Slowing but steady job market expected in September jobs report
(NEW YORK) — Concerns about inflation have increasingly turned to concerns about the job market. Last month’s weaker than expected jobs report led to turmoil in stocks.
Expectations are that Friday’s report will show 161,000 jobs added when it’s released at 8:30 a.m.
If jobs come in around expectations it would mean a slowing but steady job market. Some economists are expecting less, around 150,000, pointing out that August data can often come in worse than expected and can be revised later.
Still, a significantly worse-than-expected report could once again lead to concerns that the Fed’s rapid raising of interest rates has hurt the economy and job market more than previously known.
The Fed is on track to cut interest rates at its next meeting announcement on Sept. 18.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell last month said “the time has come” to lower interest rates.
Powell indicated the Fed would soon bring interest rates down from a 23-year high. The shift could lower borrowing costs for everything from credit cards to auto loans to mortgages.
While the unemployment rate remains historically low, it ticked up to 3.8% last month. A sharp downward revision of job growth estimates in June and July lowered those totals by a combined 110,000 jobs.
(NEW YORK) — Holland America has created some picture perfect cruise itineraries for travelers with celestial events on their adventure bucket list such as seeing the northern lights or a total solar eclipse from the high seas.
The Seattle-based cruise line announced a new slate of celestial cruises on Monday that will take guests to prime locations throughout Europe to experience three different natural phenomena firsthand.
Three new Holland America solar eclipse cruises
Following the success of Holland America’s 2024 eclipse cruises, the company’s chief commercial officer, Beth Bodensteiner, said the team put together the 2026 lineup for more guests “to get a front-row seat for some of the world’s most special natural spectacles” with “in-depth exploration of exciting destinations.”
Three ships from the fleet will be positioned under the path of totality for the Aug. 12, 2026, total solar eclipse.
They include the Oosterdam, which will take guests for a 13-day Mediterranean cruise departing off the eastern coast of Spain, at sea in the path of totality between Alicante and Barcelona; the Nieuw Statendam, which is set to explore Northern Europe for a 28-day cruise, sailing off the northwest coast of Iceland at sea in the path of totality; and the 35-day Voyage of the Vikings, a roundtrip cruise from Boston aboard the Zuiderdam, will sail under the path of totality off the west coast of Iceland, just before arriving at Grundarfjörður.
Guests aboard each excursion can expect lectures from scientific experts, themed activities and proper safety equipment for viewing the total eclipse.
The Voyage of the Vikings sets sail July 18, 2026, and has calls at Portland, Maine; Sydney, Corner Brook, Red Bay, St. Anthony, St John’s and Halifax in Canada; Paamiut (Frederikshåb), Nanortalik and Qaqortoq (Julianehåb) in Greenland; Reykjavik, Seydisfjördur, Húsavík and Grundarfjørdur in Iceland; Eidfjord, Norway; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Dublin, Ireland; and Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The Scandinavian Solar Eclipse departs July 25, 2026, from Dover, England, or Rotterdam aboard the Niew Statendam, with multiple calls in Norway, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Scotland.
The shortest of the three voyages through the Mediterranean will have calls at Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Greece and Montenegro.
Holland America debuts Northern Lights cruises
“As 2026 is predicted to be a highly active period for auroras, a growing number of travelers plan to prioritize seeing them on vacation. Guests seeking to pair that adventure with an in-depth exploration of Norway can do so on one of two Northern Lights cruises aboard Rotterdam and Nieuw Statendam,” Holland America announced. “The cruises feature an overnight in Alta, also known as The City of the Northern Lights, and spend five days above the Arctic Circle.”
The first of the two cruises, a 14-day journey departing Oct. 4, 2026, will sail from Rotterdam to Amsterdam. The 15-day option departs Oct. 16, 2026, from Dover to Rotterdam.
Summer Solstice Holland America cruise above the Arctic Circle
The Nieuw Statendam will take passengers on a 14-day cruise crossing the Arctic Circle to celebrate the summer solstice in Honningsvåg, Norway, one of the northernmost cities on the planet, to experience the maximum amount of daylight on the longest day of the year.
The cruise line is offering some early booking discounts for a limited time on premium packages for its Mariner Society loyalty members, which includes an up to $400 onboard credit for bookings made by Oct. 29, 2024.
