(NEW YORK) — Fears of a recession have cast a thundercloud over the economy for many months but forecasters sun-kissed by falling inflation and a robust jobs market have grown optimistic about the U.S. averting a downturn.
Gross domestic product data to be released by the federal government on Thursday will show if and how much the economy grew over the three months ending in June, offering a fresh look at what is widely considered the most comprehensive measure of a nation’s economic health.
Economists expect the GDP to have grown at an annualized rate of 1.7% over that period. The increase will owe to robust consumer and government spending, as well as a small jump in business investment, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.
Such results would indicate a slowdown from the 2% annualized GDP growth recorded over the previous quarter, which itself showed a cooling from the 2.6% growth displayed in the quarter before that.
However, the anticipated finding of 1.7% annualized growth over the second quarter of 2023 would demonstrate that the economy expanded rather than shrank, dispelling concern about an imminent recession.
Many observers define a recession through the shorthand metric of two consecutive quarters of shrinking in a nation’s GDP.
The data to be released on Thursday arrives a day after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.25%, escalating its aggressive inflation fight.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg, however, think the move constitutes the central bank’s final rate increase of an aggressive series that began in March 2022.
For more than a year, the Federal Reserve has aimed to roll back inflation through interest rate hikes that typically slow the economy and slash consumer demand. The approach, however, risks tipping the economy into a downturn.
The policy appears to have succeeded in cooling prices. Inflation has fallen significantly from a peak last summer but remains one percentage point above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.
Some key economic indicators, meanwhile, have sustained robust performance. A jobs report earlier this month showed that the labor market cooled, but still grew at a solid clip in June, adding 209,000 jobs.
“The U.S. economy has actually been quite resilient,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said late last month in Sentra, Portugal, at a conference organized by the European Central Bank.
Nearly three-quarters of forecasters surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics said that the probability of the U.S. entering a recession in the next 12 months is 50% or less, the organization announced on Monday.
On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund released fresh projections showing an improved outlook for the global and U.S. economy. The organization said it expects the U.S. economy to grow 1.8% this year, a revision upward from a previous estimate released in April.
“The global economy continues to gradually recover from the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but it is not yet out of the woods,” Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, IMF chief economist and research department director, said at a press conference on Tuesday.
(NEW YORK) — Fears of a recession have cast a thundercloud over the economy for many months but forecasters sun-kissed by falling inflation and a robust jobs market have grown optimistic about the U.S. averting a downturn.
Gross domestic product data to be released by the federal government on Thursday will show if and how much the economy grew over the three months ending in June, offering a fresh look at what is widely considered the most comprehensive measure of a nation’s economic health.
Economists expect the GDP to have grown at an annualized rate of 1.7% over that period. The increase will owe to robust consumer and government spending, as well as a small jump in business investment, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.
Such results would indicate a slowdown from the 2% annualized GDP growth recorded over the previous quarter, which itself showed a cooling from the 2.6% growth displayed in the quarter before that.
However, the anticipated finding of 1.7% annualized growth over the second quarter of 2023 would demonstrate that the economy expanded rather than shrank, dispelling concern about an imminent recession.
Many observers define a recession through the shorthand metric of two consecutive quarters of shrinking in a nation’s GDP.
The data to be released on Thursday arrives a day after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.25%, escalating its aggressive inflation fight.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg, however, think the move constitutes the central bank’s final rate increase of an aggressive series that began in March 2022.
For more than a year, the Federal Reserve has aimed to roll back inflation through interest rate hikes that typically slow the economy and slash consumer demand. The approach, however, risks tipping the economy into a downturn.
The policy appears to have succeeded in cooling prices. Inflation has fallen significantly from a peak last summer but remains one percentage point above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.
Some key economic indicators, meanwhile, have sustained robust performance. A jobs report earlier this month showed that the labor market cooled, but still grew at a solid clip in June, adding 209,000 jobs.
“The U.S. economy has actually been quite resilient,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said late last month in Sentra, Portugal, at a conference organized by the European Central Bank.
Nearly three-quarters of forecasters surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics said that the probability of the U.S. entering a recession in the next 12 months is 50% or less, the organization announced on Monday.
On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund released fresh projections showing an improved outlook for the global and U.S. economy. The organization said it expects the U.S. economy to grow 1.8% this year, a revision upward from a previous estimate released in April.
