Today's Scoop:

Hey friends - almost Friday. Here's what you need to know today...

1. Companies are still hiring at a fast pace.

2. Weekly layoffs broadly are still very low.

3. International trade slowed significantly in November.

S&P 500: 3,808.101Mo: -3% | 1Yr: -19% | 5Yr: +37%

The market sank today as investors worried about how strong the jobs market is. It might sound like a good thing, but policymakers see it as a sign of an overheating economy and will keep raising rates until hiring slows.

Despite plenty of staff-slashing stories from big companies, layoffs are still low overall. The Labor Department reported initial jobless claims fell to 204,000 last week, much lower than economists expected and in line with pre-pandemic averages.

Hiring hasn't slowed all that much either. We get the official December Labor Dept jobs report tomorrow, but payroll provider ADP today said private sector companies hired 235,000 more people last month. It far exceeded economist expectations. Small and medium-sized businesses are catching up on hiring.

International trade slowed significantly in November. The Commerce Department reported a 2% decline in exports amidst a weak global economy and a strong US dollar. Imports fell 6% as US consumers spent less on holiday shopping.

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Different scope emissions

Many carbon-intensive industries like energy, power, and industrials have started promising to decrease their carbon intensity. This is not a pledge to reduce the total amount of greenhouse gases their companies emit into the atmosphere, but instead the amount of emissions per unit of production.

An oil company might move to electrify its refinery, powering its operations from solar energy instead of burning fossil fuels. That would decrease the direct emissions of the oil pumping, but if it decides to pump more oil, it might still be increasing its total absolute emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year.

Critics say it's an essential first step in decarbonizing heavy industries, but it might be less progress than it sounds.