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The Latest: Trump inaugurates his family's newest luxury golf course in Scotland

The Latest: Trump inaugurates his family's newest luxury golf course in Scotland

Toronto Star3 days ago
U.S. President Donald Trump is playing 18 holes on his new golf course in Scotland before returning to Washington, capping a five-day visit that included hosting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and mixing critical discussions on the deepening food crisis in Gaza, Russia's war in Ukraine and tariff rates with boasts about the property's opulence.
As for famine in Gaza, Trump said Israel 'has a lot of responsibility' for what's happening and says he'd tell Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he wants 'them to make sure they get the food.' On Russia, he threatened what he called 'severe tariffs' if there's no peace deal with Ukraine and wants to see progress in 10-12 days. And the EU trade deal staves off for now the far higher import taxes that might have shocked economies around the globe.
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Economy likely created 115,000 jobs in July as labor market loses momentum
Economy likely created 115,000 jobs in July as labor market loses momentum

Winnipeg Free Press

time33 minutes ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

Economy likely created 115,000 jobs in July as labor market loses momentum

WASHINGTON (AP) — The American job market is deteriorating — ever so slowly. It's not showing up as widespread layoffs. The unemployment rate is still low. It's subtler than that: New college graduates are struggling to break into the job market. The unemployment rate for college graduates 22 to 27 years old, reached 5.8% in March, the highest, excluding the pandemic, since 2012, and far above the nationwide unemployment rate. Many Americans are staying in their jobs, unwilling to start the job hunt, because they believe this is as good as it gets, and there is growing evidence that they're right: Few industries are actually hiring aggressively. The current situation is a sharp reversal from the hiring boom of just three years ago when desperate employers were handing out signing bonuses and introducing perks such as Fridays off, fertility benefits and even pet insurance to recruit and keep workers. When the Labor Department puts out its July employment report Friday, it's expected to show that companies, government agencies and nonprofits collectively added 115,000 jobs last month, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet. That is not a bad number but its worse than last year, and even last month, when employers added 147,000 jobs. So far this year, employers have added an average 130,000 jobs a month, down 23% from last year's hiring and a whopping 68% below the 2021-2023 average when the economy was bounding back from COVID-19 lockdowns. Weighing on the job market are the lingering effects of higher interest rates that were used by the Federal Reserve to fight inflation; President Donald Trump's massive import taxes and the costs and uncertainty they are imposing on businesses; and an anticipated drop in foreign workers as the president's massive deportation plans move forward. 'The labor market is poised for a summer slowdown as businesses put hiring plans on hold but refrain from broad-based layoffs,' Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon wrote in a commentary this week. 'We see job growth slowing well below trend in the coming months.'' Still, most American workers enjoy an unusual level of job security. The unemployment rate is low at 4.1%. The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits — a proxy for layoffs — remains at healthy levels. But Adam Schickling, senior economist at Vanguard, cautions that 'a low unemployment rate and a muted pace of layoffs mask underlying weakness.'' In a commentary Tuesday, Schickling wrote that the health of the job market 'can be a matter of individual perspective…If you're a registered nurse, you may believe the job market's health to be excellent. The unemployment rate for experienced health care practitioners is currently below 2%. If you're young and just entering the labor force or you're older and seeking to reenter it, prospects may seem bleak.'' The rate of people quitting their jobs — a sign they're confident they can land something better — has fallen from the record heights of 2021 and 2022 and is now below where it stood before the pandemic. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. For one thing, hiring has become concentrated in a handful of industries. So far this year, for example, private U.S. employers have added 644,000 jobs. Of those, nearly 405,000 — or 63% — were in just one of the Labor Department's industry categories: healthcare and social assistance, which spans everything from hospitals to daycare centers. As hiring has cooled over the past couple of years it's become harder for young people or those re-entering the workforce to find jobs, leading to longer job searches or spells of unemployment. The Labor Department said the number of discouraged workers, who believe no jobs are available for them, rose by 256,000 in June to 637,000. 'Historically, a decline in hiring has been accompanied by a swift rise in layoffs, a one-two punch that drives up the unemployment rate,' Schickling wrote in a commentary. 'Today's labor market is defying that pattern.'' One reason is that manufacturing companies, which tend to pull the trigger on layoffs quickly when economic conditions weaken, account for an ever-smaller share of American jobs. 'So there is simply less headcount to cut,'' he said. The bottom line: 'Firms are pulling back on hiring without shedding existing workers in significant numbers,'' Schickling said. 'The result is a labor market that is softening gradually, not collapsing.''

