For: September 12, 2025
>>Trading Week Winding Down (New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed higher on Wall Street yesterday. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 617 points to close at a record 46-108. The S&P 500 gained 55 points to 65-87. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 157 points to end at 22-043.
>>Poor Inflation/Job Numbers Out
(Washington, DC) -- The U.S. was on the receiving end of a one-two punch of bad economic news on Thursday. The Labor Department said inflation ticked up in August to the fastest pace since January, with the consumer price index increasing by zero-point-four-percent last month, following a zero-point-two-percent rise in July. Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims climbed to their highest level in nearly four years. New unemployment claims jumped to 263-thousand last week, the highest since October 2021. We'll get the latest data on consumer sentiment today, while the focus next week will be on Wednesday's announcement from the Federal Reserve on interest rates.
>>Vote On Boeing Deal Set For Today
(St. Louis. MO) -- Around three-thousand Boeing employees in the St. Louis area are set to vote today on a tentative deal to end their strike. The five-year contract calls for wages to increase by an average of 45 percent. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers strike started in early August.
>>FTC Looking Into Child AI Safety
(Washington, DC) -- The Federal Trade Commission is looking into seven companies that make AI chatbots aimed at children. The agency wants to see how the companies are evaluating safety and working to limit potential risks and negative impacts on children and teens. The inquiry announced Thursday includes Alphabet, CharacterAI, Instagram, Meta, OpenAI, Snap, and xAI. OpenAI and CharacterAI are currently the target of lawsuits after children committed suicide with alleged chatbot encouragement.
>>Mortgage Rates Drop
(McLean, VA) -- Mortgage rates are down this week. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on a 30-year-fixed mortgage is six-point-25 percent, down from six-point-five-percent last week. It's the biggest weekly drop in a year, but rates are still higher than they were this time last year. Mortgage applications were up more than nine percent last week.
>>WSJ: Paramount Skydance Preparing Bid For Warner Bros. Discovery
(Los Angeles, CA) -- Paramount Skydance is reportedly preparing a bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. The Wall Street Journal reports the bid is backed by the Ellison family and will consist mostly of cash. The offer would cover WBD's entire business, including its cable TV channels and film studio. This move follows Warner Bros. Discovery's plan to split into one division for legacy cable and another for streaming and studios. David Ellison, CEO of Skydance and son of tech billionaire Larry Ellison, recently completed a merger with Paramount.
