Manufacturing and construction sectors are hiring

Manufacturing and construction sectors are hiring

Construction workers erect a building in downtown Miami, Florida, on June 14, 2023. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images At Ample’s manufacturing facilities in the Bay Area, employees work on the floor alongside robots, making battery packs and other parts for its EV battery swapping technology. The job is clean, high-tech and skilled – … Read more

Japan’s Aozora Bank shares hit near 3-year lows on U.S. commercial property losses

Japan’s Aozora Bank shares hit near 3-year lows on U.S. commercial property losses

The Aozora Bank Ltd. headquarters in Tokyo Japan, on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. Japan’s Aozora Bank became the second lender in a span of hours to surprise investors with losses tied to US commercial property, sending shares down by the limit and heightening concern over global banks’ exposure to souring real estate bets. Akio Kon … Read more

Japan’s Aozora Bank tanks after flagging losses tied to US commercial property

Japan’s Aozora Bank tanks after flagging losses tied to US commercial property

A pedestrian walks past a sign for Aozora Bank Ltd. at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, May 14, 2010. Tomohiro Ohsumi | Bloomberg | Getty Images Shares of Aozora Bank tumbled to their lowest level in eight months Thursday after the Japanese bank warned of a fiscal-year net loss due to its exposure … Read more

What the Federal Reserve’s next move means for the rates you pay

What the Federal Reserve’s next move means for the rates you pay

The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday it will leave interest rates unchanged, setting the stage for rate cuts to come and paving the way for relief from the combination of higher rates and inflation that have hit consumers particularly hard.  Although Fed officials indicated as many as three cuts coming this year, the pace that they trim interest … Read more

10-year Treasury yield falls below 4% as traders evaluate Fed decision

10-year Treasury yield falls below 4% as traders evaluate Fed decision

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell below the key 4% level Wednesday afternoon after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said an interest rate cut wasn’t likely at the March meeting but would likely come later this year. The benchmark yield was down nearly 13 basis points to 3.929%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury fell … Read more

Red Sea freight rate inflation may be peaking already

Red Sea freight rate inflation may be peaking already

Camille Delbos/art In All Of Us | Corbis News | Getty Images The sharp, sudden spike in supply chain inflation caused by the Red Sea crisis and ongoing attacks on shipping vessels by Houthi rebels may have peaked on key global trade routes, based on analysis of the latest data from Xeneta, a leading ocean … Read more

How interest rates have changed over the last 12 months

How interest rates have changed over the last 12 months

Inflation is cooling. Consumer spending continues to be at record highs, while consumer confidence has been trending up. And, after almost two years of rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve, investors are expecting at least a few cuts to interest rates this year. Their anticipation is understandable: The federal funds rate hasn’t been this … Read more

The Fed will cut rates fewer times and start them later than market hopes, according to CNBC Fed Survey

The Fed will cut rates fewer times and start them later than market hopes, according to CNBC Fed Survey

Respondents to the CNBC Fed Survey see fewer interest rate cuts than the market’s aggressive outlook, with the central bank starting them later in the year than traders currently hope. Just 9% see the Federal Reserve cutting rates in March. Fifty percent see a cut in May and only in June is there a majority … Read more

The economy looks ‘pretty damn good right now’

The economy looks ‘pretty damn good right now’

The market has managed to put behind the “economic anxiety” it faced as recently as the fourth quarter of 2023, according to Citadel CEO Ken Griffin.  The hedge fund manager said Tuesday that a soft landing could happen this year, with recent data indicating a solid labor market, healthy GDP growth and inflation moderating at … Read more

Stocks ‘asset class of choice’ as markets used to bad news: Strategist

Stocks ‘asset class of choice’ as markets used to bad news: Strategist

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 29, 2024. Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters Geopolitical risks may be mounting, but stocks are still the “asset class of choice,” according to Beat Wittmann, partner at Porta Advisors, who also said the outcome of the U.S. election … Read more