Two critical trends to watch as companies announce earnings: Morning Brief

Two critical trends to watch as companies announce earnings: Morning Brief

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Friday, March 25, 2022

Believe it or not, the first quarter ends a week from today. That means Q1 earnings season is just around the corner.

The past three months have been particularly eventful from the perspective of risk. Geopolitical angst spiked in February with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The conflict has sent global food and energy prices surging. Inflation is hot with the consumer price index jumping 7.9{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} year-over-year in February, the biggest increase since January 1982. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve recently raised interest rates for the first time since 2018 in its ongoing effort to cool prices.

All of these developments represent headwinds for business activity.

With this in mind, there are two trends to watch as companies announce earnings in the coming weeks.

Is demand still strong?

When uncertainty is high and sentiment is low, it would make sense for businesses and consumers to cut back on spending.

But that hasn’t been happening in recent quarters, even with inflation ramping up and COVID-19 variants presenting new health risks.

Earlier this week, Nike announced better-than-expected quarterly sales growth while adding that “demand continues to significantly exceed available inventory supply, with a healthy pull market across our geographies.”

In other words, Nike (NKE) is saying sales would’ve been even more robust had it not been for supply issues, which was something numerous companies said about the prior quarter.

On Thursday, Darden Restaurants (DRI) — parent of Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, and other popular restaurant brands — reported quarterly same-restaurant sales that jumped 38{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} from a year ago.

When asked about the impact of surging gasoline prices, Darden CEO Gene Lee told Yahoo Finance, “I think the consumer balance sheet is stronger than it has been previously.”

Indeed, consumer debt levels are low and cash levels are very high.

On the subject of inflation, General Mills (GIS) has been raising prices to address higher costs. And in its earnings announcement on Wednesday, the company confirmed that consumers were paying up. In fact, sales of higher priced products drove all of the company’s revenue growth during the period, which actually saw pound volume decline.

Based on these early reports, it looks like revenue could deliver again.

Are profit margins holding up?

Over the past year, corporate executives have been very vocal about how inflation was causing the cost of doing business to rise.

However, profit margins actually widened to record levels in 2021. And analysts have been predicting that margins would stay high in 2022.

With its earnings announcement, Nike reported that its gross profit margin increased to 46.6{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} during the three months ending in February, up 100 basis points from the prior quarter.

Despite higher pricing, General Mills actually saw its profit margins contract.

Darden reported better profit margins, but management also warned that inflation costs were much higher than it previously anticipated.

“We started the [fiscal] year with a 3{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} inflation assumption,” Darden COO Rick Cardenas said. “Here we are three quarters later. We’re looking at 6{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} total inflation.”

So far, companies are painting a mixed picture for margins.

Why it matters

Revenue and profit margins are the dominant drivers of earnings growth as you can see in the chart below. And earnings growth drives stock prices.

S&P 500 year-over-year operating EPS growth

S&P 500 year-over-year operating EPS growth

Analysts’ forecasts for earnings have been high and have only been improving.

So, it will be critical for companies to deliver on revenue and/or profit margins or else they could get punished by traders dumping their stocks.

By Sam Ro, the author of TKer.co. Follow him on Twitter at @SamRo.

What to watch today

Economy

  • 10:00 a.m. ET: Pending home sales, February month-over-month (1.0{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} expected, -5.7{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} in January)

  • 10:00 a.m. ET: University of Michigan Sentiment, March final (59.7 expected, 59.7 in February)

Earnings

Politics

  • President Biden is set to travel within 70 miles of Ukraine today with a visit to Rzeszów, Poland, on the agenda. He will receive a briefing on the refugee crisis and also meet with American service members stationed there.

