Summary Of the Markets Today:
- The Dow closed up 96 points or 0.25%,
- Nasdaq closed up 1.96%,
- S&P 500 closed up 1.18%,
- Gold $2,373 up $25.60,
- WTI crude oil settled at $74 up $0.88,
- 10-year U.S. Treasury 4.281 down 0.055 points,
- USD index $104.28 up $0.17,
- Bitcoin $71,235 up $694 or 0.98%
*Stock data, cryptocurrency, and commodity prices at the market closing.
Click here to read our current Economic Forecast – June 2024 Economic Forecast: Our Index Marginally Weakened And There Is Another Indicator Warning Of A Recession
Today’s Economic Releases Compiled by Steven Hansen, Publisher:
Private employers added 152,000 jobs in May 2024 and annual pay was up 5.0% year-over-year. Job gains were slower in May due to a steep decline in manufacturing. Leisure and hospitality also showed weaker hiring. Since August 2023. if anything – the trend of ADP’s jobs growth has been improving. Also note that with such a low unemployment rate, 150,000 job growth is more than enough to maintain a low unemployment rate. The graph below compares ADP’s private employment growth to the BLS’s total non-farm employment growth. Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP noted:
Job gains and pay growth are slowing going into the second half of the year. The labor market is solid, but we’re monitoring notable pockets of weakness tied to both producers and consumers.
In May 2024, the ISM Services PMI® registered 53.8% 4.4 percentage points higher than April’s reading of 49.4%. The contraction in April ended a string of 15 months of services sector growth following a composite index reading of 49 percent in December 2022; the last contraction before that was in May 2020 (45.4 percent). The Business Activity Index registered 61.2 percent in May, which is 10.3 percentage points higher than the 50.9 percent recorded in April. The New Orders Index expanded in May for the 17th consecutive month after contracting in December 2022 for the first time since May 2020; the figure of 54.1 percent is 1.9 percentage points higher than the April reading of 52.2 percent. I was worried that the service portion of the economy was slowing – but today’s index shows this sector is just a little soft but not weakening.
Here are some of headlines we are reading today:
- Biden Wants Big Tech To Invest in Power Generation for AI Boom
- Washington Looking to Revive More Shuttered Nuclear Plants
- Heat-Resistant Aluminum Alloys: A Breakthrough in Aerospace Engineering
- Virginia Breaks Free from California’s EV Mandate
- Oil Under Pressure As EIA Confirms Rising Crude, Fuel Inventories
- Russia’s War in Ukraine Has Hit Gazprom’s Revenues Hard
- Saudi Aramco Looks to Buy Into U.S. LNG Project
- Nvidia briefly passes Apple as second most valuable public U.S. company
- Boeing Starliner launches for the first time carrying NASA astronauts to the ISS
Click on the “Read More” below to access these, other headlines, and the associated news summaries moving the markets today.