“The global economy continues to gradually recover from the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but it is not yet out of the woods,” Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, IMF chief economist and research department director, said at a press conference on Tuesday.
(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told reporters Wednesday that the Fed staff no longer forecasts a recession for the U.S., and there is a chance inflation could return to target without high job losses.
In April, the Federal Reserve staff expected the regional bank crisis to tip the economy into recession, according to a Fed minutes release. Powell indicated during his news conference with reporters that the spring prediction may not be the case.
“The staff now has a noticeable slowdown in growth starting later this year in the forecast, but given the resilience of the economy recently, they are no longer forecasting a recession,” he said.
The Fed staff is an independent staff within the Federal Reserve that makes its own projections on the economy. Their forecasts are not the official position of the Federal Open Market Committee, the body that determines rate hike decisions.
Earlier in the day, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate another 0.25% to a 22-year high of between 5.25% and 5.5%.
The central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged in June, ending a string of 10 consecutive rate increases that stretched back to March 2020.
Powell said the impacts of the current hikes are still working through the economy, and he could not use the word “optimism” to describe the trajectory of the economy.
Powell did leave the door open to more rate hikes saying they will react to the data. He pointed out that there will be two jobs’ reports and two inflation reports before the next Fed decision.
(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate another 0.25% on Wednesday, reviving its inflation fight despite a significant cooldown of price increases in recent months.
The rate hike brought the Fed’s benchmark interest rate to a 22-year high of between 5.25% and 5.5%.
Inflation has fallen significantly from a peak last summer, but remains at a level one percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell downplayed the progress achieved so far in reducing inflation.
“Inflation has moderated somewhat since the middle of last year,” Powell said. “Nonetheless, the process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go.”
The Fed remains open to raising rates again at its next meeting in September, depending on the economic data released over the months prior to that decision, Powell added.
The central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged in June, ending a string of 10 consecutive rate increases that stretched back 15 months.
Prior to the announcement on Wednesday, economists surveyed by Bloomberg said they expected the move to be the last rate increase of the current inflation battle. The size of the rate hike on Wednesday matched economist expectations.
For more than a year, the Federal Reserve has aimed to roll back price increases by slowing down the economy and slashing consumer demand. The approach, however, risks tipping the economy into a recession.
So far, the rate hikes appear to have slowed but not imperiled the nation’s economic growth.
Some key economic indicators have sustained robust performance. A jobs report earlier this month showed that the labor market cooled, but still grew at a solid clip in June, adding 209,000 jobs.
“The U.S. economy has actually been quite resilient,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said late last month in Sentra, Portugal, at a conference organized by the European Central Bank.
A day later, a major upward revision of government data showed that gross domestic product increased at a 2% annualized rate for a three-month period ending in March — a sizable jump from the previous estimate of 1.3%.
Despite the upward revision, U.S. economic growth over the first three months of this year was slower than the 2.6% growth in the previous quarter. In turn, that performance was down from 3.2% growth in the previous quarter.
Still, the Fed offered words of caution along with its rate-hike announcement on Wednesday.
“The Committee remains highly attentive to inflation risks,” the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed’s decision-making body on interest rates, said in a statement on Wednesday.
The cooldown of inflation alongside resilient economic performance has given rise to optimism among some observers that the U.S. will avert a recession.
Nearly three-quarters of forecasters surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics said the probability of the U.S. entering a recession in the next 12 months is 50% or less, the organization announced on Monday.
Speaking late last month, Powell expressed cautious optimism that the U.S. could avoid a severe recession, citing a modest slowdown of wage growth in recent months.
As part of its inflation fight, the Fed closely watches the pace of wage growth, since in theory employers raise prices to keep up with higher pay.
“We’re getting the softening we need,” Powell said. “We’re getting it slower than expected but it’s nonetheless happening. In my view, the least unlikely case is that we do find a way to better balance without a severe downturn,” he added.
(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday will decide whether to revive an aggressive series of interest rate hikes and may indicate a willingness to soon end its full-throttle inflation fight.
Last month, the central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged, ending a string of 10 consecutive rate increases that stretched back 15 months.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg this month expect the Fed to impose a modest quarter-point rate hike on Wednesday. However, economists said they expect the move to be the last rate increase of the current inflation battle.
