Shipping giant to invest $20B in U.S.

President Donald Trump said shipping giant CMA CGM SA would invest $20 billion into the United States to build out shipping logistics, infrastructure and terminals.

An estimated 10,000 new jobs would be created by the effort, Trump said at an event at the White House alongside CMA CGM Chief Executive Rodolphe Saadé.

“It’s so important because it’s about shipping,” Trump said. “You know, we lost our way for many years. We haven’t done anything. We used to build a ship a day.”

The president added that he planned to announce a new government program for shipbuilding next week. In his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Trump said he would “create a new office of shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax incentives to bring this industry home to America.”

Saadé said his company was also examining investing in building container vessels and could make an additional announcement in the coming weeks.

It’s not clear what portion of the announcement by CMA CGM represents a new commitment.

Mortgage rates post big weekly drop

Mortgage rates in the U.S. fell for a seventh straight week, posting the biggest weekly drop since the middle of September.

The average for 30-year loans was 6.63%, down from 6.76% last week, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday. House hunters have gotten some rate relief in time for the country’s traditional peak season for transactions. Declining borrowing costs and the growing supply of listings may draw in more buyers by easing affordability pressures.

“The decline in rates increases prospective homebuyers’ purchasing power and should provide a strong incentive to make a move,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in the statement.

A seasonally adjusted measure of applications for home purchases was up 9% in the week ended Feb. 28 from a week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

“Purchase activity typically ramps up this time of year and did last week, continuing its run ahead of last year’s pace,” Joel Kan, MBA’s deputy chief economist, said in a statement Wednesday.

Jobless claims drop but clouds ahead

Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week and returned to muted levels seen at the start of the year, offering some relief after other reports pointed to worsening labor-market conditions.

Initial claims decreased by 21,000 to 221,000 in the week ended March 1, lower than analysts anticipated. However continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, rose to an almost three-year high reached in January, a sign those out of work are having more trouble finding new positions.

Separate data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray Christmas published earlier Thursday showed February had the highest number of job-cut announcements since mid-2020, led by federal agencies, as well as retail and technology firms.

The Challenger report raised concerns about a coming deterioration in the labor market as the Trump administration moves to shrink the federal government and tariffs weigh on business decisions.

Compiled from Bloomberg reports.