Asian shares retreat after Trump's order imposing new tariffs on 68 countries and the EU
Asian shares retreat after Trump's order imposing new tariffs on 68 countries and the EU

Winnipeg Free Press

time2 hours ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

Asian shares retreat after Trump's order imposing new tariffs on 68 countries and the EU

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Asian shares retreated Friday following choppy trading on Wall Street that saw more losses as investors assess President Donald Trump's order imposing new tariffs on 68 countries and the European Union starting in seven days. Trump's order, which pushed back the tariff deadline earlier set on Aug. 1, has injected a new dose of uncertainty in an already uncertain process. Japan's Nikkei 225 slid 0.4 % to 40,914.66 while South Korea's Kospi tumbled 2.8% to 3,154.53. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index trimmed earlier losses, shedding 0.2% to 24,726.38, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1% to 3,570.21. Australia's S&P ASX 200 shed 0.8% to 8,676.80, India's BSE Sensex fell 0.4% to 81,185.58 and Taiwan's TAIEX slid 0.4% to 23,453.56. 'US and European equity futures are pointing negative, Asian stocks are taking a beating and the DXY index is still rising,' Benjamin Picton, senior market strategist at Rabo Bank, said in a commentary about Trump's new order updating reciprocal tariff rates. 'The USA is cherry-picking high value-add industry for its own economy while forcing trading partners to grant preferential market access for its exports and supply it with cheap imports. Make no mistake, this is imperial trade,' he added. Mizuho Bank noted in 'somewhat a turn of the tables, Asia (and in particular Southeast Asia) which was harder hit post-'Liberation Day' now appear to be in a better position by virtue of tariffs differentials though intra-regional differences remain small.' On Wall Street on Thursday, stocks capped the trading day with more losses after an early big tech rally faded and a health care sector pullback led the market lower. The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, its third straight decline. The benchmark index, which is just below the record high it set Monday, notched a 2.2% gain for the month of July and is up 7.8% so far this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.7% and the Nasdaq composite closed less than 0.1% lower. Roughly 70% of stocks in the S&P 500 lost ground, with health care companies accounting for the biggest drag on the market. Health care stocks sank after the White House released letters asking big pharmaceutical companies to cut prices and make other changes in the next 60 days. Eli Lilly & Co. fell 2.6%, UnitedHealth Group slid 6.2% and Bristol-Myers Squibb dropped 5.8%. Gains by some big technology stocks with hefty values helped temper the impact of the broader market's decline. Meta Platforms surged 11.3% after the parent company of Facebook and Instagram crushed Wall Street's sales and profit targets even as the company continues to pour billions of dollars into artificial intelligence. Microsoft climbed 3.9% after posting better results than analysts expected. The software pioneer also gave investors an encouraging update on its Azure cloud computing platform, which is a centerpiece of the company's artificial intelligence efforts. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Big Tech companies have regularly been the driving force behind much of the market's gains over enthusiasm for the future of artificial intelligence. In other dealings Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 5 cents to $69.21 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, shed 3 cents to $71.67 per barrel. The U.S. dollar climbed to 150.68 Japanese yen from 150.67 yen. The euro rose to $1.1418 from $1.1421. ___ Associated Press Business Writers Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga contributed

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