Weekly news summary for December 2 to December 8
Friday, Dec. 2: US Non-Farm Payrolls Rise by 263,000 in November
US jobs data for November ended above market expectations, with wage growth also accelerating in the month.
The Labor Department said non-farm payrolls were up by 263,000 in November, beating Dow Jones’ expectations of a 200,000 rise, while average hourly earnings climbed by 0.6% month-on-month and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7%.
Monday, Dec. 5: US Services Sector Activity Climbs in November
Activity in the US’s services sector showed an unexpected increase in November, with employment recovering, further supporting the economy’s underlying growth pace as it prepares for a potential recession next year.
The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) stated that its non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 56.5 in the previous month from 54.4 as business activity reached an 11-month high, with the data following strong readings in wage growth and consumer spending for October.
Tuesday, Dec. 6: PepsiCo Shares Gain on Possible Layoffs
Shares of PepsiCo Inc. surged on Tuesday following reports about the company planning to lay off hundreds of employees at its North American division, which houses about 130,000 workers.
The food and beverage giant was trading 0.1% higher to $183.35 in pre-market trading after a company memo stated that PepsiCo aims to streamline the business to improve the efficiency of its operations.
Wednesday, Dec. 7: Oil Hits Lowest since January on Fuel Stocks Build
Oil prices fell to their lowest since the start of 2022 on Wednesday after US distillate, and gasoline inventories rose by 6.2 million and 5.3 million barrels, respectively, fueling concerns over demand in a market already worried about economic uncertainty.
Brent crude futures dropped 1.5% to $78.15 per barrel after hitting its lowest since Jan. 3, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost 1.8% to $72.95 per barrel, having reached $72.42 earlier, its lowest level since late December.
Thursday, Dec. 8: Musk Briefly Overtaken as World’s Richest Person
LVMH boss Bernard Arnault briefly outdid Tesla Inc. chief executive Elon Musk as the world’s richest person after a sharp slide in the value of his stake in the electric vehicle (EV) giant and a $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter Inc.
Arnault and his family briefly took the top spot as the world’s richest but later returned to second place with a wealth of $185.3 billion, while Musk’s net worth stood at $185.7 billion and Tesla shares slipped by 2.7%, having lost more than 47% in value since its chief executive offered to buy Twitter.
