Business Highlights: US consumers are still spending; Musk’s Twitter takeover, 1 year later
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US consumers keep spending briskly even in the face of persistent inflation and high interest rates
WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge that is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve showed price increases remained elevated in September amid brisk consumer spending and strong economic growth. Prices rose 0.4% from August to September, the same as the previous month. And compared with 12 months earlier, inflation was unchanged at 3.4%. Taken as a whole, the figures the government issued Friday show a still-surprisingly resilient consumer, willing to spend briskly enough to power the economy even in the face of persistent inflation and high interest rates. Spread across the economy, the strength of that spending is itself helping to fuel inflation. ___
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried acknowledges in court that customers were hurt but denies fraud
NEW YORK (AP) — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has begun testifying at his fraud trial, saying the innovative business he had hoped would move the cryptocurrency ecosystem forward ended up hurting customers instead. The onetime cryptocurrency golden boy lost his businesses and his reputation as a pioneering entrepreneur when a rush of customers withdrew their money last year, exposing that billions of dollars were missing. His much-anticipated testimony Friday became the centerpiece of a defense that insists Bankman-Fried had no criminal intent as he took actions that prosecutors say were directly to blame for the collapse last November of Bankman-Fried’s businesses.
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Twitter takeover: 1 year later, X struggles with misinformation, advertising and usage decline
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — One year ago, billionaire Elon Musk walked into Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters with a white bathroom sink and a grin, fired its CEO and other top executives and began transforming the social media platform into what is now known as X. X looks and feels something like Twitter, but the more time you spend on it the clearer it becomes that it’s merely an approximation. Musk has dismantled many core features of Twitter, but what X will become, and whether Musk can achieve his ambition of turning it into an “everything app” that everyone uses, remains unclear.
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Many Americans say their household expenses are outpacing earnings this year, AP-NORC poll shows
NEW YORK (AP) — About two in three Americans say their household expenses have risen over the last year, but only about one in four say their income has increased in the same period. That’s according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. As household expenses outpace earnings, many are expressing concern about their financial futures. What’s more, for most Americans, household debt is rising or not going away. About half say they currently have credit card debt, 4 in 10 are dealing with auto loans, and about one in four have medical debt. Just 15% say their household savings have increased over the last year.
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As the ‘Hollywood of the South,’ Atlanta has boomed. Its actors and crew are now at a crossroads
ATLANTA (AP) — For more than a decade, work had been nonstop in Atlanta’s booming film industry thanks to Georgia’s extremely generous tax break. Dubbed the “Hollywood of the South,” metro Atlanta became ubiquitous as a backdrop for huge projects, including Marvel films and “Stranger Things.” But work dried up last winter and has been at a near-standstill ever since the industry’s writers went on strike in May and the actors joined them in July. Writers reached a deal late last month, but with the actors strike still ongoing, many Atlanta-based performers and behind-the-scenes crew members members are grappling for financial survival.
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Stock market today: Wall Street falls, bringing the S&P 500 index 10% below its July peak
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks closed lower on Wall Street, bringing the S&P 500 index 10% below the peak it reached in July. That puts the benchmark index into what’s called a “correction.” The declines came amid the latest batch of earnings from big technology and energy companies and some mixed readings on the economy. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% Friday, its 10th loss in the last 12 days. The Dow fell 366 points, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%. Treasury yields held steady following a mixed report on inflation, consumer spending and incomes. Higher yields in the bond market have been helping to knock stocks lower since the summer.
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Abercrombie & Fitch slapped with lawsuit alleging sexual abuse of its male models under former CEO
NEW YORK (AP) — A former model for Abercrombie & Fitch has sued the fashion retailer, alleging it allowed its former CEO Mike Jeffries to run a sex-trafficking organization during his 22-year tenure. Jeffries left Abercrombie in 2014. While there, he converted the chain from an struggling retailer of hunting apparel to a seller of must-have teen clothing. But he faced criticism for the company’s sexualized marketing, including billboards and beefy models that alienated potential customers who didn’t fit into its image. The lawsuit comes after a BBC report earlier this month that raised similar allegations against Jeffries and his partner Matthew Smith.
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Cruise, GM’s robotaxi service, suspends all driverless operations nationwide
NEW YORK (AP) — General Motors’ Cruise says it’s suspending its driverless operations nationwide as the robotaxi service works to rebuild public trust. The announcement arrives just days after California regulators revoked Cruise’s license — after determining that its driverless cars, which recently began transporting passengers throughout San Francisco, posed dangers to public safety. U.S. regulators have also been investigating Cruise’s operations, after receiving incident reports that suggested risks to pedestrian and passenger safety. The choice to suspend its driverless services isn’t related to any new on-road incidents, Cruise says. Human-supervised operations of Cruise’s autonomous vehicles, or AVs, will continue.
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Another first for JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, selling shares of the bank he’s run for nearly 2 decades
NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon and his family are planning to sell 1 million shares of the bank starting next year, according to a regulatory filing. This is Dimon’s first such stock sale since he began his tenure with JPMorgan, the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said. Dimon and his family currently hold about 8.6 million shares of the bank.
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The S&P 500 lost 19.86 points, or 0.5%, to 4,117.37. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 366.71 points, or 1.1%, to 32,417.59. The Nasdaq composite gained 47.41 points, or 0.4%, to 12,643.01. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies gave back 20.07 points, or 1.2% to 1,636.94.