Weekly jobless claims jump to 231,000, the highest since August

Jobless claims totaled a seasonally adjusted 231,000 for the week ending on May 4, up 22,000 from the week before, the highest since late August 2023. Continuing claims, which run a week behind, increased to 1.78 million, up 17,000 from the previous week. Jobseekers during a Construction Career Fair at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, North Carolina, US, Wednesday, March 15, 2023.  Allison Joyce | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Initial filings for unemployment benefits hit their highest level since late August 2023 in a potential sign that an otherwise robust labor market is changing.

Jobless claims totaled a seasonally adjusted 231,000 for the week ended May 4, up 22,000 from the previous period and higher than the Dow Jones estimate for 214,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. It was the highest claims number since Aug. 26, 2023.

The increase in claims follows a string of mostly strong hiring reports, though hiring in April was light compared to expectations. Also, job openings have been declining amid expectations that the labor market is likely to slow through the year.

Along with the move higher in layoffs, the report showed that continuing claims, which run a week behind, increased to 1.78 million, up 17,000 from the previous week. The four-week moving average of claims, which helps smooth out weekly volatility in numbers, increased to 215,000, up 4,750 from the previous week.

“Weekly jobless claims are one of the timeliest indicators of when the economy is starting to undergo serious deterioration, and the magnitude of new layoffs this week looks worrisome,” wrote Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS. “One week does not a trend make, but we can no longer be sure that calm seas lie ahead for the US economy if today’s weekly jobless claims are any indication.”

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 175,000 in April, below the Wall Street estimate of 240,000 and the smallest gain since October 2023. However, the unemployment rate was at 3.9%, continuing a string since February 2022 of holding below 4%.

Markets reacted little to the jobless claims release, with stock market futures slightly negative and Treasury yields mixed.

Excluding seasonal adjustments, claims totaled 209,324, up 10.4% from the previous week. New York alone saw an increase of more than 10,000, accounting for more than half the total rise.

“A low number of

CNBC

Turnspire to acquire Ashland Nutraceuticals

An affiliate of Turnspire Capital Partners will acquire the nutraceuticals business of Ashland, a provider of proprietary nutrition ingredients and custom formulation services to nutritional product companies.

Ashland’s nutraceuticals business offers custom formulation and contract manufacturing capabilities for the nutrition market, across formula design, ingredient sourcing and finished product manufacturing. The business employs approximately 500 across four production facilities in New Jersey and Utah in the US, and Tamaulipas, Mexico.

Completion of the transaction is expected in Q3 2024.

Stocks making the biggest premarket moves: Planet Fitness, Warner Bros Discovery, Yeti, Airbnb and more

Donald Trump’s stormy day in court

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

This is an on-site version of the US Election Countdown newsletter. You can read the previous edition here. Sign up for free here to get it on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Email us at electioncountdown@ft.com

Happy Thursday and welcome to US Election Countdown. Today we’re talking about:

In a salacious episode of this year’s biggest courtroom drama, porn actor Stormy Daniels took the stand in Donald Trump’s “hush money” trial and gave a graphic account of alleged sexual advances he made towards her in 2006 [Free to read]. She’s expected to continue her testimony today.

To recap, Daniels is at the centre of the case: she was paid $130,000 in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election so that she wouldn’t say anything about the supposed sexual encounter. Trump is charged with falsifying the business record behind those payments. 

Daniels, who giggled nervously through her testimony on Tuesday, was just steps away from a glowering Trump at the defence table. She told the jury about how she was invited to Trump’s place after meeting at a golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.

They talked about the porn industry, and the ex-president said he could put her on his reality show The Apprentice, Daniels said. She also testified that Trump told her not to worry about his wife because they “don’t sleep in the same room”.

Daniels hit Trump’s behind with a rolled-up magazine, she said, and after she went to the bathroom, she found Trump in “boxer shorts and T-shirt”. She then went on to describe their “brief” sexual encounter. The FT’s Joe Miller has more details on Daniels’ witness testimony in his report from the courthouse.

As things were heating up in New York, Miami Judge Aileen Cannon pumped the brakes on a different Trump case. Cannon postponed the federal classified documents case, which was scheduled to begin on May 20, saying she needed more time for “adequate preparation”.

There are “myriad and interconnected” pre-trial issues to resolve, Cannon said, adding it “would be imprudent and inconsistent” to rush. 

This means the “hush money” trial is likely to be the only one of the cases against Trump to be heard before election day. 

Campaign clips: the latest election headlinesBehind the scenesCitadel chief executive Ken Griffin: ‘It’s a much more difficult set of decisions that each of us will have to make come November’

Squire Patton Boggs adds leveraged finance Partner

Squire Patton Boggs has appointed Chris Hastings as a Partner in its financial services practice group in London. Hastings, who joins from Eversheds Sutherland, is a finance lawyer focused on leveraged and acquisition financing.

Hastings acts for private equity firms and their portfolio companies, corporate borrowers and for private credit funds in relation to transactions at all levels of capital structures. His experience covers complex domestic and international transactions in support of M&A activity, leveraged buyouts, refinancing and distressed or opportunistic investments.

Among recent work, Hastings acted for Inflexion on its acquisition of a minority stake in Goat (and subsequent sale to WPP), an influencer and social media marketing agency; for Aurelius, on its carve-out of UK property services provider TM Group from Dye & Durham; and for Pollen Street Capital, on the acquisition of Assessio, a talent assessment software platform in the Nordics.

