Z Blurbs

Americans quit their jobs at a record pace in August

From abcnews.go.com
2021-10-12 16:22:03

Excerpt:

 

WASHINGTON — One reason America’s employers are having trouble filling jobs was starkly illustrated in a report Tuesday: Americans are quitting in droves.

The Labor Department said that quits jumped to 4.3 million in August, the highest on records dating back to December 2000, and up from 4 million in July. That’s equivalent to nearly 3% of the workforce. Hiring also slowed in August, the report showed, and the number of jobs available fell to 10.4 million, from a record high of 11.1 million the previous month.

The data helps fill in a puzzle that is looming over the job market: Hiring slowed sharply in August and September, even as the number of posted jobs was near record levels. In the past year, open jobs have increased 62%. Yet overall hiring, as measured by Tuesday’s report, has actually declined slightly during that time.

The jump in quits strongly suggests that fear of the delta variant is partly responsible for the shortfall in workers. In addition to driving…

 

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IMF warns on inflation, says the Fed and others should be prepared to tighten policy

From www.cnbc.com
2021-10-12 16:16:30

Excerpt:

Central banks such as the Federal Reserve should be prepared to tighten policy in case inflation gets out of control, the International Monetary Fund warned in a report Tuesday.

While the IMF said it largely concurs with assessments from the Fed and many economists that the current global spate of price increases eventually will ease, it noted there is “high uncertainty” around those forecasts.

The cautionary tone mentioned the U.S., as well as the U.K. and other developed economies, as places where “inflation risks are skewed to the upside.”

“While monetary policy can generally look through transitory increases in inflation, central banks should be prepared to act quickly if the risks of rising inflation expectations become more material in this uncharted recovery,” Gita Gopinath, the IMF’s economic counselor and director of research, said in an executive summary accompanying…

 

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Sharp surge in energy prices threatens economic recovery and is already slowing growth

From www.cnbc.com
2021-10-12 16:18:31

Excerpt:

 

 

Woman pumps gas outside of Wawa storefront

Saul loeb

Energy prices are surging, and the economy is already feeling the pinch of higher fuel costs though it is far from stalling out.

There is an unusual coincidence of much higher oil, natural gas and coal prices, combined with other rising commodities and supply chain disruptions. That perfect storm of shortages and higher prices begs the question of whether the economy could go into a serious tailspin or even a recession.

Economists say, for now, the jump in prices is not the type of oil shock that will turn U.S. growth negative, but there will be economic consequences of higher energy costs, particularly in places like Europe where natural gas prices have skyrocketed.

“Periods of trending oil prices tend not to be a problem,” JPMorgan chief economist Bruce Kasman said. “The periods of spiking oil prices tend to be what gets you into trouble. They tend to be largely supply driven, and they tend to have disruptive elements that are more…

 

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China tightens political control of internet giants

From abcnews.go.com
2021-10-03 10:33:17

Excerpt:

 

BEIJING — The ruling Communist Party is tightening political control over China’s internet giants and tapping their wealth to pay for its ambitions to reduce reliance on U.S. and European technology.

Anti-monopoly and data security crackdowns starting in late 2020 have shaken the industry, which flourished for two decades with little regulation. Investor jitters have knocked more than $1.3 trillion off the total market value of e-commerce platform Alibaba, games and social media operator Tencent and other tech giants.

The party says anti-monopoly enforcement will be a priority through 2025. It says competition will help create jobs and raise living standards.

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