Miami Beach, Florida, McDonald’s restaurant, now hiring sign, starting at $11 an hour.
Jeffrey Greenberg | Universal Images Group | Getty Images
This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
What you need to know today
China warns property developers
China’s housing minister signaled real estate developers must go bankrupt if required and won’t get a major bailout. Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong also warned that those who “harm the interests of the masses” will be punished.
India’s ‘watershed’ FTA
India signed a ‘watershed’ $100 billion free trade deal that will remove most tariffs with four non-EU nations. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the FTA “will provide a window to Indian exporters to access large European and global markets.”
AirAsia CEO on topless post
AirAsia founder and CEO Tony Fernandes said he has no regrets over a viral LinkedIn post that showed him getting a massage at a meeting. “My famous topless sports massage was all about showing our culture, to be honest, that we had such a flexible culture,” the Malaysian businessman told CNBC.
[PRO] Ark Invest’s top AI plays
Innovation-focused Ark Invest is bullish on artificial intelligence amid the frenzy. Tasha Keeney, director of investment analysis and institutional strategies at the asset manager, is “particularly excited about” the autonomous cars segment, which she estimates could be a “$28 trillion opportunity.”
The bottom line
U.S. job growth continues to boom but there are also clear signs the labor market is cooling.
February’s jobs data showed hiring remained robust and steady, which bodes well for the overall economy.
Yet, the jobless rate was higher than expected at 3.9%. And January’s hot reading turned out to be a blip, as it was revised sharply down as well as December’s payrolls figures.
The big question remains what the latest jobs data means for the Fed’s path forward on interest rates.
Last week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers inflation is “not far” from where it needs to be for the central bank to start cutting rates.
“We expect the unemployment rate to rise, starting in the spring, as job growth slows,” wrote Ian Shepherdson, chairman and chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “Whether this will be apparent in the data quickly enough for the Fed to ease in May is unclear.”
Furthermore, the mixed jobs picture sends conflicting signals on economic activity.
“People will see in the report what they want to see,” Mohamed El-Erian, Allianz chief economic advisor, wrote on X.
“Those fearing an overheating labor market will point to another beat on job creation and higher hours worked,” he said, adding those “seeing a goldilocks labor market will point to the large revisions to the last two employment readings and the modest monthly increase in hourly earnings.”
This contrast will have “no material impact on economic forecasts and policy views,” noted El-Erian.
“It will, however, boost asset prices given the incoming trading/investing mindset that “both good/bad news for the economy is good for markets.”