The Market in Perspective
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
Biden Wants Big Tech To Invest in Power Generation for AI BoomU.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has revealed that President Joe Biden’s administration has been talking to major technology companies to invest in climate-friendly electricity generation to meet their surging demand. The ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom has been driving a surge in power demand with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) predicting that data centers will gobble-up up to 9% of total electricity generated in the United States by the end of the decade, up from ~1.5% currently, as reported by Scientific… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Biden-Wants-Big-Tech-To-Invest-in-Power-Generation-for-AI-Boom.html |
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Centrica Shares Soar as Stability Returns to UK Energy MarketCentrica said today its plan to get the retail supply business back to a “sustainable” level of profit is two years ahead of schedule. The update will come as a relief for the company’s investors after years of instability in the UK energy supply and distribution market. The FTSE 100 company, which owns British Gas, the largest retail energy supplier in the UK, made the announcement this morning ahead of its annual general meeting. In a short update published to the market, the group said its retail supply and optimisation businesses… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Centrica-Shares-Soar-as-Stability-Returns-to-UK-Energy-Market.html |
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Washington Looking to Revive More Shuttered Nuclear PlantsThe Biden Administration may move to reverse the retirement of some additional nuclear power plants in a last-ditch effort to increase the supply of zero-emissions energy, following a March loan to reopen a reactor in Michigan. In an interview with Reuters published on Wednesday, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the administration strongly believes in the necessity of nuclear power to meet net-zero emissions goals and indicated that nuclear power could make a comeback. The cost of building new nuclear reactors is time-consuming… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Washington-Looking-to-Revive-More-Shuttered-Nuclear-Plants.html |
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Heat-Resistant Aluminum Alloys: A Breakthrough in Aerospace EngineeringVia Metal Miner Chinese scientists recently announced the development of a technique to significantly enhance the heat resistance of aluminum alloys. The breakthrough will address a major challenge that has long restricted the use of this lightweight metal in critical fields such as aerospace and transportation. According to a report in the South China Morning Post, the team of scientists from Tianjin University developed the new technique by injecting nanoparticles into plain, everyday aluminum alloys. In doing so, they created a strengthened… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Heat-Resistant-Aluminum-Alloys-A-Breakthrough-in-Aerospace-Engineering.html |
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Virginia Breaks Free from California’s EV MandateVirginia will exit the California electric vehicle mandate effective at the end of 2024, Virginia’s Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin said on Wednesday. The Governor announced today the end of the California EV mandate in Virginia, effective at the end of 2024 when California’s current regulations expire. Back in 2021, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation authorizing Virginia’s Air Board to adopt California’s “Advanced Clean Cars I” regulation. But the California Air Resources Board… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Virginia-Breaks-Free-from-Californias-EV-Mandate.html |
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European Battery Manufacturer Pauses Development As EV Demand CoolsTroubling news for the electric vehicle market emerged from Europe on Tuesday. The first was the collapse of Porsche Taycan prices, and second, a battery plant owned by Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz halted development. All of this signifies sliding EV demand across the EU. Let’s begin with a new Bloomberg Intelligence report titled “Taycan’s 33% Value Drop Makes Even Tesla Owners Cringe,” highlighting that the high-end luxury EV market is experiencing “significant declines in value as demand decreases.” The report, citing Experian data,… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/European-Battery-Manufacturer-Pauses-Development-As-EV-Demand-Cools.html |
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Vietnam’s Coal Demand and Emissions Hit Record HighsDespite being a leader in solar and wind generation in Southeast Asia, Vietnam has seen its coal use and coal plant-related emissions hit all-time highs this year, as authorities promise multinational companies reshoring away from China into Vietnam that there wouldn’t be massive blackouts anymore. Coal-fired power reached a record-high 64.6% share of Vietnam’s electricity generation in April this year, according to data from energy think tank Ember cited by Reuters columnist Gavin Maguire. That’s significantly… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Vietnams-Coal-Demand-and-Emissions-Hit-Record-Highs.html |
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Rising Star Octopus Energy Signs Energy Storage DealGresham House Energy Storage Fund has announced a landmark agreement with Octopus Energy, one of the UK’s largest and fastest-growing energy suppliers. The energy storage fund owns a portfolio of battery energy storage assets around the UK. These assets are designed to take in and store energy during times of excess renewable energy generation and then unleash the power back into the grid when demand rises and supply can’t catch up. Batteries have been touted as a crucial part of the energy transition, but due to some teething… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Rising-Star-Octopus-Energy-Signs-Energy-Storage-Deal.html |
