>>Ahead Of The Bell
(New York, NY) -- Trading gets underway this morning with president-elect Trump ringing the opening bell. This, after stocks closed mixed on Wall Street Wednesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq surged, reaching 20-thousand for the first time ever. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 99 points to 44-148. The S&P 500 gained 49 points to 60-84 and the Nasdaq rose 347 points to 20-034.
>>Consumer Prices Jump In November
(Washington, DC) -- The rate of inflation is once again on the rise. Consumer prices jumped two-point-seven-percent compared to a year ago according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Wednesday. The increase was in line with analysts' expectations. The new data comes as the Federal Reserve is weighing an anticipated rate cut next week. While inflation has cooled from its peak of over nine-percent in June 2022, it still remains just above the Fed's two-percent target rate. We'll get yet another gauge of inflation with today's release of the producer price index.
>>Appeals Court Scraps Nasdaq Diversity Rules For Company Boards
(Undated) -- A federal appeals court on Wednesday did away with Nasdaq rules designed to ensure boardroom diversity, saying the Securities and Exchange Commission - which had approved the rules - lacked the authority to do so. Left in place, the rules would have required thousands of public companies trading on Nasdaq to have at least one person of color, woman or member of the LGBTQ community on their boards unless they could provide an explanation for not doing so. The legal challenge was brought by two groups that claimed the rules violated civil rights laws and encouraged racial and gender discrimination.
>>Gas Prices Drop To Lowest In Three Years
(New York, NY) -- Gasoline prices in the U.S. are at their lowest in three years. GasBuddy.com says the national average for a gallon of regular fell to two dollars and 97 cents on Monday, the lowest average since May of 2021. The lowest in the country was Oklahoma, with an average price of two-42 a gallon. The highest average was in Hawaii, where gas is still four-48 a gallon. A top analyst at GasBuddy predicts the national average for gas will potentially drop another ten to 15 cents by Christmas.
>>Apple's New Update Integrates ChatGPT Into Siri
(Cupertino, CA) -- Apple is integrating ChatGPT into its devices in a software rollout. OpenAI's popular AI chatbot will be available for the Siri voice assistant and the new Writing Tools feature on Apple products with iOS 18.2. When users ask Siri a complex question, it may suggest they allow access to ChatGPT so Siri can then provide a response using it. That way, users don't need to switch between apps.
