Markets Renew Fed Rate Cut Hopes

Indications of continuing sluggishness in the U.S. economy as revealed in the Fed’s Beige book renewed Fed rate cut expectations. Markets also digested the dollar’s weakness and the easing in bond yields. Positive earnings updates from the corporate sector also swayed sentiment.

According to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, the likelihood of a quarter-point cut in the next Fed review in November has increased to 95 percent from 91.8 percent a day earlier.

Wall Street Futures are directionless. European benchmarks are trading higher. Asian benchmarks however closed on a mostly negative note.

The Dollar Index declined. Bond yields mostly eased. Escalation in geopolitical tensions lifted crude oil prices. Gold prices rebounded after Wednesday’s correction. Cryptocurrencies are trading mixed.

Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.

Stock Indexes:

DJIA (US30) at 42,469.80 down 0.11%
S&P 500 (US500) at 5,826.60, up 0.50%
Germany’s DAX at 19,506.45, up 0.64%
U.K.’s FTSE 100 at 8,303.79, up 0.55%
France’s CAC 40 at 7,553.09, up 0.74%
Euro Stoxx 50 at 4,959.25, up 0.75%
Japan’s Nikkei 225 at 38,177.50, up 0.26%
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 at 8,206.30, down 0.12%
China’s Shanghai Composite at 3,280.26, down 0.68%
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng at 20,489.62, down 1.30%

Currencies:

EUR/USD at 1.0802, up 0.19%
GBP/USD at 1.2969, up 0.38%
USD/JPY at 151.87, down 0.58%
AUD/USD at 0.6657, up 0.36%
USD/CAD at 1.3817, down 0.14%
Dollar Index at 104.14, down 0.28%

Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:

U.S. at 4.192%, down 1.23%
Germany at 2.2610%, down 2.25%
France at 2.986%, down 1.84%
U.K. at 4.2680%, up 1.59%
Japan at 0.946%, down 1.46%

Commodities:

Brent Oil Futures (Dec) at $76.29, up 1.77%.
Crude Oil WTI Futures (Dec) at $71.95, up 1.67%.
Gold Futures (Dec) at $2,751.00, up 0.79%.

Cryptocurrencies:

Bitcoin at $66,947.49, up 0.73%
Ethereum at $2,524.25, down 2.18%
BNB at $588.37, up 0.98%
Solana at $172.37, up 3.71%
XRP at $0.526, down 0.05%.

U.S. Stocks May Regain Ground Following Recent Pullback

Following the steep drop seen in the previous session, stocks are likely to move back to the upside in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.5 percent.

Traders may look to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following recent weakness on Wall Street, which has seen the Dow and the S&P 500 pull back well of last Friday’s record closing highs.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq is likely to benefit from a surge by shares of Tesla (TSLA), as the electric vehicle maker is soaring by 14.2 percent in pre-market trading.

The spike by Tesla comes after the company reported better than expected third quarter earnings and CEO Elon Musk said his “best guess” is “vehicle growth” will reach 20 to 30 percent next year.

Shares of UPS (UPS) are also seeing significant pre-market strength after the delivery giant reported third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

On the other hand, a slump by shares of IBM (IBM) may limit any upside for the Dow, with the tech giant tumbling by 3.1 percent in pre-market trading after reporting weaker than expected third quarter revenues.

Fellow Dow component Boeing (BA) may also come under pressure after the aerospace giant’s machinists union rejected a new labor deal, extending a six-week strike.

Nonetheless, the broader markets may benefit from a pullback by treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note giving back ground after reaching its highest levels in almost three months.

Stocks came under pressure early in the session on Wednesday and saw further downside over the course of the trading day. The major averages all moved notably lower, with the Dow and the S&P 500 extending their losing streaks to three days.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels late in the session but remained firmly negative. The Dow slumped 409.94 points or 1.0 percent to 42,514.95, the Nasdaq tumbled 296.47 points or 1.6 percent to 18,276.65 and the S&P 500 slid 53.78 points or 0.9 percent to 5,797.42.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.3 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.7 percent, although Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index bucked the downtrend and inched up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.51 to $71.28 a barrel after slumping $0.97 to $70.77 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after plunging $30.40 to $2,729.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are jumping $21.80 to $2,751.20 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 152.21 yen versus the 152.76 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0793 compared to yesterday’s $1.0782.

U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly See Further Downside

After reporting an unexpected pullback by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the previous week, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing initial jobless claims saw further downside in the week ended October 19th.