(NEW YORK) — Delta Air Lines has reportedly hired a prominent law firm to help the Atlanta-based carrier pursue potential damages from CrowdStrike and Microsoft following the global tech outages that caused a slew of internal computer issues and prompted thousands of canceled flights earlier this month.
CNBC first reported that Delta had hired Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, the law firm whose chairman David Boies previously represented the U.S. government in the landmark antitrust case against Microsoft.
Although a lawsuit has not yet been filed, CNBC reported that Delta plans to seek potential compensation from both companies.
When asked for further comment on the matter and the report that Delta had hired Boies, a spokesperson for the airline told ABC News that the company had “no information to add.”
Following the tech chaos on July 19, which affected CrowdStrike customers who use Microsoft Windows products, Delta’s systems were disrupted for more than six days, causing widespread flight delays and cancellations, service failures and an influx of frustrated, stranded passengers, which prompted an investigation by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Crowdstrike said it deployed a fix for the faulty update on July 19, hours after the initial outage.
The IT outage resulted from a faulty software update initiated by CrowdStrike on July 19. Mark Lanterman, chief technology officer at the cybersecurity firm Computer Forensic Services, told ABC News previously that the faulty update subsequently caused a meltdown within Windows operating systems.
“The CrowdStrike update is deep inside the operating system,” Lanterman said. “When that was installed, there was bad code inside of this update. And when Windows came across the bad code, it panicked and it crashed.”
According to a statement from Delta earlier this week, “Upward of half of Delta’s IT systems worldwide are Windows-based.”
On Thursday, Delta announced that “operational reliability [had] returned to normal” across mainline and Delta Connection flights.
“Delta is committed to caring for our customers during this time and has taken a number of other steps to make things right for customers affected by delays and cancellations,” the company said in an announcement.
Those steps included reimbursing out-of-pocket expenses, extended delay refunds, issuing SkyMiles Program miles and travel vouchers, notifying customers of rebooking options, and extending a travel waiver for all customers with travel booked from July 19-28.
According to CNBC, the outages reportedly cost Delta between an estimated $350 million and $500 million.
CrowdStrike and Microsoft did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Reserve has held interest rates steady at a 23-year high since last July — but a rate cut is widely expected in the coming months. On Wall Street, the outlook for an interest rate cut has shifted from if to when.
The central bank will issue its latest interest rate decision on Wednesday after a months-long stretch of data has established the key conditions for a rate cut: cooling inflation and slowing job gains.
Still, economists expect the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, offering the central bank time to ensure current trends hold ahead of its next meeting in September.
The chances of an interest rate cut at the Fed’s meeting in September stand at more than 85%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment. The same tool shows the odds of a rate cut on Wednesday at a meager 5%.
The economy appears to be hurtling toward interest rate cuts later this year, nevertheless. Such an outcome would deliver long-sought loan relief for households and businesses saddled with expensive debt.
Price increases have slowed significantly from a peak of more than 9%, though inflation remains a percentage point higher than the Fed’s target rate of 2%. An outright drop in prices in June compared to the month prior marked a major sign of progress in slowing inflation.
The labor market has continued to grow but its breakneck pace has cooled. The unemployment rate has ticked up this year from 3.7% to 4.1%.
The Fed is guided by a dual mandate to keep inflation under control and the labor market strong. The monthslong stretch of good news for inflation alongside bad news for unemployment has prompted the Fed to give additional consideration to its goal of keeping Americans on the job, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last month.
“For a long time, since inflation arrived, it’s been right to mainly focus on inflation. But now that inflation has come down and the labor market has indeed cooled off, we’re going to be looking at both mandates. They’re in much better balance,” Powell said at a meeting of The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.
“That means that if we were to see an unexpected weakening in the labor market, then that might also be a reason for reaction by us,” Powell added.
However, robust economic data released last week may complicate the path toward a rate cut.
The U.S. economy grew much faster than expected over three months ending in June, accelerating from the previous quarter and defying concerns about a possible slowdown, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
If the Fed cuts interest rates as the economy is heating up, the central bank risks rekindling rapid price increases.
After the economic data came out last Thursday, the odds of a September interest rate cut fell to about 80%. The dip in sentiment proved temporary, however. The odds have risen seven percentage points since then.