Finance

The latest on developments in financial markets (all times local): 4:00 p.m. Stocks are sputtering at the close on Wall Street Thursday after an early rally fizzled. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 52 points, or 0.2%, to 27,094, while the S&P 500 was essentially flat at 3,006. Banks and industrial companies were the biggest […]

Consumers have supported the economy during its record-setting expansion, but a shrinking manufacturing sector, crushing tariffs and other dangers may bring the good times to an end. Fresh warning bells rang on Wall Street earlier this month after factory output shrank for the first time in three years. That threatens the economy’s decade-long expansion, as

Mr. Wolff, 37, said the economy was doing well in his area now, thanks to the West Texas oil boom, but said he didn’t feel that Mr. Trump deserved much credit for that — and he thinks a recession is likely next year. He said he would consider voting for a Democrat in 2020, particularly

Technology companies led broad gains for stocks on Wall Street in morning trading Thursday, extending the market’s gains from a day earlier. Microsoft led the tech stock rally, climbing 2.1%, as traders welcomed the software giant’s decision to boost its quarterly dividend and approve a $40 billion stock buyback. Technology is up 31.8% this year,

U.S. home sales rose 1.3% in August to the highest level in 17 months, as mortgage rates near historic lows have spurred a rush of home-buying. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that homes sold last month at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 5.49 million units, the best performance since March 2018. Sales

The Bank of England kept its main interest rate unchanged at 0.75% Thursday, its last scheduled interest rate decision before Britain is due to leave the European Union. In a statement, the bank said all nine of its rate-setters voted to keep rates unchanged and warned that prolonged uncertainty over Britain’s departure from the European

Shares opened higher in Europe on Thursday after a mixed session in Asia following the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut its benchmark interest rate for a second time this year. Germany’s DAX edged 0.1% higher to 12,406.82 while the FTSE 100 in Britain advanced 0.2% to 7,331.84. In France, the CAC 40 gained 0.5% to

A Japanese court on Thursday ruled that three former executives for Tokyo Electric Power Company were not guilty of professional negligence in the 2011 Fukushima meltdown. Interested in Japan? Add Japan as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Japan news, video, and analysis from ABC News. The ruling by the Tokyo

Japan’s central bank opted Thursday to keep its monetary policy unchanged despite the growing signs of trouble that prompted the Federal Reserve to cut its benchmark rate. The Bank of Japan said in its policy statement that exports, industrial output and business sentiment had been affected by the slowdown in overseas markets. The China-U.S. tariff

FedEx shares tumbled after the delivery giant blamed slowing economic growth and trade tension for a disappointing quarter and cut its forecast of full-year earnings. Shares were down $23.67, or 13.7%, to $149.63 in afternoon trading Wednesday. That’s the stock’s worst one-day percentage drop since the depths of the recession in 2008. FedEx is hurt