>>Minutes From FOMC January Meeting To Be Released Today

(Undated)  --  Minutes from the Federal Reserve's January meeting are scheduled to be released today.  The central bank at its last meeting decided to leave interest rates unchanged.  At the time, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said inflation was closing in on its two-percent goal, but was not cooling as much or as quickly as hoped.  We'll also get word today on housing starts and building permits.  

 

>>Ahead Of The Bell 

(New York, NY)  --  The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed higher on Wall Street Tuesday, with the S&P 500 hitting a record close following the Presidents Day holiday.  Stocks wavered as global trade fears and inflation worries weighed on markets.  Intel and Walgreens bucked the trend with shares surging on separate reports of potential buyout deals.  At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 10 points to 44-556.  The S&P 500 rose 15 points to 61-29.  The Nasdaq gained 14 points to 20-041.

 

>>Minutes From FOMC January Meeting To Be Released Today

(Undated)  --  Minutes from the Federal Reserve's January meeting are scheduled to be released today.  The central bank at its last meeting decided to leave interest rates unchanged.  At the time, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said inflation was closing in on its two-percent goal, but was not cooling as much or as quickly as hoped.  We'll also get word today on housing starts and building permits.  

 

>>Survey: More Americans Step Up Emergency Savings

(New York, NY)  --  More Americans are beefing up their emergency savings.  Nearly a third of the adults recently surveyed by Bankrate said they have more in an emergency fund than they did a year ago.  Over half also reported having more savings set aside than credit card debt.  Bankrate's chief financial analyst Greg McBride called it evidence that more Americans have been able to make progress in building their emergency savings as the pace of inflation has slowed.

 

>>Egg Prices Jump

(Washington, DC)  --  Egg prices continue to soar.  According to a new report from the USDA over the weekend, wholesale egg prices jumped 40-cents over the last 30 days.  That means a dozen eggs costs distributors seven-dollars-and-44-cents.  That is expected to climb with shortages continuing and distributors passing down the risings costs to shoppers.  The rising number of bird flu cases is being blamed for ongoing egg shortages.

 

>>Apple Readies New iPhone SE For Around $500

(Cupertino, CA)  --  Apple is ready to sell a new iPhone SE.  The revamped SE 4 will feature a larger screen, Face ID, Apple Intelligence, and a faster A18 chip.  The budget-friendly iPhone is expected to go on sale today for about 500 dollars.  

 

>>Elon Musk's xAI Unveils Updated Grok 3 Model

(New York, NY)  --  Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company is unveiling its updated Grok 3 AI model.  In an event livestreamed on X, xAI's [[ X-A-I ]] leaders claimed Grok 3 performs better in math, science and coding than OpenAI's GPT-4o, Google's Gemini and DeepSeek's V3 model.  The company also announced its new features, like advanced web searching and the ability to code online games. Grok 3 is available now to members of X's 40-dollars per month Premium-Plus subscription.

 

>>Coca-Cola Launches Simply Pop

(Atlanta, GA)  --  Coca-Cola is launching a new prebiotic drink called Simply Pop.  A spokesperson said the product will be available on the West Coast, Southeastern U.S. and online nationwide via Amazon Fresh.  A study by Euromonitor International data said the digestive health soft drink market growth has doubled over the last few years.  Simply Pop flavors will come in pineapple mango, lime, strawberry, fruit punch and citrus punch.  The drink has no added sugars and contains vitamin C, zinc, six grams of prebiotic fiber and up to thirty-percent fruit juice.  Simply Pop will hit the shelves at the end of this month. 

 

>>Nike And Skims Launch NikeSKIMS

(Beaverton, OR)  --  Nike and Skims are partnering to create a new clothing line for women.  Social media personality and business entrepreneur Kim Kardashian is one of Skims co-founders and its Chief Creative Officer.  A Nike spokesperson said the collection will include apparel, footwear and accessories which is launching this spring and an international launch for next year.  The partnership was created to compete with other popular clothing brands like Lululemon.