Unemployment

U.S. stocks rose as major indices finished the day just barely in the green as the Dow was up as much as 50 points and lower by 65 points before settling the day gaining 10 points. The Nasdaq bounced back sharply from its worst three-day performance since 2011 as investors went bargain hunting...

The Fed announced that it will increase its tapering by a further $10 billion in addition to dropping the 6.5 percent unemployment rate threshold which has been the target rate to hike the Fund Funds rate. Thirteen of 16 Fed officials expect the Fed Funds rate to rise by the end of 2015. The...

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve's new Chief Janet Yellen reassured investors that she is the right person for the job. In her congressional testimony, Yellen promised to stay the course in regards to the Federal Open Market Committee's approach to monetary policy. Yellen also...

On Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported U.S. non-farm payrolls missed expectations of 196.000 by a broad margin; coming in at only 74,000, the smallest gain in three years. The prior month's figure was revised higher to 241,000. In 2013, job growth averaged 182,000 per month,...

Investors had been anxiously and nervously waiting for today's job reports which could have sent major indices moving sharply in either direction. The November Nonfarm Payroll increased 203K, above consensus of 180K and above the previous reading of 200K. The Unemployment rate rang in at 7.0...

Stock futures declined before the equity markets opened after the ADP employment report showed a higher than expected 215,000 jobs were added during the month of November. Investors and traders were spooked by the report that solidifies the Fed's case to begin tapering. Traders and investors...

Jobs and the minimum wage were once again headline issues this week. Job growth got an unexpected boost, according to the Labor Department's employment statistics for October, with nonfarm payroll employment rising by 204,000 for the month. The overall unemployment rate rose slightly to 7.3...

Next week, economic data rises to the fore as key reports from around the globe come into focus. Domestically, industrial production, retail sales data, and the Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey will be in focus. Key Earnings In the coming week, the earnings calendar...

The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index, the broad index of services activity in the United States, slipped in June to 52.2 from 53.7 in May. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast a reading of 53.7. Output Drops The broad measure of the health of the services economy across the U.S. dropped in June...

Futures Rise Despite Weak China Data U.S. equity futures rose in early pre-market trade despite weak manufacturing data out of China. The official manufacturing PMI fell to a four-month low of 50.1 in June from 50.8 in May, in line with expectations. However, the HSBC manufacturing PMI, which...