>>Ahead Of The Bell
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed sharply higher on Wall Street yesterday. That came after a key report showed inflation slowed last month. The Consumer Price Index for December showed core inflation, excluding food and energy, rose by three-point-two-percent, against expectations of three-point-three-percent. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 703 points to 43-221. The S&P 500 rose by 107 points to 59-49. The Nasdaq gained 466 points to 19-511. Today will bring word on retail sales and weekly jobless claims. We'll also see the release of the home builder confidence index.
>>Report: Trump Considers Executive Order To Prevent TikTok Ban
(Washington, DC) -- President-elect Trump is reportedly considering an executive order that would save TikTok from a ban or sale. The Washington Post reports the order would suspend enforcement of the TikTok ban-or-sale law for 60 to 90 days. Its aim is to buy the Trump administration some time to work out a sale or some other solution. The Chinese-owned app is scheduled to be banned in the U.S. starting Sunday. Members of Congress have also introduced a bill to extend the deadline on a ban of the social media app.
>>State Farm Cancelling Super Bowl Ad
(Los Angeles, CA) -- State Farm is cancelling its Super Bowl ad this year because of the wildfires in Southern California. The insurance company, which has faced criticism for not renewing some policies because of fire risk, says it is instead focused on helping customers impacted by the fires that have left thousands of homes and businesses destroyed. A spokesperson said the company has already received thousands of claims.
>>DOT Sues Southwest Airlines, Fines Frontier For Delayed Flights
(Washington, DC) -- The transportation department is going after Southwest and Frontier Airlines for not being on time. The DOT announced Wednesday it's suing Southwest Airlines, alleging the carrier operated chronically delayed flights. The agency is also fining Frontier 650-thousand dollars for the same issue. This comes after the DOT levied a two-million-dollar fine against Jet Blue Airways earlier this month for similar allegations. In the lawsuit, the DOT says Southwest flights from Chicago Midway to Oakland, California, and from Baltimore to Cleveland arrived late nearly 200 times between April and August of 2022.
>>Capital One Sued Over Allegedly Deceiving Customers
(Washington, DC) -- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says Capital One has cheated customers out of more than two-billion-dollars in interest. The agency announced a lawsuit Tuesday accusing Capital One of deceiving customers about their savings account interest rates. The company offers two savings accounts with similar names but substantially different interest rates. Capital One denies the allegations and says it has been nothing but transparent.
>>NCAA To Provide Financial Rewards For Women's March Madness
(Nashville, TN) -- The NCAA is going to start paying out financial rewards to women's college basketball teams that participate in March Madness. It's a first for the women's teams. Money will be paid out to the schools' conferences with a similar structure that's been used for men's teams for years. The NCAA announced Wednesday that two funds would be set up, starting at 15-million-dollars this spring and reaching 25-million by the 2027-28 season.
>>Sources: Crumbl Cookies Exploring $2 Billion Sale
(Lindon, UT) -- The owners of Crumbl Cookies are reportedly weighing a two-billion-dollar sale. Sources told Reuters the chain is working with an investment bank to attract interest from private equity firms in order to finalize a sale. Crumbl Cookies was started in 2017 and is based in Utah. It now has over a thousand locations in North America.
