Biden administration awards $653 million in grants for 41 port projects

( ) -q-21- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “improve worker safety.”

The Transportation Department is awarding $653 million in grants to upgrade and improve 41 water-based ports across the United States.

[CutID: <Cuts> PORTS-UPGRADE-GRANTS-house-q-FRIam.mp3
Time: 21s
Title: PORTS-UPGRADE-GRANTS-house-q-FRIam
Out-cue: improve worker safety]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

—————————
VERBATIM: The grants are part of the $1 trillion in infrastructure investments included in a bipartisan law signed by President Biden in 2021. Biden administration officials say the projects being supported will allow ports to meet greater shipping demands. The projects are also designed to lower costs for consumers and improve worker safety.

Real estate industry faces pushback to longstanding agent commissions rules

( ) -q-29- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “Multiple Listings Service.”

A series of court challenges seek to upend longstanding real estate industry practices that determine the commissions agents receive on the sale of a home — and who foots the bill.

[CutID: <Cuts> REAL-ESTATE-COMMISSIONS-house-q-THUam.mp3
Time: 29s
Title: REAL-ESTATE-COMMISSIONS-house-q-THUam
Out-cue: Multiple Listings Service]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

——————————
VERBATIM: One case ended this week with a federal jury in Missouri ordering the National Association of Realtors and some of the nation’s biggest real estate brokerages to pay almost $1.8 billion in damages after finding that they artificially inflated agent commissions. At least two other court cases are pending. At issue: whether home sellers should be forced to pay the commission for the buyer’s agent in order to have their home listed on the widely used Multiple Listings Service.

Europe’s inflation eased to 2.9% in October thanks to lower fuel prices

( ) -q-29- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “out 0.1-percent growth.”

The inflation that has been wearing on European consumers fell sharply to 2.9% in October, its lowest in more than two years.

[CutID: <Cuts> EUROPE-INFLATION-house-q-WEDam.mp3
Time: 29s
Title: EUROPE-INFLATION-house-q-WEDam
Out-cue: out 0.1-percent growth]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Ireland’s drop in GDP of 1.8% was the largest among eurozone economies. It disproportionately reflects the finances of multinational companies that are based there.

————————————
VERBATIM: Fuel prices fell and rapid interest rate hikes from the European Central Bank took hold. But that encouraging news was balanced by official figures showing economic output in the 20 countries that use the euro shrank by 0.1% in the July-to-September quarter. Germany, the largest of the 20 countries that use the euro, saw its economy output fall by 0.1%, while No. 2 economy France only scraped out 0.1% growth.

Toyota’s profits zoom on cheap yen, strong global sales

( ) -q-24- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “rose 24-percent.”

Toyota’s profit in the latest quarter jumped nearly threefold from a year ago.

[CutID: <Cuts> TOYOTA-PROFIT-house-q-WEDam.mp3
Time: 19s
Title: TOYOTA-PROFIT-house-q-WEDam
Out-cue: rose 24-percent]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. A cheap yen is a plus for Japan’s giant exporters like Toyota by raising the value of its overseas earnings when translated into yen. The U.S. dollar was trading at about 145 Japanese yen in the latest quarter, up from 138 yen. It’s trading above 150 yen lately.

—————————–
VERBATIM: The increase came as vehicle sales grew around the world and a cheap yen boosted the Japanese automaker’s overseas earnings. Toyota reported Wednesday 1.28 trillion yen in quarterly profit, up from 434 billion yen the previous year. Quarterly sales rose 24%.

Auto strike settlements will raise costs for Detroit’s Big 3

( ) -q-28- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “prices for consumers.”

The big three automakers are experiencing lighter pocketbooks.

[CutID: <Cuts> AUTO-STRIKES-FALLOUT-house-q-WEDam.mp3
Time: 28s
Title: AUTO-STRIKES-FALLOUT-house-q-WEDam
Out-cue: prices for consumers]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The automakers will also try to absorb those cost increases through expense reductions and efficiencies while still aiming to post strong enough profits to please Wall Street.

——————————-
VERBATIM: From generous pay and benefits to stronger job security, the United Auto Workers union won significant concessions in tentative settlements that have ended their strikes against Detroit’s automakers. Now, General Motors, Ford and Stellantis are facing sharply higher labor costs, estimated by some analysts at exceeding $1 billion per year, per company. Analysts say the companies will likely try to offset their cost increases by raising vehicle prices for consumers.