For more than a year, the Federal Reserve has aimed to roll back price increases by slowing down the economy and slashing consumer demand. The approach, however, risks tipping the economy into a recession.
Inflation has fallen significantly from a peak last summer, but remains at a level one percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.
Meanwhile, the rate hikes appear to have slowed but not imperiled the nation’s economic growth.
Some key economic indicators have sustained robust performance. A jobs report earlier this month showed that the labor market cooled, but still grew at a solid clip in June, adding 209,000 jobs.
“The U.S. economy has actually been quite resilient,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said late last month in Sentra, Portugal, at a conference organized by the European Central Bank.
A day later, a major upward revision of government data showed that gross domestic product increased at a 2% annualized rate for a three-month period ending in March — a sizable jump from the previous estimate of 1.3%.
Despite the upward revision, U.S. economic growth over the first three months of this year was slower than the 2.6% growth in the previous quarter. In turn, that performance was down from 3.2% growth in the previous quarter.
The cooldown of inflation alongside resilient economic performance has given rise to optimism among some observers that the U.S. will avert a recession.
Nearly three-quarters of forecasters surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics said the probability of the U.S. entering a recession in the next 12 months is 50% or less, the organization announced on Monday.
Speaking late last month, Powell expressed cautious optimism that the U.S. could avoid a severe recession, citing a modest slowdown of wage growth in recent months.
As part of its inflation fight, the Fed closely watches the pace of wage growth, since in theory employers raise prices to keep up with higher pay.
“We’re getting the softening we need,” Powell said. “We’re getting it slower than expected but it’s nonetheless happening. In my view, the least unlikely case is that we do find a way to better balance without a severe downturn.”
(NEW YORK) — Alarm over a possible recession has blared for well over a year, but in recent months a cooldown of inflation alongside resilient job gains has quieted the din.
Growing optimism among some forecasters that the economy could avoid a recession altogether, however, faces a pair of tests this week.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday will announce a decision on whether to impose its 11th interest rate hike since March 2022, potentially escalating an aggressive fight against inflation that risks plunging the nation into a downturn.
The following day, a government agency will release its first estimate of gross domestic product for the three months ending in June — a determination of whether the economy grew or shrank during that period.
“The economy has proven to be more robust and resilient than we thought,” Mark Hamrick, Washington bureau chief at personal finance company Bankrate, told ABC News, noting the possibility that the economy could avoid a severe recession.
“The chances have been rising recently,” he said. “That’s not guaranteed but it’s a rising hope. It’s like being on a dangerous journey and realizing you can see a finish line.”
Nearly three-quarters of forecasters surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics said that the probability of the U.S. entering a recession in the next 12 months is 50% or less, the organization announced on Monday.
Echoing that burst of optimism, the median of economists surveyed by Bloomberg this month put the odds of a recession within the next 12 months at 58%, down from 70% in December.
The fate of the economy will be determined in large part by the extent of rate hikes undertaken by the Fed and their ultimate effect, economists told ABC News.
For more than a year, the Fed has aimed to roll back price increases by slowing down the economy and slashing consumer demand. The approach, however, risks tipping the economy into a recession.
The policy appears to have succeeded in cooling prices. Inflation has fallen significantly from a peak last summer but remains one percentage point above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.
Last month, the Fed opted to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged, ending a string of 10 consecutive rate increases that stretches back 15 months. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg this month expect a modest quarter-point rate hike.
The apparent downshift in the Fed’s inflation fight “means that it’s buying into the possibility of a soft landing or at least is willing to give it a try,” Stephan Weiler, a professor of economics at Colorado State University and a former Fed research officer, told ABC News.
Still, the full effect of rate hikes at the Fed typically takes hold after a time lag that is difficult to predict, leaving uncertain whether the economy will face a significant slowdown in the months ahead, Liz Ann Sonders, managing director and chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab, told ABC News.
“We know we had the most aggressive [Fed] tightening in more than 40 years, and it hasn’t so far led to this huge hit to the economy,” Sonders said. “What we don’t know is whether this time is different or whether it’s one of the lags.”
A clearer sense of the nation’s economic health will be made available on Thursday, when the Bureau of Economic Analysis releases its initial estimate of GDP growth over the three-month period ending in June.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found forecasters expect gross domestic product to have grown at an annualized rate of 1% over that period, which would mark continued growth but a slowdown from previous quarters.
