The June ADP jobs data revealed that the US added 150,000 new private sector jobs in June, which was below the 165,000 Wall Street expected and lower than the revised levels of the prior month. This indicates a slowing job creation for a third straight month.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that the Fed has "made some progress" against inflation but emphasized the need for more evidence before cutting interest rates. He mentioned that the last two inflation readings suggest the economy is on a disinflationary path, but the central bank wants to be more confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward its 2% target.
Skydance Media has reached a preliminary agreement to buy Shari Redstone's National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of Paramount. If the deal goes through, Skydance plans to merge with Paramount Global, subject to approval by Paramount's Special Committee.