>>Ahead Of The Bell
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after Wall Street closed higher yesterday thanks to a rebound from Monday's selloff. Technology shares advanced with Meta Platforms, Tesla and Microsoft up more than one percent to help lift markets. Oil prices eased as investors monitored the latest developments in the Middle East. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 126 points to 42-080. The S&P 500 added 55 points to 57-51. The Nasdaq rose 259 points to 18-182. Investors today will be keeping a close eye out for the release of the Federal Reserve's September meeting minutes. The central bank just cut interest rates last month for the first time in four years.
>>Hurricane Milton Damage Estimate
(Tampa, FL) -- Hurricane Milton could cause as much as 175-billion-dollars in damages. That's according to early estimates of a worst-case-scenario from Wall Street analysts. That's on top of the devastation that Hurricane Helene already has caused in the area. The size of the potential damage will depend on the timing and location of Milton's landfall.
>>Waffle House Closing Ahead Of Milton
(Tampa, FL) -- Waffle House is closing restaurants in the projected path of Hurricane Milton. The storm, currently a Category 5, is predicted to make landfall on Florida's west coast Wednesday night. The restaurant, known for being open 24/7, has shut down around 33 locations in the Sunshine state. The "Waffle House Index" was created by a former Florida official as an informal way for first responders to tell where conditions are the worst.
>>Nvidia Now 2nd Largest Company On The Planet
(Santa Clara, CA) -- Nvidia is passing Microsoft as the world's second-biggest company. The Silicon Valley AI firm saw its stock rally this week to reach a market cap of three-point-19-trillion-dollars. Microsoft is currently valued at three-point-zero-seven-trillion. Nvidia trails only Apple which is valued at three-point-four-trillion.
>>Spirit Halloween Stores To Become Spirit Christmas
(Egg Harbor Township, NJ) -- Some Spirit Halloween stores will stick around longer this year, but with a holly jolly twist. Ten of the famous temporary retail chain's locations will transform to Spirit Christmas stores this holiday season. The Spirit Christmas locations will all be located in the Northeast, including New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The company says customers will be able to discover unique decor and thousands of stocking stuffers at the stores. Shoppers will also be able to take free family photographs with Santa Claus.
>>California's Min Wage For Fast Food Workers Hasn't Led To Major Changes
(Berkeley, CA) -- A recent report from UC Berkeley's Institute for Research on Labor and Employment found that California's new 20-dollars-an-hour minimum wage for fast-food workers hasn't led to major job losses or significant menu price hikes. The law, which took effect on April 1st, has increased wages for hundreds of thousands of employees. Despite concerns from industry groups, the study showed that the number of fast-food jobs in the state actually increased by about eleven-thousand. Menu prices at fast-food restaurants in California went up by an average of three-point-seven-percent, with In-N-Out raising its burger prices by 25-cents. In response, some chains have introduced new low-cost value meals to attract customers. In November, California voters will decide on Proposition 32, which suggests increasing the minimum wage for all workers to 18-dollars per hour by 2026. Minimum wage at fast food chains would remain unchanged.
