>>Ahead Of The Bell
(Undated) -- Trading resumes today after markets were closed Monday in observance of Presidents' Day, making this an abbreviated trading week. Markets hovered around flatline for much of Friday's session before closing mixed as investors weighed the latest on tariffs and inflation. New government data showed a nearly one percent drop in retail sales for January as consumers dialed back on post-holiday spending. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 165 points to 44-546. The S&P 500 lost less than a single point to 61-14. The Nasdaq gained 81 points to 20-026.
>>Nearly 300 Laid Off At FAA
(Washington, DC) -- Nearly 300 Federal Aviation Administration employees have been fired by the Trump administration. The employees got their notices over the weekend in a move their union calls a "hastily made decision" in an agency already challenged by understaffing. The workers affected include mechanics, aviation safety assistants and others. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted Monday night on X that less than 400 of the agency's 45-thousand employees were let go and they were all probationary.
>>Southwest Cutting 15% Of Corporate Leadership
(Dallas, TX) -- Southwest Airlines is cutting 15 percent of its corporate workforce. It's the airline's first mass layoff in the company's history and will affect around 17-hundred-and-50 workers in leadership roles, some of them in senior positions. The airline says the move is part of an effort to cut costs.
>>Apple Launching New Product This Week
(Cupertino, CA) -- Apple is launching a new product on Wednesday. Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the launch date last week but didn't say exactly what the product would be. He posted on social media that it would be "the newest member of the family." Speculation is that Apple will be taking the wraps off of a new iPhone SE 4. The revamped SE is expected to feature a larger screen, Face ID and Apple Intelligence. It's expected to sell for around 500 dollars.