Such results would indicate a slowdown from the 2% annualized GDP growth recorded over the previous quarter, which itself showed a cooling from the 2.6% growth displayed in the quarter before that.
However, the anticipated finding of 1% annualized growth would demonstrate that the economy expanded rather than shrank. Many observers define a recession through the shorthand metric of two consecutive quarters of shrinking in a nation’s GDP.
“The economy is slowing down,” said Weiler, of Colorado State University. “But it’s slowing down slowly.”
After the economic releases this week, a recession will remain possible but distant, said Hamrick, of Bankrate.
“We’ve had a bumpy ride at times but it really has yet to be one where a more dire outcome has seemed imminent,” he said.
(NEW YORK) — If you travel often, you’ve probably heard the rule of thumb, to book during the opposite season — sort of like Christmas in July or buying a winter coat at a deep discount during summer.
Experts say the logic is the same for booking holiday flights or a winter getaway for less.
“Airfare for Christmas travel this year is already tracking as high as fares last year, more than 20% above pre-pandemic prices,” Hayley Berg, the lead economist for travel booking platform Hopper, told ABC News’ Good Morning America.
Berg suggested that holiday travelers begin “planning ahead and tracking prices so you book at the right time” in order to get “the best deals this upcoming holiday season.”
Save money by booking holiday flights in July, August
“The best time to book your winter holiday flights is not waiting until October, November when most people book those holiday flights, it’s booking it in the summer,” travel expert Scott Keyes told GMA. “When you are on summer vacation and everybody else is thinking about summer travel, that’s the best time to be trying to book your winter holiday flights.”
The going.com founder, formerly of Scott’s Cheap Flights, added that “it’s not that every single flight for Christmas and New Year’s is going to be cheap right now, but the odds are at their best — you’re most likely to see a good deal pop up in July or August.”
Experts share best times to book, airport hacks and more holiday travel insights
Berg agreed, adding that travelers should “use this time to solidify your holiday plans and start tracking prices for holiday trips” as those “will be volatile for the next two to three months.”
Keyes also said that post-pandemic, many “airlines have largely gotten rid of change fees and cancellation fees, so that you can make your plans in pencil.”
“It’s easier to kind of book that $350 flight to Los Angeles today over Christmas to visit your family, knowing that if your plans change, you can now cancel that ticket and have $350 in travel credit with the airline,” he said. “Or, you can change your dates, push it back and not lose the value of the tickets.”
Overall, Keyes said, “I encourage folks to start looking now, well before they’re thinking about the flight.”
More expert travel tips to find holiday and winter travel deals
Keyes, who has spent the better part of a decade doling out travel and airfare savings professionally with the world, shared a few additional recommendations for folks looking to save money on travel later this year and early next year:
The cheapest time of year to fly
“January and February are the two cheapest months for flights of the entire year,” he said. “You see this massive, massive price drop happening around the first week of January, where flights go from one of the most expensive times of the year — Christmas and New Year — to one of the cheapest times around Jan. 7.”
Be flexible for the best value
“If you have the flexibility to be able to travel in January or February, I would highly recommend that as a good value time to go,” he said.
Pick cheaper travel days
Berg said that “sitting down with the calendar in July and planning ahead to travel on the cheapest days can be the difference between breaking your budget and saving hundreds.”
“Historically, travelers have saved as much as $300 per ticket by flying on the cheapest days surrounding Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you’re traveling for Thanksgiving, try flying Monday of Thanksgiving week and returning any week day of the following week to save the most,” she added. “With Christmas Day on a Monday this year, Thursday and Friday will be the most expensive travel days. Travelers who are flexible should plan to depart mid-week before the holiday or on Christmas Eve to get the lowest airfare.”
Plan ahead for disruption
Last year, Hopper data saw flight cancellations and delays during the holiday season, so Berg suggested people “plan ahead by adding in a buffer day, selecting nonstop flights and booking the first flight of the delay to avoid disruptions.”
Best affordable winter travel destinations
“One is Hawaii in January, February, even March because the weather is consistent — when the weather’s pretty miserable in much of the northern half of the U.S., it’s beautiful, sunny and wonderful and warm out in Hawaii — and it’s cheap,” Keyes said. “Flights out to Hawaii in January and February can be found for as little as $200 bucks round trip from the West Coast and sometimes as little as $400 or $450 for the rest of the U.S.”
