Latest news with #economicuncertainty
Bloomberg
20 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Traders Ignoring ‘Warning Flags' in S&P Rally, Citi Wealth CIO Fears
With US stocks trading at all-time highs despite a wealth of risks from President Donald Trump's looming tariff deadline, war in the Middle East and rising economic uncertainty, some big-time money managers are growing concerned about where the market stands. 'If I'm honest, I've been a little uncomfortable with this rally,' Kate Moore, newly-appointed chief investment officer of Citigroup Inc. 's wealth division, said in a phone interview Thursday. 'There are a number of warning flags that are not yet affecting investor sentiment and that I don't understand why frankly are not on people's near-term radars.'
Forbes
20 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
How To Be Picky About Job Offers - Even In Economic Downtimes
Lots of applying with few nibbles can make us take a desperate grab at the first offer that comes ... More along. But that approach can lead to more headaches in the long run than it's worth. It's one thing to say 'be picky about job offers" in a strong economy, but it's a whole other matter to make that assertion when times are tough. And times sure aren't great now. According to LinkedIn's Workforce Confidence Index, workers' confidence about career prospects during Q2 of 2025 was the lowest its been in over five years. That's even lower than the early pandemic period that was filled with layoffs, uncertainty, and general doom and gloom. Given these findings, and the widespread economic uncertainty that's driving them, the smart thing to do if you're out of work is to take any job that comes along, right? Nope. Even in poor economic moments, a desperate grab at a role tends to result in a 'rinse and repeat' affair, in which you're searching again before you know it. I've seen this time and again for individuals before they start working with me as a career coach. They thought taking any full-time, W2 job was better than nothing, but then were summarily back out searching because the new company went through sudden layoffs, striking first at the lowest people on the totem pole; the org or manager had performance expectations so unrealistic that they were unmeetable; or it was such a miserable work environment that they simply couldn't stand to stay put. Worse yet, they now have a short stint on their record - it will typically show up in background checks, even if they try to hide it on their resume - that they'll need to explain away for years to come. Better to be picky about W2 job offers, albeit reasonably so. First, Be Honest About Your Level of Certainty About the Job Offer It's easy to get overly excited about a job offer, overlooking the concerns we truly have. We get sparkles in our eyes about the prospect of being done with the very painful job search process and truly want to believe it's all going to be great. The very first step in being reasonably picky, for the sake of having a sustainable next job, is to be brutally honest about how certain you are that it's a good fit company and role for you. As I wrote in a recent article on career decision making, we only need to aim for 80% certainty when making choices. That is genuinely high enough to feel like we have made an informed, thoughtful decision without becoming completely paralyzed. So by 'reasonably picky,' I don't mean having sky-high, perfecting expectations, nor having full clarity that it'll be a fit. In order to gauge your certainty: Second, Know What To Ask and Observe Before Accepting a Job Offer In order to make your known unknowns into known knowns, you have to ask the right questions and observe the right elements. What are the 'right' questions and observations? Unfortunately I can't outright tell you. What's 'right' is entirely subjective and depends on what matters most to you at work. Every single coaching client I have had had slightly different questions and priorities about their work, so reflection is key to this part of the process. Some ways to do this: What do you need to know before accepting an offer? Don't be afraid to ask it - once you have the ... More offer Third, Conduct Thorough Research About The Job Offer Of course you can and should ask the hiring manager a lot of questions - that's a typical step before accepting an offer. But don't rely on one person's word! Asking for more information is not cause for rescinding an offer. If they balk at the request to talk with more people and/or to take a few days to consider the offer, that's 'data' for you to consider about the organization and/or the hiring manager's approach. In that case, proceed with real caution. In addition to the hiring manager, consider asking to talk with the following: In addition to asking great questions, don't overlook the role of intentional observation, by which I mean going into post-offer, pre-acceptance settings (e.g., conversations with the hiring manager and/or potential colleagues; a site visit) with a clear list of things you'll watch for. For instance, one of my clients had 'collaboration' very high on her list of values. I asked her how she'd know that was present and she said that in an in-person workspace she'd like to see people physically moving around, talking to one another; that was her specific notion of ideal collaboration. So she requested another site visit to meet her potential colleagues and observed interactions naturalistically while she was there (i.e., what was happening nearby as she talked to someone?). It passed her smell test and she accepted the offer - and is still there many years later! All in all, taking the time to full consider and research a full-time W2 job offer, no matter the economic conditions, is well worth it. It's much more costly - in terms of time, energy, and explaining away a short stint - to accept a bad job offer than it is to wait a bit for a better, long-lasting opportunity to come along.
