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Conway Gittens: I'm Conway Gittens reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here's what we're watching today on TheStreet.
Wall Street is trading in record territory a day after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by half a percentage point. Investors are also optimistic after officials indicated that more rate cuts are coming before the end of 2024. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has expressed his intention to avoid a severe downturn in the labor market. New data released Thursday showed an unexpected drop in new applications for unemployment benefits during the week ending September 14.
In other news…Boeing workers strike (bachelor of arts) The company is just getting started, but it is already losing millions. According to estimates by Anderson Economic Group, the week-long strike by more than 30,000 machinists has cost Boeing $572 million so far.
Related: Boeing strike fallout continues with staff layoffs
The near-total collapse of the company's lucrative aircraft manufacturing division is taking its toll. The strike means that planes on the production line won't be completed until the strike is over, and Boeing doesn't make money until those planes are delivered to waiting customers.
Boeing is already taking steps to preserve cash, as it was already burning through the cash register before the strike began. It had to find $8 billion in the first half of the year to cover expenses due to falling sales. Now, because of the strike, executives, managers and other staff are being furloughed once every four weeks, top executives are taking pay cuts, hiring is frozen and so are orders to suppliers.
Borrowing is an option, but it is likely to come at a higher cost. Boeing's credit rating is in jeopardy as this labor strike, combined with delays in aircraft deliveries due to various safety issues, cripples Boeing's financial outlook.
That's it for the daily roundup. From the New York Stock Exchange, I'm TheStreet's Conway Gittens.
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