Top News

US, EU strike LNG deal as Europe seeks to cut Russian gas [Reuters]

Instacart slashes valuation by nearly 40{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} to $24 billion [Reuters]

Apple is working on a hardware subscription service for iPhones [Bloomberg]

NIO top line beats estimates, but revenue guidance misses [Yahoo Finance]

Yahoo Finance Highlights

 

Amazon’s profits will be hammered by higher gas prices: top analyst

BlackRock’s Larry Fink sees Ukraine-Russia war ‘accelerating digital currencies’ as Bitcoin hits $44K

There’s a conspicuous Russian oligarch still missing from the US sanctions list

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn

Harvest Trading Cap First Dominican Company to Acquire ZorroTrade Broker for Operations in the International Financial Markets

Harvest Trading Cap First Dominican Company to Acquire ZorroTrade Broker for Operations in the International Financial Markets
Harvest Trading Cap

Harvest Investing Cap

Harvest Buying and selling Cap acquires the initial Broker for Dominicans and the total earth

Jairo Jonzalez MA with Lic. Pedro Cean and Lic. Nicolás de León

Harvest Trading Cap signs an agreement with the objective of offering the best financial services for capitalization in any international market.

Harvest Trading Cap symptoms an agreement with the aim of providing the finest economical products and services for capitalization in any intercontinental market.

Jairo Gonzalez presides over signing of agreement among the firms.

Harvest Trading Cap just took one of the best steps in this arduous race.

Harvest Investing Cap just took 1 of the finest methods in this arduous race.

MIAMI, March 24, 2022 (World NEWSWIRE) — On Tuesday March 22nd, 2022, the Dominican corporation Harvest Investing Cap, signed an arrangement with the regional supervisor and Manufacturer Manager of IronFx for Latin The united states Mr. Pedro Cean and the Senior Organization Developer Mr. Nicolás de León, with the goal of presenting the most effective financial products and services for capitalization in any intercontinental sector.

The strategic participation settlement in between equally organizations was signed at the services of Harvest Investing Cap located in the Dominican Republic, Santo Doming, C/ la Marginal Nuñez de Cáceres Edificio Corporativo NC Suite 602 Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic, the very same was chaired by CEO Jairo González MA.

IronFX is the award-successful worldwide leader in online trading, with 10 trading platforms and over 200 tradable instruments in Fx location metals, futures, equities, place indices and commodities. IronFX, started in 2010, serves retail and institutional clientele in extra than 180 international locations in Europe, Asia, the Center East, Africa and Latin The us.

As a final result of this agreement, the objective is set to finalize the closing guidelines for the finalization and formal launch of the broker on behalf of Harvest Investing Cap for the entire Dominican Republic less than the title of ZorroTrade run by IronFx.

This broker will act as an middleman amongst “traders” prospective buyers and sellers of shares in the marketplace, it ought to be observed that it will have all the applicable licenses to make the economical estimate and let you to continue on investing properly in the inventory exchanges of the environment.

ZorroTrade will be the initially broker acquired by Dominicans, it will have the ideal gains for those people traders all over the earth who resort to on the internet investing to get paid money in the premier and most liquid current market in the earth. Present day improvements in technology allow for Harvest Investing Cap by way of ZorroTrade to provide foreign exchange, commodities, energy, indices and shares traders quick trading at the touch of a button, a clever system and an net relationship.

Harvest Buying and selling Cap these days has just taken a person of the ideal measures in this arduous race, our business has just bought the broker ZorroTrade by one particular of the most significant stock investing brokers in the planet Ironfx, our traders of Harvest Trading Cap Academy, all our followers in the Dominican Republic and the environment by now have some thing from here,” mentioned Mr. Jairo Gonzalez.

A picture accompanying this announcement is readily available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2e7f06c4-3247-459a-abce-incorporate283549f00

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Here’s why gas is $6 a gallon in California even as prices fall elsewhere

Here’s why gas is $6 a gallon in California even as prices fall elsewhere

In Los Angeles County, by far the nation’s most populous with far more than 10 million inhabitants, gasoline now has arrived at an average selling price of $6.03 a gallon, according to AAA. Gasoline costs have also crossed the $6 mark in neighboring Ventura County, nearby San Luis Obispo County and a couple primarily rural California counties, although other inhabitants centers this sort of as San Diego, San Francisco and Orange counties, are inside a single or two cents of a $6 a gallon normal.

