AnewZ Morning Brief - March 19th, 2025
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for March 19th, covering the latest developments you need to know.
The Federal Reserve is likely to begin cutting interest rates in June, following a mixed jobs report that highlights both robust job growth and emerging signs of labor market weakness.
The report, released by the U.S. Labor Department on Friday, showed that employers added 151,000 jobs in February—well above the 80,000 to 100,000 range that Fed Governor Christopher Waller considers healthy. However, the data also revealed early indicators of a softening labor market that could complicate the central bank’s efforts to curb inflation.
While the strong job gains initially suggest resilience, the report noted that the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%, and a surge in part-time employment—stemming from workers unable to secure full-time positions—pushed the broader U-6 underemployment rate to 8%, its highest level since October 2021. Analysts have pointed to these developments, along with planned federal workforce reductions and uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariff policies, as potential red flags for sustained economic strength.
“The February report showed some softening in labor conditions even before the impact of larger cuts to federal hiring takes effect,” said Julia Coronado, president of MacroPolicy Perspectives. “Reduced immigration, federal job losses, and tariff uncertainty could substantially slow hiring in the months ahead.”
Following the report, traders in short-term interest rate futures adjusted their expectations, shifting the anticipated start of Fed rate cuts from May to June. Current projections suggest a total of three rate cuts in 2025, with policymakers set to update their rate-path projections at the upcoming March 18-19 policy meeting. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to provide further insight into the economic outlook and monetary policy later today.
The evolving labor market picture comes amid persistent inflation above the Fed’s 2% target and ongoing price pressures from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. Several Fed officials have emphasized that a strong labor market allows the central bank to maintain its benchmark overnight rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range until there is more progress on reducing inflation. However, the emerging signs of underemployment and rising unemployment add complexity to the current policy debate.
As the Fed navigates these challenges, market participants and policymakers alike will be closely watching for further developments in the labor market and inflation data before deciding on the next steps.
The inside of a Herculaneum delicate & ancient scroll, unseen for nearly 2,000 years, has been revealed using Artificial Intelligence.
Regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan process, we cannot forget the years of occupation, and we will not forget them, President Ilham Aliyev said in his speech at the opening ceremony of the 12th Global Baku Forum.
President Donald Trump has vowed to respond to the European Union's counter-tariffs, escalating tensions over the U.S. steel and aluminum duties that have sparked a trade dispute between the two economic powers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Tuesday to a proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump that Russia and Ukraine cease attacking each other's energy infrastructure for 30 days, the Kremlin said following a lengthy phone discussion between the leaders.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams completed an unexpectedly long 286-day mission on the ISS, returning to Earth aboard a SpaceX capsule after delays caused by technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner.
U.S. Commerce Department bureaus have reportedly issued a blanket ban on the Chinese AI model DeepSeek for use on government-furnished equipment, according to sources and a mass email seen by Reuters.
Apple’s current focus on an extensive visual overhaul of iOS 19 and macOS 16—rumored to be inspired by the design language of visionOS—might be distracting the company from addressing a more pressing issue: its long-delayed, underwhelming Siri.
In a sweeping regulatory move aimed at curbing misinformation and enhancing transparency, Chinese authorities have announced new rules requiring all AI-generated content to be clearly labeled.
In early 2025, a new trend dubbed “vibe coding” is reshaping the way software is developed. Coined by computer scientist Andrej Karpathy, vibe coding refers to a paradigm where developers increasingly lean on AI to handle the bulk of the coding work.
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