Good morning!
The first quarter may look wobbly but the job market for recent grads in the U.S. is the best it has been in 40 years. And here’s something to think about: Anyone who joined the ranks of Wall Street in the past five years has never seen a bear market. Anyone just 5-10 years older experienced both the tech boom-and-bust of the early aughts and the hair-raising days of the 2008 financial meltdown. And get this: The newbies have never seen the Federal Reseve raise interest rates. Let’s hope they have some seatbelts on the trading floors.
GDP probably shrank in the first quarter in the U.S. Commerce Department is likely to revise its initial reading of growth from up 0.2% to down 0.8%. Economists are expecting the number to be an anomaly, the function of bad weather and a strong dollar and that the economy will expand for the rest of the year. Reuters
The Swiss economy really is shrinking. GDP shrank 0.2% as the strong franc hit businesses hard. The central bank stunned everyone in January, lifting a cap on the franc. Experts are divided on the likelihood of a recession there. May leading indicator were stronger than expected, pointing to improvement six months from now. Reuters
Sepp Blatter likely to win fifth term as president of troubled FIFA. The governing body of the soccer organization is expected to keep Blatter at its head despite dozens of charges of corruption by some of FIFA’s top officials. Blatter was not arrested in the dragnet. President since 1998, revenues at FIFA have soared. Wall Street Journal
Michael Jackson’s Neverland goes on sale. The late pop superstar’s ranch in California is heading to the market with a $100 million price tag. The 2,700-acre property has around 22 structures and is now known as “Sycamore Valley Ranch.” The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
PIMCO considered Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn for CEO job in 2013. Cohn was included in the short list of those who will succeed Mohamed El Erian. After El-Erian’s departure from the firm, PIMCO overhauled its management – appointed Douglas Hodge as CEO and created six deputy CIOs reporting to Bill Gross. Bloomberg
Bob Schieffer, host of Face the Nation, to retire. He’s announced this before but after 24 years at the show and 46 years at CBS, the iconic newsman says he’s really leaving this time. Sunday will mark his farewell show. New York Times
Photo by Andrew Schwegler via Flickr.