• Jan 16, 2025

US weekly jobless claims increase; labor market conditions still healthy

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week, but remained at levels consistent with a healthy labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 217,000 for the week ended Jan. 11, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims data tend to be volatile at the start of the year, but have continued to signal low layoffs that are underpinning the labor market and broader economy.

  • Jan 16, 2025

Why are interest rates rising when the Fed has been cutting them?

Swings in the bond market recently sent the yield on the 10-year Treasury above 4.80% and its highest level since 2023. The bond market's moves might seem strange given that the Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates three times starting in September. The Fed has cut its main interest rate by a full percentage point since September.

  • Jan 16, 2025

Oil retreats slightly after boost from US crude draw, Russia sanctions

Oil prices fell back slightly on Thursday, a day after settling at multi-month highs on U.S. President Joe Biden's latest sanctions targeting Russia and a larger-than-forecast fall in U.S. crude stocks. The Biden administration on Wednesday imposed hundreds of sanctions targeting Russia's military industrial base and evasion schemes, after earlier levying broader sanctions on Russian oil producers and tankers. With Donald Trump being sworn in for his second term on Monday, "the market is approaching the 'wait-and-see' phase and awaits the reaction from the incoming U.S. administration on the issue" of sanctions, said Tamas Varga at oil broker PVM.

  • Jan 16, 2025

More Americans file for unemployment benefits last week, but layoffs remain historically low

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week, but layoffs remain historically low and the job market broadly healthy. Applications for jobless benefits rose by 14,000 for the week ending January 11, the Labor Department said Thursday, up from the previous week’s 203,000. The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of January 4 fell to by 18,000 to 1.86 million.

  • Jan 16, 2025

Brazil Economic Activity Downshifts as Key Rate Goes Higher

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s economic activity barely grew on the month in November as central bankers try to tame consumer demand by raising interest rates.Most Read from BloombergThese Homes Withstood the LA Fires. Architects Explain WhyChicago Agency Pitches $1.5 Billion Plan to Fix Transit WoesChurches, Cinemas — and Moon Artifacts — Top List of Endangered MonumentsAs E-Bikes Boom in NYC, Some Call for More RegulationsWill Americans Ever Lose Their Taste for Telework?The central bank’s economic a