Here are the most important news investors need to start their trading day:
1. Dow drags down
Major U.S. stock indexes rose strongly again last week — except Dow Jones Industrial Average. this S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Index Both posted gains for a third consecutive week, rising 1% and 3.3% respectively, before closing at new highs on Friday. But the Dow fell 0.6% for the week. Job growth in November was better than expected on Friday, and data released on Wednesday may show that inflation remains above the Fed’s expectations. Even so, traders overwhelmingly expect the central bank to cut rates again at its December 17-18 meeting. Follow real-time market updates.
2. Powell Plan
Federal Reserve Chairman Powell speaks at a press conference after the two-day Federal Open Market Committee interest rate policy meeting in Washington, the United States, on November 7, 2024.
Annabel Gordon | Reuters
Jerome Powell’s job may be safe when President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month. Asked if he plans to end his term as Fed chairman before the end of May 2026, “I don’t like it,” Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker. Powell has said that Trump’s attempt to oust him early is illegal, but he has stressed that he will not leave before the end of his term. Powell, who was appointed by Trump to lead the central bank in 2018 before President Joe Biden nominated him for re-election in 2022, has long argued that the president should have more say in interest rate policy.
3. The fall of Assad
Assad dictatorship in Syria Seems to have collapsed After decades of family rule. Rebel forces seized the Syrian capital Damascus on Sunday, prompting President Bashar al-Assad to flee. The rebel alliance is led by the Islamist militant group Tahrir al-Sham, which the United States and the United Nations Security Council have designated as a terrorist organization. “We declare the city of Damascus free from the rule of the tyrant Bashar al-Assad,” HTS senior commander Hassan Abdul-Ghani said in a WhatsApp post. “To everyone around the world For the displaced, a free Syria awaits.” The opposition now faces the complex task of forming a new government after years of Assad’s regime using lethal force to suppress dissent.
4. The corporate world is shaking
On April 13, 2020, UnitedHealth’s logo appeared on the side of one of its office buildings in Santa Ana, California.
Mike Black | Reuters
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed last week Impact on American business There are companies questioning even the most routine management responsibilities. “Everyone is scrambling to ask, ‘Are we safe?'” said Chuck Randolphchief security officer at Ontic, a threat management software provider based in Austin, Texas. After Thompson was fatally shot on a Manhattan sidewalk on his way to the company’s investor day, businesses feared their top brass were at higher risk of violence. A growing number of companies have moved to seek safety for their leaders, while at least one other is making in-person investor events virtual.
5. Subway signature
Baseball’s biggest free agent award will go to the New York Mets, according to multiple reports. Slugger Juan Soto to head to Queens from Bronx Media said the contract lasts for 15 years and is worth US$765 million. It’s the largest contract in professional sports history. Soto, 26, a four-time All-Star who helped the New York Yankees reach the World Series last year, will join the Mets, who lost to the eventual champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.
– CNBC’s Sarah Min, Ruxandra Iordache, Hugh Son and NBC’s Katherine Doyle and David K. Li contributed to this report.
