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Consumer confidence surges as election nears; job openings move lower

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Consumer confidence surges as election nears, while job openings move lower

Consumers grew more optimistic about the U.S. economy heading into the contentious presidential election even as job openings hit multi-year lows, according to separate reports released Tuesday.

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for October rose more than 11% to a reading of 138, its biggest one-month acceleration since March 2021. Along with that, the board’s expectations index of future conditions jumped nearly 8%, to a reading of 89.1 that is well clear of the sub-80 level that indicates a recession.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a headline number of 99.5.

“Consumers’ assessments of current business conditions turned positive,” said Dana Peterson, the board’s chief economist. “Views on the current availability of jobs rebounded after several months of weakness, potentially reflecting better labor market data.”

That sentiment was seemingly at odds with a Bureau of Labor Statistics report showing that job openings slid to 7.44 million in September, off more than 400,000 from the previous month’s downwardly revised level and the lowest since January 2021. That number was also below a Wall Street forecast of 8.0 million.

The drop in openings took the ratio of job vacancies to available workers below 1.1 to 1. In mid-2022, the number was greater than 2 to 1.

Though the openings level moved lower, hires rose 123,000 on the month. Separations were little changed while quits fell by 107,000.

Economics

Trump might name Kevin Warsh as Treasury chief then Fed chair later, report says

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Kevin Warsh

Jin Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images

President-elect Donald Trump is considering naming Kevin Warsh as Treasury secretary then ultimately sending him off to serve as Federal Reserve chair, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

A former Fed governor himself, Warsh would move over to the central bank after current Chair Jerome Powell’s term expires in 2026, according to the Journal, which cited sources familiar with Trump’s thinking.

The speculation comes with Treasury being the last major Cabinet position for which Trump has yet to state his intention.

Various reports have put Warsh as one of the finalists with Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan and hedge fund manager Scott Bessent. Among the potential scenarios would be one where Bessent would lead the National Economic Council initially then go over to Treasury after Warsh takes over at the Fed.

However, Trump is known for the propensity to change his mind, and the report noted that nothing has been finalized.

Read the full Wall Street Journal story here.

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Economics

Matt Gaetz withdraws from consideration as America’s attorney-general

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MATT GAETZ, Donald Trump’s choice for America’s attorney-general, spent November 20th meeting senators and telling reporters it had been “a great day of momentum”. The next day, however, Mr Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration, acknowledging that “my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction.” This was not self-effacement from a MAGA firebrand, but a reflection of reality: Mr Gaetz had little chance of being confirmed even by a Republican-controlled Senate. The Republican Party may belong to Mr Trump, but his power is not absolute.

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Economics

Democrats are still processing their defeat

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THESE ARE NOT the reports Democrats were hoping to prepare. Instead of transition plans for the incoming Kamala Harris administration, draft executive orders and legislative outlines, Democrats are producing post-mortem analyses of how their campaign came apart in 2024. Those Democrats who are honest with themselves are recognising an uncomfortable truth: as awful, immoral and weird as they consider the Republican Party, the American people considered it to be the better option for governing America.

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