Good morning investors! The market fell yesterday recording forth day of losses (in a row) as all eyes are now on Nvidia, set to report today after the bell.
Today we cover:
The job market
Home Depot reports
Time for loan payments for students
📊 Economy and News
US Continuing Jobless Claims Jump Sharply, Signaling Weaker October Jobs Report
Continuing unemployment claims in the US surged by 41,000 — from 1.916 million in mid-September to 1.957 million in mid-October — the largest increase in over a year, according to delayed Labor Department data released Tuesday.
The jump occurred between the survey weeks used for September and October payroll reports, pointing to sluggish hiring and a likely rise in the official unemployment rate for October (delayed due to the recent 43-day government shutdown).
Economists noted that while initial claims remained stable — easing fears of widespread layoffs during the shutdown — the sharp rise in continuing claims is consistent with weak private payroll trends and suggests labor-market softening.
Separately, homebuilder sentiment remained deeply depressed in November (NAHB index +1 to 38), with builders increasingly cutting prices (41%) and offering incentives (65%) amid high mortgage rates and labor-market concerns.
Markets took the data in stride, with some economists saying it reduces the odds of a Federal Reserve rate cut in December. However, Fed Governor Waller backs December rate cut as support for weakening labor market.
Global hits:
Bank of England to cut interest rates in December and again in Q1 2026: Reuters poll.
Russia plans new electronics tax to boost domestic industry.
UK government to ban above-face value ticket reselling.
Check here: U.S. Treasury reports strong foreign investment inflows for August, September.
The Department of Energy is backing Constellation Energy’s restart of Three Mile Island Unit 1 with a $1 billion loan.
The Trump administration announced that it will transfer much of the U.S. Department of Education’s programs to other agencies.
Trump’s doing things: Trump calls for single federal standard for AI regulation., requesting Congress to block state-level regulation. Also, reports say he has chosen next Fed chair. In other news, Trump hits weakest approval since returning to office as Senate agrees to pass Epstein files bill, clearing path to Trump.
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📈 Stocks
S&P 500 6 617,32 (-0.83%)
DJIA 46 091,74 (-1.07%)
NASDAQ 22 432,85 (-1.21%)
BRENT CRUDE 64.89 (+1.07%)
* Prices as of Nov 19th, 12:20 AM UTC
Home Depot Announces Earnings
Home Depot lowered its full-year profit outlook and missed Wall Street’s earnings estimates for the third consecutive quarter, citing soft home improvement demand, cautious consumer spending, and unusually low storm activity.
It now expects comparable sales (which exclude store openings and calendar shifts) to be slightly positive, down from prior guidance of 2.8% total sales growth and 1% comparable sales growth.
The updated forecast includes roughly $2 billion in added revenue from GMS, the building-products distributor acquired earlier this year, which wasn’t in prior guidance.
Adjusted full-year earnings per share are now expected to fall about 5% year-over-year, versus the earlier forecast of a roughly 2% decline.
Q3 results vs. LSEG consensus:
Adjusted EPS: $3.74 vs. $3.84 expected
Revenue: $41.35 billion vs. $41.10 billion expected
Shares closed Tuesday at $336.48, down 6%. Year-to-date, the stock is down ~13%, underperforming the S&P 500’s ~13% gain.
Home Depot’s customer base remains relatively resilient—about 90% of DIY shoppers own homes, and pros serve homeowners—but traffic fell 1.6% while average ticket rose 1.8%. With DIY customers delaying big projects, the company is shifting focus toward contractors and professional trades.
Don’t forget: Anthropic valued in range of $350 billion following investment deal with Microsoft, Nvidia.
Cloudflare was hit by an outage that knocked several major websites and services offline for several hours, including Shopify and ChatGPT.
Emirates to hold Boeing’s ‘feet to the fire’ to deliver on $38 billion deal, president says.
Google announces Gemini 3 as battle with OpenAI intensifies.
Interesting: Waymo says it will launch in more Texas and Florida cities in 2026. Elsewhere, Microsoft unveils tool to help companies control, track AI agents. Lastly, Meta wins FTC antitrust trial that focused on WhatsApp, Instagram.
💵 Personal Finance
Millions of Spring Graduates Face First Student Loan Payments This Month
Millions of federal student loan borrowers who graduated in spring 2025 are about to see their six-month grace period end, with payments starting as early as late November or December.
Higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz quipped, “In other words, ‘Happy Thanksgiving!’ — it’s time to start making payments.”
Key facts borrowers need to know:
Roughly 4–5 million people enter repayment each year, mostly in Nov–Dec.
Average monthly payment: ~$350.
Total U.S. federal student debt: >$1.6 trillion, affecting >40 million borrowers.
First payments are the most commonly missed — set calendar reminders and consider autopay.
You’ll receive your first bill at least 21 days before it’s due.
Find your loan servicer at Studentaid.gov.
Repayment options currently available:
Standard Repayment Plan (fixed payments, usually 10 years)
Income-driven plans still open: PAYE and ICR (both lead to forgiveness after 20–25 years but are being phased out by July 2028)
Coming July 2026: new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) with potentially lower payments and forgiveness after 30 years
If you can’t afford payments:
Apply for unemployment or economic hardship deferment (interest typically doesn’t accrue).
Other deferments exist for graduate school, military service, cancer treatment, etc.
Experts urge recent grads to log in now, choose an affordable plan, and set up autopay to avoid late fees or default.
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