Forbes Daily: Strong job growth signals economic resilience

---

This is a published version of Forbes Daily Newsletteryou can sign up to receive Forbes Daily in your inbox here.

---

Good morning,

Today marks one year since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel in which approximately 1,200 people were killed, prompting Israel to retaliate and catalyzing the war in Gaza. Nearly 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between fighters and civilians.

Despite calls for a cease-fire from the US and allies, The Middle East is on the precipice of a wider war as tensions rise between Israel and Iran. About 31 percent of Americans think Israel’s military operations in Gaza are going too far, a slight increase from last December, according to a new Pew Research Center poll.

Meanwhile, the share of Americans who believe Israel is doing enough or should be doing more has fallen over the past 10 months.

FIRST UP

The US added far more jobs than expected in September again unemployment rate fell to 4.1%. The Labor Department data provided good news for investors on the sidelines after July and August saw much weaker-than-expected labor market expansion.

MORE: Major stock indexes posted gains on Friday following the jobs report, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up as much as 0.8%, the S&P 500 up as much as 0.9% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rising by up to 1.2%. But The resilience of the labor market has dampened hopes for a second aggressive interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve next month.

BUSINESS + FINANCE

Tencent Holdings is considering buying Ubisoft Entertainment with the Guillemot family, which founded the French video game publisher, sending Ubisoft shares higher on Friday after falling to a decade low in late September. Rumors of a Ubisoft takeover, behind video games like assassin’s creed and Just dancehave been circling for years, and private equity firms such as Blackstone and KKR & Co. they had previously considered buying the company.

Compare price/earnings to a growth rate and get PEG, the classic formula for measuring the price of a growth stock. But PEG is deeply flawed. Superior Super PEG measures what you’re paying now to get a certain level of earnings power down the road, then compares that to what you’re paying to get future earnings power from the S&P 500 Index.

WEALTH + ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The the ultra-swank club Yellowstone, located in a remote part of the Montana wilderness, it is one of the most exclusive clubs in the world: those who want to be admitted must buy land, a house or an apartment, which will cost you 10 million dollars, even for the less expensive undeveloped land. The club has fewer than 900 owners, worth more than $290 billion in total, including Melinda French Gates and hedge fund magnate Bill Ackman.

The Forbes 400 list of the richest people has been published every year since 1982and of the total of 1,739 presented, only 11 made the list each year. They include Warren Buffett, worth $145.5 billion; Charles Koch, worth $67.5 billion; and Nike’s Phil Knight, with a net worth of $36.5 billion.

TECHNIQUE + INNOVATION

Alphabet’s self-driving car venture, Waymo, the robotaxi commercial service only in the US, it signed a “multi-year” deal with Hyundai Motor to add Ioniq 5 electric hatchbacks to the Waymo One fleet starting next year. Its U.S. fleet currently includes at least 1,000 electric Jaguar I-PACE SUVs, and cutting costs is critical for Waymo to reach profitability as it rapidly expands its service area.

At a recruiting event for his artificial intelligence startup xAI, billionaire Elon Musk pitched the firm as anti-OpenAI. calling the ChatGPT producer “closed” and obsessed with profit. Musk co-founded OpenAI with Sam Altman, but has since left and sued the company twice, accusing OpenAI of abandoning its mission to build artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity.

MONEY + POLITICS

Out of office and back on the campaign trail, former President Donald Trump earned an estimated $218 million in operating income last year. roughly double what he made in his senior year at the White House. Trump’s golf portfolio is now generating huge profits, with his golf-related properties generating $74 million more in operating income last year than in 2020.

SCIENCE + HEALTH

Perpetua Resources is poised to resurrect a shuttered Idaho mine that will be back on track supply the Pentagon with vital antimony for weapons, to destroy the Chinese monopoly and support the rehabilitation of 20 miles of backcountry salmon streams. The rise in the gold price since the pandemic is also propelling Perpetua, which expects to produce an average of 300,000 ounces of gold per year at an average all-in cost of $650/oz and ultimately generate annual profits hundreds of millions of dollars.

TRAVEL + LIFESTYLE

Shares of Spirit Airlines fell 26% on Friday after reports indicated that the low-cost airline was exploring bankruptcy. In January, a federal judge blocked a $3.8 billion merger between Spirit and JetBlue, ruling that it would eliminate the airline industry’s popular low-cost flight options and raise prices.

if you you need to renew your passport, now is the time: the average waiting time is the shortest in decades. The State Department said Thursday that the average time to process passports has dropped to four to six weeks, a third of what it took in 2021, during the pandemic backlog.

DAILY COVER

The Hemp Craze: Why the Government Is Waging War on Marijuana’s Legal Cousin

WARM Over the past several months, joint state and federal task forces have raided more than 100 vape and smoke shops, manufacturers and distributors of hemp products in North Carolina, allegedly selling marijuana disguised as hemp.

The 2018 Farm Bill allows the production of hemp and all its derivatives as long as it contains 0.3% THC or less. In 2022, Sales of hemp-derived cannabinoid products totaled $28 billion, while legal marijuana products generated $26 billion in sales during the same period, according to cannabis data firm Whitney Economics.

But hemp farmers, Whitney Economics estimates, have lost about $3.1 billion in annual sales because of state bans and the ensuing legal confusion.

Despite what the Farm Bill provides, there is much debate about it whether THC products derived from hemp are legal according to federal law. That’s because hemp-derived cannabinoids — including delta-9 THC and delta-8 THC (a less potent compound, affectionately called “weed lite” or “decaf kush”) — are legal under Farm Bill if these compounds occur naturally in the plant.

However, the most intoxicating hemp products on the market are made by converting hemp-derived CBD isolate to delta-9 THC or delta-8 THC using a chemical process.

North Carolina’s crusade against hemp isn’t the only front in this war on drugs. Late last month, California Governor Gavin Newsom banned hemp-derived THC through an emergency order. Newsom said the move was to prevent the sale of intoxicating hemp products to children.

But also California views hemp products as a threat in the struggling $5 billion legal marijuana market.

WHY MATTER “What’s happening in the hemp industry right now shows how complicated and nuanced the legalization of cannabis it can be”, he says Forbes staff writer Will Yakowicz. “Even though marijuana and hemp are variations of the same plant…Cannabis sativa L— Marijuana is still federally illegal, while hemp is legal.”

MORE The Cannabis Civil War: Hemp vs. marijuana

FACTS + COMMENTS

The IRS Direct File program will be available next year in twice as many states, the Treasury and IRS announced. The program allows eligible taxpayers to file your federal tax returns directly for free with the IRS:

24: The number of states that will offer Direct File, meaning 62% of Americans will live in states that offer Direct File

Over 30 million: Estimated number of taxpayers who will be eligible to use Direct File in the 2025 filing season

140,803: The number of taxpayers who filed their federal tax returns using the new service in 2024

STRATEGY + SUCCESS

It is important not only to save for retirement, but also to plan for the non-financial aspects. For example, if you enjoy what you do or the social aspect of your job, consider working part-time to transition to full retirement. Take your time to build social connections outside of workjoin community groups and develop hobbies. And don’t wait until you retire to start traveling: go when you can, because no one’s health is guaranteed.

VIDEO

QUIZ

Donald Trump falsely claimed on social media Friday that he had won an endorsement from the chief executive of the which major bank?

A. JPMorgan Chase

B. Wells Fargo

C. Bank of America

D. Goldman Sachs

Check your answer.

---

Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Sarah Whitmire, Chris Dobstaff and Caroline Howard.