The Labor Department reported that initial unemployment claims fell last week to their lowest point since 1969.
The number of new state benefits applications fell by 71,000 from the previous week.
The drop is a milestone in the recovery of the economy. In April 2020 the weekly claims peaked at more than six million. New state claims exceeded a million in a single week in January.
Since then, the number of people filing for unemployment benefits has come down sharply.
Unemployment insurance was a key source of relief after the Pandemic. Aid to 7.5 million people was cut off in September due to the cessation of federal relief payments.
The economy has been showing signs of life recently. Most economists expect the economy to pick up in the final quarter of the year, boosted by healthy consumer spending, after employers added 531,000 jobs in October.
President Biden said in a statement that the data reinforce the historic economic progress that is being made.
Mr. Biden pointed to the most recent tally of unemployment benefits from early November, which showed the number of people with continuing claims at over 2 million. The figure was more than 20 million before Thanksgiving last year.
Inflation has been surging amid labor shortages, supply chain disruptions and higher energy prices, which has been the biggest economic worry lately.
The Commerce Department said in a report Wednesday that household spending rose 1.3 percent in October, while personal income increased by half a percent. It shows that prices increased by 5 percent in the 12 months through October.
The data for unemployment claims may not be as good as it seems. State claims increased last week. Employment was 4.2 million below its February 2020 level before the Pandemic.
Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, thinks the latest drop in claims may be overstated. We think the decline last week may have been exaggerated by quirky seasonal adjustment factors and we think we might see a bounce-back in the weeks ahead.
Interest rates can affect stocks.
The stock market was choppy in midday trading Wednesday as interest rates rose.
The government said weekly claims for state unemployment benefits plummeted to their lowest level in decades. The Labor Department said initial claims for unemployment benefits fell last week.
The economy has recovered from the coronaviruses, which caused businesses and consumers to shut down in April 2020 and caused weekly claims to peak at more than six million. It comes at a time when many employers have reported that they have been having trouble filling openings even though the Pandemic restrictions have been lifted.
Gregory Daco, the chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said that the weekly data could be overstated by seasonal factors.
There are a number of factors that influence how companies hire and fire.
The weekly unemployment data comes after a string of positive reports on the state of the economy, showing that hiring is robust and consumers are spending even as prices rise at the fastest pace in decades. One measure of inflation shows that prices rose by 5 percent in the 12 months through October.
The weekly unemployment data comes after a string of positive reports on the state of the economy, showing that hiring is robust and consumers are spending even as prices rise at the fastest pace in decades. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that household spending increased in October.
Stock investors are reacting to a rise in government bond yields. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes has gone up partly because of positive economic news. Technology stocks have been particularly hard hit by rising bond yields.
The S&P 500 is poised to end the week with a loss, as it has swung between gains and losses this week.
Retailers are facing staffing shortages and supply chain snarls, and investors are reacting to the latest earnings reports.
The retailer said supply chain constraints hampered its sales in the three months ending October. The company reported that sales were down compared to last year.
The company's stock fell after it released a disappointing financial report. The retailer reported a $65 million profit for the three months ending in October, a decrease of 1 percent compared with the same period in 2019.
The minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting are due to be released later Wednesday. The minutes of the Fed's last meeting could show if there were disagreements about the outlook for the program and the threat of inflation.
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The head of the photo sharing app will testify before Congress.
Adam Mosseri is the head of the photo-sharing app.
Ryan Mac and Cecilia Kang were involved.
Adam Mosseri, the head of the photo sharing app, will testify before Congress for the first time.
Mr. Mosseri is expected to appear before a Senate panel in the week of December 6 as part of a series of hearings on protecting children online.
Mr. Mosseri will be appearing at a hearing this year with Antigone Davis, the global head of safety for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, and with a former employee turned whistle-blower. Politicians and regulators are scrutinizing Ms. Haugen's revelations about the social networking company, particularly those about Facebook and the research it did into the effects on some teenagers and young girls.
In September, Ms. Davis told Congress that the company disputed the premise that it was harmful for teenagers. Mr. Blumenthal wrote a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta, suggesting that his company had provided false or inaccurate testimony to him.