Recent private credit mandates have included advising the London-based teams of Tresmares Capital and Eurazeo on mid-market direct lending mandates to support domestic and international PE-backed businesses.

Watchlist and adverse media monitoring solutions 2024: market update and vendor landscape

Watchlist and adverse media monitoring solutions 2024: market update and vendor landscape – Risk.net End of drawer navigation content Skip to main content

This Chartis report updates Watchlist monitoring solutions 2022: market update and vendor landscape and focuses on solutions for sanctions (name and transaction) screening and monitoring adverse media and its related elements.

In an era characterised by growing regulatory scrutiny and evolving threats from financial crime, organisations are becoming increasingly reliant on these solutions, which can play an indispensable role in mitigating risk, ensuring compliance and safeguarding reputations. As the market continues to evolve, vendors must remain vigilant, agile and customer-focused, leveraging technology and strategic partnerships to deliver innovative solutions that address the dynamic needs of their clients and enable them to stay ahead of their competitors.

Download the Chartis Watchlist and adverse media monitoring solutions 2024 report
 

Legal & Privacy

Useful links

You need to sign in to use this feature. If you don’t have a Risk.net account, please register for a trial.

No Cut in Sight as Bank of England Holds Rates

The Bank of England (BoE) has held its base rate at 5.25%, after a majority decision of 7-2 at its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted in favour of keeping the status quo at a meeting yesterday.

The move was in line with market consensus. At the time of writing the FTSE 100 was trading up slightly by 0.38%.

“At its meeting ending on 8 May 2024, the MPC voted by a majority of 7–2 to maintain Bank rate at 5.25%. Two members preferred to reduce Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 5%,” the Bank said.

In its press statement at midday today, the BoE added that, in time, it actually now expects inflation to fall to below its 2% target within two years, though it will likely rise in the near-term before falling once more.

“CPI inflation is expected to return to close to the 2% target in the near term, but to increase slightly in the second half of this year, to around 2½%, owing to the unwinding of energy-related base effects,” it said.

“There continue to be upside risks to the near-term inflation outlook from geopolitical factors, although developments in the Middle East have had a limited impact on oil prices so far.

“Conditioned on market interest rates and reflecting a margin of slack in the economy, CPI inflation is projected to be 1.9% in two years’ time and 1.6% in three years in the May Report.”

It gave very little indication of when the rate cutting process might begin.

“The MPC remains prepared to adjust monetary policy as warranted by economic data to return inflation to the 2% target sustainably,” it said generically.

“It will therefore continue to monitor closely indications of persistent inflationary pressures and resilience in the economy as a whole, including a range of measures of the underlying tightness of labour market conditions, wage growth and services price inflation.”

Reaction From The City and Financial Services Ben Nichols, Interim Managing Director, RAW Capital Partners:

“That the base rate has remained static for nine months has afforded homebuyers and investors a degree of certainty. But higher borrowing costs will continue to squeeze house prices, and this will naturally weigh on the minds of both buyers and sellers. Moreover, it places the emphasis on how lenders and brokers can best support borrowers in this higher-rate environment.”

Lily Megson, Policy Director, My Pension Expert:

“While high interest

Peel Hunt: All British firms should be included in the GB ISA regardless of incorporation address

In a research note detailing its response to the government’s consultation, Hall argued that it should include not just all companies which are incorporated or listed on a UK stock exchange, but also overseas incorporated companies. Hall said that one of the key considerations in building the ISA should be simplicity in order to ensure that more people sign up to the ISA and “ensure “optimum eligibility” for assets included. Managers sceptical GB ISA will provide ‘catalyst’ for fresh UK investment “We recommend that this should not be dependent on location or incorporation, to ensu…

Five things to do if your investments aren’t working

Standard DigitalWeekend Print + Standard Digital

wasnow $85 per month

Billed Quarterly at $199. Complete digital access plus the FT newspaper delivered Monday-Saturday.

What’s included

Global news & analysisExpert opinionFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit appFirstFT: the day’s biggest stories20+ curated newslettersFollow topics & set alerts with myFTFT Videos & Podcasts20 monthly gift articles to shareLex: FT’s flagship investment column15+ Premium newsletters by leading expertsFT Digital Edition: our digitised print editionWeekday Print EditionFT WeekendFT Digital EditionGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresExclusive FT analysisFT Digital EditionGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresExclusive FT analysisGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit appFirstFT: the day’s biggest stories20+ curated newslettersFollow topics & set alerts with myFTFT Videos & Podcasts10 monthly gift articles to shareGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit appFirstFT: the day’s biggest stories20+ curated newslettersFollow topics & set alerts with myFTFT Videos & Podcasts20 monthly gift articles to shareLex: FT’s flagship investment column15+ Premium newsletters by leading expertsFT Digital Edition: our digitised print editionEverything in PrintWeekday Print EditionFT WeekendFT Digital EditionGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresExclusive FT analysisPlusEverything in Premium DigitalEverything in Standard DigitalGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresFirstFT newsletterVideos & PodcastsFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit app10 gift articles per monthExclusive FT analysisPremium newslettersFT Digital Edition10 additional gift articles per monthFT Weekend Print deliveryPlusEverything in Standard DigitalFT Weekend Print deliveryPlusEverything in Premium Digital