Samsung reports improved profit as losses from chip business narrow

( ) -q-24- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “its DRAM chips.”

Samsung Electronics has reported its highest quarterly profit for the year.

[CutID: <Cuts> SAMSUNG-PROFIT-house-q-TUEam.mp3
Time: 24s
Title: SAMSUNG-PROFIT-house-q-TUEam
Out-cue: its DRAM chips]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The South Korean technology giant’s 1.8 billion dollar operating profit for the three months to September still marked a 77.6% decline from the same period last year.

——————————
VERBATIM: Samsung saw narrowed losses from its computer chip business amid a slow recovery in global demand. The company said it expects its business to further improve in coming months. It cites the replacement cycles of personal computers and smartphones and the expansion of artificial intelligence-based devices and services, which has been increasing the demand for its DRAM chips.

Stellantis expects strike to cost it 750 million euros in Q3 profits

( ) -q-20- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “markets except Asia.”

Automaker Stellantis says that the autoworkers strike in North America is expected to cost the company around 750 million euros in profits — less than its North American competitors.

[CutID: <Cuts> STELLANTIS-STRIKE-LOSS-house-q-TUEam.mp3
Time: 20s
Title: STELLANTIS-STRIKE-LOSS-house-q-TUEam
Out-cue: markets except Asia]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Stellantis’s Chief Financial Officer Natalie Knight told journalists that Stellantis’ strike impact was lower than the other Big Three automakers due to its global profile as well as some high-profile cost-cutting measures.

——————————
VERBATIM: The Europe-based maker of Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot reported a 7% boost in net revenues to 45.1 billion euros. Production halts caused by the strikes cost the company 3 billion euros in sales through October. The net revenue boost was due to higher volumes in all markets except Asia.

Cutting-edge AI raises fears about risks to humanity

( ) -q-28- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “on frontier AI.”

Frontier AI has become the latest buzzword as concerns grow that the emerging technology has capabilities that could endanger humanity.

[CutID: <Cuts> FRONTIER-AI-house-q-TUEam.mp3
Time: 28s
Title: FRONTIER-AI-house-q-TUEam
Out-cue: on frontier AI]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

—————————-
VERBATIM: Chatbots like ChatGPT wowed with their ability to do tasks as good as or better than humans, thanks to cutting-edge artificial intelligence systems. Now, everyone from the British government to top researchers and even major AI companies themselves are raising the alarm about frontier AI’s as-yet-unknown dangers and calling for safeguards. The debate comes to a head Wednesday at a summit in Britain focused on frontier AI.

Strike ends against vital Great Lakes shipping artery

( ) -q-22- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “the coming days.”

A deal has been reached to end a week-long strike that had shut down a major shipping artery in the Great Lakes.

[CutID: <Cuts> SHIPPING-STRIKE-house-q-MONam.mp3
Time: 22s
Title: SHIPPING-STRIKE-house-q-MONam
Out-cue: the coming days]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

—————————
VERBATIM: The strike halted the flow of grain and other goods from the U.S. and Canada. Around 360 workers in Ontario and Quebec with Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, walked out October 22nd in a dispute over wages with the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation. The union will vote to ratify the deal in the coming days.

China holds major financial conference to discuss economy

( ) -q-31- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “and disaster prevention.”

China’s leaders are meeting in Beijing to talk about the country’s economy.

[CutID: <Cuts> CHINA-ECONOMIC-CONF-house-q-MONam.mp3
Time: 31s
Title: CHINA-ECONOMIC-CONF-house-q-MONam
Out-cue: and disaster prevention]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. By dipping deeper into deficit, the government is looking to counter a sharp slowdown in housing construction. Economists say the challenge lies in finding ways to ensure sustainable, balanced growth.

———————————
VERBATIM: The meeting is aimed at searching for ways to mend the China’s fractured property market, create jobs for millions of unemployed youths and spur faster growth. The National Financial Work Conference, usually held twice a decade, is expected to further fortify leader Xi Jinping’s control of the country’s 61 trillion dollar financial sector. It follows the announcement last week of plans to issue 330 billion dollars in bonds for infrastructure projects and disaster prevention.