Mr. Blumenthal asked if Mr. Mosseri or Mr. Facebook would testify in front of the Senate's Commerce Committee to set the record straight.
Mr. Blumenthal said that the whole nation is asking about why the top guy at the top photo sharing website, likeInstagram, has created so much danger and damage by driving toxic content to children with these immensely powerful algorithms. The hearing will help us develop laws that can make platforms safer.
The committee is looking for a date for Adam to testify on the important steps that are being taken by the company.
Mr. Blumenthal said he would ask Mr. Mosseri about how children are sent into dangerous rabbit holes. Lawmakers have heard from hundreds of parents and children who have shared personal anecdotes, including stories of how posts on fitness devolved into recommendations for content related to extreme dieting, eating disorders and self- harm.
Mr. Blumenthal said he would seek a commitment from Mr. Mosseri to make the ranking and recommendation decisions transparent to the public. Mr. Blumenthal said that executives at the three companies who testified in the previous hearing have committed to transparency.
This will be the first time that Mr. Mosseri will testify to the lawmakers. Mr. Mosseri has become the public face of the photo-sharing app, hosting regular video announcements about new features and appearing on morning television shows.
Mr. Mosseri appeared on NBC's Today Show in September to announce that a version of the app for children would be paused. The company was working on a version of the photo sharing app for children.
The leaked files of Ms. Haugen were first reported by The Wall Street Journal. The documents called The Facebook Papers formed the basis for multiple complaints to the Securities and Exchange Commission that Meta misled investors about its efforts to protect users.
A bipartisan group of 11 state attorneys general announced last week that they had opened an investigation into whether Meta had failed to protect the mental well-being of young people on its platforms.
The preferred measure of inflation increased in October due to rising food and energy prices.
The grocery shoppers were in Royal Oak. Consumers have grown more concerned about the prices.
By Madeleine Ngo and Ana Swanson.
A key measure of inflation showed consumer prices rising at the fastest pace in three decades as energy prices and demand for goods and services soared, posing a challenge to both the White House and the Federal Reserve.
The data shows that prices increased by 5 percent in the 12 months through October. That was the fastest increase since 1990.
The price of energy and food increased at a faster rate than the gauge. The price of goods and components increased from September to October due to supply chain disruptions.
The increases were in line with what analysts had expected, but the rise in the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge will only make it harder for the central bank to maintain stable prices.
Some officials in the Biden administration and the Fed argued earlier this year that the price increases would stop. The central bank is facing growing calls to speed up plans to end their stimulative bond-buying program and to begin to raise interest rates, a process that could risk slowing job gains and economic growth.
The price increases have been spurred in part by a strong economic recovery. The data released by the Labor Department found that initial jobless claims fell to their lowest point in over 50 years.
Mr. Biden said that the country was still far from a full recovery and that it had to address rising inflation.
Mr. Biden said in a statement that there was more work to be done before the economy was back to normal.
The United States and five other world powers announced a plan on Tuesday to tap into their national oil inventories in order to lower gas prices. Mr. Biden has ordered the Energy Department to release 50 million barrels of crude in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is less than traders had expected.
Consumers are concerned about the prices. Consumers expressed less optimism in November than at any other time in the past decade about their finances and the economy, according to a survey released by the University of Michigan. According to the report, the decline in consumer sentiment was caused by the rapid increase in inflation and the lack of federal policies that would address the damage to household budgets.
Continue reading the main story.
The U.S. is trying to cut energy costs.
There is a gas station in Alexandria. The average price of a gallon of gas in the US is $3.40, up from $2.11 a year ago.
The United States used its Strategic Petroleum Reserve on Wednesday in a coordinated effort with five other world powers. Dipping into this reserve for economic reasons has become more common, but a globally coordinated reserve release is rare.
The move was meant to reduce oil prices, which had fallen in anticipation of a reserve release, but oil prices rose on the news, and have held most of that gain in trading on Wednesday. The political problem for President Biden is that the price of gasoline is higher than it was a year ago.
The effort to stop the rise in energy prices may not have the intended effect.
