February Unemployment Rate Rises in Florida, Steady Elsewhere

-- State-level data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Wednesday showed the unemployment rate in February rose in one steady and held steady in 49 states and the District of Columbia.

The unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point in Florida. South Dakota and Hawaii had the lowest rate at 2.3% each while Washington D.C. had the highest at 6.5%.

The national unemployment rate was reported at 4.4% in February, up from 4.3% in January before falling back to 4.3% in March.

Nonfarm payrolls increased in one state, fell in two and were little changed elsewhere. Nationwide nonfarm payrolls decreased by 133,000 in February after a 160,000 gain in January. Payrolls rose by 178,000 in March.

The largest payrolls gain was in Arizona, which added 11,000 jobs, while the largest payrolls declines were in Illinois, where they fell by 17,800, and Nebraska, where they fell by 6,500.

State-level payrolls data for March are due to be released on May 6.

Research Alert: CFRA Maintains Hold Opinion On Shares Of Cleveland-cliffs Inc.

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:We cut our 12-month target by $2 to $10, on an EV/EBITDA of 8.0x our 2027 EBITDA estimate, below CLF's three-year avg. fwd EV/EBITDA of 8.6x and below peers' avg. of 8.8x. We keep our 2026 estimate at a loss per share of $0.39 and we lower our 2027 EPS forecast by $0.26 to $0.55. We forecast sequential improvement through 2026 as trade enforcement supports domestic steel pricing and demand strengthens, particularly in automotive. We anticipate positive free cash flow generation starting in Q2 2026, with Q3 representing the company's full earnings power given minimal outages. Key tailwinds include steel import volumes at post-financial crisis lows, aluminum-to-steel substitution gaining momentum across automotive and other sectors, and extended lead times reflecting healthy market conditions. However, we remain cautious on CLF's elevated leverage (net debt of $7.7 billion) and execution risk on the pending POSCO transaction. We think a Hold rating is appropriate until CLF demonstrates sustained EBITDA growth.

$CLF

Intel Posted Solid Q1 Results, but Recovery Already Priced Into the Stock, BofA Says

Intel (INTC) posted solid Q1 results, but the company's recovery is well-priced into the stock, and the foundry segment must prove to external clients amid diversification away from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), BofA Securities said in a Friday research report.Limited memory supply is a challenge to server hardware shipments, while new foundry deal wins will need more capex, pushing out breakeven beyond the end of 2027, according to the note.The brokerage said it raised its 2026, 2027, and 2028 EPS forecast to $1.04, 1.58, and $2.25, respectively, from $0.63, $1.14, and $1.50 earlier.Despite near-term benefits from rising demand for server central processing units, rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) likely has a better x86 server CPU product, analysts wrote.The brokerage said it reiterated its underperform rating on the stock and adjusted its price target to $56 per share from $48.Price: $82.20, Change: $+15.42, Percent Change: +23.09%

$AMD$INTC$TSM

JPMorgan Adjusts Invesco Price Target to $25 From $30, Maintains Neutral Rating

Invesco (IVZ) has an average rating of overweight and mean price target of $26.82, according to analysts polled by FactSet.(covers equity, commodity and economic research from major banks and research firms in North America, Asia and Europe. Research providers may contact us here: https://www..com/contact-us)Price: $25.47, Change: $+0.09, Percent Change: +0.37%

$IVZ

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