The U.S. economy is expected to post another roaring growth spurt in the second quarter, before a slow and steady dose of reality starts to sink in. Gross domestic product is projected to accelerate 9.2% for the April-to-June period, according to a FactSet survey. The Commerce Department will release its first estimate for second-quarter GDP […] Read more
LONDON — A thorny issue for many years, France’s pension system is back in the spotlight as President Emmanuel Macron prepares his final grand act before new elections in April. Macron had plans to change France’s pension system, where workers can retire at 62, before the coronavirus pandemic hit. However, he was forced to put his plans on hold […] Read more
Job growth leaped higher in June as businesses looked to keep up with a rapidly recovering U.S. economy, the Labor Department reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls increased 850,000 for the month, compared with the Dow Jones estimate of 706,000 and better than the upwardly revised 583,000 in May. The unemployment rate, however, rose to 5.9% against […] Read more
Shares of Didi Chuxing closed up a modest 1% Wednesday afternoon after spiking as much as 28.6% in the Chinese ride-hailing giant’s market debut. The company’s stock began trading at $16.65 per share, up about 19% from the company’s offering price of $14 per share, bringing its market cap to nearly $80 billion. It closed at $14.14 […] Read more
The Federal Reserve announced Thursday that the biggest U.S. banks could easily withstand a severe recession, a milestone for the once-beleaguered industry. The Fed, in releasing the results of its annual stress test, said all 23 institutions in the 2021 exam remained “well above” minimum required capital levels during a hypothetical economic downturn. Bank shares popped after […] Read more
The quickly tightening labor market could present a problem for financial markets in the medium term, according to Longview Economics CEO Chris Watling. Recent JOLTs data put U.S. job openings in April at a record 9.3 million, but this is running alongside persistent unemployment and subdued hiring rates. The most recent jobless claims data showed a surprise […] Read more
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s government announced a ban on the mining of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the country’s president, Hassan Rouhani, announced Wednesday, as officials blame the energy-intensive process for blackouts in a number of Iranian cities. The ban is effective immediately and will be in place until Sept. 22, Rouhani told state TV, in […] Read more
LONDON — For Deutsche Bank, bitcoin has lost its flair. Bitcoin suffered a huge plunge this week that saw the digital currency fall to three-month lows. It dived 30% to nearly $30,000 at one point on Wednesday, before paring losses later that day. On Thursday, bitcoin bounced back above $40,000 as the crypto market attempted to recover. Bitcoin was last trading 1% lower […] Read more
LONDON — Ether surged past $4,000 Monday to hit a new record high, extending a stunning rally for the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. Ether, the digital token of the Ethereum blockchain, rose to an all-time high of $4,196.63 at 12:15 p.m. ET, according to Coin Metrics. It now has a total market value of $483.4 billion, less than […] Read more
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen conceded Tuesday that interest rates may have to rise to keep a lid on the burgeoning growth of the U.S. economy brought on in part by trillions of dollars in government stimulus spending. “It may be that interest rates will have to rise somewhat to make sure that our economy doesn’t […] Read more
