The U.S. labor market ended 2024 on a high note, with employers adding 256,000 jobs in December. This exceeded expectations and reflected confidence in economic stability. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.

U.S. stocks slipped after the Federal Reserve held its main interest rate steady and broke a run of cuts that began in September

Buried in a rote US Treasury survey released on the eve of the latest holiday weekend was a question that all of Wall Street wants the answer to: What’s the Federal Reserve’s plan once it’s done drawing down its crisis-era bond holdings?