U.S. Adds 160,000 Jobs In April, Smallest Gain In Seven Months

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy added the fewest number of jobs in seven months in April and Americans dropped out of the labor force in droves, signs of weakness that cast doubts on whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates before the end of the year.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 160,000 jobs last month as construction employment barely rose and the retail sector shed jobs, the Labor Department said on Friday.

That was the smallest gain since September and below the first-quarter average job growth of 200,000.

Employers added 19,000 fewer jobs in February and March than previously reported. While the unemployment rate held at 5.0 percent that was because people dropped out of the labor force.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising 202,000 last month and the jobless rate unchanged at 5 percent.

The stepdown in job growth could raise concerns that the weakness in overall economic activity was spilling over to the labor market. Economic growth slowed sharply in the first quarter this year.

Average hourly earnings were a bright spot in the employment report, rising eight cents or 0.3 percent last month. That took the year-on-year increase to 2.5 percent from 2.3 percent in March, still below the 3.0 percent advance that economists say is needed for inflation to rise to the Fed's 2.0 percent target.

The U.S. central bank last month offered a fairly upbeat assessment of the labor market, saying that conditions had "improved further."

The Fed raised its benchmark overnight interest rate in December for the first time in nearly a decade. Fed officials have forecast two more rate hikes for this year.

Market-based measures of Fed policy expectations have virtually priced out an interest rate increase at the Fed's June 14-15 meeting, according to CME Group's FedWatch. They see a less than 50 percent probability of rate hikes in September and November, with a 59 percent chance at the December meeting.

The labor force participation rate, or the share of working-age Americans who are employed or at least looking for a job, fell 0.2 percentage point to 62.8 percent. It had increased 0.6 percentage point since dipping to 62.4 percent in September.

The labor force fell by 362,000 as people dropped out in April.

The vast private services sector dominated employment gains in April. Manufacturing added 4,000 jobs last month after shedding 29,000 in March, the biggest loss for the sector since December 2009.

There were further job losses in mining as the energy sector adjusts to weak profits from a recent prolonged plunge in oil prices. Mining payrolls fell 8,000 last month. Mining employment has decreased by 191,000 jobs since peaking in September 2014, with 75 percent of the losses in support activities.

Gains in construction employment slowed sharply, with the sector adding 1,000 jobs in April, after home building showing some signs of fatigue last month.

Retail payrolls fell 3,100 after hefty gains in the first quarter, despite sluggish sales.

 

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

Powerball Lottery Jackpot Soars To $415 Million

(Reuters) - No one won the multi-state Powerball on Wednesday as the jackpot grew to at least $415 million, vaulting it into the top 10 highest U.S. lottery prizes in history, officials said.

The winning numbers from Wednesday's draw were 30, 47, 57, 66, 69 and the Powerball number was 3, lottery officials said.

The Powerball jackpot has grown past $300 million for the first time since January, when three tickets for the game split $1.6 billion, a record for any U.S. lottery.

Seventeen consecutive drawings have produced no winner, lottery officials said.

The odds of winning at Powerball are one in 292 million, which according to statistics experts is equivalent to flipping a coin 28 times and getting heads every time.

According to the Powerball website, no one matched all six numbers and won the jackpot on Wednesday as the prize reached about $415 million. The amount placed it in the top 10 of U.S. lottery prizes ever, California lottery spokesman Alex Traverso said. The next drawing would be on Saturday.

Powerball is played in 44 states, including California, which is the nation's most populous state, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Even as lottery officials gear up for this latest drawing, they are still waiting for one ticket holder to come forward from the record $1.6 billion Powerball drawing in January.

Lottery officials still have no idea who bought the ticket, sold in Chino Hills east of Los Angeles, Traverso said. Under the rules of the game, the holder has a year from the time of the drawing to claim a prize.

The two other winning tickets were sold in Tennessee and Florida, and those winners have come forward.

Powerball Lottery Jackpot Soars To $415 Million

(Reuters) - No one won the multi-state Powerball on Wednesday as the jackpot grew to at least $415 million, vaulting it into the top 10 highest U.S. lottery prizes in history, officials said.

The winning numbers from Wednesday's draw were 30, 47, 57, 66, 69 and the Powerball number was 3, lottery officials said.

The Powerball jackpot has grown past $300 million for the first time since January, when three tickets for the game split $1.6 billion, a record for any U.S. lottery.

Seventeen consecutive drawings have produced no winner, lottery officials said.

The odds of winning at Powerball are one in 292 million, which according to statistics experts is equivalent to flipping a coin 28 times and getting heads every time.

