>>Ahead Of The Bell
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed lower on Wall Street Wednesday. That came after last month's Consumer Price Index report came in higher than expected. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 225 points to 44-368. The S&P 500 fell by 16 points to 60-52. The Nasdaq rose by six points to 19-650. Investors today will be keeping an eye out for another key report used by the Fed to gauge inflation. The Producer Price Index is set for release at 8:30am Eastern time. Weekly jobless claims are also due this morning.
>>Judge Allows Trump's Buyout Plan To Continue
(Washington, DC) -- A federal judge is allowing President Trump's employee buyout plan to continue. Last month, Trump offered money to millions of federal employees to get them to quit, but multiple labor unions filed lawsuits soon after, saying the administration did not have legal authority to offer such buyouts. A judge issued a temporary freeze on the administration's offer, but on Wednesday the same judge announced the unions lacked legal standing in their lawsuits. Now the buyout offer is back on the table for roughly two-million federal workers.
>>Musk Will Withdraw Bid For OpenAI On One Condition
(San Francisco, CA) -- Elon Musk is prepared to withdraw his 97-billion-dollar bid for OpenAI, with one condition. In a court filing Wednesday, a lawyer for the tech billionaire said Musk will withdraw his bid for the AI nonprofit if its board of directors "preserve the charity's mission" and halt its conversion to a for-profit corporation. Musk and his AI company, xAI, offered to buy the nonprofit on Monday for just over 97-billion dollars. The offer was quickly dismissed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who said it was not for sale. Musk is a co-founder of OpenAI, which is in the process of restructuring and becoming a for-profit company.
>>Breakfast Costs Are Skyrocketing
(Washington, DC) -- The cost of breakfast is skyrocketing. Staples like eggs, orange juice and coffee are hurting customers' wallets. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, egg prices were up over 50-percent year over year in January. They're up over seven-percent month over month. Drinks like orange juice jumped seven-point-seven percent over the last year, and coffee is up just over three-percent.
>>JOANN To Close Hundreds Of Stores
(Hudson, OH) -- JOANN is closing hundreds of stores. This comes less than a month after the fabrics retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in a year. The craft store listed 530 "underperforming" stores in a recent court filing across more than 40 states that it plans to immediately begin closing. When JOANN filed for bankruptcy protection in January, it originally wanted to keep all of its 800 stores open. A spokesperson said "Right-sizing our store footprint is a critical part of our efforts to ensure the best path forward for JOANN."
