Global stock markets slumped on Friday as investors worried about almost certain additional interest rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve following a US jobs report that showed gains and the nagging threat of a recession.
Non-farm payrolls rose by 263,000 jobs in September, the Labour Department reported on Friday, which was slightly higher than a 250,000 estimate. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.5 per cent, below a projection of 3.7 per cent.
The good news in jobs, modest as the gains were, is considered bad news for investors.
With the US labour market maintaining its strength, and inflation still continuing to rise, it all but guarantees another rate hike in the Fed's next meeting in November, with analysts expecting another 75 basis point increase.
The US central bank appears ready to sacrifice short-term gains for longer-term growth: it has vowed to keep raising interest rates aggressively until soaring inflation, which is at a four-decade high, is brought down — even if it means plunging the economy into a recession.
While President Joe Biden touted the economy's resilience following the jobs report, Fed chairman Jerome Powell had already said that the central bank was hoping for labour conditions that would eventually temper inflation and wage growth.
Investors had hoped that a weaker jobs report would have been a signal of a slowing economy, which would have made the Fed reconsider its rate hike moves.
Wall Street fell sharply. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 2.1 per cent, the S&P 500 declined 2.8 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 3.8 per cent.
"Looking at the non-farm payrolls number and overall US labour market, the question that comes to mind is if this is a type of recession that doesn’t bite," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst of AvaTrade.
"For market players, the current data means that the Fed has pretty much a free hand to hike rates and they know that the Fed can tolerate a recession but not high inflation numbers, and this means more aggressive rate hikes."
In Europe, London's FTSE 100 inched down 0.1 per cent, Frankfurt's DAX declined 1.6 per cent and Paris's CAC 40 dropped 1.2 per cent at the close.
Analysts and investors will turn their attention next to the US consumer price index report next week, which will provide new details on the persisting problem of inflation.
“The Fed will be keeping a close eye on non-farm payrolls over the coming months, monitoring the slowdown in job growth to calibrate their strategy of stemming the record-levels of inflation," Srijan Katyal, global head of strategy and trading services at brokerage ADSS, said in a note.
"Investors and traders should look out for the Fed’s response and take a view as to whether any new rate hikes will tame inflation without pushing the US economy into recession.”
In commodities, oil prices posted their second weekly gain and highest in 5 weeks on Friday following the Opec+ alliance's agreement to reduce output by 2 million barrels per day, its biggest production cut since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Brent settled 3.71 per cent higher at $97.92 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate closed up 4.74 per cent at $92.64 a barrel.
Gold prices, meanwhile, retreated on the back of a strengthening dollar. Spot prices of the precious metal, which is considered a safe haven and hedge against inflation, fell almost 1 per cent to $1,695.52 an ounce on Friday.
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
Federer's 19 grand slam titles
Australian Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Marat Safin; 2006 bt Marcos Baghdatis; 2007 bt Fernando Gonzalez; 2010 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Rafael Nadal
French Open (1 title) - 2009 bt Robin Soderling
Wimbledon (8 titles) - 2003 bt Mark Philippoussis; 2004 bt Andy Roddick; 2005 bt Andy Roddick; 2006 bt Rafael Nadal; 2007 bt Rafael Nadal; 2009 bt Andy Roddick; 2012 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Marin Cilic
US Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Lleyton Hewitt; 2005 bt Andre Agassi; 2006 bt Andy Roddick; 2007 bt Novak Djokovic; 2008 bt Andy Murray
AS IT STANDS IN POOL A
1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14
2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11
3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5
Remaining fixtures
Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am
Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm
Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
GAC GS8 Specs
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
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Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
WITHIN%20SAND
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Scorecard:
England 458 & 119/1 (51.0 ov)
South Africa 361
England lead by 216 runs with 9 wickets remaining
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