California price ranges continue on to spike even as the countrywide common has been falling — slowly but surely but steadily — for the very last two weeks.
Nationally, the average fuel cost stood at $4.24 Wednesday, according to AAA, down from the record superior of $4.33 a gallon established on March 11. The countrywide typical has fallen just about every day since by a fraction of a penny — proving the outdated adage that fuel selling prices go up like a rocket and come down like a feather.

Not in California, nevertheless, where regular rates are nevertheless heading up, mounting 16 cents to $5.88 a gallon considering the fact that the countrywide peak was arrived at just under two months back. The exact same goes for Nevada, which gets much of its gasoline from its western neighbor, and the place price ranges have risen 26 cents a gallon to $5.18. In Hawaii, rates have jumped 25 cents to $5.09 a gallon, rounding out the trio of states facing $5-plus a gallon fuel.

Several marketplaces

The primary explanation for the price disparity is that there are essentially seven significant wholesale gasoline markets in the United States: two in California, one more for the Pacific Northwest, and the remaining 4 unfold across the rest of the region. That usually means for people residing west of the Rocky Mountains, prices are nevertheless climbing, or at greatest holding constant.

Prices are up 7 cents in Utah, which also receives fuel by way of pipelines from California, to $4.42, and are fundamentally unchanged in Washington, Oregon and Arizona.

A main issue in the recent price tag surge is an unscheduled outage at a major refinery in Torrance, California 3 weeks in the past, which produced an now limited market place for gasoline that significantly tighter, reported Doug Shupe, spokesperson for the Vehicle Club of Southern California.

“This is not a planned upkeep problem. It could just take two to 4 months for a refinery to return to total capacity,” Shupe mentioned. “We know drivers are discouraged by it, in particular when they are working with greater charges in the relaxation of their life.”

Losing even just one refinery can trigger a spike in prices in the west mainly because potential has been dropping steadily on the West Coast.

The US Electrical power Info Administration details reveals that refining capability in western states at the conclusion of final calendar year fell 12{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} from the close of 2019, ahead of the pandemic, and down 22{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} considering that the end of 2007, ahead of the Wonderful Recession.

Some of individuals refineries closed for monetary good reasons for the duration of those challenging financial times. Now some are currently being converted to method renewable fuels, these types of as the Marathon Petroleum refinery in Martinez, California. That Bay Area facility stopped refining petroleum products and solutions in 2020 and will shortly reopen as a renewable diesel refinery.

But getting rid of that facility, and other individuals, in new years also means that an unexpected problem like the Torrance shutdown can rattle wholesale gas marketplaces, said Tom Kloza, world-wide head of strength investigation for the Oil Value Information Support, which tracks gas selling prices for AAA.

Gas prices fall -- a little

Worry about tougher environmental policies in Western states is holding oil organizations from investing in refineries in the region, Kloza said, due to the fact of fears they could be compelled to shut down in the close to future.

“The West Coast is very complicated ideal now,” he said. “They could use a very little much more refining capacity or a minimal less need.”

UK budget little relief to young people squeezed by cost of living

UK budget little relief to young people squeezed by cost of living

David-Prado | iStock | Getty Pictures

The U.K. government’s latest budget announcement available small hope for younger men and women who are among the all those having difficulties to cope with soaring living expenditures, economical analysts and advisors have said.

In his Spring Statement, U.K. Finance Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged that the Russia-Ukraine war was placing additional pressure on the charge of residing in Britain, with costs previously on the rise because of to supply chain concerns in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Data produced before Wednesday showed that U.K. inflation was up 6.2{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} in February and selling prices are envisioned to increase further more nonetheless. Sunak cited an Business for Spending plan Responsibility forecast that inflation will common 7.4{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} this calendar year.

