Friday’s US employment report is expected to show that the labour market remained steady in October, leaving the Federal Reserve to judge whether hiring is in recovery or set to weaken more materially.

Economists’ estimates compiled by LiveSquawk point to a median forecast of 65,000 nonfarm payrolls, following September’s 29,000 gain. Forecasts range from 40,000 to 120,000, underlining some uncertainty around the underlying pace of hiring.

The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 4.2%, while average hourly earnings are seen rising 0.3% m/m and 2.9% y/y.

Although payrolls are expected to remain relatively subdued, the broader tone of the report may matter as much as the headline figure itself. Markets will also be watching revisions to prior months, labour force participation, the workweek and the household survey for a clearer read on underlying conditions. (LS – Continue Reading)

Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund is set to report quarterly results on Friday as investors look for any hints that it may shift its asset allocations.

Speculation has been rife for months that the ¥320 trillion ($2 trillion) fund, one of the world’s biggest public pension investors, may direct more money back to its home market in a move that would boost Japanese stocks and bonds. (BBG – Continue Reading)

Japan's real wages rose 2.2% in September from a year earlier, marking the ninth consecutive month of gains, government data showed on Friday, supporting the case for the Bank of Japan to keep raising interest rates.

Growth in real, or inflation-adjusted, pay picked up from August's revised 1.6% gain. Average nominal wages, or total cash earnings, rose 4.6% to 311,409 yen ($1,972.94), the fastest rise since January ⁠1997 and up from August's revised 3.9% growth.

Workers' base salaries, or regular pay, increased 3.7%, roughly in line with the 3.8% gain in August. A labour ministry official cited a steady rise in base salaries this year as a factor behind the improvement in real wages. (RTRS – Continue Reading)

Major investors are increasingly skeptical Anthropic’s blockbuster initial public offering can proceed at the expected valuation of $1.5 trillion after a deep market selloff tied to the unwinding of AI-related bets, according to people familiar with the matter.

Anthropic is aiming to stage the IPO the week before Thanksgiving and has been expected to raise up to $100 billion in an offering that could value the company at around $1.5 trillion. (WSJ – Continue Reading)