The report said initial jobless claims fell to 227,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 242,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 242,000 from the 241,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Jobless claims continued to give back ground after reaching their highest level in over a year in the week ended October 5th.

“Initial jobless claims declined again in the week ended October 19, as claims in some states impacted by Hurricane Helene continued to retreat from their recent highs, although claims in Florida rose, likely a result of Hurricane Milton,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

She added, “With the latest week’s decline, claims are in line with pre-hurricane levels and consistent with a labor market that continues to be characterized by few layoffs.”

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 238,500, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 236,500.

The report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also climbed by 28,000 to 1.897 million in the week ended October 12th.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims also rose to 1,860,750, an increase of 17,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 1,843,250.

“The underlying trends in continuing claims suggest it’s gradually becoming harder for workers to find new job opportunities,” said Nationwide Financial Markets Economist Oren Klachkin. “However, we’re far from a recession type of environment. Simply put, claims aren’t near levels that make us worried about the labor market.”

Next Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on employment in the month of October.

Intel Wins EU Court Battle As EUR 1.06 Bln Fine Annulled

Intel Corp. has won a long-running court battle in the European Union, where the Court of Justice, Europe’s top court, upheld the annulment by the General Court of a 1.06 billion euros fine imposed by the Commission on the chipmaker. The European regulator had alleged an abuse of a dominant position on the part of Intel.

It was in May 2009 that the European Commission imposed the fine on Intel, after complaining that the microprocessor manufacturer had abused its dominant position on the market for x86 microprocessors by granting, inter alia, loyalty rebates to its customers and to a desktop computer distributor. These companies reportedly included computer makers Dell, Hewlett-Packard Co, NEC and Lenovo.

In 2014, the General Court dismissed in its entirety Intel’s action against that Commission decision. On the appeal brought by Intel, the Court of Justice set aside that judgment and referred the case back to the General Court.

The General Court, hearing the case referred back to it, annulled the Commission’s decision in part and annulled the fine of 1.06 billion euros in its entirety.

Following the Commission’s appeal against the General Court’s 2022 judgment, the Court of Justice now dismissed the appeal, thereby upholding the judgment of the General Court.

The Commission in its appeal claimed that the General Court’s review of its assessments relating to the as-efficient-competitor test was vitiated by procedural irregularities, errors of law and distortion of the evidence.

In its judgment, the Court of Justice rejected all of the grounds of appeal raised by the Commission. With regard to the as-efficient-competitor test, the Court of Justice confirmed that it is for the General Court to examine any argument that is intended to call into question the Commission’s assessments and that is capable of invalidating the conclusions reached by the Commission at the end of that test.

According to the Court of Justice, the Commission’s arguments may relate both to the compatibility of its assessments with the principles governing the as-efficient-competitor test and to the evidential value of the matters of fact on which the Commission relied.

The Court of Justice also confirmed that it is not for the General Court to ascertain whether the operative part of the Commission’s decision could be justified on the basis of reasoning that did not contain the errors found by it, where that reasoning is not set out in that decision in a coherent way.

Along with the now annulled fine, the European Commission in September 2023 had re-imposed a fine of around 376.36 million euros on Intel, alleging that the company engaged in a series of anticompetitive practices aimed at excluding competitors from the relevant market in breach of EU antitrust rules.

On the Nasdaq, Intel is now trading at $22.15, up 0.77 percent.

Cryptocurrencies Rise Amidst Rate Cut Uncertainty

Cryptocurrencies rose in the past 24 hours amidst uncertainty regarding the interest rate trajectory in the U.S.

Fed rate cut expectations were reinforced with the release of the Fed’s Beige book on Wednesday. The commentary on current economic conditions across the 12 Federal Reserve Districts pointed to continued sluggishness in the U.S. economy. The report showed that economic activity was little changed in nearly all Districts since early September, though two Districts reported modest growth. Most Districts reported declining manufacturing activity.

However, the initial jobless claims data released by the U.S. department of labor on Thursday dampened rate cut hopes. Initial jobless claims for the week ended October 19 unexpectedly decreased to 227 thousand from 242 thousand in the previous week. Markets had expected a level of 242 thousand. The decline in claims triggered fears of the Fed delaying rate cuts as concerns about the labor market diminished.

The CME FedWatch tool now shows the likelihood of a quarter point rate cut in November at 93 percent versus 91.8 percent a day earlier, 87.7 percent a week earlier and 41.8 percent a month earlier.

