JOBS
Unemployment claims at lowest level since start of pandemic
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits has reached its lowest level since the pandemic struck last year, further evidence that the US economy and job market are quickly rebounding from the pandemic recession. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims fell by 26,000 last week to 360,000. The weekly tally, a proxy for layoffs, has fallen more or less steadily since topping 900,000 in early January. The US recovery from the recession is proceeding so quickly that many forecasters have predicted that the economy will expand this year by roughly 7 percent. That would be the most robust calendar-year growth since 1984. The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines has sharply reduced new viral cases, despite a recent uptick, and Americans are eager to spend on things they had missed during pandemic lockdowns — dinners out, a round of drinks, sports and entertainment events, vacation getaways, and shopping trips. In response, businesses are posting job openings — a record 9.2 million in May — faster than they can fill them. ― ASSOCIATED PRESS
BIOTECHNOLOGY
EU likely to rule next week on use of Moderna vaccine for children
A top official at the European Medicines Agency in Amsterdam said a decision on whether to recommend that Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine be authorized for children is expected late next week. If approved, it would be the first such license for the shot’s use in children globally. At a press briefing on Thursday, Dr. Marco Cavaleri, the EU drug regulator’s head of vaccines strategy, said its expert committee was currently evaluating the Cambridge biotech’s application to extend the use of its coronavirus vaccine for children 12 to 17 years old. Moderna’s vaccine was given the green light for use in anyone 18 and over across the 27-nation European Union in January. It has also been licensed in countries including Britain, Canada, and the United States, but so far its use has not been extended to children. To date, the vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech is the only one approved for children under 18 in Europe and North America. ― ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEDIA
Rolling Stone taps top editor of The Daily Beast as editor-in-chief
Rolling Stone has chosen Noah Shachtman, top editor of the news site The Daily Beast, as its next editor-in-chief, the magazine announced Thursday, calling on him to continue the transformation of the 54-year-old pop music bible into a digital-first publication. Shachtman, 50, said he plans to bring along The Daily Beast’s newsy approach and web metabolism when he starts his new job in September. Shachtman will succeed Jason Fine, who stepped down in February after 5½ years as the top editor to take a job overseeing Rolling Stone’s podcasts, documentaries, and other media ventures. ― NEW YORK TIMES
CONSUMER SAFETY
Regulators sue Amazon in effort to force recalls of hazardous products
Safety regulators are suing Amazon to force it to recall hazardous products sold on its site, including flammable children’s pajamas, faulty carbon monoxide detectors, and hair dryers that don’t protect users from getting electrocuted. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission, which filed the complaint late Wednesday, said the online shopping giant stopped selling some of the faulty products. Amazon said in a statement that it was “unclear” why the safety commission filed a complaint when the company already removed the “vast majority” of the hazardous products, notified customers, gave refunds, and asked shoppers to get rid of the products themselves. The safety commission said Amazon’s actions were “insufficient” and it wants the company to do more, including issue recalls with the commission and destroy any of the goods sent back by customers. ― ASSOCIATED PRESS
SPACE TRAVEL
Teen set to become youngest person in space
An 18-year-old is about to become the youngest person in space, rocketing away with an aviation pioneer who will become the oldest at age 82. Blue Origin announced Thursday that instead of a $28 million auction winner launching with founder Jeff Bezos on Tuesday, Dutch runner-up Oliver Daemen will be on board. The company said he’ll be the first paying customer, but did not disclose the price of his ticket. “I am super excited to experience zero-g and see the world from above,” Daemen said in a video posted by Dutch broadcaster RTL. Also soaring on Blue Origin’s first launch with passengers: Bezos’ brother and Wally Funk, one of 13 female pilots who went through the same studies in the early 1960s as NASA’s Mercury 7 astronauts did, but were rejected for being women. The four will blast off from West Texas atop a New Shepard rocket for a 10-minute flight. ― ASSOCIATED PRESS
MANUFACTURING
Supply shortages blamed for drop in factory output
Output at US factories unexpectedly declined in June against a backdrop of persistent supply shortages, particularly at automakers, and soaring materials costs. The 0.1 percent decrease followed a 0.9 percent gain in May, Federal Reserve data showed Thursday. Total industrial production, which also includes mining and utility output, climbed 0.4 percent in June after a revised 0.7 percent gain a month earlier. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 0.3 percent monthly increase in factory output and a 0.6 percent gain in industrial production. While robust consumer spending and business investment are keeping factory order books full, production has been restrained by lean supplies of materials, shipping delays, and a lack of skilled workers. The latest data show that the Fed’s index of factory output remains below pre-pandemic levels despite a sharp snapback in the economy. ― WASHINGTON POST
TECHNOLOGY
EU won’t keep Facebook from using WhatsApp data, but calls for investigation
Facebook Inc. escaped a possible European Union ban on its use of WhatsApp customer data but faces an investigation of new terms and services that have sparked outrage among consumer-rights campaigners. The European Data Protection Board, a panel of EU authorities, on Thursday said Facebook’s practices linked to WhatsApp data should be examined “as a matter of priority” by the Irish privacy watchdog, its main regulator in the region. WhatsApp announced the policy changes in January, but was forced to delay its introduction until May, because of confusion and user backlash over what data the messaging service collects and how it shares that information with parent Facebook. The EDPB stopped short of imposing a provisional EU-wide ban on data access, as requested by the Hamburg data privacy commissioner. ― BLOOMBERG NEWS
ECONOMY
St. Louis Fed president says it’s time to taper stimulus efforts
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the central bank has met its goal of achieving “substantial further progress” on both inflation and employment, urging policy makers to move forward in reducing stimulus. “We are in a situation where we can taper,” Bullard said Thursday on Bloomberg Television. “We don’t want to jar markets or anything – but I think it is time to end these emergency measures.” Fed officials are considering how quickly to trim monetary policy support for the economy as it reopens from pandemic lockdown. Consumer prices have risen sharply amid supply glitches, but the central bank has argued for patience. Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the US economic recovery still hasn’t progressed enough to start reducing its $120 billion monthly pace of its asset purchases. The Federal Open Market Committee will meet July 27 to 28 to discuss the economic outlook and its plans on the appropriate timing of scaling back its asset purchases. The committee wants to achieve “substantial further progress” on inflation and employment before tapering. ― BLOOMBERG NEWS