“In the sense that labor market tightness has been affecting, initially part time workers and irregular workers, but now regular workers in small and medium sized enterprises are experiencing higher pay increases.” For many years, Japanese corporations have appeared reticent to pay out big raises, but Kuroda explained why he thought that was changing. “So I think if we continue our fiscal and monetary policy in coming years, if labor market continues to tighten … if this situation continues, e

Senator Bernie Sanders just thanked President Donald Trump for a remark he made about health care — no, really. The self-proclaimed Democrat socialist from Vermont — an advocate of universal health care in the United States — jumped Thursday on a comment Trump made to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Just hours after Trump celebrated the House’s vote to pass a divisive bill to overhaul the U.S. health care system, he praised the Australian health care system, which provides universal

Macron is seen getting 62 percent of the votes in the second round compared to 38 percent for Le Pen, an increase of three points for the centrist candidate compared to his projected score in the last Elabe poll. The survey was carried out after a rancorous final televised debate between the two contenders on Wednesday, which Macron was seen as having won by French viewers, according to two recent polls.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unloaded 1 million shares of Amazon stock in the last three days, totaling $940.74 million, according to a filing with the SEC. The sale, disclosed on Thursday, was part of a scheduled sale that Bezos makes on a regular basis — last year he made two big sales in May and August that netted him around $1.4 billion. But thanks to Amazon’s stock run-up this year, this is the biggest amount he’s ever made at once. It’s also the first sale he’s made since telling an audience at

The maiden test flight of the C919 airliner made a successful takeoff, and landing, after a 90-minute flight from Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Friday, according to a livestream via Twitter carried on China’s official news agency Xinhua. The plane’s flight was watched by a large crowd gathered at the airport. Establishing itself in this industry has been hailed a “strategic move” by President Xi Jinping, according to written remarks published by state media outlets. Friday’s maiden fl

Speaker Ryan: Still have a lot work to do before it is law 12 Hours Ago | 03:16The Republican replacement plan for Obamacare just narrowly cleared the House — but the bill will almost certainly face more skepticism in the Senate. The House GOP passed its bill by a 217-to-213 margin on Thursday, sending it to the Senate after a swift process. But even before the divisive proposal passed the House, several Republicans in the Senate signaled that it could see major revisions. “I don’t see any way t

Economists expect a bounce back in the second quarter and are looking for some signs of that in the payrolls. The report could also be important for the Fed, which indicated it viewed the first-quarter weakness as temporary. One negative trend that could continue to show up is the decline in retail-sector jobs, as brick-and-mortar retailers shut stores and go bankrupt. Diane Swonk, CEO of DS Economics, expects just 145,000 jobs, but she sees the trend more like 175,000. Goldman Sachs economists

IBM has lost the confidence of one of its biggest investors, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett. Buffett, who owned about 81 million shares of IBM at the end of 2016, sold off about a third of that stake in the first and second quarters of 2017, he told CNBC. I’ve revalued it somewhat downward,” Buffett told CNBC. “IBM is a big strong company, but they’ve got big strong competitors too.” Berkshire Hathaway still owns more than 50 million shares of IBM and with shares now trading

The dollar edged up 0.1 percent to 112.62 yen, but was down from Thursday’s 7-week high of 113.045 yen. The falls in oil prices could lead to concerns about the health of the global economy and drive risk aversion, he said. “The yen will probably be bought if oil prices weaken further and that leads to falls in equities,” Okagawa said. Oil prices slid to five-month lows on Thursday as OPEC and other producers appeared to rule out deeper supply cuts to reduce the world’s persistent glut of crude.