According to the Powerball website, no one matched all six numbers and won the jackpot on Wednesday as the prize reached about $415 million. The amount placed it in the top 10 of U.S. lottery prizes ever, California lottery spokesman Alex Traverso said. The next drawing would be on Saturday.

Powerball is played in 44 states, including California, which is the nation's most populous state, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Even as lottery officials gear up for this latest drawing, they are still waiting for one ticket holder to come forward from the record $1.6 billion Powerball drawing in January.

Lottery officials still have no idea who bought the ticket, sold in Chino Hills east of Los Angeles, Traverso said. Under the rules of the game, the holder has a year from the time of the drawing to claim a prize.

The two other winning tickets were sold in Tennessee and Florida, and those winners have come forward.

Ex-Pharma CEO Martin Shkreli May Get Smacked With More Charges

Former drug executive Martin Shkreli, who last year became a lightning rod for outrage over soaring prescription drug prices, may face additional U.S. charges of securities fraud, a federal prosecutor said on Tuesday.

More charges related to Shkreli's involvement with biopharmaceutical company Retrophin Inc could be filed within a month, Assistant U.S. Attorney Winston Paes said at a hearing in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.

Shkreli, 33, sparked outrage among patients, medical societies and U.S. lawmakers after another company he ran, Turing Pharmaceuticals, raised the price of the drug Daraprim by more than 5,000 percent to $750 a pill.

In December, U.S. authorities arrested him on fraud charges unrelated to the pricing of Daraprim, saying he ran his investment funds and companies almost like a Ponzi scheme. He stepped down from Turing and was fired from KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Shkreli has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer Benjamin Brafman told reporters after Tuesday's court hearing that he did not believe additional charges would change the case. After the hearing and on Twitter, Shkreli said he did not commit a crime and he agreed with a Twitter user who said Shkreli would not get a fair trial.

Lawyers at the hearing discussed possible trial dates late this year or in early 2017 for Shkreli and for Evan Greebel, a lawyer charged in the same case. Greebel has pleaded not guilty.

Stunning Photos Show A Typical Day At Work For Nomadic Reindeer Herders

In the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia, where temperatures fall as low as -58 degrees Farhenheit in the winter, nomadic herders watch over more than half a million reindeer. The animals provide shelter, clothing and transport for the Nenets, an indigenous people who travel 600 miles miles across the Russian Arctic region every year.

Photographer Sergey Anisimov followed the Nenets earlier this year as they migrated across Yamal, which means "the end of the earth" in the indigenous language. Check out his photos, below.

• Sergey Anisimov/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A reindeer flock is seen at a nomad camp, 150 km from the town of Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in Russia on April 2, 2016.
• Sergey Anisimov/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A reindeer herder woman looks on at a nomad camp, 150 km from the town of Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in Russia on April 2, 2016.
• Sergey Anisimov/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A reindeer herder catches a reindeer at a nomad camp, 150 km from the town of Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in Russia on April 2, 2016.
• Sergey Anisimov/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A reindeer herder looks on at a nomad camp, 150 km from the town of Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in Russia on April 2, 2016.
• Sergey Anisimov/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A reindeer herder eats his meal at a nomad camp, 150 km from the town of Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in Russia on April 2, 2016.
• Sergey Anisimov/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Nenets are seen inside their shelter, 150 km from the town of Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in Russia on April 2, 2016.
• Sergey Anisimov/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A Nenet family, 150 km from the town of Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in Russia on April 2, 2016.
• Sergey Anisimov/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A Nenet kid plays chess as his animal is seen next to him in his shelter, 150 km from the town of Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in Russia on April 2, 2016.
• Sergey Anisimov/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A reindeer flock is seen at a nomad camp, 150 km from the town of Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in Russia on April 2, 2016.
• Sergey Anisimov/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A Nenet man prepares his snow motorcycle, 150 km from the town of Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in Russia on April 2, 2016.
• Sergey Anisimov/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A reindeer herder fondles a reindeer at a nomad camp, 150 km from the town of Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in Russia on April 2, 2016.
• Sergey Anisimov/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Reindeer herders ride snow motorcycles at a nomad camp, 150 km from the town of Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in Russia on April 2, 2016.

Walgreens Broaches Possible Health Benefits Of Medical Marijuana

Walgreens wants to talk about marijuana.

In what appears to be an unprecedented move for a company its size, Walgreens published a discussion of the possible health benefits of medical marijuana on its health and wellness blog this week.

In the post, titled "Clarifying Clinical Cannabis," a resident pharmacist at the company takes a look at medical marijuana's side effects, the debate about its medicinal properties and its legality:

"Research has indicated it may impair your lungs, memory and judgment. However, research has also shown marijuana provides pain relief in ways traditional pain medicines don’t. Medical marijuana can improve appetite and relieve nausea in those who have cancer and it may help relieve symptoms such as muscle stiffness in people who have multiple sclerosis."