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Colombia Risks Economic Slowdown Amid Natural Gas ShortageColombia’s economy could soon be hit by soaring energy costs as the South American country is considering LNG imports to meet rising natural gas demand while its domestic production slumps. Large gas and energy-intensive industries could be hit hard by a further spike in their energy costs, as LNG imports could be two or three times more expensive than domestic supply, according to industry officials and analysts who spoke to Bloomberg. Colombia’s oil and gas industry is in disarray and in continuous decline, also due to… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Colombia-Risks-Economic-Slowdown-Amid-Natural-Gas-Shortage.html |
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Oil Under Pressure As EIA Confirms Rising Crude, Fuel InventoriesCrude oil prices moved lower today, after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported an estimated inventory build of 1.2 million barrels for the week to May 31. The change compared with a decline of 4.1 million barrels for the previous week, which failed to move prices higher because it came in the company of fuel inventory builds in both gasoline and middle distillates. The EIA estimate follows the American Petroleum Institute’s reporting a crude oil inventory build along with builds in fuels. The inventory change… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Oil-Under-Pressure-As-EIA-Confirms-Rising-Crude-Fuel-Inventories.html |
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Venezuela Representatives Meet U.S. Officials to Discuss Citgo AuctionU.S. officials and lawmakers have recently met with Venezuelan opposition politicians and supervisors of state-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum, as Venezuela seeks to pause an ongoing court-ordered auction of shares, sources close to the discussions have told Reuters. The sale process of shares to pay creditors and claimants against Venezuela’s oil asset appropriation and debts owed by Citgo was launched by a Delaware court in October 2023. A first bidding round ended earlier this year, and a second bidding round was expected… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Venezuela-Representatives-Meet-US-Officials-to-Discuss-Citgo-Auction.html |
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What Does OPEC’s Strategy Shift Mean for the Oil Market?By John Kemp, senior energy analyst Oil futures prices have fallen to the lowest level for four months and calendar spreads have slumped after OPEC+ ministers signalled their intention to start increasing production from the fourth quarter of 2024. Front-month Brent futures closed at $78 per barrel on June 3, the first day of trading following the OPEC+ ministerial meeting held on June 2, up just $2 per barrel compared with the same time last year. Brent’s six-month spread slumped to a backwardation of $1.50 per barrel (56th percentile… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/What-Does-OPECs-Strategy-Shift-Mean-for-the-Oil-Market.html |
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Russia’s War in Ukraine Has Hit Gazprom’s Revenues HardPutin’s invasion of Ukraine has badly hurt the gas sales and market share of Russian giant Gazprom, which may not recover lost sales volumes and revenues for more than a decade, or ever, according to a third-party report commissioned by Gazprom’s executives and reported by the Financial Times on Wednesday. Gazprom’s lost sales volumes may never recover, while export routes to China will not be able to offset the lost European market, the report written in late 2023 says. “The main consequences… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russias-War-in-Ukraine-Has-Hit-Gazproms-Revenues-Hard.html |
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U.S. Could Accelerate Refill Rate of Strategic Petroleum ReserveThe United States could accelerate the pace of buying crude to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), as all four sites would be available by the end of the year after a maintenance period, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm told Reuters in an interview. “All four sites will be back up by the end of the year, so one could imagine that pace would pick up, depending on the market,” Secretary Granholm said, commenting on the current pace of buying about 3 million barrels of crude for the reserve per month this… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-Could-Accelerate-Refill-Rate-of-Strategic-Petroleum-Reserve.html |
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Saudi Aramco Looks to Buy Into U.S. LNG ProjectSaudi Aramco is in discussions with U.S. LNG developers to buy a stake in one planned project and sign a long-term LNG offtake deal from another proposed export facility, Reuters reports, citing sources close to the talks. Aramco, the world’s top crude exporter and the world’s biggest oil firm, has been seeking a greater role on the global LNG market as it plans to ramp up its natural gas production and trading business. Last autumn, Saudi Aramco entered the global LNG business by signing a deal to buy a minority stake… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Saudi-Aramco-Looks-to-Buy-Into-US-LNG-Project.html |
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Nvidia briefly passes Apple as second most valuable public U.S. companyInvestors are becoming more comfortable that Nvidia’s huge growth in sales to a handful of cloud companies can persist. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/05/nvidia-passes-apple-in-market-cap.html |
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S&P 500 rises to a record as Nvidia soars, investors look for rate cuts: Live updatesWednesday’s ADP report showed private hiring slowed in May, adding to investor hopes that a weakening labor market could spur rate cuts from the central bank. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/04/stock-market-today-live-updates.html |
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FTC prepares to sue largest U.S. alcohol distributor, alleging ‘secret kickbacks’Southern Glazer’s made $26 billion in revenue last year. The FTC is likely to allege it has been providing “secret kickbacks” to large retail customers. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/05/ftc-lawsuit-southern-glazers-alcohol.html |
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American Airlines offers flight attendants 17% raises as contract talks drag onAmerican and its flight attendants’ union are meeting with federal mediators next week for further talks. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/05/american-airlines-flight-attendants-raises-contract-talks.html |