To combat mounting prices, Sunak announced an instant minimize to gas taxes of 5 pence (6 cents) per liter for 12 months, starting up from 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Myron Jobson, senior private finance analyst at U.K. system Interactive Investor, pointed out that this reduction in gasoline duty would minimize the cost of filling up the regular household vehicle by £2.75. He reported this was “smaller alter when compared to the latest hikes in the charge of gas” and would barely include the value of a coffee.

Jobson also explained that Sunak’s announcement of slicing the 5{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} VAT (gross sales tax) on the charge of energy productive products for households did nothing at all to alleviate the “crushing” price tag of residing pressures on the U.K.’s most vulnerable persons.

“The policy absolutely ignores the plight of the just about 40{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} of U.K. households living in rented accommodation and sensation the entire brunt of the hikes to electricity expenses,” he claimed.

Electricity payments are established to rise drastically in the U.K., with the country’s energy regulator owing to elevate its cap on costs by more than 50{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} in April.

There had presently been some steps announced prior to Wednesday’s assertion to try to aid with mounting living expenses.

From April, sure homes will get a payment of £150 as a rebate on their regional authority tax payment. From October, eligible U.K. households will then get a £200 price reduction on power expenses, even though the govt will recover this money in £40 installments above 5 decades, beginning in 2023.

Countrywide Insurance hike

In Wednesday’s statement, Sunak also unveiled that from 2022 the earnings threshold at which employees begin having to pay National Coverage would rise by £3,000 to £12,570 a yr. Nationwide Insurance is a U.K. tax on revenue that goes towards funding state fees this sort of as the Countrywide Well being Provider.

On the other hand, Sunak also went forward with growing the fee of Countrywide Insurance policy contributions by 1.25{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} from April 2022 for just one yr.

Shaun Moore, tax and fiscal planning pro at U.K. prosperity management company Quilter, explained below these changes anyone earning down below £34,300 a yr will now face a reduced Countrywide Insurance invoice in 2022/23 than in this tax year, whilst people paid far more than that amount would see this tax increase.  

In addition, Sunak declared that the basic price of profits tax would be slice by 1 pence for each individual pound by 2024.

Hargreaves Lansdown senior personal finance analyst Sarah Coles explained that whilst this offered some mild at the stop of the tunnel, “there is certainly an dreadful good deal of tunnel to go by to start with.”

‘Little reprieve’ for students

Meanwhile, Jobson mentioned Sunak also failed to handle the latest criticism of the govt-funded Kickstart Youth Work program.

The General public Accounts Committee, which examines the worth for dollars of governing administration tasks, labeled the early shipping and delivery of the £1.9 billion approach as “chaotic” and mentioned it had supported less young folks than predicted.

“For several youthful folks, the plight of securing a task with significant career development remains desperately out of get to immediately after two a long time of misplaced chances for the duration of Covid,” Jobson said.

He also stated there was “small reprieve in the Spring Statement to simplicity the plight of possible learners.”

In February, the U.K. authorities announced a amount of reforms to school pupil financing. This bundled decreasing the threshold at which graduates start off to repay state-funded higher education loans to when they generate £25,000 a yr. This is down from the current amount of £27,295.

Rosie Hooper, chartered financial planner at Quilter, calculated that this meant a potential graduate earning extra than £25,000 would shell out £260.55 a calendar year additional than a graduate on the preceding reimbursement prepare.

The authorities also announced it was arranging to increase the compensation phrase to 40 a long time from 30 years, with Hooper saying this intended quite a few graduates will be paying a 9{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} tax for their “complete specialist occupation.”

Stocks climb as investors keep eyes on Fed, Russia-Ukraine crisis

Stocks climb as investors keep eyes on Fed, Russia-Ukraine crisis

U.S. stocks rose Thursday as investors continued to weigh a number of risks, including the Federal Reserve’s inflation flight and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.4{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} to 4,472.77, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up slightly by 0.2{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} to 34,407.87. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} to 13,976.95.

In Russia, the Moscow Exchange partially reopened Thursday after a nearly monthlong shutdown to resume local trading in 33 securities, including oil giant Gazprom and Russian majority state-owned financial institution Sberbank. The Central Bank banned short-selling on stocks, however, and prohibited foreign investors from selling stocks. The benchmark MOEX index (IMOEX.ME) gained as much as 10{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} in early trading.