The reserve release was less than anticipated, with analysts expecting 100 million barrels, but just over 65 million barrels are predicted to be released, with China and other countries contributing lower volumes than expected.
The United States will have to return more than half of the oil it contributes.
The oil group and its allies may respond to the reserve release by limiting their production. Robert McNally of Rapidan Energy Group said that there are good chances that the oil company will offset this.
Where are oil prices headed? Many economists think it will be hard to keep prices down. Mr. McNally said that using strategic stocks to defend an oil price level in a global market is folly.
The Biden administration wanted to keep oil prices below $80 a barrel, so more releases could be coming, according to Helima. The president asked trustbusters at the F.T.C. to investigate the conduct of large oil companies in the gasoline market.
Jamie Dimon made a quip about China.
Jamie Dimon is the chief executive of JP Morgan Chase.
Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, apologized on Wednesday for saying the bank would beat the Communist Party in China.
Mr. Dimon said he regretted and should not have made that comment. I wanted to emphasize the strength and longevity of the company.
At a Boston College event on Tuesday, Mr. Dimon said he had made a joke about the longevity of the bank and China's ruling party. He said that he made a joke about the Communist Party's 100th year. So is the bank. I would bet that we last longer.
He said that he couldn't say that in China. They are probably listening.
On Wednesday, Mr. Dimon gave an additional comment.
It is never right to joke about or insult any group of people, whether it is a country, its leadership, or any part of a society and culture, said Mr. Dimon. It can take away from constructive and thoughtful dialogue in society, which is needed now more than ever.
The spokesman for the bank said that Mr. Dimon, who was in Hong Kong last week, understands that he should not speak disrespectfully about another country or its leadership.
Chinese companies that trade their shares in the US are important revenue generators for banks. Chinese authorities are relaxing rules to allow U.S. banks to expand in China.
In August, the Chinese government gave the go-ahead for JPMorgan to take full ownership of its investment banking and trading business in the country, a century after it first opened up shop there.
The relationship between the United States and China is fraught. China was America's largest trading partner last year and the third largest market for exported U.S. goods.
China has cracked down on tech companies including Didi, the ride-sharing giant. Questions have been raised about its response to the accusations of sexual assault by a powerful former vice premier.
Wall Street is getting access to China. For how long?
In the May letter, Mr. Dimon noted the country's rising influence in the global economy. He wrote that China's leaders believe that America is in decline. There is a lot of truth to this.
Lananh was involved in this report.
Continue reading the main story.
Is Thanksgiving open or closed? Stores have plans for Thursday and Friday.
Target will close its stores on Thanksgiving Day for the second year in a row.
Many retail giants have decided to close on Thanksgiving Day due to safety concerns and gratitude for their employees.
Retailers have expanded their online offerings and pickup and delivery services in order to meet customer demand.
For the second year in a row, Walmart and Target will close on Thanksgiving, as retailers across the country scramble to hire or retain employees, with millions fewer Americans working than before the Pandemic and more people quitting their jobs than ever before.
Some retailers have their hours on Thursday and Friday.
Walmart will have Black Friday discounts in November.
Every year, Target stores will close for Thanksgiving. Most will reopen at 7 a.m. on Friday.
On Friday, hours may vary by store, and customers can search for holiday hours in its store locator online.
The majority of the stores will reopen at 9 a.m. on Friday.
Some stores open earlier than usual on Friday. Customers can see the hours of their local store on Apple's website.
Some stores may open as early as 5 a.m. on Friday. Customers can view their local store hours with the store locator.
T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Sierra and Home Sense stores will be closed on Thanksgiving. Most stores will reopen at 7 a.m. on Friday.
Stores will close at midnight on Friday.
Stores will be open throughout the weekend.
Stores will open earlier on Friday. Home Depot recommends using its store locator to verify hours.
Stores will be open until midnight on Friday.
For the second year in a row, the stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.
Most locations will close by 5 pm. Most will open later than usual on Friday.
Some locations may close as early as 5 p.m.
Most stores will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Most locations will be open on Thanksgiving and Friday. The company suggests calling ahead or visiting the website to find out if the location will be open on the holiday.
