TheStreet's J.D. Durkin brings the latest business headlines from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as markets open for trading Friday, December 8th.
Full Video Transcript Below:
J.D. DURKIN: I’m J.D. Durkin - reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s what we’re watching on TheStreet today.
Investors are reacting to the November jobs report … 199,000 jobs were added in the month of November, above analyst expectations of 180,000. The unemployment rate fell to 3.7 percent from 3.9 percent in October. According to analysts, the increase in employment could be attributed to the over 40,000 autoworkers and actors that were on strike. This report will be key when the Federal Reserve decides interest rates on December 13th.
In other news - Amazon is now testing a grocery delivery service for Prime members. Prime members will have the option to pay $9.99 a month for unlimited grocery deliveries from Whole Foods or Amazon Fresh on orders of more than $35. The new program will also give members a 30-minute pickup window for any order.
Of the new initiative, Amazon’s head of physical store business said, “We’re always experimenting with features to make shopping easier, faster, and more affordable, and we look forward to hearing how members who take advantage of this offer respond."
Since acquiring Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in 2017, Amazon has worked to grow its grocery business. The company launched a chain of Amazon Fresh supermarkets and has merged online and brick-and-mortar grocery services.
The new pilot program is being tested in three cities: Denver, Colorado; Sacramento, California; and Columbus, Ohio.
That’ll do it for your daily briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m J.D. Durkin with TheStreet.