It's not exactly clear what the company's intentions are. Its parent company, Walgreen Co., isn't ready to say it's throwing its hat in the ring of an industry whose recreational and medical sales topped out at $5.4 billion in 2015.

"The content is strictly informative, and nowhere do we take any stance on the issue," Jim Cohn, a spokesman for Walgreen Co., told The Huffington Post. "It was developed to address some of the questions we’ve received from patients and customers through various channels."

Indeed, Americans want to talk about weed. Recent polling by CBS News suggests 56 percent of Americans want marijuana to be legalized across the board, and half of Americans have tried it. 

Corporations, however, have tiptoed around the issue, especially when it comes to marijuana's touted health applications. Companies like Target have faced fierce backlash for speaking out about hot-button issues at all. It's interesting, then, that a pharmacy chain is joining the discussion about medical marijuana.

Advocates say it's a low-risk move.

"In the corporate world one assumes the biggest risk for an institution like Walgreens is a backlash from the consuming public -- but fear of the backlash from American consumers hasn't been a realistic concern for a long time," Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, told HuffPost.

He went on:

"More than half of the public now resides in jurisdictions where the physician-supervised use of cannabis therapy for qualifying patients is legal, and over 85 percent of voters acknowledge that cannabis is a safe and effective treatment that ought to be permitted. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that those within the public health sphere are now publicly acknowledging and responding to this reality," he said in an email. 

While Walgreen may balk at the idea that its blog post represents a big change in national discourse, the company has always been tactful in its communications with consumers. In 2014 it scrapped a plan to move its headquarters to Switzerland to take advantage of low corporate tax rates -- a move that would have cost taxpayers $4 billion over the following five years -- in response to public pressure. 

Its blog post was published on Tumblr, which targets marijuana's most favorable audience: Young people. Seventy-one percent of adults under 35 think marijuana use should be legal, according to the CBS poll.

In any case, it'll be a while before you'll be picking up an ounce of purple haze at Walgreens or Duane Reade. Twenty-four states have legalized marijuana for medical use, and Washington, D.C., and four other states have legalized recreational use, but it's still banned federally.

Uber Rebukes Drivers' Push For Tipping Option Because Of Racism

Uber drivers have for months been pushing the company to give riders the option to leave a tip, as the ride-hailing titan's main competitor, Lyft, does.

As part of Uber's $100 million settlement with drivers, the company now permits them to let riders know that tips aren't included in their fare, either with a sign or by directly asking them. But the app still doesn't include an option to add gratuity, so people looking to reward their drivers have to pay cash -- even though Uber otherwise operates using cashless transactions.

On its website, Uber actively discourages tipping, too. So, why's the company so against an optional service charge?

Racism, apparently.

A spokesperson for the company told the Boston Globe that giving customers the option to tip would inevitably lead some drivers to get paid more than others. The spokesperson pointed to two reports showing that minorities on average get tipped less than white people. 

But drivers told the Globe that the potential for discrimination doesn't bother them:

Some drivers reacted with strong skepticism, saying Uber’s low fares -- currently $1.24 per mile and 20 cents per minute, plus fees, for an Uber X in Boston -- mean that any tip would be a big help, even if some drivers unfairly get more. The company should at least test a tipping function on its app in one city, they said, and see how strong the bias effect really is.

 

Uber explained in a blog post on Thursday that tipping might also encourage drivers to stay away from low-income areas (which already tend to be underserved by taxis) because they might get smaller tips. 

More broadly, the company "felt it would be better for riders and drivers to know for sure what they would pay or earn on each trip  -- without the uncertainty of tipping."

Many restaurants have done away with gratuity and have begun paying servers a liveable wage instead. It makes sense: tipping does sometimes lead to discrimination, and studies have shown that it doesn't even necessarily lead to better service.

The difference is that Uber doesn’t pay drivers wages. Drivers, who are considered independent contractors rather than employees, rely on fares to get by rather than receiving a salary or set hourly rate. They also don't get health care and other benefits.

So, depending on the time or day, the length of rides, and any number of other factors, an Uber driver might not even make minimum wage. And that's why extra tips matter so much to them.

As part of the settlement, Uber created a "drivers association" in the two states where drivers brought the class action suit. It's unclear what, if any, power the group will have, but tipping is likely going to be an issue that comes up in the future. 

Note: The Huffington Post's Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington is a member of Uber's board of directors, and has recused herself from any involvement in the site's coverage of the company.