted) for fourth quarter 2023, compared with $6.4 billion ($3.33 per share - diluted) in fourth quarter 2022. Included in the current quarter were $1.8 billion of U.S. upstream impairment charges and $1.9 billion of decommissioning obligations from previously sold assets in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Foreign currency effects decreased earnings by $479 million. Adjusted earnings of $6.5 billion ($3.45 per share - diluted) in fourth quarter 2023 compared to adjusted earnings of $7.9 billion ($4.09 per share - diluted) in fourth quarter 2022. See Attachment 4 for a reconciliation of adjusted earnings. The company’s Board of Directors declared an 8 percent increase in the quarterly dividend to one dollar and sixty-three cents ($1.63) per share, payable March 11, 2024, to all holders of common stock as shown on the transfer records of the corporation at the close of business on February 16, 2024