>>Ahead Of The Bell
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after a mixed close on Wall Street Tuesday spurred on by growing economic worries. Tariff fears and a sharp drop in consumer confidence rattled markets. Nvidia shares fell nearly three-percent ahead of its highly anticipated fourth-quarter earnings report due later today. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 159 points to 43-621. The S&P 500 lost 28 points to 59-55. The Nasdaq fell 260 points to 19-026.
>>Consumer Confidence Down
(New York, NY) -- Americans view of the nation's economy is souring. The latest Consumer Confidence reading shows the largest monthly decline since August of 2021. For the first time since last June, the Expectations Index was below the threshold that usually signals a recession ahead. The board's chief economist said the fall in confidence was shared across all income groups but was deepest for consumers between 35 and 55 years old. Purchasing plans for cars and other big ticket items were down led by TVs and electronics.
>>Acting IRS Chief Retiring This Week
(Washington, DC) -- The head of the IRS is announcing his abrupt retirement. Acting IRS Commissioner Doug O'Donnell will step down from his role Friday, after weeks of cutbacks since President Trump took office. O'Donnell's departure will come as the IRS heads into the final weeks of tax filing season. The Treasury Secretary has announced the IRS will instead be headed by Melanie Krause, who's been open to the Department of Government Efficiency's cuts. However President Trump says he wants former representative Billy Long to take control of the agency.
>>McDonald's Says No Egg Surcharge
(Chicago, IL) -- McDonald's says it will not be adding an egg surcharge as egg prices soar. Other chains like Waffle House and Denny's have started charging extra for dishes with eggs as bird flu has sent costs up. McDonald's said this week that's not going to happen beneath the golden arches.
>>Amazon Event Takes Place Today In NYC, Alexa Update Expected
(New York, NY) -- Amazon will be holding an event today in New York City, where its expected to unveil an update on its Alexa digital assistant. The company has been working to come out with a new version of the assistant with more advance artificial intelligence capabilities. Amazon has lost billions of dollars on Alexa and its devices business since it launched in 2014.
>>Google Releases Free Version Of Code Assist
(Mountain View, CA) -- Google has a new free version of its AI code assistance tool called Gemini Code Assist for individuals. Code Assist lets developers talk with an artificial intelligence model that can look at and edit their codebase. It can help fix bugs and complete sections of code.
>>Most Financially Distressed Cities
(Undated) -- When it comes to financially distressed cities, Houston tops the list for most economic strain in the country. A recent study by WalletHub compared credit scores, number of distressed financial accounts and more. Also landing in unenviable spots on the 2024 list were Atlanta in second place, followed by Jacksonville, Dallas and Charlotte.
