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Financial CEOs are weighing in on the state of the economy

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Financial CEOs are weighing in on the state of the economy


Some of America’s top financial services executives are starting to issue warnings about the economy.

Saying they’re seeing signs of “softening” or “weakening,” a slew of CEOs have been weighing in ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve decision and with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revising job numbers lower this week.

In a Wednesday CNBC interview, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said while the economy is “still chugging along,” the signals may be pointing in a different direction.

“There are number of CEOs that are talking about a softening in the economy – there’s no question,” he said. “We’ve seen some job data that indicates that there has been some softening.”

The BLS, in a preliminary report released Tuesday, revised its nonfarm payrolls data for the year prior to March 2025, showing a significant drop of 911,000 from the initial estimates. The revisions were more than 50% higher than last year’s and the biggest shift in more than 20 years, adding to growing concern over the economy.

The BLS has also come under fire from President Donald Trump, who fired the head of the bureau in early August and has criticized its data collection methods.

Solomon said he believes there’s “still more work to do” with today’s inflation and that tariffs are having an impact on growth, but that it’s difficult to quantify at this stage. As the economy heads into fall, Solomon said he expects a slight change in the policy rate, including a 25-basis point cut by the Fed next week.

Trump has also been critical of the central bank, calling for lower interest rates and bashing Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The Federal Open Market Committee last cut its benchmark interest rate in December 2024 and has held it steady since then in a target range of 4.25% to 4.5%. 

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told CNBC on Tuesday that he believes the Fed will “probably” lower interest rates at its meeting next week, but that it may “not be consequential to the economy.

Dimon said he also believes the BLS report confirms that the U.S. economy is slowing down.

“I think the economy is weakening,” Dimon told CNBC’s Leslie Picker in an interview. “Whether it’s on the way to recession or just weakening, I don’t know.”

But ultimately, Dimon said the country will simply have to “wait and see” how the economy will progress given the weakening consumer.

Similarly, Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf told CNBC Wednesday that his bank is seeing lower-income Americans struggling to stay afloat, despite larger companies seemingly doing well.

“There is this big dichotomy between higher-income and lower-income consumers which continues and is a real issue,” Scharf said.

Commenting on the BLS numbers, Scharf said it’s “undeniable” that the discrepancy between American taxpayers exists and that he sees “more downside” to the U.S. economy.

Job creation in August also showed signs of weakness, as the BLS reported last week that nonfarm payrolls increased by just 22,000 for the month.

Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick told CNBC that he believes the American CEO or CFO has had to become resilient throughout the country’s recent ups and downs, including Covid and two Trump administrations.

“We’re in a place where I think some of the policy uncertainty is actually starting to get quantified,” he said.

Still, Pick said he’s seen the headwinds coming through and believes the policy uncertainty may be narrowing slightly.

“So, yes, there may be a little bit of a slowdown,” Pick said, adding that he’ll wait to see how it all plays out.

Barclays CEO C. S. Venkatakrishnan said on CNBC on Tuesday that he believes the Fed will cut on the margin, partly due to the softness in the labor market.

Traders are also expecting to see the Fed lower rates. They currently see a near certainty that the Fed will cut by at least a quarter point, according to the CME Fedwatch tool based on Fed futures trading, and some are betting that there will be an even deeper cut of 50 basis points, or a half percentage point.

Even if inflation problems haven’t tangibly presented themselves yet, Venkatakrishnan said the current economy is signaling that CEOs should have their eyes on the longer term.

“We haven’t seen them yet, but we’ve got to be worried about them,” he said.

PNC Financial Services CEO Bill Demchak also joined the wave, telling CNBC on Tuesday there’s “underlying pressures in our economy” between hiring workers, labor shortages, wage pressure and more.

Demchak said he’s seeing evidence to support the BLS’ revised report, and he believes that evidence is likely the reason that the Fed will cut rates going forward, even as consumer spending is “driving the economy.”

“There’s pressures inside of our economy that I don’t know disappear just because tariffs might get behind us at some point,” Demchak said.



