US labour data steady ahead of key jobs report

Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.

1.

Jobs calm: US jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 227,000 last week, Labour Department data showed. That was lower than the expected 230,000, while continuing claims dropped to 1.838 million, the lowest since mid-June, reflecting a resilient job market despite recent concerns about rising unemployment. Separate ADP data showed private payrolls increased by 99,000 in August, the slowest growth since 2021, with hiring slowing in manufacturing and professional services, while wage growth held steady at 4.8% for those staying in their jobs and 7.3% for job changers. The data comes ahead of the non-farm payrolls report on Friday, forecast to show a 160,000 job increase and a slightly lower unemployment rate of 4.2%. (Capital Brief)(Reuters)

2.

Paid AI surge: OpenAI said it has surpassed 1 million paying business users for its products ChatGPT Enterprise, Team and Edu, in a sharp rise from 600,000 in April. It comes as The Information separately reported the Microsoft-backed AI company is considering higher priced subscriptions, potentially up to USD2,000 ($2,970) per month, for its next-gen models, including Strawberry, which focuses on deep research capabilities, and Orion, a new flagship model. Overall, ChatGPT usage doubled since last year, with more than 200 million users actively using the chatbot globally. (Reuters)(The Information)

3.

Office tracker: PwC will start monitoring the office attendance of its 26,000 UK employees, mirroring how it tracks chargeable hours, The Financial Times reported citing internal communications. From January, staff will receive monthly data on their working locations, which will also be shared with their career coaches, the paper said quoting a memo to staff. Employees are required to spend at least three days a week in the office or at client sites. In the memo setting out the stricter hybrid policy, managing partner Laura Hinton said: “we will all benefit from the positive impact of a hybrid approach, but the previous guidance of at least two to three days a week was open to interpretation.” It comes as PwC faces a market slowdown leading to reduced bonuses and scaled-back perks and follows similar measures introduced by rival EY earlier this year. (The Financial Times)

4.

Commissioner Musk: Republican presidential nominee and former US president Donald Trump pledged to cut corporate taxes, reduce regulations, and launch a federal audit taskforce backed by Elon Musk during a speech to New York business leaders. Trump proposed lowering the corporate tax rate to 15% for US-based manufacturers and suggested Musk would head a government efficiency commission aimed at identifying waste and improper spending. Trump also promised a sovereign wealth fund for infrastructure projects backed by planned tariffs he says will help boost domestic production. Musk, who proposed the efficiency commission, in a post expressed his willingness to lead the audit, while union leaders criticised the plan as a threat to federal workers. (The New York Times)(Bloomberg)

5.

Disney secrets: Disney is investigating a massive data leak of over a terabyte of sensitive information, including financial and strategy details and personal data of staff and customers. Leaked by hacking group Nullbulge in July, the data includes revenue figures for Disney+, revealing it generated over USD2.4 billion ($3.56 billion) in the March quarter, or about 43% of its direct-to-consumer business, The Wall Street Journal reported citing a review of the leaked files. Genie+, Disney’s paid service for skipping regular lines at theme parks, generated over USD724 million in revenue between October 2021 and June 2024 at Walt Disney World, the Journal said. The leaked material seems to be limited to content on Disney’s Slack channels accessed by one employee, including over 44 million messages, 18,800 spreadsheets, and 13,000 PDFs, the Journal said. Disney told the paper the leak hasn’t materially impacted operations and it is continuing its investigation. (The Wall Street Journal)

6.

Barnier’s turn: French President Emmanuel Macron named Michel Barnier, the EU's former Brexit negotiator, as prime minister, tasking the 73 year old with unifying the country following the political gridlock that arose from an inconclusive snap election. Macron took two months to finalise the appointment after other potential candidates failed to secure support following the election, which weakened his centrist alliance and left no clear majority. Barnier, from conservative party Les Républicains, is now tasked with forming a unity government and pushing through reforms, including the 2025 budget. Opposition from the left-wing New Popular Front, which won the most seats in the elections but without a clear majority, and the increasingly influential far-right National Rally, will complicate that task. Hard-left leaders called for protests on the weekend, while the far-right National Rally signalled conditional support for Barnier. (Capital Brief)

7.

Russian exit: Unilever is selling its Russian assets to Arnest Group, valued at around 35-40 billion roubles (USD340-500 million), Reuters reported citing Russian media. The Russian government has approved the sale, though formalities are still pending, sources told the RBC business daily. The assets include four factories and brands like Dove and Knorr. Facing criticism for its continued presence in Russia since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Unilever has scaled back operations and halted imports and exports. The Kremlin mandates a discount of at least 50% on sales by companies from 'unfriendly' nations imposing sanctions, Reuters reported. Unilever declined to comment when contacted by the news agency. The sale follows Arnest’s acquisition of Heineken's Russian business for one euro last year. The deal will also incur an exit tax of 10-15%, according to the RBC report. (FT)(Reuters)

8.

AI treaty: The first legally binding international treaty on artificial intelligence developed by 57 countries was signed by the US, UK, EU and others on Thursday, the Council of Europe-led AI Convention said. It mandates that signatories take responsibility for any harmful or discriminatory effects caused by AI systems. It also requires their outputs to uphold equality and privacy rights, providing legal recourse for those affected by AI-related rights violations. The open treaty can now be signed by any country. Critics argued the treaty is weakened by broad principles and limited enforcement. (Capital Brief)(Council of Europe statement)