How strong was America’s economy heading into the coronavirus shock? The US jobs report from January, out Friday, will provide some hard evidence.
Economists polled by Reuters on average expect that the US economy added a respectable 160,000 jobs last month. The unemployment rate is thought to have held steady at 3.5%.
“While a strong labor market would normally stoke fears of a tighter Fed, there is widespread agreement that [Chair Jerome] Powell and [company] will not be raising rates anytime soon,” Paul Hickey of Bespoke Investment Group told clients. “Eventually, that will change, but until it does, the market is reacting positively to positive economic news.”
Investor insight: The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all finished at all-time highs on Thursday. They’ve lost some steam in premarket trading, but could get a boost from good news on jobs.
Credit Suisse CEO resigns after spying scandal
The board of directors unanimously accepted Thiam’s resignation at a meeting on Thursday, appointing Credit Suisse veteran Thomas Gottstein as the new CEO. The shakeup will take place after Credit Suisse reports its fourth quarter and 2019 results next week.
Bouée stepped down after that operation came to light. More recently, he was blamed for ordering a spying operation on Credit Suisse’s former head of human resources last February.
“I had no knowledge of the observation of two former colleagues,” Thiam said in the statement. “It undoubtedly disturbed Credit Suisse and caused anxiety and hurt. I regret that this happened and it should never have taken place.”
Shares in Switzerland fell more than 3% in early trading. In a note, UBS analyst Daniele Brupbacher said the bank doesn’t foresee changes to Credit Suisse’s main strategy — shifting focus away from investment banking in London and New York toward wealth management and the Asia region — “any time soon.”
‘Growth at all costs’ is over at Uber
Uber’s stock is up 6% in premarket trading after CEO Dara Khosrowshahi made a pointed declaration Thursday: “We recognize that the era of growth at all costs is over.”
On a conference call with analysts Thursday, Uber executives bumped up their expectation for achieving profitability, excluding certain costs, to the end of this year. It had previously expected to hit that point by 2021.
Up next
Also today: The US jobs report for January, which includes the unemployment rate and wage data, posts at 8:30 a.m. ET.
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