Author: ricardofrancois

Washington – U.S. employers provided another batch of jobs in March, adding 303,000 workers to their payrolls and raising hopes that the economy can beat inflation without succumbing to a recession in the face of rising interest rates.Job growth last month rose from a revised 270,000 jobs in February and was well above the 200,000 jobs economists had expected. By all accounts, this was a significant surge in hiring and reflected the economy's ability to withstand pressures from higher borrowing costs resulting from the Fed's interest rate hikes. As the country's consumers continue to spend, many employers have continued to…

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Strong job gains in March may push the Federal Reserve into a more cautious stance on potential interest rate cuts, with mixed signals emerging about the strength of the labor market. After the Labor Department's nonfarm payrolls report on Friday showed a strong gain of 303,000, futures market prices indicated just over a 50% chance that the Fed will start cutting jobs in June. A stronger job outlook increases the likelihood of greater inflationary pressures, meaning the central bank may be less keen to ease policy. In recent days, the prospect of Fed tightening has been poison for stocks, though…

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Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the final hour of trading on Wall Street. (We no longer record audio, so we can get this new written feature out to members as quickly as possible.) Good News is Good News: The stock market correctly viewed good jobs data as good news – no matter what. It means the timing of the first interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve. Some may worry that a still-tight labor market is leading to hyperinflation. But the reality is that strong…

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Open Editor's Digest for freeRula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.How many people have a good discussion? The closer we get to the expected timing of the first US interest rate cut, the hotter the topic becomes – and the more individuals become involved in setting the interest rate. Ten of the Fed's 12 electors were able to schedule at least 20 public appearances between them in 2018. The last two weeks.This has given market watchers a greater amount of feedback to analyze, even if the market's direction indicates more uncertainty about…

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Guangzhou, China – US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on China on Friday to address excess manufacturing capacity that she said risks causing global economic disruption, and create a level playing field for American companies and workers.At the start of a five-day visit to one of China's major industrial and export centers, she raised what the United States considers unfair Chinese trade practices in her talks with senior Chinese officials.“The United States seeks to establish a healthy economic relationship with China that benefits both sides,” she said before her meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Feng, the governor of the…

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US Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman attends a “Fed Listens” event at Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington, D.C., on October 4, 2019. Eric Bradat | AFP | Getty ImagesFederal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said Friday that interest rates are likely to rise to control inflation, rather than the cuts her fellow officials have indicated are likely and which the market is anticipating.Pointing to a number of potential upside risks to inflation, Bowman said policymakers need to be careful not to ease policy too quickly.“Although these are not my baseline expectations, I still see the risk that at a future meeting…

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Washington – Like many Americans, Richard Biden says he would like to see the US government “return to its original design” — a system of checks and balances developed nearly 240 years ago to prevent any branch, especially the presidency, from becoming too powerful.But this mainly happens when Republicans are in power.Biden, an 84-year-old Democrat who lives near Los Angeles, said that if President Biden is re-elected, he does not want to get approval from a possibly Republican-controlled Congress to enact policies to slow climate change. He wants presidents to have the power to change policy unilaterally, as long as…

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We are hiring, Part-Time Champions Needed, Sign at the entrance of the Target Store, Queens, NY.Lindsay Nicholson | Global Photo Collection | Getty ImagesThe unemployment rate among Black Americans jumped in March, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department.The unemployment rate among blacks rose to 6.4% last month, compared to 5.6% in February. That's higher than the overall unemployment rate, which fell to 3.8% last month, as well as the 3.4% jobless rate for white Americans, which has remained flat since February.When accounting for gender, the unemployment rate for Black women 20 and older rose to 5.6%, a…

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Image source | Image source | Getty ImagesManaging one's personal finances can seem like a never-ending patchwork of checklists and rules of thumb.With all kinds of financial considerations competing for attention—budgeting, saving, paying off debt, buying insurance, savvy shoppers—consumers may be inadvertently overlooking some important nuggets.Here are some of the biggest financial blind spots, according to several certified financial planners on CNBC's Digital Financial Advisors Council.As part of National Financial Literacy Month efforts, CNBC will feature stories throughout the month dedicated to helping people manage, grow and protect their money so they can truly live ambitiously.1. Credit scoresConsumers often don't…

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Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Altice USA – The cable TV company fell more than 12% after Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to below equal weight. The bank is now questioning Altice's M&A prospects, analyst Stephen Cahall wrote. Tesla – The electric automaker lost nearly 2% after Reuters reported its long-promised plans for a lower-cost car amid competition from Chinese electric car makers. Investors were counting on the upstart car to drive its growth into a mass-market automaker. CEO Elon Musk responded to the report on the social media platform X, saying, “Reuters is lying (again).”…

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