The euro traded near a six-month high against the dollar on Friday, supported by expectations that centrist Emmanuel Macron will win France’s presidential election. Asian stocks are set for a third straight day of losses on Friday as a retreat in crude oil and other commodities prices knocked global sentiment. New applications for U.S. jobless benefits fell sharply last week and the number of Americans on unemployment rolls hit a 17-year low, pointing to a tightening labor market that could allo

Oil prices were marooned near five-months lows on Friday after a near 5 percent fall in the previous session on concerns over rising U.S. supply, wiping out all of the price gains since OPEC’s move to curb output. Tumbling prices would likely force OPEC members to extend production cuts later this month, but the prospect of deeper cuts appeared slim, analysts said. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $48.41 per barrel at 0047 GMT, up 3 cents from their last c

Most Asian markets lost ground on Friday as traders await the U.S. nonfarm payrolls data later and after drops in commodity prices overnight. In Asia trade, oil prices erased early gains to extend losses. U.S. light crude futures dropped 1.82 percent to $44.69 a barrel by 2:35 p.m. HK/SIN, after trading as low as $43.76. Tapas Strickland, an economist at National Australia Bank, said in an early Friday note that oil prices had fallen below levels before OPEC instituted a production ceiling. “In

Still trying to find the perfect gift for your mom on Mother’s Day? KFC has you covered. The chicken chain thinks that what moms really want on their special day is fried chicken and romance novels, so KFC is giving away free online copies of its own romance novella, “Tender Wings of Desire.” KFC said that Mother’s Day, which this year is May 14, is one of its best-selling days of the year, with its restaurants seeing a 40 percent boost in sales on the day. The romance novella is part of an ad c

“So what’s the health care and health insurance industry’s incentive to keep premiums,fees for service, and vital drug prices for these patients down? Because whether the replacement bill passes or not, the insurance companies, hospitals, and even Big Pharma have surely been watching the Republicans fold on Capitol Hill. So what’s the health care and health insurance industry’s incentive to keep premiums, fees for service, and vital drug prices for these patients down? Obamacare set up a special

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 238,000 for the week ended April 29, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market, for 113 straight weeks. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller. The labor market is close to full employment, with the unemployment rate at a near 10-year low of 4.5 percent. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday k

U.S. worker productivity unexpectedly fell in the first quarter, leading to a jump in labor-related costs. The weakness in productivity is in line with a near stall in economic growth at the start of the year. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast productivity unchanged in the first quarter after a previously reported 1.3 percent growth rate in the prior quarter. Compared to the first quarter of 2016, productivity increased at a 1.1 percent rate, suggesting a gradual improvement in the produ

Millennials are becoming homeowners much later than baby boomer did, but when they get there, they’re spending more for renovations, according to an annual survey released Thursday. That’s a positive sign of confidence in the housing market, according to the Houzz & Home Survey. “The home renovation market has mostly recovered, and is in line with the prerecession peak.” In addition to the renovation survey, Houzz publishes a “Renovation Barometer,” which tracks confidence in the home renovation

Nine schools in the study — including Dartmouth University and Brown University — did not offer course credit for AP work, he said, although some may still use scores to determine course placement. The College Board says it has seen positive trends in the past year, with more colleges granting credit for AP scores of 3 and accepting a broader array of subject areas. “What we’ve seen in the 2017 data is a shift back,” said Trevor Packer, senior vice president of AP and instruction at the College

Bitcoin surged further into all-time high territory Thursday as investors bet the digital currency will gain even greater acceptance globally as a store of value and an investment vehicle. “Bitcoin can be thought of as digital gold,” said Brian Kelly, founder of BKCM LLC and manager of a digital assets hedge fund. Bitcoin 12-month performanceSource: CoinDeskOver the last two weeks, bitcoin has climbed about 25 percent into record territory on increased investor interest. Since the April 24 filin

The world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, reported better-than-expected profit growth on Thursday, citing signs of a turnaround in recession-racked Brazil, its second-biggest market, which has struggled to grow alcoholic beverage sales. AB InBev said overall first-quarter core profit rose 5.8 percent on a like-for-like basis, excluding currency fluctuations and the impact of a merger last year with SABMiller. AB InBev also reported further cost savings of $252 million during the period,