For: August 17, 2026
>>Ahead Of The Bell
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning as fresh trading week gets started on Wall Street. Last week ended with stocks closing out Friday's session in the red. It comes as retail sales numbers for last month came in lower than unexpected. The big headline this week will be Wednesday's release of the minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting. At Friday's closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 107 points to 53-732. The S&P 500 dropped by 13 points to 77-85. The Nasdaq lost 73 points to 26-729.
>>Consumer Sentiment Falls For First Time 3 Months
(Ann Arbor, MI) -- Consumer sentiment is down for the first time in three months. The preliminary index for August from the University of Michigan showed it fell to 51, down from July's final reading of 55-point-two. It comes as consumers express concerns over increasing prices. Consumers expect prices to go up four-point-three-percent over the next year, which is a slight increase from last month. The director of the survey said the there were notable large drops in sentiment among older consumers, lower-income consumers and those without a college degree.
>>Anthropic Revenue Reportedly Jumped To Over $11.5B In 2nd Quarter
(San Francisco, CA) -- Anthropic's revenue increased over 14-fold in the second quarter from a year earlier. Bloomberg News reported the jump Friday highlighting the quick growth of Anthropic as it prepares for a possible public offering. According to Bloomberg News, the AI company reported preliminary revenue of over 11 billion for its latest completed quarter, up from 787 million in the same period last year. The outlet says the numbers are preliminary and could still change. An IPO as soon as this fall could make Anthropic one of the first major private AI companies to hit public markets.
>>Half Of Workers Say They Will Never Fully Retire
(Minneapolis, MN) -- A new survey says nearly half of American workers say they will never be able to fully retire. The 2026 Retirement Expectations Survey from financial services company Thrivent says retirement fears are high. The survey found only 58-percent of workers think they'll have enough money to retire on time and 36-percent of workers expect to have to continue earning a paycheck in retirement. The survey was taken by over two-thousand American adults.
>>California Regulators Approve $34.5B Charter-Cox Merger
(Sacramento, CA) -- California regulators are approving the sale of Cox Communications to Charter Communications. The merger is believed to be worth 34-and-a-half-billion dollars. After getting the green light from the California Public Utilities Commission, the consolidation is expected to be finalized before the end of the month. It will make Charter's Spectrum the dominant broadband internet and cable television service in Southern California. It will also solidify Charter as the nation's largest cable company, ahead of Comcast Corporation.
>>Maryland Company Recalls Soups Sold At Walmart
(Savage, MD) -- A Maryland company is voluntarily recalling soup kits sold at Walmart over Listeria concerns. Kettle Cuisine LLC announced the recall of its 14-ounce soup kits, according to the FDA. The recall impacts select Walmart stores in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and West Virginia. The affected soup kits were sold between June 30th and July 7th, according to the recall.
