What we’re reading (11/3)
“US Employers Pulled Back On Hiring In October, Adding 150,000 Jobs In Face Of Higher Borrowing Rates” (Associated Press). “The nation’s employers slowed their hiring in October, adding a modest but still decent 150,000 jobs, a sign that the labor market may be cooling but remains resilient despite high interest rates that have made borrowing much costlier for companies and consumers.”
“S&P 500 Clinches Best Week Since November 2022” (Wall Street Journal). “The S&P 500 rallied Friday, capping its best weekly performance since November 2022, after the latest monthly jobs report suggested the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate raising campaign is working. The broad index gained 0.9%, bringing its gains for the week to 5.9%. The index is up 14% this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added about 200 points, or 0.7%, on Friday, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.4%. Those indexes also recorded their biggest weekly percentage gains of the year.”
“Shipping Giant Laying Off 10,000 As Pandemic Boom Turns To Bust” (CNN Business). “Shipping giant Maersk is laying off thousands more workers as weak demand and lower freight prices pummel its revenues — a sign the pandemic-driven boom in shipping is turning to bust. One of the world’s biggest shipping firms said in its third-quarter results Friday that its revenues had almost halved to $12 billion compared with the same period last year.”
“The Great Social Media–News Collapse” (The Atlantic). “Over the past decade, Silicon Valley has learned that news is a messy, expensive, low-margin business—the kind that, if you’re not careful, can turn a milquetoast CEO into an international villain and get you dragged in front of Congress. No surprise, then, that Big Tech has decided it’s done with the enterprise altogether.”
“Over 75% Of U.S. Workers Say They Could Complete The Same Amount Of Work In 4 Days Rather Than 5” (CNBC). “Among US workers, over 75% say they could complete their current workload in a four-day workweek rather than five, according to a recent report from Fiverr. Millennials, who make up around 35% of today’s workforce, were the most passionate about the four-day workweek with 87% agreeing.”
