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Investopedia
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After nearly three years of inflation reports grabbing all the headlines, data on the labor market is taking center stage in the eyes of financial markets and the officials who make decisions on interest rates.
In a blog post on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic joined the list of Federal Reserve policymakers who have said they’re turning their attention as they decide when and how to cut interest rates. The Fed has a “dual mandate” for how it manages the U.S. economy—keep inflation under control and make sure as many people as possible have jobs.
Inflation has fallen in recent months, simmering not far from the Fed’s goal of a 2% annual rate. At the same time, cracks have started appearing in the formerly roaring labor market.
“I have focused mainly on the price stability side of the mandate since inflation spiked in 2021, as we were clearly further from that goal than from the goal for maximum employment,” Bostic wrote. “But as the labor market has cooled in recent months, the balance of risks has shifted, and I am today giving basically equal attention to the maximum employment objective.”
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said much the same last month in a major policy speech.
The shift is a notable one. For the last three years, Fed officials have focused on inflation when making decisions about interest rates. Stocks often fluctuated with inflation news, at times rising when it looked like falling inflation would allow the Fed to cut interest rates, and falling when inflation flare-ups pushed the expected date for rate cuts farther away.
As inflation reports have gotten more routine, the labor market has gotten more attention. That's especially been the case since the July jobs report showed a surprising increase in the unemployment rate and sent financial markets reeling amid concerns that the economy could be headed toward recession.
Investors will be closely reviewing the August jobs report, slated for release Friday morning, for fresh insights on the health of the economy as well as clues about how fast, and far the Fed might cuts its key fed funds rate in the months ahead.
Fed officials and economists are also monitoring the labor market for any sign of mass layoffs and recession as the economy grinds under the weight of high borrowing costs—the fed funds rate currently sits at its highest since 2001, the result of the Fed’s campaign of rate hikes intended to combat the post-pandemic surge of inflation.
“Both investors and policymakers tend to be preoccupied and fixate on something, and at this point, the fixation is indeed on the labor market,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial.
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Instablog9ja
3 hrs
15
Police operatives in Bayelsa State have arrested a 24-year-old man, Godgift Bai, alleged to be behind the circulation of a viral ‘private’ video of a young girl on social media platforms.
The command’s spokesperson, ASP Musa Mohammed, in a statement on Friday, September 6, said the suspect was arrested in Yenagoa, the state capital, on September 3, 2024.
The arrest of the suspect who hails from Ogbolomabiri in Nembe Local Government Area, follows a thorough investigation by the Cyber Crime Unit, acting on the directive of the Commissioner of Police, CP. Alonyenu Francis Idu.
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Investopedia
3 hrs
10
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The yield curve righted itself Wednesday after a long run of inversion for what's sometimes seen as a recession indicator. The reprieve, however, didn't last long.
Put another way: The 10-year Treasury yield was briefly higher than the 2-year yield. The spread between the two hasn't closed above zero since 2022, leaving the yield curve inverted for the longest run in about 60 years.
However, the spread fell back into negative territory shortly after the markets opened Thursday. That reversion, however, remains significant for investors.
When long-term U.S. Treasury debt earns less interest than its short-term counterpart, that has historically indicated that a recession is on the way.
An inverted yield curve typically indicates some pessimism about the near future of the economy, since investors are understood to generally expect higher yields for longer-term debt as compensation for the later maturity date. (Bond yields move inversely to prices.)
Mike O'Rourke, chief market strategist for JonesTrading, wrote in an analysis that optimism over the Federal Reserve's plan to cut its benchmark interest rate in September likely spurred the moves.
"The bullish flattening of the yield curve might be considered a positive if the economy or markets had ever been held back by its inversion," he wrote. "No recession materialized and the S&P 500 rallied 45% over the two years of inversion."
Some economists said the brief righting of the yield curve isn't necessarily a positive signal.
"The historic precedent isn’t particularly favourable on this front, as in previous cycles the final stage before the recession was actually a re-steepening of the curve back into positive territory," wrote Deutsche Bank Strategist Jim Reid on Thursday. "So we have to be cautious in being too optimistic about waving bye to an inversion."
