>>Ahead Of The Bell
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed in mixed territory Tuesday with the Nasdaq hitting a new record high. Shares of Meta and Alphabet advanced more than one percent ahead of posting their quarterly results. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 154 points to 42-233. The S&P 500 added 9 points to 58-32. The Nasdaq rose 145 points to 18-712.
>>GDP Report Out Today
(Undated) -- Today's third quarter GDP report will be released today and it's expected to show a cooling in inflation along with increased growth. The highly-anticipated report comes just a week ahead of the Federal Reserve's next meeting. After that, there will only be one more meeting of the central bank this year. Pending home sales and the ADP employment report are also due today.
>>Airlines Required To Refund Passengers For Canceled/Very Delayed Flights
(Washington, DC) -- Airlines are now required to refund passengers automatically for canceled or significantly delayed flights. Under the Department of Transportation's new rules, airlines will be required to provide cash refunds promptly without customers needing to ask. Domestic flights delayed by three hours or more and international flights delayed by six hours or more qualify for a full refund. They'll also have to refund for services passengers paid for but weren't provided, like Wi-Fi or entertainment.
>>Job Openings Fall In September
(Washington, DC) -- The number of job openings fell in September. The Labor Department says fewer than seven-and-half million jobs were available which is a drop of more than 400-thousand from the previous month's revised tally. That's the lowest level since January 2021 which surprised economists. Health care and social assistance along with state and local government led decrease in job openings. According to the JOLTS report, although the openings level slipped last month the total number of hires rose slightly.
>>Consumer Confidence Surges In October
(New York, NY) -- Consumer confidence rebounded in October. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index surged to its highest level in nine months as consumers regained faith in the U.S. economy. The board's chief economist said the October increase was broad-based across all age groups and most income groups. Still, the survey noted concerns about prices and inflation continued to affect consumers' views of the economy. Purchasing plans for homes and new cars improved slightly for the next six months.
>>McDonald's Q3 Earnings Released, Meta And Microsoft On Deck
(Chicago, IL) -- McDonald's reported better than expected third quarter earnings after an E.Coli outbreak affected a number of restaurants. The company posted revenue of six-point-87 billion dollars on Tuesday, up three percent year-over-year. Earnings grew one percent a share. The effects of the outbreak, which sickened dozens of people and left one dead, won't be reflected until the fourth quarter results. In the spotlight today is Facebook parent Meta along with Microsoft, followed by Amazon and Apple on Thursday.
