The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped on Thursday as the Labour Department reported a rise in first requests for jobless benefits. The number of people filing for unemployment benefits rose from the previous week’s 204,000 to the current week’s 207,000. It was anticipated that the number would increase to 210,000 in the future. The Department of Labour will disclose its most recent employment numbers this coming Friday.
For September, ADP reported a gain of only 89,000 jobs, which was far lower than the expected growth of 160,000. As the economy has worsened, more and more people are turning to the service industry to make ends meet. Meanwhile, data from ISM and PMI pointed to gradual but consistent expansion in the American service sector.
The median monthly payment for an auto loan shot up significantly during the third quarter due to rising interest rates and a dearth of suitable vehicles. In comparison to a year ago, when the average APR for a car loan was 5.7%, today it is 7.4% (with a loan amount of $40,149).
Palantir is on the verge of closing a controversial deal to acquire health data from the United Kingdom. The data-analysis firm is competing for a contract to improve the United Kingdom’s National Health Service. This seven-year contract is worth up to 480 million euros, giving the agency ample funds to improve its ability to analyze medical data, identify patterns, and update its infrastructure.
Wendy’s and McDonald’s both won cases when false advertising claims were made against them. The federal judge dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims that the burgers were smaller than advertised and that the food did not appear to be as good as it appeared on the companies’ websites.
Spotify offers its paying users 15 hours of audiobook streams each month to compete with Amazon’s Audible, which currently leads the audiobook market.
The cannabis industry is projected to bring in $444 billion worldwide by 2030 as legalization spreads and recreational use rises. There is growing support for legalization of marijuana around the world. The product’s potential therapeutic and medical value has contributed significantly to its recent spike in popularity. SNDL is poised to be one of the most successful businesses in the present market.
Already, in advance of its impending Prime Day sale, Amazon is giving deep discounts on a wide range of everyday necessities. Discounts of up to 77% can be found on a wide selection of women’s and men’s clothing, accessories, and more.
Elon Musk’s X has reportedly eliminated headlines and links to stories from some users’ feeds. Apparently as a result of a change in the way that media stories show up in their feed, several users of Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) reported on Wednesday that they could no longer read news links and headlines on certain postings.
The popularity of Ford’s pickup trucks contributed significantly to the company’s 8% year-over-year sales growth in Q3. Despite the strong figures, automakers may see a dip in profitability due to the ongoing UAW strike.
Amazon has launched its own broadband satellites in direct competition with Starlink.
Amazon’s Project Kuiper is set to launch its first prototype spacecraft on October 6 in response to SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service. On October 6 at 7 p.m. BST, a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket will lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida with two satellites designated KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2.
According to Walmart, Ozempic is causing shoppers to spend less money on groceries. According to Walmart Inc. (WMT), consumers’ demand for groceries has been affected by the usage of diabetes drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, which work by lowering consumers’ appetites.
The CEO of Molson Coors, Gavin Hattersley, recently discussed the company’s shift in focus to nonalcoholic products with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, citing rising interest in health and wellness as a driving factor.
Stocks to watch:
SNDL(SNDL), Tesla (TSLA), Groupon (GRPN), Chase Bank (JPM), Microsoft (MSFT), GOOGL, eBay, Apple (AAPL), Pay Pal (PYPL), UBS, Walmart (WMT), Amazon (AMZN), Facebook (META), FED EX (FDX), UPS (UPS), Carnival Corporation (CCL)