Crypto market sentiment has also been swayed by attempts to assess the potential outcome of the U.S. presidential election on risk assets, specifically cryptocurrencies. With bets of a win for Donald Trump rising, crypto analysts have turned the spotlight on the likely post-election behavior of risk assets, given the anticipated surge in the U.S. Dollar as well as U.S. treasury yields. Amidst a lingering fear that Trump’s tax and tariff policies could increase inflationary pressures, markets are wary of adverse cryptocurrency price movements even in the event of a Trump presidency.

Amidst the renewed uncertainty, Coinmarketcap’s Crypto Fear and Greed Index, a barometer of the emotional state of the market has cooled to 52, denoting a neutral stance underpinned on uncertainty. It was 60 (greed) a week earlier and 51 (neutral) a month earlier.

Mildly positive sentiment prevails in crypto currency market, with overall market capitalization rising close to a percent overnight. Market capitalization is currently at $2.31 trillion.

Bitcoin is currently trading at $67,664.66, around 8 percent below the all-time high recorded in March 2024. Bitcoin has gained 1.8 percent overnight and 1.4 percent over the past 7 days. Year-to-date gains have also increased to more than 60 percent.

Data from Farside Investors on Bitcoin Spot ETF products in the U.S. showed net inflows of $192.4 million on Wednesday versus net outflows of $79.1 million on Tuesday. iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) topped with inflows of $317.5 million. Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) that witnessed record outflows on Wednesday topped outflows with $99 million.

Ethereum slipped 1.7 percent overnight to trade at $2,530.23, around 48 percent below the all-time high. Ether has shed 2.6 percent in the past 7 days. Year-to-date gains have also decreased to 10.9 percent.

Data from Farside Investors on Ethereum Spot ETF products in the U.S. showed net inflows of $1.2 million on Wednesday versus net inflows of $11.9 million a day earlier.

Bitcoin’s crypto market dominance has increased to 57.7 percent from 57.3 percent a day earlier. In contrast, Ethereum’s share of the overall crypto market has slipped to 13.2 percent from 13.5 percent a day earlier.

4th ranked BNB (BNB) added 1.2 percent overnight but has slipped quarter percent on a weekly basis to trade at $590.69. BNB has gained close to 89 percent in 2024.

5th ranked Solana (SOL) rallied 4.5 percent overnight and 15.2 percent over the past 7 days. SOL is currently trading at $175.17.

7th ranked XRP (XRP) edged up 0.62 percent overnight but is saddled with weekly losses of more than 4.2 percent to trade at $0.5296. Year-to-date losses are a little more than 13.8 percent.

Dogecoin (DOGE), ranked 8th overall has gained 0.8 percent in the past 24 hours and 14.9 percent in the past week to trade at $0.1398.

9th ranked TRON (TRX) rallied 2.2 percent overnight and in the past week. TRX is currently trading at $0.1635.

10th ranked Toncoin (TON) edged up 0.10 percent overnight but has slipped 0.3 percent over the past 7 days to trade at $5.16.

73rd ranked cat in a dogs world (MEW), a Solana-based meme coin topped overnight gains with a surge of 13.3 percent. 55th ranked Popcat (POPCAT) followed with an addition of 12.5 percent.

78th ranked Apecoin (APE) topped overnight losses with an erosion of 7.9 percent. 91st ranked Axie Infinity (AXS) and 69th ranked Maker (MKR) followed with losses of more than 3 percent.

For More Cryptocurrency News, visit rttnews.com

Unilever Stock Up On Q3 Underlying Sales Growth, Outlook

Shares of Unilever Plc were gaining around 3 percent in the Amsterdam trading as well as on the NYSE on Thursday after the consumer goods major reported higher underlying sales growth in its third quarter, and maintained its fiscal 2024 growth forecast. The third-quarter sales, on a reported basis, remained flat.

CEO Hein Schumacher said, “We have delivered a fourth consecutive quarter of positive, improved volume growth, with each of our Business Groups driving higher volumes year-on-year…. We are on track to deliver our 2024 outlook and are confident that the steps we are taking will help to transform Unilever over time into a consistently higher performing business.”

Regarding the progress on the planned Ice Cream separation and productivity programme, the company said the separation activity is on track to complete by the end of 2025.

For the full year, the company continues to expect underlying sales growth to be within its multi-year range of 3 percent to 5 percent, with the majority of the growth being driven by volume.

Underlying operating margin for the full year is expected to be at least 18 percent. The year-on-year margin progression in the second half would be smaller than in the first half.