Similarly, he said the Caribbean is a great budget-friendly winter getaway.
“If you can go just after the Christmas/New Year break, you’re gonna see really cheap flights down to Puerto Rico, around $200 bucks round trip,” he said. “To other islands, sometimes it’s $300 round trip on full service airlines. These are great places to be able to enjoy the sunshine at a time when there’s very little of that [elsewhere] in the U.S.”
Finally, Keyes expects to see a trend of “significantly cheaper prices” for flights to Europe in winter 2024.
“Especially southern Europe — Spain, Portugal, places like that where it’s still quite warm — the sort of really inflated summer prices that we’re seeing to Europe over summer I think are set to end,” he said. “I think we’re likely to see significantly cheaper prices to Europe into the fall and winter for a number of reasons.”
The reason for this? Among other things, Keyes said “the U.S. economy is in much better shape than Europe,” airlines have been “adding more capacity,” and there are “fewer travelers in the winter compared to the summer.”
“I think there’s a very strong likelihood we’re going to see more of those $350-$400 round-trip flights to Europe for January, February and March,” he said.
Travel rules to keep in mind when booking early
“Part of the difficulty of airfare is that it’s the most volatile thing we purchase,” Keyes said. “At end of the day, getting a deal you are happy with yourself is the most important thing — that counts as a win.”
One of his top suggestions is to set a calendar reminder once a week at the same time to look at your flight and search for a cheaper fare. In addition to his own deals and newsletters, Keyes suggests checking other price trackers and Google Flights to set specific alerts for any changes.
“What’s especially nice nowadays is that as long as it’s not basic economy, you can monitor that same flight from the day you booked until the day you actually take the trip — and if the price drops, you can always rebook it at that cheaper price and pocket any difference. That kind of gives you an ability to be able to book today and lock it in,” he said.
Another suggestion from Keyes is to understand and use points while you have them.
“Generally speaking, the best approach to points is to not necessarily amass a huge amount and then just wait for that dream trip, but rather do what’s called ‘earn and burn,'” he explained.
He said the benefit of this approach “is that points are a currency of the airlines, and airlines are well within their right to just change how much your points are worth anytime.”
“That can happen without notice,” Keyes said. “It’s what’s called an overnight devaluation, and you’re always kind of at risk of that with points.”
“The rule of thumb to know if you’re getting a good value to use your points is if you’re getting at least two cents per point,” he added.
(NEW YORK) — UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a union representing about 330,000 UPS employees in the U.S., have reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement.
Contract negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters restarted on Tuesday after breaking down earlier this month. The two sides faced a July 31 deadline, at which point the Teamsters had vowed to strike before employees’ contract was set to expire on Aug. 1.
Instead, UPS and the Teamsters struck a five-year tentative agreement that raises wages for all workers, creates additional full-time jobs and imposes dozens of workplace protections and improvements, the Teamsters said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Rank-and-file UPS Teamsters sacrificed everything to get this country through a pandemic and enabled UPS to reap record-setting profits,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said in a statement on Tuesday.
“We demanded the best contract in the history of UPS, and we got it,” he added.
Similarly, UPS celebrated the agreement as an achievement for the workers as well as for the company and its customers.
“Together we reached a win-win-win agreement on the issues that are important to Teamsters leadership, our employees and to UPS and our customers,” Carol Tomé, UPS CEO, said in a statement.
“This agreement continues to reward UPS’s full- and part-time employees with industry-leading pay and benefits while retaining the flexibility we need to stay competitive, serve our customers and keep our business strong,” she added.
Among other issues, the deal addresses two key points of concern among workers: pay raises and safety protections, the union said.
Under the terms of the deal, existing full- and part-time UPS Teamsters will get $2.75 more per hour in 2023, and $7.50 more per hour over the length of the contract, the union said. Meanwhile, existing part-timers will see their pay raised immediately up to no less than $21 per hour.
Wage increases for full-time workers will keep UPS Teamsters as the highest-paid delivery drivers in the nation, improving their average top rate to $49 per hour, the union added.
In addition, the deal codifies a previous commitment made by UPS to equip in-cab A/C in all larger delivery vehicles, sprinter vans, and package cars purchased after the outset of 2024, the union said.