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Healthwatch
5 hrs
15
Dementia usually develops in people ages 65 years and older. So-called young-onset dementia, occurring in those younger than age 65, is uncommon. Now, a new study published in December 2023 in JAMA Neurology has identified 15 factors linked to a higher risk of young-onset dementia.
Let's see what they found, and — most importantly — what you can do to reduce your own risks.
Are early dementia and young-onset dementia the same?
No. Experts think of early dementia as the first stage in dementia. Mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia are forms of early dementia. So, someone age 50, 65, or 88 could have early dementia.
Young-onset dementia refers to the age at which dementia is diagnosed. A person has young-onset dementia if symptoms and diagnosis occur before age 65.
What has previous research shown?
A previous study of men in Sweden identified some risk factors for young-onset dementia, including high blood pressure, stroke, depression, alcohol use disorder, vitamin D deficiency, drug use disorder, and overall cognitive function.
What to know about the new study
In the new study, a research team in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom looked at data from the UK Biobank. The biobank follows about half a million individuals in the United Kingdom who were 37 to 73 years old when they first joined the project between 2006 and 2010. Most participants identified as white (89%), and the remaining 11% were described only as "other." Slightly more than half of the participants (54%) were women.
The researchers excluded anyone age 65 or older and people who already had dementia at the start of the study, leaving 356,052 participants for the analyses. Over roughly a decade, 485 participants developed young-onset dementia. The researchers compared participants who did and did not develop young-onset dementia to identify possible risk factors.
What did the researchers learn about risks for young-onset dementia?
In reviewing the results, I think it is helpful to group the risk factors into several categories, and then to examine each of them. These risks may act on the brain directly or indirectly.
Eight factors that we know or strongly suspect cause dementia:
Two factors that reduce cognitive reserve
Cognitive reserve can be described as our capacity to think, improvise, and problem-solve even as our brains change with age. These two risk factors make it more likely that dementia symptoms will show up at a younger age.
Is every factor identified in the study a clear risk?
No, and here's why not: Sometimes research turns up apparent risk factors that might be due to reverse causation. It's possible, for example, that symptoms of impending dementia appear to be risk factors because they become noticeable before obvious dementia is diagnosed.
Lastly, there are risk factors that could be either a contributing cause or a result of the impending dementia.
What can you do to prevent young-onset dementia?
Taking these five steps can reduce your risk for developing dementia before age 65:
Source: Harvard Health Publishing
Instablog9ja
5 hrs
9
The Nigerian government has cautioned Nigerians not to engage in panic buying of petrol, saying it has sufficient product in the country.
Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) disclosed this in a statement posted on his X handle on Thursday.
Instablog9ja
7 hrs
10
Nigerian brothers, Samuel Ogoshi, 24, and Samson Ogoshi, 21, has been sentenced to 18 years imprisonment in the United States for their role in a s+xtortion scheme that tragically claimed the life of 17-year-old Jordan DeMay from Michigan.
The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten also ordered that the convicts will undergo five years of supervised release after they served their time.
On March 25, 2022, 17-year-old high school student, Jordan DeMay, from Marquette, Michigan, di3d as a result of this s+xtortion scheme, which targeted over 100 other victims, as well.
Speaking at the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said: “Today’s sentencing of Samuel and Samson Ogoshi sends a thundering message to crim+nals who commit these schemes: you are not immune from justice. We will track you down and hold you accountable, even if we have to go half-way around the world to do so. The day when you could commit these crimes, rake in easy cash, d£§troy lives, and escape justice is gone.
And to parents, teenagers, and everyone who uses a cell phone: please, please be careful. These devices can connect you to crim+nal networks around the world. Don’t assume people are who they say they are. Don’t share compromising images. And if you’re a victim, please reach out. There’s help, and law enforcement stands ready.”
Samuel and Samson Ogoshi used hacked social media accounts to pose as young women and solicited explicit images from victims.
They thr£@tened to share these images with the victims’ family and friends unless they paid money, this was contained in a press release from the office of the United States Anthony’s Office.
In November 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office charged the Ogoshi brothers and another Nigerian, Ezekiel Robert, in connection with the scheme. Ezekiel Robert is currently appealing his extradition to the U.S.
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