According to the payroll company ADP, private sector job creation rose at a faster-than-expected clip in February.  Companies added 475,000 positions for the month, better than the Dow Jones estimate for 400,000.  Last month large companies showed they are well-poised to compete with higher wages and benefit offerings, and posted the strongest reading since the early days of the pandemic recovery.  Companies with 500 or more workers were responsible for almost all the hiring in the month, adding 552,000 positions. Firms with fewer than 50 employees recorded a loss of 96,000, while midsize businesses added just 18,000. By sector, leisure and hospitality posted the biggest gains, with an increase of 170,000.

In remarks prepared for dual appearances this week before House and Senate committees in Congress Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell still sees interest rate hikes coming, but noted that the Russia-Ukraine war has injected uncertainty into the outlook.  Powell said he sees a series of quarter-percentage-point increases coming, though he left open the possibility of moving more aggressively should inflation persist.

Shares of Ford jumped 8.3% after the company said it plans to separate their electric and legacy gas powered businesses. The move is expected to streamline the company’s growing electric vehicle business and maximize profits. The automaker plans to breakout financial results for both units, and its Ford+ business, by 2023.