The news at a glance
September Labor report disappoints; GSK sales hit by bribery probe; Cities defend carrier merger; Spain out of recession; SEC to okay crowdfunded IPOs
Jobs: September Labor report disappoints
The latest jobs numbers came out this week, and they’re “discouraging,” said Catherine Rampell in The New York Times. The Labor Department’s monthly jobs report showed just 148,000 new jobs in September. The numbers reflect the period just before last month’s federal government shutdown, which delayed the report’s release and “is expected to weigh on growth” when October’s report is released. While unemployment fell from 7.3 to 7.2 percent—thanks to new jobs in construction, wholesale trade, transportation, and warehousing—the change “was not statistically significant.” And workers’ participation rate in the labor force and average workweek length stayed flat.
Now we can expect the Federal Reserve to stay its course, said Sarah Portlock and Jonathan House in The Wall Street Journal. Central bank officials have said they are waiting to see “substantial improvement” in the labor market before pulling back on the Fed’s $85 billion monthly bond purchases. That controversial monetary policy, known as quantitative easing, is “aimed at driving down interest rates and encouraging hiring.” These latest weak jobs numbers not only “helped assure investors that the Fed will leave its bond-buying program unchanged” next week but also “likely raised the bar for action at the Fed’s mid-December meeting.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Pharma: GSK sales hit by bribery probe
GlaxoSmithKline’s Chinese drug sales plunged 61 percent in the latest quarter, said Ben Hirschler in Reuters.com. The fall, “described by Deutsche Bank analysts as ‘dire,’” was largely thanks to a Chinese government probe into allegations that “GSK had bribed doctors to boost drug sales.” Beijing police said the British drugmaker paid up to $490 million to travel agencies “to facilitate bribes to doctors and officials.” But chief executive Andrew Witty said GSK has no plans to pull out of China, calling it “critically important” to the company’s future.
Airlines: Cities defend carrier merger
At least seven cities have “a lot to lose” if a federal lawsuit thwarts the pending merger of American Airlines and US Airways, said Terry Maxon in The Dallas Morning News. In a letter this week, the mayors of Dallas, Fort Worth, Miami, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Chicago, and Charlotte, N.C., urged the Department of Justice to drop its antitrust suit seeking to block the merger. The municipal leaders said blocking the merger would harm local businesses and “put our cities at an unnecessary competitive disadvantage” to other airlines’ hubs, such as Atlanta and Newark, N.J.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Economy: Spain out of recession
The Spanish economy is growing again, said Tobias Buck in the Financial Times. The Bank of Spain released preliminary data this week showing that the country’s gross domestic product grew 0.1 percent in the third quarter, ending “a recession that lasted more than two years, ravaged public finances, and left one in four workers without a job.” The central bank also projected increased consumption, indicating that “the gradual recovery is spreading to other segments of the economy.”
Regulators: SEC to okay crowdfunded IPOs
Crowdfunding won’t just be for startups anymore, said Matt Krantz in USA Today. The Securities and Exchange Commission voted this week to propose rules that would let public investors buy stock in new companies through a crowdfunding website. The rules “could reinvent the way that companies raise money by allowing them to bypass the traditional costs of going public, which usually involved hiring costly investment bankers and accountants.” But the SEC would impose limits on crowdfunded IPOs, capping the amount a company could raise or investors could invest.
-
'Grievances into political gold'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Melania Trump: the second coming of the first lady
The Explainer Melania was absent from Washington for large chunks of her husband's first reign
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 2 - 9 November
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The news at a glance...International
feature International
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The bottom line
feature Youthful startup founders; High salaries for anesthesiologists; The myth of too much homework; More mothers stay a home; Audiences are down, but box office revenue rises
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The week at a glance...Americas
feature Americas
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The news at a glance...United States
feature United States
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The news at a glance
feature Comcast defends planned TWC merger; Toyota recalls 6.39 million vehicles; Takeda faces $6 billion in damages; American updates loyalty program; Regulators hike leverage ratio
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The bottom line
feature The rising cost of graduate degrees; NSA surveillance affects tech profits; A glass ceiling for female chefs?; Bonding to a brand name; Generous Wall Street bonuses
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The news at a glance
feature GM chief faces Congress; FBI targets high-frequency trading; Yellen confirms continued low rates; BofA settles mortgage claims for $9.3B; Apple and Samsung duke it out
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The week at a glance...International
feature International
By The Week Staff Last updated