Business News

US economic growth for last quarter is revised up to a 5.2% annual rate

WASHINGTON (AP) — Shrugging off higher interest rates, America’s consumers spent enough to help drive the economy to a brisk 5.2% annual pace from July through September, the government reported in an upgrade from its previous estimate. The government had previously estimated that the economy grew at a 4.9% annual rate last quarter. Wednesday’s second estimate of growth for the July-September quarter confirmed that the economy sharply accelerated from its 2.1% rate from April through June. It showed that the U.S. gross domestic product grew at its fastest quarterly rate in nearly two years. Consumer spending, the lifeblood of the economy, rose at a 3.6% annual rate — still healthy but a downgrade from the previous estimate of 4%.

The world economy will slow next year because of inflation, high rates and war, OECD says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The global economy, which has proved surprisingly resilient this year, is expected to falter next year under the strain of wars, still-elevated inflation and continued high interest rates. The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimated Wednesday that international growth will slow to 2.7% in 2024 from an expected 2.9% pace this year. That would amount to the slowest growth since the pandemic year of 2020. A key factor is that the OECD expects the world’s two biggest economies, the United States and China, to decelerate next year. The U.S. economy is forecast to expand just 1.5% in 2024, from 2.4% in 2023, as the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases restrain growth.

Biden targeting GOP’s Boebert in fresh political attack on Republicans

DENVER (AP) — President Joe Biden will try to turn Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado into the embodiment of Republican opposition to his agenda as he visits her congressional district. Biden plans on Wednesday to tout aspects of his domestic agenda that Boebert and her fellow Republicans have opposed. He’ll be visiting Pueblo to tour CS Wind, the world’s largest facility for wind tower manufacturing. The company is expanding with the help of federal tax benefits. Boebert opposed the Inflation Reduction Act and called for its repeal. Democrats are eager for Biden to score political points against Republicans as he struggles with low approval ratings ahead of a likely 2024 rematch against former President Donald Trump.

GM says strike cost $1.1B, but it can absorb rising labor costs as it raises dividend

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors says pretax earnings took a $1.1 billion hit this year from a six-week strike by autoworkers, but the company expects to absorb the costs of a new contract and is even raising its dividend. The Detroit automaker on Wednesday reinstated its full-year earnings forecast that was withdrawn during the United Auto Workers strike that ended at GM on Oct. 30. The company now predicts full-year net income of $9.1 billion to $9.7 billion, down from its pre-strike outlook. But GM expects to generate more cash for the full year. It plans to cut capital spending, including a slowdown in spending on electric vehicles and at Cruise, its troubled autonomous vehicle unit. GM says it will raise the dividend 33% to 12 cents per share starting in January.

Stock market today: Wall St. points higher before the bell, oil prices rise ahead of OPEC meeting

Wall Street was poised to open with gains on Wednesday despite a gloomy global economic forecast while oil prices rose ahead of an OPEC meeting later this week. Futures for the Dow gained 0.4% before the bell while futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.5%. A report forecasting that the global economy will slow next year didn’t seem to bother markets, which have flourished this month. General Motors jumped 9.2% in premarket after it said it is raising its dividend despite taking a $1.1 billion hit this year due to production lost during a six-week strike by autoworkers.

Michigan to join state-level effort to regulate AI political ads as federal legislation is pending

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to sign legislation in the coming days aimed at curbing deceptive uses of artificial intelligence and manipulated media. The legislation comes as concerns grow that generative AI could be used in the 2024 presidential race to mislead voters. Michigan and several other states have taken the lead on legislating deepfakes in political advertising while similar legislation is being considered in Congress. A recent bipartisan Senate bill would ban “materially deceptive” deepfakes relating to federal candidates, with exceptions for parody and satire.

Charlie Munger, who helped Warren Buffett build investment powerhouse Berkshire Hathaway, dies at 99

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Charlie Munger, who helped Warren Buffett build Berkshire Hathaway into an investment powerhouse, has died. He was 99. Munger’s death was confirmed in a statement from the company, which said he died Tuesday at a California hospital. Munger served as Buffett’s sounding board on investments and business decisions and helped lead Berkshire for more than five decades and served as its longtime vice chairman. Munger preferred to stay in the background and let Buffett be the face of Berkshire, and he often downplayed his contributions to the company’s remarkable success. But Buffett always credited Munger with pushing him beyond his early value investing strategies to buy great businesses. Berkshire’s devoted shareholders treasure Munger’s pointed quips at the annual meeting.

Mark Cuban working on $3.5B sale of Dallas Mavericks to Sands casino family, AP source says

A person with knowledge of the talks says Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is working on a deal to sell a majority stake in the NBA franchise to the family that runs the Las Vegas Sands casino company. The agreement would be in the valuation range of $3.5 billion and take weeks for the league to process. Cuban would retain control of basketball operations in the deal. The family of Miriam Adelson, widow of billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, has announced it’s selling $2 billion of her shares to buy an unspecified professional sports team.

Fed’s Waller raises possibility of a rate cut by spring if inflation keeps slowing

WASHINGTON (AP) — A key Federal Reserve official raised the possibility that the Fed could decide to cut its benchmark interest rate as early as spring if inflation keeps declining steadily. The official, Christopher Waller, cautioned that inflation is still too high and that it’s not yet certain if a recent slowdown in price increases can be sustained. But he sounded the most optimistic notes of any Fed official since the central bank launched its aggressive streak of rate hikes. Waller is regarded as a relatively “hawkish” official, meaning that he typically favors higher rates to combat inflation rather than low rates to boost job growth. But he has also become somewhat of a bellwether for the Fed’s overall rate-setting committee.

Sri Lanka says it struck a deal with creditors on debt restructuring to clear way for IMF funds

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka says it has reached an agreement in principle with a group of creditors including India and Japan on debt restructuring. It’s a crucial move toward unlocking a second instalment of a $2.9 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund. The Finance Ministry said the agreement on Wednesday with the Official Credit Committee covers approximately $5.9 billion of outstanding public debt. Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy in April 2022 with more than $83 billion in debt — more than half of it to foreign creditors. Its economy was plunged into crisis, with severe shortages of food, fuel and other necessities. The IMF agreed in March to a $2.9-billion bailout package, releasing the first payment shortly thereafter.