Economy
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Markets are settling into holiday mode, with stock futures slightly down on the last full trading day before Christmas. Here’s where things stand today: * Nasdaq-100: +0.37% * S&P 500: +0.04% (flat) * Dow Jones: -0.22% On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 1.1%, recovering
Quantum computing stocks are taking off in 2024. Is this the start of something big? Let’s take a closer look Google’s Chip Changes the Game Google’s new Willow chip, a 105-qubit processor, hit a big milestone: * Fixed Errors: It solved a 30-year problem by cutting down error
Government surveys that track the economy are failing. Budgets are shrinking, people are skipping surveys, and economic data we rely on is becoming less trustworthy. This is a big deal—because when the numbers are wrong, decisions that affect markets, businesses, and everyday life go wrong, too. Here’s what’
The S&P 500 Value Index just dropped 3.7%, marking its longest losing streak on record. Meanwhile, Bitcoin smashed past the $100,000 mark, and the Nasdaq climbed to 20,000. To me, it seems that value stocks have been left in the dust, and investors chasing bigger
Almost $10 billion has poured into Bitcoin ETFs since the US election, pushing Bitcoin past the $100,000 mark for the first time. The momentum is crazy, with Bitcoin posting its best winning streak since 2021. With investors pouring in, knowing the risks are more important than ever. Bitcoin’s
Hey! Did you see the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report? Yeah, it's as exciting as it sounds. It's like the job market just hit the pause button.
In June, the number of open positions dropped, layoffs stayed pretty much the same, and the number of people quitting hit a three-year low. It's like everyone's just staying put, like we're all stuck in a chess stalemate.
This slowdown is definitely making our once super-hot labor market cool off, maybe even heading towards a downturn.
And speaking of people not moving, if you look at the US job quit rate, it's telling a story. Back in 2021, quit rates were over 3%, but now they're down to about 2.1% in May.
Right before the 2008 recession, job quit rates also hit rock bottom, around 1% in 2009. When markets are fearful, people tend to play it safe and avoid making bold career moves.
Here’s the weird part—layoffs have actually improved! In Q2, layoffs were at 1.5 million, the lowest since November 2022. Even though weekly claims for unemployment insurance have been creeping up, layoff activity is still well below pre-pandemic levels.
Our market as a whole isn’t throwing up huge red flags, but it’s definitely telling us to be cautious. Current conditions, like the high interest rates set by the Fed, are making it tougher for businesses to afford things.
One thing about the Fed though, that I've noticed, is how they're pretty in tune with market expectations. If the market is expecting a rate cut in September, the Fed often follows.
Funny enough, the Federal Reserve is expected to announce their rate decision today (tue, jul 1st). After that's announced, we'll have a better idea of what's to come in September if we do decide to cut rates then.
It's also worth thinking about job postings in general since many of the jobs that are disappearing recently could be fake anyway. People apply for certain positions and never get a response because the job might have been filled already, yet the opening is still posted as active.
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3 in 10 companies currently have fake listings on their sites or on job boards, according to Resume Builder.
Basically, it's recruiters collecting resumes just in case, but there’s no actual job available. I'm not a recruiter expert, but a quick speculation on my end.
But here's the big question: when the Fed does cut rates, how long does it take for these cuts to impact the job market? And how high could unemployment go before it stabilizes?