CNA
21 hours ago
- Business
- CNA
Singapore is not at war, but neither is it at peace: Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing
Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said global tensions are creating economic uncertainty that threatens jobs, wages and prices in Singapore. He highlighted that while the country is not at war, neither is it at peace. Mr Chan said the Singapore Armed Forces needs to remain vigilant and strengthen defence ties to keep Singapore an "oasis of calm" amid growing security threats. Aslam Shah reports.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Global uncertainty over security will affect jobs, wages and prices in S'pore: Chan Chun Sing
SINGAPORE - An increasingly volatile global security environment will reinforce economic uncertainty, which will have implications on jobs, wages and prices in Singapore, said Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing. Developments on the security front are closely intertwined with the economy, Mr Chan told reporters on June 25 in an interview with local media ahead of SAF Day on July 1. When businesses see greater uncertainty, they are less likely to invest – leading to fewer jobs. Mr Chan cited the conflict in Iran, which escalated in mid-June with Iran and Israel trading air strikes. The US has waded into the fray, bombing Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22. 'If you look at the Iran conflict, the volatility of the oil prices feeding into the economic system – that again caused quite a lot of uncertainty and perturbations,' he said. The war in Ukraine – which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 – has also disrupted the global supply chain for many food products. Such disruptions are likely to increase prices, Mr Chan said. 'If prices go up, jobs go down, wages don't grow,' he added, noting that the impact of such wars should not be underestimated. Positioning Singapore as an 'oasis of calm' amid the global volatility requires tremendous effort, he said. 'The fact that people say that 'I can invest in Singapore because I am less likely to face a security incident, whether it is terrorism or whether it is a disruption of our energy supplies, our water supply' – all that adds to our overall competitiveness.' Amid these conflicts, Mr Chan said Singapore has to stay relevant and diversify its portfolio of defence relationships. 'We must continue to make sure that we are relevant and we can value-add to the relationship, both bilaterally and multilaterally,' he said. 'If we are not relevant, we will not have a voice. 'If we are not principled, we will not be able to engender trust for other people to want to work with us.' The most important thing for Singapore is to take positions that are based on principles – like sovereignty – that best support its survival and success, he said. Today, there are various challenges that transcend geographical confines, and these present opportunities to expand Singapore's network of relationships, Mr Chan said. There is interest from many European countries to work with Singapore on the technological front and on supply chain resilience, he said, without naming any. Other possible partners are South Korea and Japan, who face similar challenges to the Republic, he said. Mr Chan added that Singapore will continue to work with its traditional partners, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, the US, China, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, he said, highlighting the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) agreement. Under the FPDA, signed in 1971, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and the UK are bound to consult each other in the event of an attack on any one of the partners. Singapore is also looking at more opportunities to have bilateral exercises, Mr Chan said. He had a recent conversation with his Indonesian counterpart Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, where they discussed how the two countries can work together to develop training areas. 'This is also another example of how both sides can stretch our defence dollar and also to bring about greater interoperability between the armed forces,' Mr Chan said. Singapore, he added, should play to its strengths as the country navigates the global uncertainty. One of these is to continue to have a secure and stable business environment. This requires the security and economic agencies, as well as the political leadership, to signal to people that the Republic is still a place where one can get stability, security and the rule of law, he said. Another strength is Singapore's commitment to constantly invest in its people, he said. 'Even during tough times, and maybe particularly during tough times, we will continue to step up our investment for our people. That's why we have made SkillsFuture a central pillar of our social compact.' He added that Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who leads a task force on economic resilience, will share more details on its work soon. There are measures that the Government can take if the situation warrants it, but the task force is also looking at how to position Singapore in the longer term, given the shift in the global security and economic environment, Mr Chan said. 'We can take heart from all this. We don't have to panic. We have plans to help fellow Singaporeans tide through and go through this together.' Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction Discover how to enjoy other premium articles here
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
US durable goods orders soar in May on aircraft
WASHINGTON, June 26 (Reuters) - Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods rebounded sharply in May, boosted by a surge in commercial aircraft bookings, though economic uncertainty stemming from import tariffs remains a constraint for business spending on capital. Orders for durable goods, items ranging from toasters to aircraft meant to last three years or more, jumped 16.4% last month after a revised 6.6% decline in April, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast orders increasing 8.5% after a previously reported 6.3% decrease in April. Transportation equipment orders soared 48.3%, driven by a 230.8% surge in commercial aircraft orders, which are extremely volatile. Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab reported on its website that it had received 303 aircraft orders, including 150 from Qatar Airways placed during President Donald Trump's visit to the Gulf Arab country in May. That compared to only eight orders in April. Outside the transportation industry, orders were muted. Economists say Trump's often shifting trade policy has left businesses in limbo while the duties already imposed have increased costs for companies. The Federal Reserve is also in a wait-and-see mode as policymakers monitor the economic fallout from the sweeping tariffs. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers this week the U.S. central bank needed more time to gauge if tariffs pushed up inflation before considering lowering rates. The Fed last week left its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range where it has been since December. Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, rebounded 1.7% in May after an upwardly revised 1.4% decline in April. Economists had forecast these so-called core capital goods orders edging up 0.1% after a previously reported 1.5% drop in April. Shipments of core capital goods rose 0.5% after being unchanged in the prior month. Non-defense capital goods orders accelerated 49.4% after plunging 19.1% in April. Shipments of these goods were unchanged after advancing 3.6% in April. Business spending on equipment accelerated sharply in the first quarter, helping to blunt some of the drag on gross domestic product from a flood of imports as businesses rushed to bring in merchandise before the tariffs came into effect. The Atlanta Fed is forecasting economic growth rebounding at a 3.4% annualized rate in the second quarter, largely reflecting a reversal in the import flows. Data on retail sales, the housing and labor markets have suggested economic activity is softening. The economy contracted at a 0.5% pace in the January-March quarter.
