🏭 Job report's coming

Good morning investors! Some say that investors are confused about where to invest but money is still flowing from big names to growing companies.

Today we cover:

• The job report is due today.

• Some more earnings.

• Learn AI.

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📊 Economy and News 

What to expect in today’s jobs report

Today’s job report might come with some surprises. After all, layoff announcements in February hit their highest level for the month since 2009.

Tech leads the way this year in cuts with 28,218, though that number has fallen 55% from the same period a year ago, according to a Challenger, Gray & Christmas report.

Based on this, Friday’s report is expected to show that February’s employment gains were far below those reported for January.

Economists expect an addition of 200,000 new jobs last month, lower than January’s whopping 353,000 job gains. But, January’s gain can be attributed to various factors such as weather, annual seasonal adjustment factors, and the likelihood of fewer seasonal workers being laid off compared to previous Januarys.

Friday’s jobs report could very well provide a more reliable read on what’s actually happening in the labor market.

The labor market has been hot for a while but experts see it cooling this year. This report can be very important because if the job gains come in as expected and unemployment stays steady at 3.7%, it would continue what’s been the fifth-longest labor market expansion on record.

This will be a streak of -4% unemployment that hasn’t been seen since Nixon was in office.

A few things to keep an eye on include wage growth, average workweek, labor force participating, and jobs in demand.

Global hits:

• China’s exports jump thanks to demand from India, Russia and other emerging markets.

• Big changes for Apple, Google and other tech giants: Europe’s sweeping law goes into effect today.

• European stocks close 1% higher after ECB meeting; Stoxx 600 breaches 500-point level for first time.

📈 Stocks

S&P 500 5,157.36 (+1.03%)
DJIA 38,791.35 (+0.34%)
NASDAQ 18,297.99 (+1.56%)
BRENT CRUDE 82.53 (-0.83%)
* Prices as of Mar 8th, 12:20 AM UTC

GAP and American Eagle report earnings

Gap’s holiday earnings came in ahead of Wall Street’s expectations as its largest banner Old Navy returned to growth for the first time in more than a year.

Here are the numbers:

• Earnings per share: 49 cents vs. 23 cents expected

• Revenue: $4.3 billion vs. $4.22 billion expected

Sales rose slightly to $4.3 billion, up about 1% from $4.24 billion a year earlier. Like other retailers, Gap benefited from a 53rd week during fiscal 2023 and without it, sales would’ve been down during the quarter.

The apparel retailer, which also runs its namesake brand, Banana Republic and Athleta, has been grappling with a sales slump across its business.

Old Navy and Gap have seen signs of progress but Banana Republic and Athleta are still dragging down sales and profits.

During the quarter, Gap saw higher average selling prices across all of its brands, and it expects to grow its gross margin by at least a half percentage point in fiscal 2024.

On the other hand, American Eagle unveiled a new strategy to boost profitable growth over the next three years.

The apparel retailer, which runs its namesake banner, Aerie and Offline, beat Wall Street’s expectations thanks to strong demand and lower markdowns and input costs. 

Here are the numbers:

• Earnings per share: 61 cents adjusted vs. 50 cents expected

• Revenue: $1.68 billion vs. $1.67 billion expected

It wrote off $94 million in impairment charges related to its internal logistics business Quiet Platform.

Some new plans:

These companies have major plans:

• Rivian Automotive unveiled three new vehicles and announced more than $2 billion in savings related to pausing construction on a plant in Georgia.

• Novo Nordisk told an investor meeting that the Phase I trial of its highly-anticipated obesity drug amycretin showed a 13.1% weight loss in participants after 12 weeks.

• Aldi plans to open 800 new locations in the next five years.

💵 Personal Finance

AI is the future

The World Economic Forum says that AI will change how we work. It expects AI to replace around 85 million jobs by 2025, while also creating approximately 97 million new roles.

But, a job is not the only way to benefit from AI. You can invest in AI stocks, use AI tools to make money, and try various other methods that we’ll discuss in our live webinar on Wednesday, Mar 13th (9 PM EST).

Join now and secure your seat – there are limited slots.

💰 Be a Better Investor

👩🏽‍⚖️ Legal Stuff
Nothing in this newsletter is financial advice. Always do your own research and think for yourself.

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