FINANCIAL MARKETS
Stocks fall broadly
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are broadly lower, putting the S&P 500 on track for its biggest drop since May. The benchmark index fell 1.7% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 2.3%.
The center of Wall Street’s action was again in the bond market, where a swift rise in Treasury yields is forcing investors to reassess whether prices have run too high for stocks, particularly the most popular ones. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped to 1.53%, its highest level since late June. That’s up from 1.32% a week ago.
Energy stocks bucked the downward trend and rose.
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE
US consumer confidence slides for third consecutive month
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence declined for the third straight month in September amid ongoing worries about the rapidly-spreading delta variant of the coronavirus.
The Conference Board reports that its consumer confidence index fell to a reading of 109.3 in September, down from 115.2 in August. September’s reading is lowest level for the index since it sank to 95.2 in February.
The board said consumers’ view of both the present situation and future expectations continued to degrade as intentions for spending on big items likes homes, autos and major appliances all retreated again. Concerns about inflation are also dampening consumer sentiment.
HOME PRICES
Record July jump in US home prices, sidelining more buyers
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices soared in July from a year earlier by a record amount as buyers desperate for homes bid up prices amid a limited supply of available properties. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index surged 19.9% in July compared with a year ago, the largest gain on records dating back to 2000.
POWELL-YELLEN-CONGRESS
Yellen warns delay in raising debt limit will slow economy
WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is sounding an urgent call for Congress to raise the U.S. government’s borrowing limit, a day after Senate Republicans blocked consideration of a bill that would have done so.
Yellen was testifying to a Senate committee at a hearing to update Congress on the impact of the vast financial support programs the government enacted after the viral pandemic paralyzed the economy 18 months ago. If the debt limit isn’t raised, Yellen warned, “the full faith and credit of the United States would be impaired, and our country would likely face a financial crisis and economic recession.”
PFIZER-VACCINE-CHILDREN
Pfizer gives vaccine data from kids 5-11 to FDA
NEW YORK (AP) — Pfizer has submitted research to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine in children as it moves closer to seeking approval for expanded use of the shots.
The drugmaker and its partner, Germany’s BioNTech, say they expect to request emergency use authorization of their vaccine in children ages 5 to 11 “in the coming weeks.” The companies also plan to submit data to the European Medicines Agency and other regulators. The two-shot Pfizer vaccine is currently available for those 12 and older. Pfizer tested a lower dose of the shots in children.
An estimated 100 million people in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated with the Pfizer shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VACCINE MANDATES
Employer vaccine mandates convert some workers, but not all
NEW YORK (AP) — Businesses that have announced vaccine mandates say some workers who had been on the fence have since gotten inoculated against COVID-19. But many holdouts remain — a likely sign of what is to come once a federal mandate goes into effect.
Even before President Joe Biden’s Sept. 9 announcement that companies with more than 100 workers would have to require vaccinations, dozens of companies, including Amtrak, Microsoft, United Airlines and Disney, issued ultimatums to most workers. And smaller companies in New York, San Francisco and New Orleans have been required to implement mandates for customers and workers.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VACCINES-SANOFI
Sanofi drops plans for messenger RNA vaccine against virus
PARIS (AP) — French drugmaker Sanofi says it is shelving plans for a COVID-19 vaccine based on messenger RNA despite positive results from early stage testing.
The Paris-based company said it will continue to develop another vaccine candidate that is already undergoing late stage human trials. That vaccine, being developed with Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline, uses a different technology. Sanofi is expanding efforts to test that vaccine as a COVID-19 booster.
Messenger RNA vaccines are already made by Pfizer and Moderna. Sanofi decided it wasn’t worth pursuing that technology for COVID-19 vaccines, given how widely available they are.
OPEC-OIL OUTLOOK
OPEC long-term outlook with crude at 3-year highs: rosy
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — While acknowledging the inevitable advance of alternative energy sources and technology, OPEC says oil will be the leading energy source for decades to come with crude prices reaching three-year highs.
In its annual World Oil Outlook, OPEC acknowledged that more electric vehicles on the road and the push for alternative and renewable energy will indeed usher in an era of declining demand for oil in rich countries. But OPEC believes the energy needs of expanding economies in other parts of world means that oil will be the world’s No. 1 source of energy through 2045.
EUROPE-ECONOMY
European Central Bank won’t overreact to fleeting inflation
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde says Europe’s monetary authority isn’t about to “overreact” to temporary inflation by tightening policy.
Lagarde says currently higher inflation of 3% in the eurozone is temporary, caused by bottlenecks and one-time factors. She said the bank still needs to nurture the ongoing recovery in the 19 countries that use the euro currency with stimulus including zero and negative interest rate benchmarks and bond purchases that drive down borrowing costs for companies.
That sets the ECB apart from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which has indicated it is looking at scaling back its crisis bond purchases.
FORD-ELECTRIC VEHICLE-JOBS
Green energy takes hold in unlikely places with Ford project
GLENDALE, Ky. (AP) — When Ford revealed plans to ramp up its commitment to the electric vehicle sector, the automaker chose two states where Republican leaders have vilified the push for green energy and defended fossil fuels.
The project is expected to create nearly 11,000 jobs and pump billions in investments into Tennessee and Kentucky. In doing so, it creates an ironic disconnect between the automaker’s bet on battery-powered vehicles and the rhetoric from many Republican leaders who have railed against a shift toward green energy and away from fossil fuels. Those leaders embraced the automaker’s announcement Monday.
JAPAN-TOYOTA-WOVEN PLANET
Toyota banks on mobility technology for future growth
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Toyota is revving up acquisitions in mobility technology, adding Renovo Motors, a Silicon Valley software developer, to its Woven Planet team, which is working on automated driving.
Earlier, Toyota bought CARMERA Inc., a U.S. venture that specializes in sophisticated road mapping updates. It has not disclosed the value of either deal.
Renovo develops automotive operating systems. Toyota sees that as essential for developing programmed vehicles so it can transition to “a mobility company” that includes more than just cars. Renovo means “new life” in Latin.
Woven Planet is Toyota’s wholly owned subsidiary.
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