1- Nvidia announced excellent results, but its revenue forecast fell short of expectations.
2- The U.S. Department of Labor admitted to an error in publishing job data.
3- Federal Reserve member Bostic wants more data to confirm the need for interest rate cuts.
4- U.S. mortgage rates have fallen to their lowest levels since April 2023.
On Thursday, Nvidia released a report detailing its earnings for the second quarter of the fiscal year 2025. The report showed that Nvidia’s revenue for the second quarter reached $30.04 billion, marking a 122% increase from $13.507 billion in the same period last year and a 15% rise from $26.044 billion in the previous quarter, setting a new record. The company’s net profit amounted to $16.599 billion, up 168% compared to $6.188 billion in the same period last year and 12% higher than $14.881 billion in the previous quarter.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Labor stated that a technical glitch prevented the government from sharing key nonfarm payroll data on time last week. The spokesperson acknowledged that employees had provided the figures to callers before the official release.
In the future, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which operates under the Department of Labor, will release data through multiple platforms, including social media, to ensure availability at the designated release time. A new policy has been implemented, stating that employees handling data inquiries cannot share figures with clients until senior BLS officials confirm that the release is widely accessible to the public.
The spokesperson explained that a delay of more than half an hour in publishing the preliminary benchmark revisions for payroll figures by the BLS on August 21 forced employees to manually upload the data. While the figures were not available to external web users until around 10:32 a.m. Washington time, BLS employees were able to view them internally on the website by 10:10 a.m. The issue was further complicated by a lack of internal communication regarding how employees should respond to public inquiries. Since the embargo lifted at 10:00 a.m., some BLS employees who had access to the data provided it to those who requested it.
Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said on Wednesday that the expected timeline for interest rate cuts has been brought forward due to inflation declining faster than anticipated and unemployment rising more quickly as well. However, he emphasized that he would remain cautious on the matter.
Bostic stated, “I don’t want us to be in a position where we cut and then have to raise interest rates again.” Upcoming inflation and employment reports will be crucial for policymakers in determining whether the current trend will continue.
Data released on Wednesday showed that 30-year fixed mortgage rates in the United States weakened for the fourth consecutive week, dropping to 6.44%, the lowest level since April 2023. This provided a small boost to home purchase applications in the previous week after a period of sharp declines.
Mortgage rates have moved in tandem with Treasury yields, which have recently fallen in anticipation of the Federal Reserve beginning to cut interest rates in September.
