For: July 17, 2025
>>Ahead Of The Bell
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after stocks finished the day higher on Wall Street Wednesday. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 231 points to 44-254. The S&P 500 rose by 19 points to 62-63. The Nasdaq rose by 52 points to 20-730.
>>Retail Sales, Weekly Jobless Claims Due Today
(Undated) -- Coming up today, we'll get a look at retail sales data, along with first-time requests for unemployment benefits. A bit of an increase from 227-thousand initial jobless claims to 234-thousand is expected. Tomorrow brings word on housing starts, building permits and consumer sentiment.
>>Trump Keeps Up Pressure On Powell, Says Firing Not Being Planned
(Washington, DC) -- President Trump says he's "not planning" to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. In the Oval Office yesterday, Trump was asked about reports he spoke with Republicans about removing the Fed chair. The President confirmed the reports, but said it's "highly unlikely" he'll fire Powell. Trump has been highly critical of Powell's refusal to cut interest rates, adding that he "did it for Biden," but not for him.
>>Northern California Mayor Threatens To Seek Damages Over Garbage Strike
(Fairfield, CA) -- A strike by sanitation workers at Republic Services has a Northern California leader declaring breach of contract. Fairfield Mayor Catherine Moy sent a letter to the company threating to seek damages if trash pickup doesn't resume. Moy says garbage piling up is also becoming a public health issue. The strike started in Massachusetts when hundreds of workers in greater Boston and the North Shore walked off the job July 1st. California, Washington state and Ohio are now also seeing garbage collectors hit the picket lines in solidarity. Contract talks are continuing this week. Even if an agreement is reached soon, trash collection might not resume the same day and could even resume with "modified service."
>>Funding Pulled For High Speed Rail In California
(Sacramento, CA) -- The California High Speed Rail Project just lost a pile of money. The Trump Administration announced Wednesday it terminated around four-billion dollars in federal funding for the troubled rail project. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is also directing the Federal Railroad Administration to review other grants related to the project. In a statement, Duffy went on to say that federal dollars doesn't mean you have a blank check, the money comes with a promise to deliver, and California has let the overdue and over budget project go on far too long. Governor Newsom says pulling the money is illegal.
>>Chinese Nationals Buying Up U.S. Real Estate
(Undated) -- Real estate investors from China are the largest group of foreign buyers of residential property in the United States. According to the National Association of Realtors, Chinese clients purchased nearly 14 billion dollars worth of homes in the US between April 2024 and March of this year. That's an 83-percent jump from the previous year. California tops the list of states with 36 percent of all residential transactions completed by Chinese nationals. That's more than any other foreign group.
