>>Ahead Of The Bell
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed lower yesterday on Wall Street. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 103 points to 41-503. The S&P 500 dropped by 16 points to 56-18. The Nasdaq lost 54 points to 17-573.
>>Fed Cuts Interest Rate
(Washington, DC) -- The Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates for the first time in more than four years. The Central Bank cut rates by half-a-point in its announcement on Wednesday. The decision lowers the federal funds rate to a range between four-point-75-percent to five-percent. The Fed had maintained a goal of seeing inflation get down to two-percent before moving to cut rates. August saw the 12-month inflation rate fall to two-and-a-half-percent, its lowest level since February 2021.
>>Coming Up Today
(Undated) -- We'll get a look at weekly jobless claims today, with not much change expected. Most analysts see today's number coming in at right around 229-thousand, which would mark a drop of only about one thousand from the previous week. Also set to be released today is data on existing home sales.
>>Survey: Remote Workers Do Chores While Working
(Undated) -- A new survey shows a lot of remote workers are doing household chores while on the job. SurveyMonkey polled over three-thousand full-time workers in the U.S. last month and found that nearly half of those who work from home are doing laundry and other items on their to-do list. About one third said they run errands while remote working, while others like to take a nap. About 17 percent said they watch TV or play video games. The survey also showed a lot of multitasking during Zoom calls, with nearly a third admitting they have used the bathroom during a Zoom call.
>>Boeing Announces Layoffs
(Seattle, WA) -- Boeing is announcing temporary layoffs of thousands of employees. CEO Kelly Ortberg told employees Wednesday the furloughs will begin "over the coming days." The furloughs will happen on a rotating basis with employees being off for one week every four weeks. This comes as 33-thousand International Association of Machinists at Boeing are on strike. Ortberg said he and other executives will take a pay cut for the duration of the strike.
>>23andMe's Entire Board Of Directors Resigns
(Sunnyvale, CA) -- All members of the Board of Directors at 23andMe have resigned, effective immediately. The mass departure on Tuesday took CEO Anne Wojcicki [[ woh-JISS-kee ]] by surprise, and she says she is disappointed. The genetic family tree company has been struggling, and the Board was trying to find a path forward.
>>Tupperware Files For Bankruptcy
(Orlando, FL) -- Tupperware is filing for bankruptcy. The company that makes the iconic plastic food storage containers released a statement Tuesday saying its "financial position has been severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment" over the past few years. CEO Laurie Ann Goldman said filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy will allow Tupperware to "pursue strategic alternatives" to support its transformation into a "digital-first, technology-led company." Tupperware became famous in the 1950s for its direct-marketing strategy known as "Tupperware parties," a business model that has been less popular in recent years.
