U.S. Job Market Worsens

Hopes for an improving job market were dashed last week as the US shed far more jobs than expected and the unemployment rate ticked up, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced recently, Forbes Daily reported.

Major stock indices tumbled after the negative jobs report and a surge in oil prices.

It remains to be seen how the Federal Reserve will react to the report when it meets later this month to determine interest rates, though the latest jobs data “may have put the Fed between a rock and a hard place,” said Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

Major stock indices tumbled after the negative jobs report and a surge in oil prices following President Donald Trump’s comments that he would only accept Iran’s “unconditional surrender.”

Qatar’s energy minister told the Financial Times that crude prices may reach $150 per barrel if tankers are unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz—where passage was at a standstill for much of last week.

Shares of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, plummeted on Friday to a low not seen since May 2025 after the company capped withdrawals from one of its private credit funds.

Major private credit funds have been experiencing heightened levels of redemption requests lately as investors grow increasingly concerned about limits on withdrawals and their ability to exit their positions.