America's employers likely kept hiring at a healthy pace last month, defying high interest rates, rising pressure on consumers and labor strikes that idled big swaths of the nation's auto industry. The unemployment rate is expected to stay at 3.8%, a couple of notches above a half-century low, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet. The U.S. job market has remained surprisingly strong even as the Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate 11 times since March 2022 to try to slow the economy, cool hiring and tame inflation, which hit a four-decade high last year.
(Bloomberg) The Federal Reserve signaled that a run-up in long-term Treasury yields reduces the impetus to raise interest rates again, even as Chair Jerome Powell left the door open to another hike to tame inflation.Most Read from BloombergImmigrants Are Leaving Canada at Faster Pace, Study ShowsReal Estate Industry Takes Fresh Hit With Verdict on CommissionsIsrael Latest: Biden Says Urgent Efforts Led to Gaza DeparturesIsrael Latest: Blinken Returning to Israel; Refugee Camp HitMarkets Rally
The European Central Bank broke the longest streak of interest rate hikes in its 25-year history on Thursday, saying the latest data continued to point to inflation slowly coming down to its 2% target. The central bank for the 20 countries that use the euro left the rate it pays on deposits at a record-high 4.0%, reaffirming that the current level of borrowing costs may just be enough to tame inflation if kept there "sufficiently long". "The Governing Council’s past interest rate increases continue to be transmitted forcefully into financing conditions," the ECB said.
(Bloomberg) The European Central Bank can’t relent in its fight to tame inflation even as maintaining the current level of interest rates is the “base case,” according to Chief Economist Philip Lane.Most Read from BloombergWhy a US Recession Is Still Likely — and Coming SoonAirbnb Is Fundamentally Broken, Its CEO Says. He Plans to Fix It.Key Taiwan Tech Firms Helping Huawei With China Chip PlantsJPMorgan’s Dimon Predicts 3.5-Day Work Week for Next Generation Thanks to AI Severe Crash Is Comin