Stocks Jump After Solid Hiring Gains
New York — The U.S. stock market had its best day in two months Friday following good news about the job market. The surge was enough to push two of the three major U.S indexes to gains for the week. Investors were encouraged that U.S. employers added 223,000 jobs in April, a solid gain suggesting that the economy may be recovering after a stumbling start to the year. While the jobs report is always closely watched, April’s survey...
March New Home Sales Slump
Washington — Purchases of new homes slumped more than forecast in March from a seven-year high, a sign progress in the industry will be halting. Sales dropped 11.4 percent to a four-month low 481,000 annualized pace, figures released by the Commerce Department last week showed. The median estimate of 79 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 515,000 rate. Support for the housing market coming from better job growth and low...
Doubts About Job Market
Washington — For months, the U.S. economy’s strength has been flagging. Manufacturing slowed. Fewer homes were built. Cheaper gas failed to ignite consumer spending. Yet month after month, employers kept on hiring vigorously. In March, the economy’s slump finally overtook the job market. Employers added just 126,000 workers — the fewest since December 2013 — snapping a 12-month streak of gains above 200,000. At the same time, the...
March Jobs Report Not Really That Bad
Before you get too glum about the March employment report, consider this: One of the main reasons behind the hiring slowdown was likely something that had little to do with the economy’s underlying strength. Beneath the disappointment of the economy adding only 126,000 jobs last month — 53,000 below even the most pessimistic projection in the Bloomberg survey of 98 economists — was an unusually cold winter (or technically spring?) in...
