For: September 28, 2026
>>Ahead Of The Bell
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed higher Friday to wrap up a positive week. Stocks rallied as oil prices eased and Treasury yields pulled back. A surge in technology shares including Microsoft and Meta Platforms added lift to markets as all three major indexes posted weekly gains. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 478 points to 51-828. The S&P 500 added 39 points to 77-43. The Nasdaq rose 129 points to 27-068.
>>Monthly Jobs Report Due This Week
(Undated) -- Coming up in the business week ahead - jobs data. We'll get the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey on Tuesday, followed by ADP's monthly hiring survey on Wednesday. Weekly jobless claims are due Thursday and the big headline story of the week - the monthly jobs report - will be released by the Labor Department on Friday. Most analysts estimate the economy added about 83-thousand new, non-farm payroll jobs in September, down from the 162-thousand seen the month prior. The unemployment rate is forecast to stay the same at four-point-one percent.
>>Anthropic CEO Meets With Trump After Missing State Dinner
(Washington, DC) -- Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with President Trump for a private dinner at the White House Sunday night. The dinner was the first one-on-one meeting between the two. Amodei was absent from Trump's state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping [[ she jeen-ping ]] on Thursday, which drew other big names in tech. The meeting first reported by Axios, comes at a high stakes moment for Anthropic, which is preparing for a blockbuster IPO. Trump has criticized Amodei and others who have been calling for guardrails and regulation when it comes to AI development. Anthropic was also labeled a "supply chain risk" by the Pentagon.
>>Consumer Sentiment Falls On Inflation Worries
(Ann Arbor, MI) -- Consumer sentiment hit a four-month low in September. The University of Michigan's final reading for the month fell on concerns over high prices and worries about the economy. The survey noted declines across most age and income groups. Year-ahead inflation expectations rose to four-point-six percent which is a significant jump from before the Iran conflict began in February. Overall, consumer sentiment is down 15 percent from January.
>>Boeing Flags Software Glitch
(Renton, WA) -- Boeing has identified a software glitch on some 737 MAX jets that could affect automated flight guidance during a specific landing scenario. The issue can occur when pilots change their planned flight path after a missed approach. Boeing says it notified all 737 operators last month and is developing a software update to permanently fix the problem. The FAA says it's working with Boeing and airlines and will take immediate action if it finds a safety concern. Southwest and United have asked Boeing to hold deliveries of new MAX jets with the affected software, while the number of planes currently using it remains unclear.
>>'Funflation' Rising, But Consumers Keep Spending
(Charlotte, NC) -- The price of having fun in America is rising, but consumers continue to spend. Data from Bank of America shows that "funflation," the increased cost of fun is rising, but consumers aren't cutting back. Bank of America says spending on hobbies grew nearly eight-percent in August. The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index data found that the recreation index, which includes video and audio, pets and pet services, sporting goods and photography, rose nearly three-percent in the last year. The U.S. Census Bureau's Advance Monthly Trade Report shows sales at sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book stores rose almost eleven-percent in the last year.
>>Instagram New Paid Feature
(Undated) -- Instagram has launched a new premium feature, Instagram Plus, for three dollars and 99-cents a month. The new features include extending 24-hour stories to stay visible for longer and pushing them to the top of users' feeds, alongside "expressive reactions" so friends can show "extra support" in direct messages. The new Story Rewatch Count feature shows how many times your story was replayed, while the Search Viewer Sheet lets you check if a specific person saw your post. The Story Preview lets users look at someone's story without showing up on their viewer list and there are also features that help hide actions from other users, including posting to your profile or highlights without showing up in friends' feeds.
>>Volkswagen To Recall 2.86M Cars
(Washington, DC) -- Volkswagen will recall nearly three million vehicles over a screw that could fail and cause loss of steering capabilities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a safety recall report on September 11th saying certain environmental conditions could possibly affect a screw that attaches the vehicle's steering rack to its subframe. The affected vehicles include Volkswagen Tiguan, Touran, Golf, Golf Variant and Caddy models built between September 2013 and July 2024 as well as Audi Q3 models made between October 2017 and May 2024. The recall report also lists the 2018 and 2019 Volkswagen Atlas, which was manufactured between November 2016 and September 2018. The Volkswagen Group said the company will notify all owners of affected vehicles by November 10th to schedule an appointment with an authorized dealer, who will replace the bolt for free.
