Job creation in the private sector cooled in April but was still in line with what Wall Street had been expecting. Companies created 177,000 new positions for the month, according to a report from ADP and Moody’s Analytics that showed a sharp deceleration from the previous month. “Fundamental job growth is still strong,” Zandi told CNBC. Businesses with 50 to 499 employees led job creation with 78,000 positions, while companies with fewer than 50 workers added 61,000 and large businesses contrib

The falls were led by Basic Resources, which was down 2.39 percent, amid a slide in metal prices. Mining giants Centamin, Antofagasta and Fresnillo were all trading lower late morning Wednesday. Autos, too, were lower, weighed down by car manufacturers Daimler, Volkswagen and Saab. Food retailer Sainsbury’s was lower by 5.5 percent after reporting a fall in pre-tax profits. Meanwhile, ITV was trading lower after it was announced that the media company’s Chief Executive Adam Crozier would be step

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq composite set to fall from a record high after mixed quarterly results from Apple. The tech giant posted better-than-expected adjusted earnings per share, but iPhone sales missed analyst expectations. The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted record highs on an intraday and closing basis on Tuesday before Apple released its quarterly results. The ADP and Moody’s Analytics report is seen as a preview to the government’s monthly job

A daily morning look at the financial stories you need to know to start the day. STOCKS/ECONOMY-Stock futures are down after Tuesday’s modest gains for all three major indexes. Today we get the Fed’s interest rate decision and ADP private sector jobs data for April. -Watch shares of Apple after the company missed revenue and iPhone sales targets in its earnings report. -Beef prices are soaring after a blizzard hit the Midwest this past weekend.

House Republicans and the White House are working furiously to shore up enough votes on their health care bill even as the prospect of passing a bill in that chamber looks daunting. More from NBC News:House Republicans Gear Up for Possible Health Care Vote This WeekRepublicans Have No Room for Error in Latest Health Care PushPoll: 50 Percent Have Little to No Confidence in GOP Health-Care PushThe success of that two-pronged approach has been mixed. Rep. Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania said he was p

As the United States adapts to the presidency of Donald Trump and faces rising tensions abroad, Berkshire Hathaway shareholders will descend on Omaha, Nebraska this weekend seeking reassurance, from Warren Buffett. Buffett, 86, and vice chairman Charlie Munger, 93, will answer five hours of questions at Saturday’s annual meeting. Many say it reinforces their views about investing and Berkshire, even if it remains unclear how much new they learn. “But you’re not going to learn a lot about Berkshi

Those conflicting views of the electric-car maker have deepened in recent weeks, with short sellers increasing their exposure even as paper losses mount and Tesla’s stock hits new highs. Tesla’s stock has climbed 15 percent in the same period and has surged 50 percent so far in 2017. Overall this year, short sellers betting against Tesla have lost $3.7 billion, far more than has been lost shorting any other U.S. stock, according to S3. The next three most painful stocks for short sellers this ye

Ultra-wealthy private-equity managers lamented their reputation as ‘lousy’ corporate profiteers at a plush Beverly Hills hotel on Tuesday, arguing their value to society was greater than the public realized. Private equity has been criticized by some for saddling companies with debt only to sell their assets, cut jobs and take out profits. Jonathan Sokoloff, managing partner of private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, chimed in with Schwarzman. “Notwithstanding that, our industry still has

Donald Trump is convinced that the Mideast should no longer be riven by violence and that peace is within reach. “I want to see peace with Israel and the Palestinians,” he told Reuters in an interview last week. “There is no reason there’s not peace between Israel and the Palestinians — none whatsoever.” A possible step in the direction of peace will be his meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday. During the same period, around 260 Palestinians were killed by Isra

U.S. employers hired significantly more people in April, making it the strongest month for hiring since June 2015, according to the LinkedIn Workforce Report. The report, released Wednesday, said seasonally adjusted hiring in April was 3.4 percent higher than in March, and hiring across the U.S. was 16.7 percent higher than a year ago. The LinkedIn report said seasonally adjusted hiring was mainly fueled by three industries: manufacturing and industrial, which was up 0.5 percent, aerospace, auto

