Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - US job openings surge

The US Federal Reserve may still be telegraphing a pause in its inflation-fighting rate-hike campaign, but a US economy that hasn’t stopped churning out jobs could get in the way. Vacancies at US employers unexpectedly surged in April to the highest in three months, creating a situation where the central bank may have to reconsider in the face of wage pressures. The advance in openings was led by retail, healthcare, transportation and warehousing. Jobs fell in accommodation and food services, business services and manufacturing. At the same time, hiring rose, as unemployment in America remains at low levels not seen since the first Nixon administration. Here’s your markets wrap. —David E. Rovella

It’s looking like the debt deal is getting close to a done deal. The bargain struck by President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy cleared a major hurdle in the House, lining the legislation up for passage as the US quickly approaches a potential June 5 default. The House voted, 241-187, to take a procedural step needed to consider the measure. McCarthy needed votes from Democrats to offset 29 Republican “no” votes, underscoring the divide within his own party over the legislation. Yesterday, far-right GOP members accused McCarthy of capitulating to Biden and threatened to seek his removal from the Speaker chair.

The number of banks with financial, operational or managerial weaknesses increased during the first three months of this year, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The number of lenders on its confidential “Problem Bank List” increased by four to 43 between January and March. Given what was happening in US banking during the first quarter, this may not come as a surprise.

From copper to wheat to natural gas, the cost of some of the world’s most important products is falling back to Earth, bringing long-awaited relief for consumers that were stung by last year’s soaring prices.

The latest artificial-intelligence hype is powering a massive surge in the stock market on bets that a new era of innovation is nigh. Yet for money managers who weaponize computing advances for an investing edge, the era of ChatGPT holds a less lofty promise for now: Automating the grunt work. “They are very strong for code completion, editing, finding errors and fixing bugs,” said Kevin Cole, chief executive of systematic hedge fund Campbell & Co. “Our model would keep humans in the loop—an assistant to the human helping to make their job more efficient.” 

With China’s defense chief refusing to meet his US counterpart on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore this week, superpower tensions will yet again dominate the annual security conference, Minxin Pei writes in Bloomberg Opinion. Looming over everything is whether the US and China might come to blows over Taiwan—and who would prevail. But Pei writes that, when it comes to war over the island democracy, many are asking the wrong questions.

The US and European allies urged caution on whether Ukraine should have the right to strike inside Russia, amid concerns that a potential escalation could drag them into a broader war. The Kremlin has been launching massive missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities on an almost nightly basis as Kyiv reportedly readies a counteroffensive. Countries supporting Ukraine however are taking varying stances on how it should beat back Moscow’s invasion, in which tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been killed. The US has publicly leaned against the strategy of attacks within Russia.

A Moscow apartment building was reportedly damaged by a Ukrainian drone on May 30. Source: Associated Press

A team of Earth scientists introduced the concept of “planetary boundaries” 15 years ago to identify major Earth systems that were at risk of instability because of human activity. They looked at climate, biodiversity and fresh water to gauge the planet’s resilience in the face of abuse. Now, a major update published Wednesday in the journal Nature described just how much punishment it can absorb before turning on us. Those eight global boundaries set out by scientists? Humans have smashed through seven of them.

• How a $13 billion fintech that angered Jamie Dimon won over banks.
• Dimon is making noises about seeking public office. And he has a fan.
• Lucid is raising $3 billion with more money from its Saudi owners.
• Ross Perot’s son, Ross Perot Jr., says real estate may face a recession.
• Bloomberg Opinion: IMAX has solved the return-to-office problem.
• Knitting conventions are vanishing—and leaving behind big unpaid bills.
• How much coffee is America drinking? Soon, no one will know.

Bruno Del Granado, head of global Latin music at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), thought the Latin music explosion would arrive in 1999. In May of that year, Ricky Martin released his self-titled album featuring Livin’ La Vida Loca, and around the same time, other artists, including Enrique Iglesias and Shakira, dominated the charts. But it wasn’t until 2017, with Luis Fonsi’s Despacito and, later, Bad Bunny’s record-breaking global success over multiple albums and singles, that Del Granado experienced the moment he thought would start the new millennium. “Look how the first three months of 2023 are shaping up to be bigger than last year,” he said. Latin music, he added, “just keeps growing and growing.”

Peso Pluma  Source: Medios y Media/Getty Images

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