Business Highlights: Wall Street soars as inflation cools; US tightens financial sanctions on Hamas
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Stock market today: Wall Street soars as cooling inflation raises hopes for an end to rate hikes
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street surged after a report on U.S. inflation sent waves of relief through markets. The S&P 500 jumped 1.9% to a two-month high Tuesday, one of is best days of the year. The Dow rallied 489 points, and the Nasdaq composite soared 2.4%. The highly anticipated report showed inflation slowed last month, bolstering bets among traders that the Federal Reserve is finally done with its market-crunching hikes to interest rates. Technology and other high-growth stocks led the way higher. Stocks of smaller companies also got a particularly big boost on hopes that financial conditions won’t tighten further. Treasury yields tumbled.
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What’s pushing inflation down? More goods, workers and housing
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long past its painful peak, inflation in the United States may be heading steadily back toward its pre-pandemic levels, without the need for further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Such a scenario became more likely, if hardly guaranteed, after Tuesday’s surprisingly tame report on consumer prices for October. The data showed a broad-based easing of inflation across most goods and services. The price of gas? Down. Appliances? Down. Autos? Down. Same for airfares, hotel rooms and doctors’ fees. Overall inflation didn’t rise from September to October, the first time that consumers prices collectively haven’t budged from one month to another in more than a year.
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Home Depot sales continue to slide but the biggest home improvement chain still tops expectations
Home Depot is continuing to see its sales decline amid inflation concerns, and the home improvement retailer narrowed its fiscal 2023 outlook. But its quarterly performance came in above Wall Street’s expectations. Home Depot Inc. said Tuesday that its third-quarter revenue fell 3% to $37.71 billion. Still, it managed to beat the $37.52 billion that analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research predicted.
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The Bird flu outbreak isn’t over, but it’s less severe, helping egg and poultry prices recover
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nearly 5 million chickens, turkeys and other birds have been slaughtered this year because of a persistent bird flu outbreak that began in 2022, but as big as that number may sound, it’s far less than the number of birds killed last year and that means consumers generally aren’t seeing as much impact on poultry and egg prices. Some 4.6 million birds have been slaughtered this year, but that’s small compared to the nearly 58 million birds the Agriculture Department said were killed in the first year of the outbreak. There have been fewer cases this year because fewer wild birds are testing positive so they might be developing some immunity plus farmers have been working hard to keep the virus out.
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After fire kills 3, NYC officials say retailers, delivery apps must do more to ensure e-bike safety
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City officials say retailers and food delivery companies must do more to halt the proliferation of unsafe e-bike and e-scooter batteries, after a fire blamed on an electric scooter’s lithium ion battery killed three people. Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh spoke Monday in front of the Brooklyn row house where Sunday’s fire killed three members of one family. She said Grubhub, Uber Eats, Amazon and Walmart should do more to keep unsafe e-bikes and e-scooters off the streets. Uber and Grubhub representatives said retailers should stop selling uncertified e-bikes. Walmart officials said they have no tolerance for the sale of products with false claims. A message seeking comment was sent to Amazon.
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A third round of US sanctions against Hamas focuses on money transfers from Iran to Gaza
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States says it has imposed a third round of sanctions on a group of Hamas officials, members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad who work to transfer money from Iran to Gaza, and a Lebanese money exchange service that facilitates the transfers. The Treasury Department sanctions announced Tuesday come in response to Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attack on Israel and were coordinated with the United Kingdom. The sanctions block access to U.S. property and bank accounts and prevent the targeted people and companies from doing business with Americans. The Treasury Department says the sanctions are aimed at protecting the international financial system from abuse by Hamas militants and their enablers.
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After deadly Nevada crash, federal investigators want cars to warn drivers if they’re speeding
DETROIT (AP) — Federal accident investigators want automakers to install systems on all new vehicles that warn drivers when they go over the speed limit. It’s also asking safety regulators to figure out how states can electronically limit speeds on vehicles driven by repeat traffic offenders. The National Transportation Safety Board’s recommendations to combat excessive speeding came after a hearing Tuesday on a January 2022 crash in North Las Vegas, Nevada. In that crash, the driver of a Dodge Challenger ran a red light at 103 miles per hour and slammed into a family’s minivan at a busy intersection, killing nine people.
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Long-haul carrier Emirates signals it will hold off on major Airbus purchase over engine worries
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Long-haul carrier Emirates has signaled it will hold off on a major purchase of Airbus A350 aircraft over concerns about their Rolls Royce engines, marking a major blow for the European manufacturer during the Dubai Air Show. Emirates President Tim Clark’s comments Tuesday to journalists at the show came the day after his airline announced a $52 billion purchase with Airbus’ rival Boeing Co., while its sister airline FlyDubai bought another $11 billion of aircraft from Boeing. Airbus and Rolls Royce did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press. Ethiopian Airlines announced it’s buying 31 aircraft from Boeing and signed options to potentially purchase another 36 aircraft as well.
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The S&P 500 rose 84.15 points, or 1.9%, to 4,495.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 489.83 points, or 1.4%, to 34,827.70. The Nasdaq composite rose 326.64 points, or 2.4%, to 14,094.38. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 92.82 points, or 5.4% to 1,798.32.