Economists polled by Refinitiv expect to learn that only 71,000 jobs were created last month, by far the weakest number since the labor market recovery kicked off in May.
What’s Happening: The United States is experiencing another explosion in coronavirus cases. In less than two weeks, the country has recorded its five deadliest days since the pandemic began, with more than 4,000 virus-related deaths reported Thursday. That weighs on job creation as business restrictions increase and more people choose to stay at home.
“Rising COVID-19 caseloads, hospitalizations and deaths mean our health and economic woes are far from over,” said Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank. “President-elect Biden has inherited an extremely troubled economy with millions of families just trying to survive.”
Wall Street, however, is looking beyond this winter’s woes and betting that vaccination programs can boost growth and corporate earnings starting this spring. Stocks soared Thursday despite the violence in the Capitol the previous day and a raging pandemic.
This is partly due to high expectations of Democrats. With the party now in control of the Senate – as well as the House of Representatives and the White House – after winning both seats in Georgia, investors are betting that another stimulus package can be quickly passed.
Deutsche Bank predicts Congress will soon approve a $ 900 billion stimulus package “ built around further stimulus controls, state and local government funds and unemployment benefit improvements, ” which it sees boosting U.S. economic growth to 6.3 % in 2021, about two percentage points higher than the bank’s previous forecast.
Watch this space: There’s a decent chance the jobs report could be worse than expected, which could shock investors. Goldman Sachs expects to learn that the US economy lost 50,000 jobs in December, which would be the first month of losses since a devastating April.
Hyundai’s stock is skyrocketing to reports that it could build an Apple car
Hyundai’s stock had its best day in at least two decades after the South Korean automaker reportedly was in early talks with Apple to develop self-driving electric cars, my CNN Business colleague Jill Disis reports.
Details, details: nothing is definitive. But various media outlets reported on Friday that Hyundai has confirmed that it is in talks with Apple. The news was initially reported by Korea Economic Daily TV, and later confirmed by Reuters and Bloomberg.
CNN Business has not been able to confirm the nature of the discussions. Hyundai said in a statement only that “we are receiving proposals for cooperation from several companies, but no decision has yet been taken.” Apple declined to comment.
Still, shares in the automaker are on the rise. The stock ended at more than 19% in Seoul.
Both companies have reason to consider a partnership. There is growing talk of Apple’s interest in electric, self-driving cars. A Reuters report last month said Apple plans to produce a passenger car by 2024. Bloomberg reported this week that Apple has begun early development of an electric vehicle, but any resulting product would be at least five more years away.
In an increasingly Internet-connected world, the sale of next-generation automotive services could become a huge undertaking for Apple.
Bitcoin surpasses $ 40,000 just days after passing $ 30,000
Bitcoin first hit $ 19,000 in December 2017, before crashing spectacularly to around $ 3,200 a year later. But those who have held the cryptocurrency are likely to feel satisfied.
Prices plummeted to $ 39,000 Friday morning. But the value of all Bitcoins in circulation remains dazzling, around $ 738 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. The value of all cryptocurrencies is now approaching $ 1.1 trillion.
Investors have been flocking to Bitcoin in recent months, with the cryptocurrency increasingly seen as an asset that is maturing. Grayscale Investments, the world’s largest crypto asset manager, says interest is increasing from established players such as pension funds and endowments.
“It is encouraging to see a more serious consideration of Bitcoin and the digital currency asset class in general, as it has real potential to reshape global finance as we know it,” CEO Michael Sonnenshein said in an email. mail to CNN Business.
However, there are still many questions about the price. In a note released Thursday, Bank of America told customers that Bitcoin’s rally in the past two years has “blown the doors of earlier bubbles.” Alex Mashinsky, CEO and founder of Celsius Network, a crypto asset manager, thinks Bitcoin could drop to $ 16,000 by the end of the first quarter.
Next one
The US jobs report for December arrives at 8:30 a.m. ET.