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The next phase of the U.S.-China trade war
Washington and Beijing have been locked in a trade war for years now. Now we have entered a new phase, and that’s all about chips.
US stocks bounced higher on Thursday as the market continued to digest the Fed’s latest interest rate decision and focused on company earnings
• Earnings news drove big rallies in certain stocks including chipmaker Qualcomm (+9.8%), used car retailer Carvana (+33.7%), furniture retailer Wayfair (+16.1%), and vaccine-maker Moderna (+12.7%).
• Apple reported highly anticipated results after the closing bell.
• In the labor market, U.S. employers announced just under 65,000 job cuts in April, a 28% decrease from the previous month.
What to be on the lookout for today
• The April jobs report, including the unemployment rate. We’ll also get an update on activity in the services sector and average hourly earnings for April.
• In earnings, the Hershey Company will report.
Looking at Asian Americans in the US workforce
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month in the U.S., a time to recognize the contributions of the AAPI community and celebrate its cultures. Per the 2020 census, more than 20 million Americans identify to be part of this community.
This large and diverse group on average has consistently outperformed other demographic groups when it comes to unemployment. Case in point, the March jobless rate was 3.8% overall, and 2.5% for Asian Americans, per the Labor Department.
Educational attainment in this group is on average higher, and nearly 60% of Asian workers were employed in management, professional, and related occupations in 2021, according to the Labor Department .
As impressive as these stats are, they sometimes give way to the “model minority” concept, a narrative that became popular in the 1960s, describing Chinese and Japanese American workers as an example of successful immigrant groups.
This narrative can be harmful in that it may mask the economic realities within the group. For example, the gender pay gap for AAPI women is smaller than for women overall, but looking at different groups within the AAPI designation shows that the higher earnings aren’t spread evenly.
According to a Pew study from last year, the view of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders regarding the term model minority depends on their view on the American Dream: More than half of adults who didn’t think it was possible to fulfill the American dream, believed being called a model minority was a bad thing.
Today’s top stories
American workers are trading in their coastal jobsFor the first time since the Great Recession, the majority of new U.S. jobs now come from smaller cities instead of coastal metros. Here’s why.
Read more >> Is the American workplace becoming more European?Historically, Americans have spent more time at work than Europeans. But the post-pandemic world of remote and hybrid work is changing what may be considered a worker-friendly environment.
Read more >> Unsure if college is the right choice? Here’s what you should considerCollege can be a transformative time, but it comes at a steep price. If you’re weighing whether college is the right choice, here are six reasons to consider.
Read more >>Other news that caught our eye
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UnitedHealth said hackers may have stolen a third of Americans’ medical data in a February cyberattack on its Change Healthcare unit.
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On recent earnings calls, major companies like McDonald’s and Starbucks have warned inflation is hurting consumer spending, especially among lower-income Americans.
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Tesla revoked summer internship offers three weeks before they were expected to start, according to two would-be interns affected.
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Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy is stepping down, and the company plans to cut 15% of its workforce by the end of its fiscal 2025.
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Google parent Alphabet paid Apple $20 billion in 2022 to make Google the default search engine for Safari.
Financial planner tip of the day
"You could set up automatic transfers to a designated college savings account, so you won’t even have to think about it. You can transfer from your checking account or, if it’s an option, opt to direct deposit a portion of your paycheck directly to your savings account."
Brian Walsh, CFP® at SoFi