The tentative agreement would also grant all Teamsters-represented UPS workers with a day off on Martin Luther King Jr. Day — a key demand that the union had raised in contract negotiations.
The agreement is subject to voting and ratification by Teamsters members.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Books, binders, pens and pencils are just a few of the necessities students across the country will need as the upcoming school year awaits. But a lengthy list of school supplies may have families sweating the price tags associated with these essential items.
Luckily, starting this week, several states that charge a state tax are taking part in sales tax holidays for school supplies with the new school year around the corner. A sales tax holiday, which often lasts for a weekend or longer, is a timeframe when states remove a sales tax on purchases for specific items up to a certain amount of money.
States offering the school supply sales tax holiday have different limits on tax-free spending. Florida and Tennessee are removing the sales tax on computer purchases up to $1,500, while Arkansas has no limit on tax-free spending for school supplies. New Jersey has no sales tax on school and art supplies, and sets a $3,000 maximum limit on tax-free computer purchases.
The tax holidays start in the South with Alabama’s holiday, which took place between July 21 and July 23. Florida’s break started Tuesday, July 24, while Mississippi and Tennessee follow suit, starting Friday, July 28.
Here is a complete list of states offering sales tax holidays this year:
Alabama (July 21-23)
Florida (July 24-August 6)
Mississippi (July 28-29)
Tennessee (July 28-30)
Iowa (August 4-5)
Ohio (August 4-6)
Oklahoma (August 4-6)
Missouri (August 4-6)
Arkansas (August 5-6)
West Virginia (August 4-7)
South Carolina (August 4-6)
New Mexico (August 4-6)
Texas (August 11-13)
Massachusetts (August 12-13)
Maryland (August 13-19)
Connecticut (August 20-26)
New Jersey (August 26-September 4)
Sales tax holidays vary by location and not every state has one enacted. It’s also important to remember that a sales tax holiday doesn’t necessarily mean there will be no tax added on a purchase, as cities and counties can still levy taxes in their jurisdictions.
(NEW YORK) — TikTok has added a new feature that allows users to create text-only posts with the change coming just a day after Twitter rebranded itself and less than three weeks after Facebook released Threads as competition between the social media giants continues to escalate.
“At TikTok, we’re always looking to empower our creators and community with innovative tools that inspire self expression. Today we’re thrilled to announce the expansion of text posts on TikTok, a new format for creating text-based content that broadens options for creators to share their ideas and express their creativity,” the Chinese-owned video streaming app said in a statement released late Monday. “With text posts, we’re expanding the boundaries of content creation for everyone on TikTok, giving the written creativity we’ve seen in comments, captions, and videos a dedicated space to shine.”
The new feature comes as TikTok announced just last week the launch of a new streaming music service that could rival titans like Apple Music and Spotify and that the partnership with Warner Music Group would create “new revenue, marketing and insights opportunities for artists and songwriters,” according to a statement made by TikTok at the time of the announcement.
TikTok users will now see three different options for content creation: photo, video and text, the company said.
“By selecting text, you’ll be directed to the text creation page, where you can type out the content of your post,” TikTok said. “You’ll find familiar options to customize your content. These include adding Sound, tagging a location, enabling comments, and allowing Duets, among others. These features make it so your text posts are just as dynamic and interactive as any video or photo post.”
TikTok is one of the world’s fastest growing platforms. It surpassed two billion downloads worldwide in October 2020 and was ranked the world’s most popular website — surpassing Google — in 2021.
Competition between some of the biggest social media networks has been escalating in recent weeks.
Meta Platforms launched Threads — a new social media platform and networking service — less than three weeks ago in an effort to take on Twitter just months after Elon Musk acquired the company in Oct. 2022.
On Monday, Twitter rebranded its logo by removing the famous Twitter bird and replacing it with a black and white letter X.
Twitter’s new CEO Linda Yaccarino posted a thread on the platform saying that X will be the platform that can deliver “everything.”
“It’s an exceptionally rare thing – in life or in business – that you get a second chance to make another big impression. Twitter made one massive impression and changed the way we communicate. Now, X will go further, transforming the global town square,” Yaccarino said on Sunday. “For years, fans and critics alike have pushed Twitter to dream bigger, to innovate faster, and to fulfill our great potential. X will do that and more. We’ve already started to see X take shape over the past 8 months through our rapid feature launches, but we’re just getting started.”
