Stocks tumble as Wall Street wonders what will break next
NEW YORK (AP) — Fear rattled Wall Street Friday, and stocks tumbled on worries about what's next to break under the weight of rising interest rates following the biggest U.S. bank failure in nearly 15 years. The S&P 500 fell 1.4%, capping its worst week since September. That's despite a highly anticipated report showing pay raises are slowing and other signals investors want to see of cooling pressure on inflation. Some of the biggest drops were in the financial sector, which fell sharply for a second day. Regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank amid a cash crunch, and worries rose about what other banks could be in trouble.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The American job market has once again confounded expectations. The nation's employers added a hefty 311,000 jobs last month, easily surpassing the 208,000 gain that forecasters had expected. The latest evidence that businesses' demand for workers is still robust complicates things for the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve: They want to see clear signs that the economy and the job market are cooling off before they would consider easing up on their interest rate hikes. Still, the unemployment rate ticked up in February, and hourly wages rose only modestly from January. Those trends, if sustained, could help reassure the Fed that inflation will ease.
WASHINGTON (AP) — America's employers added a substantial 311,000 jobs in February, fewer than January's huge gain but easily enough to keep pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates aggressively to fight inflation. The unemployment rate rose to 3.6% from a 53-year low of 3.4%, as more Americans began searching for work but not all found jobs. Friday's report from the government made clear that the nation's job market remains fundamentally healthy, with many employers still eager to hire.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is sticking with a blue-andwhite color scheme for the exterior of the new version of Air Force One. The Air Force says the light blue on the new model of the modified 747s that transport the president will be a little bit deeper and more modern in tone than the robin's egg blue on the aircraft currently in use. Boeing is currently modifying two of its 747-800 aircraft that will use the Air Force One call sign when the president is aboard. They will replace the existing fleet of two aging Boeing 747-200 aircraft the president currently uses.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium's prime minister says Tiktok is being banned from government phones over worries about cybersecurity, privacy and misinformation. The Chinese-owned video sharing app will be temporarily prohibited from devices owned or paid for by the federal government for at least six months. Tiktok says it is disappointed by the suspension, which it says is based on misinformation. The company unveiled new measures this week to ease concerns about protecting user data in Europe. But Belgium's leader says state agencies warned the app could harvest user data and tweak algorithms to manipulate its news feed and content. He also says Tiktok could be compelled to carry out spying for Beijing. The European Union, Canada and the U.S. have similar bans on government devices.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a sign of a deepening rift among Democrats on energy issues, conservative Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin says he will not move forward on President Joe Biden's nominee to oversee oil and gas leasing at the Interior Department. Manchin, of West Virginia, chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He has great influence on energy and environmental issues in the closely divided Senate. In an op-ed Friday, he cited a plan signed by nominee Laura Daniel-davis to charge oil companies higher rates for drilling off the Alaska coast. Manchin says the plan would "decrease fossil energy production at the expense of ... energy security."