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Boeing Starliner launches for the first time carrying NASA astronauts to the ISSBoeing launched its first Starliner flight with astronauts on Wednesday, beginning a crucial final flight test of the long-delayed spacecraft. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/05/boeing-starliner-crew-launch.html |
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Walmart rolls out new training programs for skilled trades as it tries to fill high-demand rolesThe big-box retailer has been investing in store upgrades and boosted pay for store managers earlier this year. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/05/walmart-rolls-out-new-job-training-program-bonuses-for-associates.html |
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Hedge fund manager Eric Jackson says Nvidia is still cheap, likes this other AI beneficiaryEMG Capital’s Eric Jackson says Nvidia is cheap and he believes there isn’t an artificial intelligence bubble in sight. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/05/hedge-fund-manager-eric-jackson-says-nvidia-is-still-cheap-likes-this-other-ai-beneficiary.html |
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McConnell suggests ‘discipline’ for Dem senators pressuring Supreme Court over Alito flagsDemocratic lawmakers have called Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from key cases related to former President Donald Trump. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/05/mcconnell-suggests-discipline-for-dem-senators-pressuring-supreme-court-over-alito-flags.html |
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Private payrolls growth slows to 152,000 in May, much less than expected, ADP saysPrivate job creation slowed more than expected in May, signaling further slowing in the labor market. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/05/private-payrolls-growth-slows-to-152000-in-may-much-less-than-expected-adp-says.html |
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Sternlicht defends gating Starwood REIT withdrawals, hopes it will be a ‘6-month thing’ as rates fallBarry Sternlicht defended his decision to put a cap on how much money investors could pull from his real estate fund. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/05/sternlicht-defends-gating-starwood-reit-withdrawals-hopes-its-a-six-month-thing-.html |
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Here’s why privacy advocates say automakers are spying on driversA growing chorus of advocates and politicians say automakers aren’t doing enough to protect consumer data from companies, criminals or even the government. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/05/privacy-advocates-say-automakers-are-spying-on-drivers.html |
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You could lose money by maxing out your 401(k) plan early — unless it has this special featureIf you’re maxing out your 401(k) early, you could miss part of your employer match without the true-up feature, experts say. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/05/how-a-true-up-affects-your-401k-match.html |
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Donald Trump to speak at private CEOs meeting, weeks after convictionDonald Trump plans to huddle with CEOs as he tries to court some of the country’s wealthiest business leaders. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/05/donald-trump-attends-private-ceo-meeting.html |
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NY Times Confirms ‘First’ Ukraine Strike On Russia With US Long-Range MissilesUkraine is already attacking Russian territory with US-supplied long-range weapons, a fresh NY Times investigation has acknowledged. It comes a mere days after the Biden administration greenlighted Ukraine’s request to fire American weapons onto Russian soil. “Yehor Chernev, the deputy chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament’s committee on national security, defense and intelligence, said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had destroyed Russian missile launchers with a strike in the Belgorod region, about 20 miles into Russia,” NY Times wrote, describing it as a ‘first’. The Ukraine official said that the army used a US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS. The revelation came the same day that a UK Telegraph report detailed NATO logistics plans for US troop ‘land corridors’ in the event of a European ground war with Russia. Various social media videos and images appeared to show burning and destroyed S-300 and S-400 systems inside Russian territory… Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ny-times-confirms-first-ukraine-strike-russia-us-long-range-missiles |
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U.S. Could Accelerate Refill Rate Of Strategic Petroleum ReserveBy Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com The United States could accelerate the pace of buying crude to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), as all four sites would be available by the end of the year after a maintenance period, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm told Reuters in an interview. “All four sites will be back up by the end of the year, so one could imagine that pace would pick up, depending on the market,” Secretary Granholm said, commenting on the current pace of buying about 3 million barrels of crude for the reserve per month this year. The U.S. saw the stockpiles of crude oil in the SPR fall from 638 million barrels at President Joe Biden’s inauguration … Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/us-could-accelerate-refill-rate-strategic-petroleum-reserve |
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“He’s Not The Same Person”: Biden Allies Freak After WSJ Blasts “Slipping” BrainThe Biden administration is scrambling for damage control over the president’s mental condition. Over the past month, the White House claimed executive privilege over an audio tape of Biden’s classified documents interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur, the transcripts of which were altered to make Biden seem more competent. Next, TIME Magazine’s Massimo Calabresi couldn’t give a straight answer over Biden’s serious cognitive decline exhibited during an interview.
