Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. 16-year high
Bonds continued their recent run on Thursday, with the the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury crossing 5% for the first time in 16 years — or since July 20, 2007. The yield had eased back some as of Friday morning, last trading around 4.935%, but stock futures slipped as a result of the impressive bond action. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 0.2% Friday. S&P 500 futures fell 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 futures fell about 0.4%. Follow live market updates.
2. Fed up yet?
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said Thursday inflation is still — still! — too high but that the central bank sees its monetary policy working and that it would be "resolute" in its commitment to reaching 2%. The Fed's strategy of aggressively hiking rates to cool decades-high inflation has seen the pace of monthly increases decelerate and the annual rate slow to 3.7%. "A few months of good data are only the beginning of what it will take to build confidence that inflation is moving down sustainably toward our goal," Powell said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York. "We cannot yet know how long these lower readings will persist, or where inflation will settle over coming quarters." Powell said achieving the Fed's 2% goal would likely require "a period of below-trend growth."
3. Big bank layoffs
The biggest U.S. banks are a little smaller these days — at least in terms of workforce. Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs have all reduced their employee headcounts this year by anywhere from about 2% to more than 5%, according to analysis by CNBC's Hugh Son. The cuts amount to 20,000 jobs altogether and come after a hiring boom on Wall Street. That, combined with lower attrition rates, had left many firms with more workers than expected. And with the possibility of rising loan defaults looming, lenders could be forced to make deeper cuts in 2024.
4. 'Worldwide caution'
The U.S. State Department on Thursday issued a worldwide caution alert, highlighting growing conflict in the Middle East and elsewhere as the Israel-Hamas war approaches the two-week mark. The department warned that Americans abroad should exercise increased caution, citing the "potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests." U.S. citizens who are seeking help to leave Israel, the West Bank, Gaza or other areas can complete a crisis intake form with the State Department. Meanwhile President Joe Biden said Thursday night he'd be sending Congress an "urgent budget request to fund America's national security needs" to support Israel and Ukraine. Follow live updates from the Israel-Hamas war.
5. (She)in the spotlight
Fast fashion retailer Shein is inching its way toward a likely IPO and wading through a handful of challenges in the run-up. CNBC's Gabrielle Fonrouge reports the company — a growing Amazon competitor — is facing questions over its ties to China, environmental impact and potential copyright violations, as well as the use of forced labor across its supply chain by the Uyghur ethnic group in the Xinjiang region of China. According to Matt Kennedy, a senior IPO market strategist for Renaissance Capital, those questions could cloud the value proposition if and when Shein decides to list on U.S. exchanges: "IPO investors right now want to see a straightforward story."
— CNBC's Pia Singh, Jeff Cox, John Melloy, Hugh Son, Amanda Macias and Gabrielle Fonrouge contributed to this report.
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