Fed vindication

Where is Team Recession now? With new, surprisingly good job numbers for September showing Fed Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues on the cusp of sticking that soft landing, the US unemployment rate—amid fears the central bank waited too long to cut rates—actually went down. US job growth last month topped all estimates and wage growth accelerated, reducing the odds the Fed will opt for another big interest-rate cut in November. Indeed, combined with data earlier this week showing demand for workers is still healthy while terminations remain low, the payrolls report is likely to alleviate concerns that the labor market is deteriorating. The figures also showed fewer Americans were working part-time for economic reasons and people who recently lost their jobs were able to find work elsewhere. The Fed has “a better chance of getting this right and not being behind the curve given this report,” said Laura Rosner-Warburton, a senior economist at MacroPolicy Perspectives. —David E. Rovella

Stocks ended Friday close to session highs following the stronger-than-expected jobs report. Treasuries sank as traders recalibrated their bets on the size of the Fed’s next rate cut. Apart from Friday’s labor-market report, a slew of other economic data this week painted a picture of a strong US economy. Here’s your markets wrap.

Tencent Holdings and Ubisoft Entertainment’s founding Guillemot family are considering options including a potential buyout of the French video game developer after it was said to lose more than half its market value this year. The Chinese tech company and the Guillemots have been speaking with advisers to help explore ways to stabilize Ubisoft and bolster its value. One of the possibilities being discussed would involve teaming up to take the company private.

The European Union voted on Friday to impose tariffs as high as 45% on electric vehicles from China, threatening a broader trade conflict with Beijing which has already vowed to protect its companies. Shares in European automakers rose after the vote. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, can now proceed with implementing the duties, which would last for five years. Ten member states voted in favor of the measure, while Germany and four others voted against and 12 abstained.

Two experimental medicines for Marburg disease are set to tested in Rwanda, which is battling an outbreak of the deadly Ebola-like infection. A vaccine from the Sabin Vaccine Institute and an experimental therapy from privately held biotech Mapp Biopharmaceutical are being made available for use on the ground in Rwanda, according to a spokesperson from the US Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.

Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Michigan on Friday, seeking to shore up support from traditional pillars of the Democratic base— including union workers, firefighters and Arab American voters. In Detroit, Harris met with firefighters and union workers at a firehouse, a day after the International Association of Fire Fighters announced it will not back a presidential candidate this election. Harris was also to meet privately with Arab American leaders concerned about US military support for Israel.

Brown University’s endowment returned 11.3% for the year ended in June, boosting the fund’s value to $7.2 billion. With $728 million in investment gains, the endowment provided a record $281 million to the school’s operating budget. The contribution, accounting for 21% of total revenue, helps pay for such costs as financial aid and salary increases. Brown reported the returns as its board of trustees prepares to vote this month on a controversial proposal to exit holdings tied to Israel.

France is pulling up the roots on a chunk of its vineyards as global demand declines. The European Commission approved funding for permanent removal of what amounts to 116 square miles, or 4% of the total, according to a Bloomberg calculation. “The situation of the wine sector is indeed worrying, with a very sharp drop in the harvest forecast due to climate change but also to the drop in wine consumption and very tough competition,” agriculture officials said.

Humanity’s survival depends on water, yet global reserves are rapidly shrinking. Growing populations, water mismanagement and climate change mean that by next year, half of the world’s people will face water scarcity. As a result, water arguably has replaced oil as the most likely cause of global conflict. So can technology help secure humanity’s future water needs? On this episode of The Future with Hannah Fry, Fry travels from Africa to the UK and Singapore to discover how new strategies are being employed to obtain water and preserve its continuing availability in sustainable ways—strategies that could help push back one of the more existential threats of urbanization, rising populations and human-induced global warming.

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