In its third-quarter trading statement, Unilever said its turnover of 15.2 billion euros was in line with the prior year, amid a negative currency impact of 2.8 percent and 1.5 percent from disposals net of acquisitions.

Underlying sales growth was 4.5 percent against slower market growth, led by its Power Brands, with particularly strong performances from Dove, Liquid I.V., Comfort and Magnum. Price growth continued to moderate in line with expectations.

Underlying volume increased to 3.6 percent as all business groups achieved positive volume growth. As expected, underlying price growth continued to moderate to 0.9 percent.

In the quarter, the Power Brands recorded 5.4 percent underlying sales growth, driven by volume growth of 4.3 percent. Other brands also delivered volume growth of 1.3 percent.

Beauty & Wellbeing sales increased 5.5 percent to 3.2 billion euros on a reported basis, and the growth was 6.7 percent on an underlying basis, with volume growth of 5.7 percent.

Personal Care sales, meanwhile, dropped 5.7 percent to 3.4 billion euros, while underlying sales increased 4.4 percent with 3.1 percent from volume, driven by a strong Dove performance.

Home Care sales also declined 2.9 percent to 3 billion euros, but underlying sales increased 1.9 percent, with 3.3 percent volume growth.

Nutrition sales fell 1.5 percent to 3.2 billion euros, but underlying sales grew 1.5 percent.

Sales of Ice Cream unit, which is being separated, were 2.4 billion euros, up 8.1 percent on a reported basis and up 9.8 percent on an underlying basis, with 6.7 percent growth from volume and 2.9 percent from price.

In the quarter, underlying sales from developed markets increased 6.9 percent with 6.8 percent from volume and 0.1 percent from price. Emerging markets’ sales also went up 2.9 percent, with 1.4 percent from volume and 1.5 percent from price.

Meanwhile, sales in China declined low-single digit with market weakness across categories. South East Asia declined mid-single digit, driven by an 18 percent decline in Indonesia.

In Amsterdam, Unilever shares were trading at 57.68 euros, up 3.33 percent.

On the NYSE, the shares are at $62.26, up 2.67 percent.

U.S. New Home Sales Surge More Than Expected To Highest Level In Over A Year

New home sales in the U.S. rebounded by much more than expected in the month of September, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.

The Commerce Department said new home sales surged by 4.1 percent to an annual rate of 738,000 in September after tumbling by 2.3 percent to a revised rate of 709,000 in August.

Economists had expected new home sales to climb by 0.5 percent to an annual rate of 720,000 from the 716,000 originally reported for the previous month.

With the much bigger than expected increase, new home sales reached their highest level since hitting an annual rate of 741,000 in May 2023.

The report said new home sales in the Northeast skyrocketed by 21.7 percent to an annual rate of 28,000, while new home sales in the South spiked by 5.8 percent to an annual rate of 477,000.

Meanwhile, new home sales in the West were unchanged at an annual rate of 156,000, and new home sales in the Midwest slumped by 2.5 percent to an annual rate of 77,000.

The Commerce Department also said the median sales price of new houses sold in September was $426,300, up 3.8 percent from $410,900 in August and up 0.1 percent from $426,100 a year ago.

The estimate of new houses for sale at the end of September was 470,000, which represents 7.6 months of supply at the current sales rate. The months of supply is down from 7.9 in August but up from 7.5 in September 2023.

A separate report released by the National Association of Realtors on Wednesday unexpectedly showed a continued decrease by existing home sales in the U.S. in the month of September.

NAR said existing home sales slid by 1.0 percent to an annual rate of 3.84 million in September after tumbling by 2.0 percent to a revised rate of 3.88 million in August.

Economists had expected existing home sales to increase by 1.0 percent to a rate of 3.90 million from the 3.86 million originally reported for the previous month.

Nasdaq, S&P 500 Regaining Ground But Dow Seeing Further Downside

After ending the previous session sharply lower, the major U.S. stock indexes are turning in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. While the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are regaining ground, the narrower Dow is seeing further downside.

Currently, the Dow is down 155.38 points or 0.4 percent at 42,359.57, but the Nasdaq is up 84.66 points or 0.5 percent at 18,361.32 and the S&P 500 is up 6.46 points or 0.1 percent at 5,803.88.

The rebound by the tech-heavy Nasdaq is partly due to a surge by shares of Tesla (TSLA), with the electric vehicle maker soaring 17.0 percent.

