>>Trading Week Winding Down
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after a higher close on Wall Street Thursday. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 461 points to 43-870. The S&P 500 rose by 31 points to 59-48. The Nasdaq gained six points to 18-972.
>>Home Sales Rise Just Before Mortgage Rates Drop
(Washington, DC) -- Home sales are up. According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of previously owned homes went up three-point-four percent from September to October. That's also nearly three-percent higher than October 2023. It's the first annual increase in more than three years. That comes just before a sharp drop in mortgage rates bringing homebuyers off the fence after a slow summer.
>>Feds Want Google To Sell Off Chrome
(Undated) -- The Justice Department wants a federal court to force Google to sell off its popular Chrome web browser as part of an antitrust case. The request made Wednesday comes after a court ruled in August that the company holds a monopoly in the online search market. Department lawyers say that spinning off Chrome, used on billions of devices around the world, would help prevent an illegal monopoly from happening again. The request also asks that Google end exclusive contracts with third parties like Apple and Samsung that makes Google the default search engine on devices.
>>Weekly Jobless Claims Hit 7-Month Low
(Washington, DC) -- Fewer Americans than expected filed initial jobless claims in the week ending November 16th. The Labor Department on Thursday reported receiving 213-thousand first-time requests for unemployment benefits. That's down from the 219-thousand received the week prior, fewer than what most analysts had expected and officially a seven-month low.
>>Costs Down For Thanksgiving Meal
(Sacramento, CA) -- Turkey is among several Thanksgiving items that will be cheaper this year. A new report shows prices for several Thanksgiving items, including pumpkin pie mix, frozen peas, and sweet potatoes, have dropped since 2023. Turkey prices have also decreased by about 6-percent. However, processed items like stuffing, cranberries, and dinner rolls are expected to cost more this year. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, a Thanksgiving feast for ten is estimated to cost 58-dollars-and-eight-cents. That's down five-percent from 2023.
>>Neuralink Gets Approval For Canadian Trials
(Fremont, CA) -- Neuralink, Elon Musk's brain computer chip company, is getting permission to start clinical trials in Canada. The idea of Neuralink is to help paralyzed people control devices with their thoughts. The company says that the Canadian trials will focus on looking at the safety and effectiveness of the chip in quadriplegics.
