Monday 5 August 2024

Global Markets Jolted by Signs of U.S. Economy Slowing

THE NEW YORK TIMES: U.S. stocks fell sharply, after markets recorded heavy declines in Asia and Europe.

A wave of panic rippled through financial markets on Monday, with stocks falling sharply in the United States and around the world as investors zeroed in on signs of a slowing American economy.

Monday’s drop extended a sell-off that had begun last week, after the U.S. jobs report on Friday that showed significantly slower hiring, with unemployment rising to its highest level in nearly three years. This deepened fears that the world’s largest economy could be sliding into a recession and that the Federal Reserve may have waited too long to cut interest rates.

The drop was exacerbated by other factors — concerns that technology stocks had run up too far too fast, and that a suddenly strengthening yen would hurt the prospects of Japanese companies and some global traders — both hit markets too. » | The New York Times | Monday, August 5, 2024