The White House in a statement early Thursday called the re-opening a “charade,” and noted the government was “artificially propping up the shares of companies that are trading.”

Investors continue to monitor developments on the conflict in Eastern Europe and the global response. President Joe Biden is set to convene with NATO allies in Brussels in a meeting that will set the stage for the announcement of more sanctions against Russia and greater humanitarian aid for Ukraine.

Wednesday marked two years since the S&P 500 bottomed in the 2020 global stock market crash after the World Health Organization moved to declare COVID-19 an official pandemic. Since then, the benchmark has registered its best two-year gain — more than 100{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} from the low — since 1937, according to data from Bespoke Investment Group.

Although the recovery makes the period the best two-year bull run in history in terms of strength, per Bespoke, U.S. stocks have had a rocky start to 2022 amid a backdrop of growing headwinds.

Historically high levels of inflation have tasked the Fed with reining in surging price levels without slowing economic growth. Stocks have oscillated between gains and losses as traders adjusted to hawkish comments earlier this week from Fed Chair Jerome Powell that indicated officials were prepared to lean into higher short-term interest rates “as needed” to mitigate fast-rising price levels. Powell’s comments come just a week after the central bank lifted its benchmark Federal Funds Rate by 0.25{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} (to a target range of 0.25{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} to 0.50{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}).

“Policymakers were more hawkish than anticipated, exceeding estimates for interest rates and inflation, while reducing forecasts for economic growth,” Comerica Wealth Management Chief Investment Officer John Lynch said in a note.

Since 1958, the last nine interest rate tightening campaigns have seen the S&P 500 register less than average returns of roughly 3.0{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} in the one-year period following the initial rate hike, Lynch pointed out. However, the index has shown the propensity to climb for more than three years following the initial rate hike, with annualized returns of about 18.0{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}.

“The era of quantitative easing is seemingly over, and quantitative tightening has begun,” Lynch said. “Though the policy dynamics are shifting, we encourage investors to continue to focus on the long-term fundamentals supporting growth in the economy and corporate profits.”

Tightening also risks bringing the yield curve, the relationship between short- and long-term interest rates of fixed-income securities issued by the U.S. Treasury, closer to inverting. An inverted yield curve, when the short-term rates exceed the long-term rates, has been a signal of a pending economic recession in the past.

“With an economy in late cycle, fears of impending slowdown make defensive sectors relatively more attractive,” Commonwealth Financial Network global investment strategist Anu Gaggar said in commentary. “Thus, for an equity investor, it is imperative to pick your spots carefully.”

“While a paring back of equities may not be necessary, a defensive relative positioning going into a possible slowdown may help investors ride the wave,” he added.

Despite the Fed’s move to raise rates providing some temporary clarity to traders who for months have awaited steps forward on monetary tightening, geopolitical turmoil in Eastern Europe and its economic toll continue to muddy the bank’s path ahead in fighting inflation.

9:30 a.m. ET: Stocks open higher to extend string of recent swings in U.S. equities

Here were the main moves in markets at the start of trading Thursday:

  • S&P 500 (^GSPC): +20.28 (+0.46{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}) to 4,476.52

  • Dow (^DJI): +100.32 (+0.29{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}) to 34,458.82

  • Nasdaq (^IXIC): +72.10 (+0.52{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}) to 13,994.70

  • Crude (CL=F): -$0.78 (-0.68{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}) to $114.15 a barrel

  • Gold (GC=F): +$11.00 (+0.57{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}) to $1,948.30 per ounce

  • 10-year Treasury (^TNX): +6.4 bps to yield 2.3850{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}

9:22 a.m. ET: New orders on US core capital goods fall in February

U.S.-made capital goods registered an unexpected drop February as shipments slowed, but demand for goods remained robust in a sign manufacturing is likely to continue expanding.

