>>Ahead Of The Bell
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed sharply lower with new economic data raising concerns about potential Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. Faster than expected growth in the services sector in December worried investors and sent Treasury Yields higher. Nvidia shares dropped more than five percent adding to the downward pressure. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 178 points to 42-528. The S&P 500 fell 66 points to 59-09. The Nasdaq dropped 375 points to 19-489.
>>Meta Ending Fact-Checking Program
(Menlo Park, CA) -- Meta is ending its fact-checking program in favor of a community-based system similar to Community Notes on X. The changes, announced Tuesday by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, will affect Facebook, Instagram and Threads. Zuckerberg said the idea is to focus on reducing mistakes and restoring freedom of expression. He cited the recent election as a big reason behind the decision, critizing governments and legacy media for pushing for more censorship.
>>New Rule Strikes Medical Debt From Credit Reports
(Washington, DC) -- Credit reports will no longer include medical debt for Americans. The new rule was finalized by the Biden administration Tuesday. It will take effect in March and will take off around 49-billion dollars worth of medical bills from the credit reports of about 15 million Americans. A 2024 poll from non-profit KFF found about one in 12 U.S. adults have medical debt. In 2023, the three major credit bureaus announced medical debts less than 500-dollars would no longer appear on credit reports.
>>CVS Launches New Tech Allowing Customers To Unlock Products
(Woonsocket, RI) -- CVS pharmacy is rolling out new innovative technology that gives trustworthy customers the power to unlock inventory themselves. They can simply use the CVS mobile app on their phone to unlock an item. Cyber security expert Alan Crowetz says it's a clever way to make shopping more convenient for honest customers and still deter shoplifters. Walmart is testing similar technology in several hundred of its stores.
>>Economic Reports Coming Up
(Undated) -- Coming up in business news, today brings the release of the minutes from the Fed's December meeting, the ADP employment report and the latest consumer credit numbers. Weekly jobless claims are due Thursday. And, the week wraps up Friday with the monthly jobs report. Most analysts expect to see 155-thousand new jobs created compared to the previous month's 227-thousand. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at four-point-two-percent.
>>Six Major Landlords Targeted In Rent-Fixing Scheme Lawsuit
(Washington, DC) -- The Justice Department and a number of states are adding more landlords to its antitrust lawsuit against property management software service RealPage. The complaint accuses the major landlords, with more than one-point-three million units across 43 states, of colluding to set prices and reduce competition, raising prices for renters. The lawsuit is targeting Greystar Real Estate Partners, LivCor, Camden Property Trust, Cushman and Wakefield and Pinnacle Property Management Services, Willow Bridge Property Company and Cortland Management. The companies allegedly worked together to use the RealPage software to help plan rent increases and to set prices.
>>Rates Of Quitting Jobs At Lowest Level Since Pandemic
(Undated) -- The number of people quitting their jobs is at the lowest level since the pandemic. New Labor Department data from November shows just over three-million-people quit their jobs in November, the lowest number since the summer of 2020. The department says the number of job openings is also increasing and the number of unemployment claims is at their lowest level in the last eight months.
