In a week marked by surprising economic developments, the U.S. labor market showed unexpected strength, while a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange faced a significant blunder.
According to the U.S. Labor Department’s nonfarm payrolls report, employers added 130,000 jobs in January, nearly double economists’ forecasts. This robust growth was largely fueled by a surge in healthcare positions, which contributed to a slight dip in the unemployment rate to 4.3%.
Over in the cryptocurrency realm, the South Korean exchange Bithumb found itself in hot water after inadvertently sending out $44 billion worth of bitcoins to customers. Initially intended as a promotional campaign where winners would receive small cash rewards of about 2,000 Korean won (approximately $1.40), some recipients instead ended up with at least 2,000 bitcoins each. This colossal error caused a 17% drop in bitcoin prices. Bithumb quickly issued an apology and reported that it managed to recover nearly all of the mistakenly sent bitcoins by the following weekend.
In the luxury sector, Kering, the parent company of Gucci, reported $3.4 billion in sales for the fourth quarter, signaling that the decline in sales was less severe than analysts had anticipated. This positive outcome represents a solid debut for new CEO Luca de Meo, amid concerns about the company’s debt levels and waning profitability over the past four years.
Meanwhile, global brewing giant Heineken announced plans to cut 6,000 jobs, accounting for approximately 7% of its workforce. This decision comes in response to weak demand and lower profit growth expectations for the upcoming year. The company revised its forecast, now anticipating an expansion between 2% and 6%, compared to last year’s projection of 4% to 8%.
Finally, the valuation of Anthropic, a company focused on coding and AI technology, surged to $380 billion following a recent funding round that raised $30 billion. This valuation more than doubles the company’s previous worth and reflects significant investments from industry titans like Microsoft and Nvidia, further establishing Anthropic’s unique position within the tech landscape.