The real estate market is signaling stronger sales ahead as homebuyers finally returned to the mortgage market after two weeks of weakening during the height of the spring housing season. Higher mortgage rates, however, pushed the refinance market lower. Total mortgage application volume fell 0.1 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous week. Lower mortgage rates were expected to help, but after falling during much of April, mortgage rates began to rise again. Refinance

Revenue from Warner Bros, which includes the movie business and is the company’s biggest unit by revenue, rose 8.2 percent to $3.37 billion. As of April 30, “Kong: Skull Island” had grossed more than $562 million globally, according to tracking firm Box Office Mojo. “The LEGO Batman Movie” grossed more than $308 million globally, as of April 30, according to Box Office Mojo. Revenue from Home Box Office (HBO), known for its hugely popular show “Game of Thrones,” rose 4.1 percent to $1.57 billion

WASHINGTON – FBI Director James Comey returns to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, where questions about possible ties between Russian officials and associates of President Trump’s campaign are likely to dominate a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. In March, Comey made headlines for confirming to another congressional panel that the FBI was in the midst of months-long inquiry into possible collusion between associates of the Trump campaign and Russian operatives. “The FBI and the Justice Department h

U.S. government debt prices were lower on Wednesday as traders digested key economic data while waiting for the Treasury’s refunding announcement ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision. The Treasury is set to announce next week’s auctions, with the possibility of an extra $2 billion each of 10-year and 30-year bonds, and is expected to address the possibility of issuing ultra-long bonds, according to Reuters. This will come before the Federal Reserve concludes its two-day policy meeting

Unlike buy-and-hold investors, traders often try to participate in the market’s downs as well as its ups. This strategy is called “short selling.” Kevin Horner, a senior specialist with Schwab’s Trading Services Education team, says that the biggest risk of short selling is that there’s no ceiling to the price at which the stock could trade in the future. If you’re selling short, however, the stock price can theoretically keep on rising. Even if you believe a stock is poised for a decline, there

The concept is simple: Contribute while you work, then retire and collect a check until you pass away. Yet when it comes to Social Security, there remains plenty of confusion. “Deciding when to start taking your Social Security benefits is one of the most important retirement planning decisions we face,” said Ken Hevert, senior vice president of retirement at Fidelity Investments. “Social Security-related decisions can be complex, with a number of trade-offs.” Here are some simple steps to get y

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries doesn’t meet until May 25, but U.S. shale-drilling pioneer Harold Hamm is certain the producer group will extend its six-month deal to restrain output. “Well, there’s been some downward pressure” on oil prices, with traders “wondering whether or not OPEC would keep the cuts in place. But I think it’s a foregone conclusion those cuts will remain in place,” the chairman and CEO of oil and gas exploration company Continental Resources told CNBC’

Getting important ideas down alleviates the stress of losing your thoughts to time or an overcrowded mind,” says writer Gregory Ciotti of Help Scout. Spend a couple minutes between projects jotting down all the things causing you stress — an annoying co-worker, an unreasonable boss, a broken printer, nothing’s off the table! You can find free coloring book templates here (or go above and beyond by ordering one of these awesome coloring books online.) And don’t worry if you don’t have colored pen

California citrus farmers on Tuesday blasted the Trump administration for lifting a 16-year import ban on fresh lemons from a key growing region of Argentina. “The administration blindsided us,” said Joel Nelsen, a farmer and president of the California Citrus Mutual, a citrus producers trade group. It followed a meeting last week between President Donald Trump and Argentine President Mauricio Macri at the White House. “The Argentine president was doing what he should do — representing his growe

In general, tech and finance jobs pay more than other industries, the Glassdoor data shows. Still, of the 25 highest-paying internships, the last on the list, Bank of America, pays summer interns $4,570 per month. The average pre-tax income of the bottom half of American adults has held at about $16,000 since 1980, the report finds, according to the NBER paper. Meanwhile, the average pre-tax income of the top one percent of American adults has risen from $420,000 to $1.3 million from 1980 to 201