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AI tech and gaming helps lift sales for Currys amid ‘unhelpful’ cost pressures

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AI tech and gaming helps lift sales for Currys amid ‘unhelpful’ cost pressures



AI technology and gaming launches have helped drive higher sales for electronics retailer Currys, which also hailed a recovery of its Nordics arm.

The company said its financial performance was improving despite a “muted” consumer environment and “unhelpful” cost pressures.

It reported revenues totalling £4.2 billion for the six months to November, up 4% when compared like-for-like with the same period last year.

Adjusted pre-tax profits more than doubled to £22 million year-on-year.

In the UK and Ireland, where Currys has almost 300 shops, computing was the strongest category for sales with AI technology and new games leading the charge.

It also highlighted surging demand for smaller categories like gaming accessories, emerging technology like health and beauty innovations, and a 12% jump in the sale of Windows laptops.

Mobile products sold well over the half-year, with its mobile network brand iD increasing its share of the wider market, the firm said.

But it reported a dip in the sale of consumer electronics, including TVs and speakers, which the retailer attributed to there being a spike in demand last year during the men’s Euro 2024 football tournament.

Chief executive Alex Baldock said it was “pleasing that strong top-line growth is translating into improved profitability”.

But he added: “In the UK and Ireland, the consumer environment is more muted, and cost headwinds are unhelpful.”

Currys said profits in the UK were being weighed down by increases to the national minimum wage and employer national insurance contributions, from last year’s autumn budget.

These cost increases were not being fully offset by savings it has been striving to make across the business.

Nevertheless, Currys hailed an improved performance for its Nordics arm after launching a turnaround for the struggling business.

Revenues increased by 4% on a like-for-like basis for the region, which has more than 400 stores both owned and franchised, and earnings grew.

Shares in Currys jumped by about a 10th in early trading on Thursday.



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BP names new boss as current CEO leaves after less than two years

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BP names new boss as current CEO leaves after less than two years


Archie MitchellBusiness reporter

Reuters Newly appointed BP chief executive Meg O'Neill wears a grey suit and blue top while posing sat on the edge of a boardroom table.Reuters

Newly appointed BP chief executive Meg O’Neill

BP has appointed a new chief executive, making Meg O’Neill the first woman to run a major global oil firm.

The London-based energy giant said its current boss Murray Auchincloss would step down less than two years after he replaced Bernard Looney, who was found to have committed “serious misconduct” in failing to disclose relationships with colleagues.

BP executive vice president Carol Howle will serve as interim chief executive until Ms O’Neill, who has led Australian energy firm Woodside Energy since 2021, takes up her new role on 1 April.

Ms O’Neill said she looks forward to helping BP “do our part to meet the world’s energy needs”.

Mr Auchincloss, who took over from Mr Looney in September 2024, said he had told BP’s chairman in September that he was open to stepping down “were an appropriate leader identified”.

“I am confident that BP is now well positioned for significant growth and I look forward to watching the company’s future progress,” he said after Ms O’Neill’s appointment was announced. He will serve in an advisory role until December 2026.

Ms O’Neill said she would prioritise re-establishing the oil giant’s market leadership, as well as advancing safety and driving innovation and sustainability.

BP praised Ms O’Neill’s time as chief executive of Woodside Energy, pointing to the firm’s takeover of BHP Petroleum International in 2022.

It said she had grown the business into the largest energy company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Before joining Woodside, Ms O’Neill spent 23 years in technical, operational and leadership positions at Texas-based energy firm ExxonMobil.

Mr Looney was dismissed without notice in 2023, and forfeited up to £32.4m ($43.3m) in salary and benefits, after admitting that he was not “fully transparent” about his past personal relationships.

BP’s board said they had been “knowingly misled” by Mr Looney.

At the time, Mr Looney said in a statement that he was “disappointed with the way this situation has been handled”.

Ms O’Neill’s appointment comes as BP is cutting its renewable energy investments and instead focusing on increasing oil and gas production.

In February, the energy giant said it would shift its strategy following pressure from some investors who were frustrated that its profits and share price had lagged behind rivals.

