
U.S. payrolls rose 162,000 in August, much more than expected; unemployment rate at 4.1%
Nonfarm payrolls were expected to increase by 53,000 in August while the unemployment rate held at 4.1%, according to the Dow Jones consensus.
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Nonfarm payrolls were expected to increase by 53,000 in August while the unemployment rate held at 4.1%, according to the Dow Jones consensus.

The unemployment rate stayed at 4.1%, in line with expectations.

The Labor Department released the August 2026 jobs report on Friday, with Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing solid job gains last month.

Bitcoin headed for its third straight winning week, as traders searched for refuge amid volatile moves in equities, currencies and bond markets.

The AI bears have caught something real. Concentration, valuation, and circular financing are all flashing, and they deserve respect rather than dismissal.

Nvidia, Broadcom, NetApp, and Cisco are all experiencing gross margin compression due to surging memory costs driven by AI buildout. These companies are aggressively pre-buying memory, signaling expectations of prolonged scarcity and higher input costs, not just transitory supply chain noise.

The Fed's keeping a close eye on the jobs report, stock futures rise, and AMC is the biggest riser after a CEO spat.

Plus: OpenAI's $1 billion plan for critical infrastructure; Pentagon cyber strategy expected

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ByteDance has secured a $29.6 billion loan from nearly 30 banks, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday, with the Chinese social media giant's bet on AI development driving strong interest from lenders.

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For the quarter ending June 30, 2026, Calamos Convertible & High Income Fund rose 24.62% on NAV and 28.01% on market price. The fund benefited from security selection and an average overweight allocation in information technology, as holdings in technology hardware, storage & peripherals and semiconductor materials & equipment added to returns. Relative to the comparator index, security selection within the real estate sector dampened relative performance, as holdings in data center REITs and real estate services lost ground.

A Tennessee factory that Washington had hoped to protect as part of a push to safeguard the U.S. semiconductor supply chain is at risk of closure after the Trump administration's new trade measures drove away its two remaining customers, according to sources familiar with the matter.

US stock futures were mixed on Friday, with Nasdaq 100 contracts outperforming as investors waited for the August jobs report to test Wall Street's latest rebound. Nasdaq 100 futures rose about 135 points 0.4%, S&P 500 contracts edged up 0.1% and Dow futures were little changed in early trading.

World food prices rose in August as adverse weather and supply disruptions in the Middle East and Black Sea regions raised concerns over future supplies, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said.