The Commerce Department reported new orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely-watched measure for business expenditures, slipped 0.3{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} last month. The decline comes after core capital goods orders jumped 1.3{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} in January.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg anticipated core capital goods orders rising 0.5{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}.

Even as spending is shifting back to services, demand for goods remained strong, keeping manufacturing growing. However, the sector, which accounts for 11.9{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} of the economy, continues to battle supply chain snafus.

9:02 a.m. ET: LME nickel trading spikes to hit 15{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} Limit

Nickel jumped by the 15{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} exchange limit for a second straight day in London. The moves place bearish position holders in the spotlight just two weeks after the market was roiled by an historic short squeeze.

Futures contracts on the metal remained locked at the price limit on the London Metal Exchange early Thursday as the latest spike extends a period of volatility for the market.

In early March, prices soared over 250{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} across two trading sessions during the short squeeze centered on China’s Tsingshan Holding Group Co. before the market was suspended.

Meanwhile, hedge funds and other investors are weighing legal action against the London Metal Exchange over the recent debacle in the nickel market, according to a report by then Evening Standard.

A journalist poses while looking at a computer screen with the Bloomberg display showing a one-day view of the rise and fall in the value of the nickel, in London on March 8, 2022. - European equities attempted to rebound Tuesday from recent Ukraine-driven losses, while nickel prices rocketed to a record peak on Russian supply fears. The London Metal Exchange suspended trade in nickel after the base metal spiked to a record $101,365 per tonne as Russian supply concerns sparked sharp volatility. (Photo by Ben Stansall / AFP) (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)

A journalist poses while looking at a computer screen with the Bloomberg display showing a one-day view of the rise and fall in the value of the nickel, in London on March 8, 2022. – European equities attempted to rebound Tuesday from recent Ukraine-driven losses, while nickel prices rocketed to a record peak on Russian supply fears. The London Metal Exchange suspended trade in nickel after the base metal spiked to a record $101,365 per tonne as Russian supply concerns sparked sharp volatility. (Photo by Ben Stansall / AFP) (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)

8:41 a.m. ET: New jobless claims fall to 187,000 in more than five-decade low

Applications for unemployment insurance fell sharply in the latest weekly data to set a more than 50-year low as the red-hot labor market showed no signs of cooling in the near-term.

The Labor Department latest weekly jobless claims report showed 187,000 claims were filed in the week ended March 19, coming in better than the 210,000 economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected.

New jobless claims reached the lowest level since September 1969. Continuing claims also fell further to reach 1.35 million — the least since January 1970.

The labor market has remained a point of strength in the U.S. economy, with job openings still elevated but coming down from record levels as more workers rejoin the labor force from the sidelines.

7:14 a.m. ET: US equity futures jump as investors seek to recover Wednesday’s losses

Here were the main moves in futures markets ahead of the open Thursday:

  • S&P 500 futures (ES=F): +21.15 points (+0.48{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}) to 4,468.75

  • Dow futures (YM=F): +126.00 points (+0.37{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}) to 34,376.00

  • Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): +76.50 points (+0.53{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}) to 14,523.50

  • Crude (CL=F): -$0.30 (-0.26{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}) to $114.63 a barrel

  • Gold (GC=F): +$7.30 (+0.38{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}) to $1,944.60 per ounce

  • 10-year Treasury (^TNX): 0.00 bps to yield 2.3210{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}

6:14 p.m. ET Wednesday: Stock futures open little changed as market seesaw continues

Here’s where the major stock index futures opened Wednesday evening:

  • S&P 500 futures (ES=F): +1.50 points (+0.03{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}) to 4,449.00

  • Dow futures (YM=F): +3.00 points (+0.01{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}) to 34,253.00

  • Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): +14.50 points (+0.10{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}) to 14,461.50

  • Crude (CL=F): -$0.54 (-0.47{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}) to $114.39 a barrel

  • Gold (GC=F): +$7.20 (+0.37{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}) to $1,944.50 per ounce

