News Recap • Week 23 2025

Check the news below and make sure to visit my latest Market Recap as well.

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Macro

• US non-farm payrolls increased by 139,000 in May, beating estimates for 125,000. At the same time though, the March and April numbers were revised lower by 65,000 and 30,000 respectively, pouring some cold water on May’s modest 14,000 beat. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2% as expected. Average hourly earnings were expected to grow 3.7% from a year ago but beat the forecast with a 3.9% gain. The market reacted positively to the report on Friday. (CNBC)
• The Jobs Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed available jobs increased by 191,000 in April to a total of 7.4 million, beating estimates for just 7.1 million. This was yet another sign that the US economy is still doing just fine. (CNBC)
• On Wednesday, ADP data showed that private sector hiring in the US rose by just 37,000 in May. This was far below the 60,000 new jobs created in April and the 110,000 forecast. Annual wages increased by 4.5% for those remaining in their positions and 7% for job changers. (CNBC)
• Despite Friday’s relatively strong jobs report, President Trump called on Fed Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates by a full percentage point. The increasing differential between rates in the US and EU seems to be one of Trump’s main concerns. And yet, the interest rate market doesn’t expect another cut until September (where it sees a 52% chance of a cut), and only a 25 basis point if/when it happens. (CNBC)
• Elon Musk, who has been very publicly against Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, seemed to lose his cool on Thursday when he publicly called out and shamed the president on X. Trump responded with threats of cutting all subsidies for Tesla and implied that he could make life very difficult for Musk and all of his companies. Tesla shares tumbled more than 14% for its largest-ever single-day drop in market cap. (CNBC)
• The annual Eurozone inflation fell to 1.9% in May, below the European Central Bank’s 2% target which had also been the forecast for this print. Core inflation eased from 2.7% in April to 2.3% in May while services inflation fell significantly from 4% to 3.2%. (CNBC)
• The European Central Bank cut interest rates as expected from 2.25% to 2%. It was the 8th cut in a row since the ECB began cutting rates a year ago after they peaked at 4%. WIth the interest and inflation rates now more or less in line, the ECB has achieved a neutral stance compared to the restrictive interest rate policy over the past two years. (CNBC)
• India’s central bank cut its leading interest rate from 6% to 5.5%. The outsized cut surprised the market which had only priced in a 25 basis point cut. This was the central bank’s third straight cut and brings the interest rate down to its lowest level since August 2022. (CNBC)
• The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development cut its 2025 growth forecast for the global economy from 3.1% to 2.9%. Its projection for the US alone was slashed from 2.2% to just 1.6%. The OECD’s more pessimistic outlook is largely due to macroeconomic uncertainty sparked by Donald Trump’s trade and tariff policies. (CNBC)
• China’s manufacturing activity in May declined at the fastest pace since September 2022 according to the Caixin/S&P Global Manufacturing PMI. The index fell from 50.4 in April to 48.3 in May and missed the median estimate of 50.6. (CNBC)
• China’s central bank conducted a 1 trillion yuan ($139 billion) outright reverse repo operation on Friday in order to maintain ample liquidity in the banking system. (Xinhua)
• Donald Trump and China’s president Xi Jinping had a 90-minute call to discuss trade on Thursday. Trump said the call “resulted in a very positive conclusion for both countries”. (CNBC)
• Following his call with president Xi, Trump announced that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other administration officials will meet with their Chinese counterparts to continue the trade deal negotiations in London on Monday. (CNBC)
• South Korea’s opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung was elected new president in a snap election on Monday. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose more than 4% this week. (CNBC)
• The Swiss government proposed strict new capital rules that would require banking giant UBS to hold an additional $26 billion in core capital. However, the requirement was actually lower than forecast, sending UBS shares up by almost 4% after the news on Friday. (CNBC)
• The M2 money supply hit a new all-time high of $21.86 trillion earlier this week. (Barchart)

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Other

• While Tesla sales have been plummeted across most of Europe recently, sales in Norway surged by 213% in May compared to a year ago. (CNBC)
• Another one of Elon Musk’s companies, Neuralink, closed a $650 million funding round with participation from ARK Invest, Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, Lightspeed Ventures, and more. (CNBC)
• Stablecoin issuer Circle went public on Thursday and has already more than tripled in value after pricing at $31 and closing Friday at $107.70. (CNBC)
• Omada Health went public on Friday and jumped 21% in its debut, closing out its first trading day at $23 per share and a valuation at more than $1 billion. (CNBC)
• Chime Financial, a digital banking startup, seeks to raise as much as $832 million at a $11.2 billion valuation when it goes public. However, the company was valued at $25 billion in its latest funding round in 2021. (Reuters)
• Crypto exchange Gemini disclosed that it has filed to go public. (Reuters)
• Meta signed a 20-year agreement to buy nuclear power from Constellation Energy. (CNBC)
• Spanish coffee chain Vanadi Coffee in considering a $1.1 billion Bitcoin treasury and a shift to a Bitcoin-first business model. (Bitcoin News)

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Earnings

• Broadcom delivered $1.58 in adjusted earnings per share, beating expectations for $1.56. Revenue rose 20% and came in slight above expectations as well. More importantly, the company issued solid guidance for the current quarter. However, the stock still declined 5% on Friday after the report. (CNBC)
• Lululemon reported a small beat on both the top and bottom lines but cut its full-year guidance due to macroeconomic uncertainty. The stock plummeted 19.8% on Friday after the report and is down almost 50% from its all-time high in December 2023. (CNBC)
• CrowdStrike reported revenue in line with expectations while earnings topped expectations, coming in at 73 cents adjusted per share vs 65 cents expected. The company’s fiscal Q2 revenue guidance came in slightly below forecast though. Shares fell 5.77% after the report on Wednesday but is still up almost 37% on the year. (CNBC)