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Saudi Aramco’s $12 Billion Share Sale Quickly Sells Out, But Who Is Buying?By Alex Kimani of OilPrice.com Last week, Saudi Arabia’s energy giant Saudi Aramco (ARMCO) confirmed in a filing with the Saudi Exchange plans to sel … Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/saudi-aramcos-12-billion-share-sale-quickly-sells-out-who-buying |
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Ex-Post Office chair was told of IT risks in 2011Alice Perkins was told Horizon was ‘a real risk’ by auditors as the Post Office continued to prosecute sub-postmasters. Read more at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c88847v14e3o |
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Asda now the most expensive supermarket for fuel – reportAsda has “lost its crown” as the cheapest supermarket for fuel, according to research from the RAC. Read more at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jj77kxjveo |
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Sunak £2,000 extra tax quote risks misleading peopleBBC Verify looks at some of the claims from the debate covering tax, the economy, waiting lists and small boats. Read more at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6ppnw1k6nyo |
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Which themes will give mutual fund investors the best returns?Sectoral/thematic mutual funds have delivered up to 380% absolute return in the last five years under the Modi-led government, with infrastructure funds leading the chart. Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/mf/analysis/election-results-which-themes-will-give-mutual-fund-investors-the-best-returns/articleshow/110723284.cms |
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Tech View: Nifty ends above 21 EMA. What traders should do on ThursdayNifty saw a gap-up opening on Wednesday and call writers (bears) are seen exiting with additional PUT writers at all strikes from 21,500 until 22,200. This, analysts believe, led to the sharp recovery in the 50-stock index. Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tech-view-nifty-ends-above-21-ema-what-traders-should-do-on-thursday/articleshow/110741523.cms |
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TMC MP asks Sebi to investigate stock market manipulation through exit pollsIn a letter to Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch, TMC MP Saket Gokhale highlighted that while multiple exit polls predicted a landslide victory for the BJP, one exit poll reported “extremely strange” and “inflated seat numbers” for the party in several Indian states. This led to a sharp surge in the stock market on June 3. Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tmc-mp-asks-sebi-to-investigate-stock-market-manipulation-through-exit-polls/articleshow/110744928.cms |
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Boeing could have learned from McDonald’s about how to manage a crisis — and your customers3 warning signs investors need to watch out for. Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/boeing-shows-what-can-happen-when-a-company-mismanages-a-crisis-and-its-stock-b1d8c480?mod=mw_rss_topstories |
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2-year Treasury yield sees longest stretch of declines in 4 years amid signs of cooling labor marketTreasury yields finished lower on Wednesday as traders focused on the possibility that inflation may be starting to ease and global interest-rate cuts could be on the horizon. Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/treasury-yields-nudge-higher-as-traders-eye-may-jobs-data-7adb7ffd?mod=mw_rss_topstories |
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Corporate restructurings on rise because ‘nobody is coming to save you’, says Ken MoelisAn extended cycle of corporate restructurings is ahead as companies feel the heat from higher interest rates, says investment banker Ken Moelis. Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/corporate-restructurings-on-rise-because-nobody-is-coming-to-save-you-says-ken-moelis-c955ad4d?mod=mw_rss_topstories |