1. Job growth continues, wage growth rises
U.S. non-farm employers added 250,000 jobs in October, the Labor Department reported Friday. The figure beat an average forecast of 208,000 new jobs by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. The gains were enough to keep the unemployment rate at 3.7 percent, a 48-year low. The continued strong hiring has made it harder for employers to find and keep workers, contributing to higher take-home pay for employees. Average hourly earnings rose by 0.2 percent last month to $27.30 an hour. The wage increase over the past 12 months rose to 3.1 percent from 2.8 percent, marking the first time that number has reached 3 percent since the Great Recession ended in mid-2009.
2. Apple shares dive after disappointing holiday forecast
Apple shares fell by 7 percent in after-hours trading Thursday after the iPhone maker reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations but offered a disappointing forecast for the crucial holiday quarter. Apple reported quarterly earnings of $2.91 per share, overshooting the $2.78 forecast by Refinitiv consensus estimates. Revenue was $62.9 billion, beating the Refinitiv consensus estimate of $61.6 billion. The company also reported an average iPhone price of $793, a 28 percent increase year-over-year that marked a win for its strategy of offsetting falling sales with higher prices. Apple is the largest company by market value, so its stock trouble is expected to weigh down the Dow Jones Industrial Average, although U.S. stock-index futures rose early Friday.
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3. Starbucks shares surge after earnings beat expectations
Starbucks shares jumped by more than 9 percent in after-hours trading Thursday after the coffee company reported quarterly earnings and same-store sales growth that beat Wall Street's expectations. Global same-store sales, boosted by higher per-customer spending, rose by 3 percent, surpassing the 2.3 percent Refinitiv said analysts expected. Same-store sales in the U.S. grew by 4 percent, beating forecasts of 2.7 percent. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 62 cents, beating the average estimate of 60 cents.
4. Google workers stage walk-outs to protest corporate culture
Thousands of Google workers staged brief walk-outs at the company's offices around the world to protest its handling of sexism and racism in the workplace. In New York City, workers filed out of Google's offices and walked silently around the block for 10 minutes, holding printed messages such as "Respect for Women." At the company's Mountain View headquarters, hundreds gathered in a courtyard, some carrying placards urging the company to do more to address sexual harassment. The protests came after a report last week that Google gave a $90 million exit package to senior vice president Andy Rubin after he was accused of sexual harassment. "If there is any company who can solve this, I think it is Google," said Thomas Kneeland, a software engineer.
5. U.S. accuses Chinese company of stealing secrets
The U.S. charged China's government-controlled Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co., along with a Taiwanese company and three individuals, with stealing trade secrets worth up to $8.75 billion from Micron Technology, an Idaho-based semiconductor company, the Justice Department said Thursday. The prosecution marked the Trump administration's latest move to counter what it says are ongoing efforts by Beijing to steal U.S. technology to benefit Chinese companies and the country's economy. "China — like any advanced nation — must decide whether it wants to be a trusted partner on the world stage, or whether it wants to be known around the world as a dishonest regime running a corrupt economy founded on fraud, theft, and strong-arm tactics," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said.
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