  • 10-year Treasury (^TNX): -5.2 bps to yield 2.3210{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}

Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange NYSE in New York, the United States, on March 9, 2022. U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday.The Dow rebounded 2.00 percent to 33,286.25, the S&P 500 rose 2.57 percent to 4,277.88, and the Nasdaq rallied 3.59 percent to 13,255.55. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange NYSE in New York, the United States, on March 9, 2022. U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday.The Dow rebounded 2.00 percent to 33,286.25, the S&P 500 rose 2.57 percent to 4,277.88, and the Nasdaq rallied 3.59 percent to 13,255.55. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc

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APIs Transform Consumer Financial Management

APIs Transform Consumer Financial Management

FinTech innovation has led to substantial enhancements in the corporate expenditure management house, with vendors progressively leveraging application programming interfaces (APIs) to construct party-driven ordeals on top of true-time, rich transaction details.

Read through extra: APIs Give Corporations Granular Insight Into Expense Management

On the consumer aspect, APIs are also encouraging to remodel shopper invest administration, irrespective of whether it’s open banking gamers giving optimized underwriting and account opening, brokerage facts suppliers giving improved tax submitting processes, or simplifying individual economical administration and expenditure sharing with friends.

This transformation, in accordance to Pat Nealon, vice president of approach at Fidel API, is produced possible through APIs that supply access to true-time facts coming from the worldwide card networks. By leveraging that data, purchaser commit administration apps can engage customers the really minute a person is building a payment.

See also: Fidel Connects Developers to Card Data With New API

“In today’s ecosystem, consumers are demanding real-time ordeals, [so] if you are participating me on how I’m paying 12 to 48 hrs soon after [a transaction], I’m possible not likely to be pretty [responsive],” Nealon explained to PYMNTS in an job interview. “Real-time notifications and messages that get area at the very second that a buyer is transacting dramatically improves the expertise.”

Nealon claimed that both consumer expend and professional cost management platforms see the price in presenting actual-time encounters and have tried to do so possibly by straight issuing their personal cards or partnering with financial infrastructure players, like Fidel API.

Go through also: Fidel Targets US Industry in Growth of Card-Linking Technological innovation

Introduced in 2018, the U.K.-based mostly FinTech presents a system that enables builders to construct programmable ordeals on major of any payment card so buyers can be engaged in actual time.

The organization recently expanded its products and services to Asia-Pacific and the Center East. It has offices in London, Lisbon, Portugal and New York, from wherever it serves a wide range of shoppers, including British Airways, Blackhawk Networks, Google and the Royal Financial institution of Canada.

Consumer Worth, Consent, Partnerships

Up till now, a ton of the financial details that was offered to build invest administration ordeals lacked a genuine-time component and the access to deep, granular info messaging.

Nealon said that gap has made a substantial possibility for builders to make new, engaging consumer and industrial devote activities on the again of the “real-time, hyper-abundant transaction messaging” Fidel API supplies, producing a sizeable sum of consumer and industrial benefit in the course of action.

Yet another trend shaping the sector is about id and consent, he noted, incorporating that supplying “very clear messaging” close to what a cardholder is consenting to and which entities they are consenting to share their data with will be “hypercritical” relocating ahead.

As Fidel API assists to automate guide knowledge integrations, far more and much more possibilities for partnerships in between merchants and issuers, and in between 3rd-get together technological know-how platforms and issuers, are springing up.

“Now with a participant like Fidel API that has now developed that connectivity tissue, there is a incredible chance involving issuers, card networks, merchants and other third functions to lover straight with small to no integration work,” Nealon said.

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NEW PYMNTS Data: 57{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} OF Buyers Desire Superior ID VERIFICATION After Striving IT

About:Fifty-7 {21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} of people who’ve utilised superior ID verification procedures such as voice recognition when calling client provider say they’d do it once again. The Consumer Authentication Encounters report, surveyed approximately 3,800 U.S. shoppers to learn how featuring innovative verification encounters is assisting corporations provide exceptional customer support across all channels.