More than 100 top economic leaders from around the world are huffing...
More than 100 top economic leaders from around the world are huffing mountain air together at the Kansas City Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole symposium, where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to drop hints today about how hard and fast the US central bank will ease record-high interest rates.
Now that inflation and the labor market have cooled off…economists are about as sure as they can be that the Fed will issue the first of many rate cuts at its next meeting in September. They became more confident this week after new data showed that the US has recently added nearly 30% fewer jobs than previously thought.
The question now is whether a quarter-point reduction to the current 23-year-high interest rate of 5.25%–5.5% is enough. You can count on Powell to provide zero concrete answers and instead give economists just enough to maybe infer his next move.
Home sales rose for the first time in five months. Closed...
Home sales rose for the first time in five months. Closed sales of previously owned homes ticked up 1.3% in July, with many of the gains coming in the Northeast, CNBC reported. Analysts were quick to point out that sales were still sluggish (down 2.5% compared with the same period last year), but a win’s a win. The boost in home sales was helped by better mortgage rates, which are finally easing toward less outlandish levels: The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell to 6.6% this week, its lowest rate in 15 months and down from a high of 7.8% last year. Experts predict an even sharper drop could be coming soon.
Walmart+ subscribers will get a 25% discount on Burger King orders and free Whoppers every three months, the retailer announced, in an effort to compete with Amazon Prime perks.
The FDA approved new Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna that target an offshoot of the Omicron variant.
Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman said it will stop pushing for more suppliers with minority backgrounds and end participation in LGBTQ-friendly rankings, becoming the latest company to scrap DEI initiatives.
Instagram is adding an option for users to put a song on their profiles, in case you missed being able to set your Myspace page to “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley in 2006.
Sonos users are big mad after the CEO said the audio company’s old app, which many prefer to the buggy new version, can’t be rereleased.
CNBC: U.S. crude oil rises to $73 per barrel after erasing most of 2024 gain
U.S. crude oil rose to $73 per barrel on Thursday after erasing most...
U.S. crude oil rose to $73 per barrel on Thursday after erasing most of its gains for the year as soft demand in China and worries about the U.S. economy weighed on the market.
The U.S. benchmark is now up about 2% for the year, while global benchmark Brent crude has erased virtually all of its gains for 2024. The benchmarks are down 15.7% and 14.8%, respectively, from April highs when Israel and Iran nearly went to war.
Here are Thursday’s closing energy prices:
West Texas Intermediate October contract: $73.01 per barrel, up $1.08, or 1.5%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil has gained 1.9%.
Brent October contract: $77.22 per barrel, up $1.17, or 1.54%. Year to date, the global benchmark is marginally up 0.23%.
RBOB Gasoline September contract: $2.24 per gallon, more than 3 cents higher, or 1.76%. Year to date, gasoline is ahead 6.7%.
Natural Gas September contract: $2.05 per thousand cubic feet, 12 cents lower, or 5.7%. Year to date, gas is down 18.3%.
“Some of the slowdown is to be expected with slower China GDP growth and the rapid rise in EVs,” Struvyen told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Wednesday. But “some of the slowdown is unexpected — this switching to LNG away from diesel,” he said.
S&P 500 logs worst day since early August selloff ahead of Powell speech Friday
U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday as bond yields rose and investors waited to hear...
U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday as bond yields rose and investors waited to hear from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 177 points, or 0.4%, closing near 40,713, according to preliminary data.
The S&P 500 shed about 50 points, or 0.9%, to close around 5,570, logging its worst daily decline since Aug. 5, when it tumbled 3%.
The Nasdaq Composite lost about 299 points, or 1.7%, closing near 17,619.
"Powell is expected to lay the groundwork for the Fed’s first rate cut in over four years," Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial, wrote in emailed comments Thursday. "Signs of reduced pricing pressures and cooling economic growth will likely be enough for policymakers to start reducing the target rate."
According to Dow Jones Market Data, the 10-year Treasury yield jumped 8.5 basis points to 3.862%, notching its biggest daily gain in a week.
Oversupply weighs on US oil producers' gas revenues
An oversaturated market and Permian Basin pipeline bottlenecks forced...
An oversaturated market and Permian Basin pipeline bottlenecks forced US oil operators to sell associated natural gas at rock-bottom prices in the second quarter and even scale back oil production to manage excess gas. Despite the gas price slump, strong crude sales kept oil companies' profits solid, while relief on the gas side is on the horizon as new pipelines prepare to enter service.
