Wall Street's Bulls Love Energy Again
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
I'm J.R. Whalen in New York. After years of being shunned by investors, the energy sector has come to life, and the earnings numbers are staggering. We'll have details in a moment. First, these money headlines. The Labor Department says the number of unfilled jobs U.S. employers had at the end of March rose to a record high of 6.55 million. There were just 6.59 million unemployed Americans that month, creating the narrowest gap between available jobs and those actively seeking work in nearly two decades of record-keeping. There was essentially one job opening for every unemployed person in America in March, making this spring an excellent time to look for a job, especially in the service sector. The number of job openings increased by nearly one million from a year earlier in March.
Meanwhile, the number of unemployed who were actively looking for a job fell by almost 600,000, reflecting steady hiring. In April, the unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent. That's the lowest rate since December of 2000. According to the Wall Street Journal Daily Shot, growth in U.S. consumer credit was softer than expected in March as Americans paid down their credit card balances. Financially, it works in households' favor to pay down their credit card loans because the rates are now well above pre-crisis levels.
What economic headlines set the stage for this Money Briefing?
Meanwhile, a Gallup poll shows that more Americans expect to see increases in their local housing prices than at any point since 2005.
Why are job openings and unemployment figures important for markets right now?
And The Wall Street Journal real estate desk reports that Spanish actor Antonio Banderas is listing his Manhattan apartment, which overlooks Central Park, for $7.95 million. The Puss in Boots and The Mask of Zorro star purchased the home for just under $4 million in 2005 with then-wife Melanie Griffith. There are four bedrooms, four bathrooms, an office, an eat-in kitchen, plus formal living and dining rooms. This is your Money Briefing from The Wall Street Journal. Welcome back, everyone. Investors' on-again, off-again relationship with the energy sector is on again, thanks to rising crude oil prices brought on by production cuts and escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran. And Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Worsthorn is here to spell out the details for us.
So, Michael, just six weeks ago, the energy sector was yesterday's news. It's funny what oil prices topping $70 a barrel can do.
No. Yeah. It's been a phenomenal ride this year only because when you saw back in January, oil prices reaching near 70, never really quite got there until recently. But it was nearing there. The energy sector wasn't really moving the way it was now. And so there was a good period of time last year. and much of this year so far, up until recently, where oil prices weren't really correlating all that much with stock prices, which is, you know, when you think about just the last, you know, 20, 30 years with energy prices and how that affects stocks, you know, the greatest example was that slump in 2014 when prices tumbled from $100 a barrel. So, up until recently, there has been this disconnect, and now those stocks are really starting to move.
And it's not just that investors just recently soured on the energy sector. You alluded to this a moment ago. They've had a bad taste in their mouth going back to 2014. Yeah.
Over the last several years, investors at one point were piling tons and tons of money into energy. And there wasn't really much of a warning for a lot of investors when oil prices tumbled from $100 a barrel. So there were a lot of folks who were not that familiar with the space that I would describe as more of a generalist retail investor that didn't really understand sort of the ramifications that if oil prices were to suddenly plummet, what does that do to the value of those stocks? And it's going to be the big test for energy stocks going forward. And it's why you're only now seeing those investors get more comfortable. And it really just comes down to that you have a market that's sort of all over the place still right now.
There's a lot of things weighing on it right now.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:20
2
What economic headlines set the stage for this Money Briefing?
1:20–1:28
3
Why are job openings and unemployment figures important for markets right now?
1:28–5:20
4
How are consumer credit and housing sentiment changing in the current economy?
5:20–8:40
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from WSJ Your Money Briefing
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