AP-Summary Brief-Business
October 23, 2024
Boeing reports $6 billion quarterly loss as striking workers vote whether to accept contract offer
EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — Boeing has reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6 billion while waiting to see if striking factory workers will accept the company’s latest contract offer. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers are voting Wednesday in the Seattle area and elsewhere on a contract that includes pay raises of 35% over four years. Their strike since mid-September has crippled Boeing’s airplane production for nearly six weeks. It’s also served as a test for the CEO who took over at the company in August. In his first remarks to investors, Kelly Ortberg presented his plan to turn the company around after years of heavy losses and damage to the aerospace giant’s reputation.
McDonald’s tries to reassure customers after deadly E. coli outbreak
McDonald’s is working to reassure U.S. customers that its restaurants are safe even as federal investigators try to pinpoint the cause of a deadly E. coli outbreak linked to its Quarter Pounder hamburgers. McDonald’s pulled Quarter Pounders from one-fifth of its U.S. stores Tuesday as a result of the outbreak, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said had sickened at least 49 people in 10 states. One person died and 10 were hospitalized, according to the CDC. A preliminary investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggested fresh slivered onions that are served raw on Quarter Pounder hamburgers were a likely source of the contamination.
Tesla posts surprise $2.17 billion third-quarter profit, up 17.3% from a year ago
DETROIT (AP) — Tesla’s third-quarter net income rose 17.3% compared with a year ago as its electric vehicle sales rose. The Austin, Texas, company said Wednesday that it made $2.17 billion from July through September, more than the $1.85 billion profit it posted in the same period of 2023. The profit came despite price cuts and low-interest financing that helped boost sales of the company’s aging vehicle lineup. It was the company’s first year-over-year quarterly profit increase of 2024. Revenue in the quarter rose 7.8% to $25.18 billion, falling short of Wall Street analysts who estimated it at $25.47 billion, according to FactSet. Excluding one time items, Tesla made 72 cents per share, beating analyst expectations of 59 cents.
Stock market today: Wall Street slumps to a rare 3-day losing streak
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks fell as more steam came out of Wall Street’s huge, record-breaking rally. The S&P 500 sank 0.9% Wednesday. It was the third loss in a row for the benchmark index, the first time that’s happened in six weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1%. The Nasdaq composite sank 1.6% as Nvidia and other Big Tech stocks were among the market’s heaviest weights. Momentum has reversed for stocks since the S&P 500 set a record on Friday as pressure has increased from rising Treasury yields in the bond market. Yields rose again Wednesday.
Former Abercrombie & Fitch chief Mike Jeffries arrested on federal sex trafficking charges
NEW YORK (AP) — Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, his romantic partner and a third man have been arrested on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges. An indictment filed in a New York federal court accuses them of luring men into drug-laced, outlandish and coercive sex parties by dangling the promise of modeling for the retailer’s ads. Jeffries and his attorney didn’t comment as the ex-CEO left a federal courthouse in Florida after being released on a $10 million bond. His partner, Matthew Smith, was being held without bond. His lawyers say they’ll respond to the allegations in court. Co-defendant James Jacobson told a federal court in Minnesota that he understands the allegations. He’s free on $500,000 bond.
They made 36 million Corn Poppers. Here’s how they pick the right ones for the Toy Hall of Fame
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Before the National Toy Hall of Fame inducts a new class each fall, curators at the upstate New York attraction have to figure out how to showcase the honorees. It’s not always easy. The hall aims to show how its toys have endured and evolved over the years, so it often displays older versions alongside newer ones. If they’re lucky, curators might find vintage versions in the archives at the Strong National Museum of Play, which houses the hall. But for other toys, the search takes them to auctions, the internet and garage sales.
US home sales slowed again in September, falling to weakest annual pace in nearly 14 years
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed in September to the weakest annual pace in nearly 14 years even as mortgage rates eased and the supply of properties on the market continued to climb. Existing home sales fell 1% last month from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.84 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. Sales fell 3.5% compared with September last year. The latest home sales were short of the 3.9 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet. Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 15th consecutive month. The national median sales price rose 3% from a year earlier to $404,500.
Coke’s quarterly revenue and volumes fall but still beat expectations
Coca-Cola Co. said Wednesday its third-quarter revenue fell as sales volumes flattened or declined around the world. But the company still beat Wall Street’s forecasts and said it expects full-year organic revenue to rise 10%, which is at the high end of its previous guidance. The Atlanta beverage giant said its revenue fell 1% to $11.9 billion. That still beat Wall Street’s forecast of $11.6 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet. The company said it raised prices 10% in the July-September period, partly due to hyperinflation in markets like Argentina.
Apple and Goldman Sachs must pay $89 million for mishandling Apple Card transactions, CFPB orders
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal regulator has ordered Apple and Goldman Sachs to pay a combined $89 million for deceiving consumers and mishandled Apple Card customers’ transaction. The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau says Apple failed to send tens of thousands of Apple Card disputes to Goldman. And when such customer disputes were reported, the investment bank did not follow federal requirements for investigating. The agency says many consumers faced long waits to get their money back from disputed charges and, in some cases, saw damages to their credit reports. Beyond penalties and relief to those impacted, the agency is barring Goldman from launching another new credit card unless it can prove the product will comply with the law.