Economy

Axios reports: India is set to surpass China as the world’s most populous country sometime this year, the UN projects. The milestone could have major economic and societal implications for both countries — and may eventually influence trade flows and upend the global balance of power. India was home to 1.417 billion people as of last year, compared to China’s …

Axios reports: Employers finished the year with a burst of hiring: The economy added 223,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate fell back to a half-century low of 3.5%, the Labor Department reported on Friday. The labor market is still chugging along with healthy demand for workers, the latest sign that the economy is holding up despite recession fears. …

The New York Times reports: America’s jobs engine kept churning in November, the Labor Department reported Friday, a show of continued demand for workers despite the Federal Reserve’s push to curb inflation by tamping down hiring. Employers created 263,000 jobs, even as a wave of layoffs in the tech industry made headlines. That was only a slight drop from the …

Axios reports: The average cost for a gallon of gas in the U.S. has dropped below the price it was before Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, according to AAA. It is the first time since February that gas prices cost less than $3.50 per gallon, a significant decrease from record prices in the summer. A gallon of regular gas …

The Guardian reports: New York was the world’s most expensive metropolis in 2022, sharing the unwanted title with Singapore, as soaring energy prices doubled the inflation rate across the major global cities, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual survey. Last year’s leader Tel Aviv dropped to third, while Sydney snuck into the Top 10 and Moscow and St Petersberg …

Axios reports: A record $9.12 billion was spent online for Black Friday, with electronics driving much of the growth compared to last year, according to new Adobe Analytics data. These record-breaking sales happened amid rising concerns about inflation and the cost of living. Purchases on electronics led the way, soaring by 221% compared to an average day in October. Smart …

Business Insider reports: October was another strong month for the US labor market even as recession fears for next year continue. The country added 261,000 payrolls in October according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecasted payrolls to rise by 200,000. The unemployment rate was 3.7% in October, up from September’s 3.5% …

CNBC reports: The U.S. economy posted its first period of positive growth for 2022 in the third quarter, at least temporarily easing inflation fears, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday. GDP, a sum of all the goods and services produced from July through September, increased at a 2.6% annualized pace for the period, against the Dow Jones estimate for …

Bloomberg News reports: California’s economy has proven relatively resilient, first through the pandemic and now through the current period of elevated inflation. So much so, that the Golden State’s gross domestic product is poised to overtake Germany’s as the fourth largest in the world after the US, China and Japan. It had already leapfrogged Brazil (No. 7) and France (No. …

From the Social Security Administration: Approximately 70 million Americans will see a 8.7% increase in their Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments in 2023. On average, Social Security benefits will increase by more than $140 per month starting in January. Federal benefit rates increase when the cost-of-living rises, as measured by the Department of Labor’s Consumer Price …

CNBC reports: Job growth fell just short of expectations in September and the unemployment rate declined despite efforts by the Federal Reserve to slow the economy, the Labor Department reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls increased 263,000 for the month, compared to the Dow Jones estimate of 275,000. The unemployment rate was 3.5% vs the forecast of 3.7%. A drop of 25,000 …

Courthouse News reports: Inflation in the 19-nation eurozone rose to 9.1% in August, up 7.1% from just a year earlier, according to data released Friday by Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency. It remains 1% lower than the 10.1% inflation rate across the broader 27-member EU, which recorded a rate of just 3.2% in August 2021. The latest EU rate broke …

The Wall Street Journal reports: The British pound slid to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar since 1985, a reflection of the U.K.’s dire economic situation. Investors are braced for sterling to weaken even further to a nadir not seen in more than two centuries of trading across the Atlantic. The pound fell 0.3% in early Monday trading in …

USA Today reports: Hiring slowed sharply in August but remained sturdy as employers added 315,000 jobs despite softer consumer spending gains, rising interest rates and a sputtering economy. The unemployment rate rose from 3.5% to 3.7%, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated that 300,000 jobs were added last month. Many experts reckoned August finally would …

Reuter reports: Euro zone inflation reached a new record high of 8.9% year-on-year in July, the EU’s statistics office confirmed on Thursday, with the core measure, excluding the most volatile components and key for monetary policy, also sharply up. The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said consumer prices in the 19 countries using the euro rose in July for a …

CNBC reports: Hiring in July was far better than expected, defying signs that the economic recovery is losing steam, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls rose 528,000 for the month and the unemployment rate was 3.5%, easily topping the Dow Jones estimates of 258,000 and 3.6%, respectively. Wage growth also surged higher, as average hourly earnings jumped …

The New York Times reports: Exxon reported income of $17.9 billion for the three months through June, more than three times what it earned a year ago. Revenue at the energy giant jumped to $115.6 billion, from $67.7 billion a year ago. Chevron’s performance was similar, with profit more than tripling to $11.6 billion as sales rose to $65 billion, …

Bloomberg News reports: The US economy shrank for a second straight quarter, raising chances of a recession, as decades-high inflation undercut consumer spending and Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes stymied business investment and housing demand. Gross domestic product fell at a 0.9% annualized rate after a 1.6% decline in the first three months of the year, the Commerce Department’s preliminary estimate …

The New York Times reports: The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point on Wednesday, continuing its aggressive campaign to cool rapid inflation even as the economy begins to slow. Central bankers voted unanimously to make the unusually large interest rate move, and the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee signaled in its post-meeting statement that more …

Bloomberg News reports: US retail gasoline prices fell below $4.50 a gallon for the first time since mid-May, starting to ease pressure at the pump for millions of Americans. The nationwide average was at $4.495 a gallon, according to data released on Tuesday by the American Automobile Association. Prices have fallen more than 10% since hitting a record last month …