NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks have opened lower again on Wall Street, but the losses aren’t as steep as yesterday. The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were all down about 1 percent in the first hour of trading. All 10 sectors in the S&P 500 are lower. The price of oil continues to fall, too. The near-term contract for benchmark U.S. crude is down more than $1, heading toward $80 a barrel in New York.
WASHINGTON (AP) — There’s upbeat news this morning on jobs. The Labor Department says the number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped by 23,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 264,000. That’s the lowest level in 14 years. The four-week average also fell to its lowest level since 2000.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. homebuilders’ confidence is down this month. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index eased back to 54 for October. But the drop follows four months of gains which pushed the indicator to the highest point in nine years. A reading above 50 indicates more builders view sales conditions as good rather than poor.
UNDATED (AP) — AbbVie’s board is telling shareholders to vote against its own $55 billion takeover bid for the Irish drugmaker Shire. The company says changes in U.S. tax policy that make reincorporating overseas a less lucrative tax maneuver have introduced an “unacceptable level of uncertainty” in the deal and eliminated some of the financial benefits.
DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler is recalling more than 900,000 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep SUVs and cars for two problems: alternators that can fail and heated power mirror wiring that can short and cause minor fires. The alternator recall covers nearly Jeep Grand Cherokees, Chrysler 300s, and Dodge Chargers, Challengers and Durangos from the 2011 through 2014 model years. The second recall involving heated power mirrors covers Jeep Wranglers from 2011 through 2013. A record 51 million vehicles have been affected by recalls so far this year.
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