The spike by Tesla comes after the company reported better than expected third quarter earnings and CEO Elon Musk said his “best guess” is “vehicle growth” will reach 20 to 30 percent next year.

Shares of UPS (UPS) are also seeing significant strength after the delivery giant reported third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

On the other hand, a nosedive by shares of IBM (IBM) is weighing on the Dow, with the tech giant plunging by 6.6 percent after reporting weaker than expected third quarter revenues.

Fellow Dow component Honeywell (HON) has also tumbled by 3.8 percent after the conglomerate reported better than expected third quarter earnings but revenues missed estimates.

Boeing (BA) has also moved to the downside after the aerospace giant’s machinists union rejected a new labor deal, extending a six-week strike.

Sector News

While most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day, gold stocks have moved sharply lower despite an increase by the price of the precious metal.

Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is tumbling by 2.7 percent, pulling back further off Tuesday’s four-year closing high.

Airline stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, as reflected by the 1.2 percent loss being posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. Southwest Airlines (LUV) is posting a steep loss despite reporting better than expected third quarter results.

Oil service are also under pressure amid a modest decrease by the price of crude oil, while housing stocks have moved notably higher following the release of a Commerce Department report showing a spike by new home sales in September.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.3 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.7 percent, although Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index bucked the downtrend and inched up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 0.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground after moving notably lower over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 4.0 basis points at 4.202 percent.

Nasdaq, S&P 500 Regain Ground But Dow Extends Losing Streak

Following the steep drop seen during Wednesday’s session, the major U.S. stock indexes turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 regained ground, but the narrower Dow saw further downside to close lower for the fourth straight day.

The major averages finished the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Dow dipped 140.59 points or 0.3 percent to 42,374.36, the S&P 500 rose 12.44 points or 0.2 percent to 5,809.86 and the Nasdaq climbed 138.83 points or 0.8 percent to 18,415.49.

The rebound by the tech-heavy Nasdaq was partly due to a surge by shares of Tesla (TSLA), with the electric vehicle maker soaring by 21.9 percent.

The spike by Tesla came after the company reported better than expected third quarter earnings and CEO Elon Musk said his “best guess” is “vehicle growth” will reach 20 to 30 percent next year.

Shares of UPS (UPS) also saw significant strength after the delivery giant reported third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

On the other hand, a nosedive by shares of IBM (IBM) weighed on the Dow, with the tech giant plunging by 6.2 percent after reporting weaker than expected third quarter revenues.

Fellow Dow component Honeywell (HON) also tumbled by 5.1 percent after the conglomerate reported better than expected third quarter earnings but revenue missed estimates.

Boeing (BA) also moved to the downside after the aerospace giant’s machinists union rejected a new labor deal, extending a six-week strike.

Sector News

Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, although substantial weakness was visible among airline stocks, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index plunging by 3.5 percent.

Southwest Airlines (LUV) led the sector lower, plummeting by 5.6 percent even though the airline reported better than expected third quarter results.

Gold stocks also showed a substantial move to the downside despite an increase by the price of the precious metal, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 2.9 percent.

On the other hand, housing stocks saw considerable strength on the day, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 1.5 percent.

The strength among housing stocks came after the Commerce Department released a report showing new home sales surged to their highest level in over a year in September.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.3 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.7 percent, although Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index bucked the downtrend and inched up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets showed modest moves to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both inched up by 0.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries regained ground after moving notably lower over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 4.2 basis points to 4.200 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading on Friday may be impacted by reaction to a report on durable goods orders and a revised reading on consumer sentiment.

Irish Data Protection Commission Fines LinkedIn Ireland EUR 310 Mln Over Targeted Advertising

Microsoft-owned employment-focused social media platform LinkedIn was fined 310 million euros (about $335 million) for privacy violations related to its tracking ads business.

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) Thursday announced its final decision following an inquiry into LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company.

This inquiry was launched by the DPC following a complaint initially made to the French Data Protection Authority.

The inquiry examined LinkedIn’s processing of personal data for the purposes of behavioral analysis and targeted advertising of users who have created LinkedIn profiles.

The decision, which was made by the Commissioners for Data Protection, Dr Des Hogan and Dale Sunderland, and notified to LinkedIn on 22 October 2024, concerns the lawfulness, fairness and transparency of this processing.

“The lawfulness of processing is a fundamental aspect of data protection law and the processing of personal data without an appropriate legal basis is a clear and serious violation of a data subject’s fundamental right to data protection,” DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said.