>>Retail Sales Jump In September
(Washington, DC) -- Retail sales jumped seventh-tenths of a percent in September. Figures released by the Commerce Department today show sales, excluding autos, were up six-tenths of a percent for the month. That's more than double the increase economists had expected. Analysts say the surprisingly strong data gives the Federal Reserve no reason to loosen monetary policy.
>>Homebuilder Sentiment Falls To 10-Month Low
(Washington, DC) -- Homebuilder confidence dropped to its lowest level since January due to high mortgage rates. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell four points in October as rates remain above seven percent. The group's chief economist called it a "housing affordability crisis." The survey noted more builders having to use sales incentives with many would-be buyers simply being priced out of the market.
>>SEC Chief Warns About Unregulated A.I. (Washington, DC) -- The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission says artificial intelligence will almost certainly cause a financial crisis without regulation. Gary Gensler told the Financial TImes that the challenge is difficult because most regulation targets individuals and institutions, not something broad like the use of artificial intelligence. He pointed to a scenario in which multiple institutions make decisions based on the same A.I. models which could lead to trouble.
>>Ford To UAW: Make A Deal
(Dearborn, MI) -- Ford's chairman is calling on the United Auto Workers to make a deal and end "acrimonious" talks. Bill Ford warned on Monday that the ongoing strike by the UAW threatens the future of his company and the American automotive industry. Last week, more than eight-thousand workers walked off the job at the Ford plant in Louisville, Kentucky. The nationwide UAW strike against the Big Three automakers started on September 15th.
>>Ford Motor Fourth-Quarter Dividend Announced
(Detroit, MI) -- Ford Motor Company announced its board declared a fourth-quarter dividend this year. Fifteen cents per share will be paid on Ford's outstanding common and Class B stock. The dividend will be payable December 1st to shareholders on record by the end of business on November 1st. The announcement came the same day Ford Chair Bill Ford addressed the UAW strike.
>>LinkedIn Lays Off About 700 Employees
(Sunnyvale, CA) -- LinkedIn is laying off nearly 700 employees. Most of the job cuts involve the engineering staff, along with reductions in the company's finance and human resource groups. LinkedIn announced the cuts in a memo citing challenging times. The layoffs come as the business-oriented social network's revenue growth has slowed over the past two years.
>>Sam Bankman-Fried's Fraud Trial Enters Third Week
(New York, NY) -- The fraud trial of FTX co-founder and former crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried is now in its third week. In a court filing Sunday, Bankman-Fried's lawyers argued he isn't getting enough Adderall to be able to concentrate during the trial. In the filing they told the judge that Bankman-Fried receives his Adderall at 6 a.m. Eastern and it wears off by the time trial begins at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. They said the Adderall issue is a concern as they make a decision about whether or not Bankman-Fried will testify in the trial. Bankman-Fried faces multiple charges of money laundering and fraud.
>>"Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" Breaks Box Office Concert Film Records
(Hollywood, CA) -- Taylor Swift is laying claim to the highest grossing domestic concert film ever . "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" set an opening week record with over 92-million-dollars domestically. Distributor AMC entertainment says about four-point-eight-million moviegoers caught the film this weekend, where they shelled out an average of just under 22-dollars a seat. Meantime, the film's international haul was another 32-million, which brings her global numbers to 123-million, shattering the record for a concert movie. The mega-blockbuster was also shown at more than 38-hundred venues domestically.
