On Friday, President Trump announced that Russia will supply large volumes of diesel to the U.S. and global markets after a phone call with Vladimir Putin, and the Treasury Department waived sanctions on Russian diesel the same day. With diesel prices at record levels, the headline numbers sound big. Here is what is confirmed and what isn't. What Was Announced Trump wrote on Truth Social that Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons right after that. A further 3 million tons would follow within a short period, he said, depending on the condition of Russia's refineries. Added together, the four tranches come to 4.8 million tons, while CNBC reported the total as more than 4 million. Trump predicted diesel prices would be "coming down, in record numbers, and fast," according to Axios. The Sanctions Waiver Shortly afterward, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General L...
Hiring in the world's largest economy nearly ground to a halt in September, and Wall Street's response was relief rather than alarm. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that employers added just 29,000 jobs, far below forecasts, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.2%. For investors who have spent weeks worrying about inflation and rate hikes, a softer labor market was, at least for one morning, welcome news. What the Report Showed Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected about 84,000 new jobs, a Reuters poll looked for 90,000, and Bloomberg said the figure missed every estimate in its survey. The unemployment rate edged up from 4.1% to 4.2%. The details were no kinder. Revisions removed 60,000 jobs from the previous two months: August was cut to 133,000 from 162,000, and July now shows a loss of 10,000. Wage growth cooled too, with average hourly earnings up 0.1% on the month against 0.3% expected, according to Benzinga. Trading Economics' breakdown...