Rivals Shell and Norwegian company Equinor have also scaled back plans to invest in green energy and US President Donald Trump’s call to “drill baby drill” has encouraged firms to invest in fossil fuels.

The sudden departure of Mr Auchincloss comes only three months after the appointment of a new chair of the BP board, Albert Manifold.

Energy consultant and former Shell executive Robin Mills told the BBC’s Today programme that the “surprise” appointment of Ms O’Neill was about refocusing on its core oil and gas businesses.

“The new chairman, Albert Manifold, has really decided to put his stamp on things,” he said.

“I think the announcement that’s been put here made it very clear that he felt Murray [Auchincloss] had done a decent job, but not enough and more was needed and some new leadership, some new blood.”



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As WNBA labor deadline nears, players union is ‘frustrated’ by lack of progress

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As WNBA labor deadline nears, players union is ‘frustrated’ by lack of progress


The WNBA Players Association executive director told CNBC she remains “frustrated” by the lack of progress toward a new collective bargaining agreement as the league’s new deadline to reach a deal approaches.

“We’re a little frustrated with where we are right now, but we are holding to our principles,” Terri Jackson, executive director of the WNBPA, told CNBC Sport in an interview. “We’re staying open to the fact that these negotiations will continue, because they must. We’ll be at the table for as long as they take, and we’re hopeful that there’s enough folks on the team side of things that will start to push these things along.”

Jackson told CNBC Sport she continues to negotiate with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, her counterpart in the talks, on a new labor deal for the league. The CBA, or labor contract, between the WNBA and its players expired on Oct. 31, but the deadline to strike a new agreement was extended to Jan. 9 when the sides failed to reach a deal.

WNBA players are looking for significant pay increases to get a bigger cut of the league’s revenue growth. The WNBA signed a media rights deal last year that amounted to a sixfold increase in revenue. The league and its players have been actively negotiating for months over issues related to salaries, benefits, working conditions and revenue sharing.

Jackson declined to mention specifics about where the negotiations have stalled, citing her nondisclosure agreement, but added, “Everything seems to still be a sticking point.”

A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces drives to the basket against the Phoenix Mercury during Game 4 of the 2025 WNBA Finals at PHX Arena in Phoenix, Oct. 10, 2025.

Mike Lawrence | National Basketball Association | Getty Images

The WNBA’s latest proposal to the union includes increasing the maximum salary to $1 million per season, with revenue sharing that could push that number to more than $1.2 million, according to a person familiar with the matter. The current supermax contract is just under $250,000 a year.

The new proposal would also increase the average annual salary to more than $500,000, with the league minimum projected to be over $225,000, said the person. Currently, the league minimum is just over $66,000.

As part of the proposed revenue sharing agreement, players would see pay increases built in each year. The terms of the revenue sharing have been a point of contention in the talks. The WNBPA recently proposed that players receive 30% of total league and team revenue, or more than double what the league proposed, The Athletic reported.

Jackson, who is spearheading negotiations on behalf of the players, said that despite the frustrations, the union remains hopeful that it can get a deal done before the imposed deadline.

“It’s hard for us to understand why we are so far apart on the things that we should be closer to that should be so easy, but it seems as though at times, the league and the team come into the negotiating room with a mentality that pay equity is optional, and pay equity is not optional,” Jackson said.

Jackson emphasized that she’s working hard to get a deal done by Jan. 9.

“Will there be another extension? There shouldn’t be another extension,” she said. “There doesn’t need to be another extension. We understand their position and point of view. They understand our position and point of view.”

As the WNBA enjoys record growth in television ratings, attendance and sponsorship, the one thing that could stall that momentum would be a work stoppage if the sides cannot come to terms, Jackson said. Several WNBA stars have already expressed their desire to avoid any missed games. The WNBA season begins in May 2026.

Engelbert said in October that the league wants to avoid a lockout.

“Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Nneka Ogwumike and Napheesa Collier … have all said that and that a work stoppage would be catastrophic,” Jackson said. “Nobody wants to see that happen.”

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