Stores will open an hour earlier than usual, at 7 a.m., and close an hour later, at 10 p.m. The regular hours will resume on Friday.
A $17 billion chip plant will be built in Texas.
The plant in Taylor will be the latest to be built in America.
A bipartisan effort in Washington to persuade chip makers to build more of the components in the United States will get a big boost after it was announced that a $17 billion Semiconductor factory will be built in Taylor, Texas.
The company decided to locate in the United States and South Korea. One of the world's largest makers of computer chips is located in Austin, which is about forty minutes from Taylor, as well as locations in Arizona and New York.
As Washington encourages chip makers to build more in the United States, cities have raced to get a piece of the potential boom. Taylor went to great lengths to get the plant. The company was promised hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks by the city, its school district and the surrounding county. Semiconductor plants need abundant water and reliable power, so they reached a deal to transport water from the adjacent county.
During a major shortage of semiconductors, which are critical to products as diverse as Ford F-150s, medical devices and iPhones, SAMSUNG decided to stop making them.
Lawmakers and the Biden administration are concerned that not enough of the vital components are made in America. Taiwan and South Korea both produce a large share of the computer chips that are made in China. Policymakers worry that the United States is at a disadvantage.
The Taylor plant will be the latest to be built in America. Two new factories were built by Intel on an existing campus. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is building a new plant.
Continue reading the main story.
The woman says she was a believer.
The founder of Theranos arrived at the courthouse on Tuesday with her mother and partner.
After taking the stand for a third day in her own defense, ElizabethHolmes gave her most substantial arguments to rebut the 11 counts of fraud that prosecutors have charged her with. She made eye contact with the jurors and tilted her head to the side to make the case that she could not have deceived anyone.
Ms.Holmes presented herself as a nave and ambitious founder who believed her company's technology worked when she alternated between giving authoritative descriptions of Theranos's scientific research and presenting herself as a nave and ambitious founder who believed her company's technology worked. She tried to make the past incidents seem like they weremisunderstandings. Her board should have given her better counsel. She said she was too trusting of the doctors, scientists and engineers who worked at Theranos.
She painted herself as an entrepreneurial who cared about protecting her company's brand and financial future, to the point that she made decisions that were later skewered by the prosecution as fraudulent. Read the article.
The NSO Group was sued by Apple in federal court on Tuesday.
The lawsuit is the second of its kind, it was sued by Facebook for targeting its users, and another private company is trying to curb the use of spy tools by governments.
For the first time, Apple wants to hold NSO accountable for what it says was the targeting of Apple users. Apple wants to permanently prevent NSO from using any Apple software, services or devices, a move that could render the company's product worthless, given that its core business is to give government clients full access to a target's phone. Read the article.
The U.S. puts security restrictions on entities.
Gina M. Raimondo, the secretary of commerce, said the actions would help prevent the diversion of American technology to the military advancement of China and Russia.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that it was banning the export of American technology to 27 foreign entities and individuals because they were engaged in activities contrary to the interests of the United States.
Gina M. Raimondo, the secretary of commerce, said the actions would help prevent the diversion of American technology to the military advancement of China and Russia.
She said that global trade and commerce should support peace, prosperity and good-paying jobs.
The Commerce Department said it was adding eight organizations based in China to prevent American technology from being used for quantum computing. The companies and institutes are: Hangzhou Zhongke Microelectronics Company, Hunan Goke Microelectronics, New H3C Semiconductor Technologies Company, and Xi'an Aerospace Huaxun Technology.
The agency said that 16 entities and individuals in China and Pakistan were added to the list.
Unless an exporter obtains a special license to sell them the goods, organizations and individuals on the entity list are restricted from purchasing certain sensitive American products.
The Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology was placed on a separate list of military end users that face restricted exports after the Commerce Department added three affiliates of a Chinese company.
Continue reading the main story.
A fix-it job for government tech is the topic of today's On Tech.
There is a video
Credit is given by Irene Suosalo.
In the On Tech newsletter, Shira Ovide talks to a Biden administration official about how to make government tech better.