Biden executive order requires AI safeguards

President Biden is signing a sweeping executive order to guide the development of artificial intelligence. The order requires industry to develop safety and security standards, introduce new consumer protections and give federal agencies an extensive to-do list to oversee the rapidly progressing technology. AI has been a source of deep personal curiosity for Mr. Biden, given its potential impact on the economy and national security. The president had directed his staff to move with urgency on a policy that could maximize AI’s possibilities and contain its perils.

Federal Reserve will make interest rates decision this week

This week the Federal Reserve will decide what to do about interest rates

VERBATIM:

The central bank has already hiked rates eleven times since March of last year, raising the cost of borrowing for homes and cars, while at more than twenty-percent, the average credit card rate has hit an historic high. This, at a time when skyrocketing prices have forced many people to rely more heavily on credit cards to make ends meet. The general consensus among economists is that the Fed will refrain from raising rates at Wednesday’s meeting, while not closing the door on the possibility of future rates hikes in the not-too-distant future. Rich Thomason reporting.

Salman Rushdie could take the stand against accused attacker

Author Salman Rushdie could take the stand against the man accused of repeatedly stabbing him.

(VERBATIM)

Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt says Rushdie is on the witness list for the trial of 25-year-old Hadi Matar. A judge on Friday scheduled the trial to begin Jan. 8. Matar has pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and attempted murder. He’s accused of rushing the stage at the Chautauqua Institution in New York where Rushdie was about to speak in August 2022 and stabbing him more than a dozen times. A fatwa had been issued for Rushdie’s death by the Ayatollah Khomeini. Keith Peters reporting.

Amazon posts strong revenue and profits ahead of the holidays

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “business grew robustly.”

Amazon has reported strong revenue and profits from the summer months driven by growth in online sales and its advertising business.

[CutID: <Cuts> AMAZON-REVENUE-house-q-FRIam.mp3
Time: 26s
Title: AMAZON-REVENUE-house-q-FRIam
Out-cue: business grew robustly]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Amazon’s cloud computing unit AWS grew by 12%.

——————————
VERBATIM: For the three months that ended on September 30, the company said it earned $143.1 billion in revenue, a 13% jump compared to the same period last year. Amazon made $9.9 billion in profits, topping analysts’ expectations. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says the company had a strong quarter as it improved its delivery speed and its advertising business grew robustly.

Exxon Mobil Q3 results mixed compared with last year’s big numbers

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “of $89.29 billion.”

Exxon Mobil’s third-quarter profit and revenue declined compared with the same time last year when the company put up enormous numbers.

[CutID: <Cuts> EXXON-MOBIL-RESULTS-house-q-FRIam.mp3
Time: 26s
Title: EXXON-MOBIL-RESULTS-house-q-FRIam
Out-cue: of 89.29-billion dollars]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

———————————–
VERBATIM: Despite the lower numbers, the oil giant had its strongest ever refinery throughput for the period and raised its quarterly dividend. Exxon Mobil earned $9.07 billion in the period. That compares with $19.66 billion a year earlier. Revenue slipped to $90.76 billion from $112.07 billion, but still topped Wall Street’s estimate of $89.29 billion.

UK PM Sunak warns against rush to regulate AI before understanding risks

( ) -q-19- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “companies developing it.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warns against moving too fast on regulating AI before it’s fully understood.

[CutID: <Cuts> SUNAK-AI-house-q-FRIam.mp3
Time: 19s
Title: SUNAK-AI-house-q-FRIam
Out-cue: companies developing it]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Sunak is hosting a summit next week that’s focusing on the risks from so-called frontier artificial intelligence. These are cutting edge systems that can carry out a wide range of tasks but could contain unknown risks to public safety and security.

———————————-
VERBATIM: As authorities around the world scramble to draw up guardrails for artificial intelligence, Sunak warned about acting too quickly even as he outlined a host of risks that AI could bring. He said only governments are able to keep people safe from AI’s risks. Sunak adds it shouldn’t be left up to the tech companies developing it.

Economy posted strong 4.9% growth rate last quarter

( ) -q-28- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “to restaurant meals.”

The nation’s economy expanded at a 4.9% annual rate from July through September.

[CutID: <Cuts> GDP-house-q-THUam.mp3
Time: 28s
Title: GDP-house-q-THUam
Out-cue: to restaurant meals]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

—————————–
VERBATIM: The economy expanded last quarter at the fastest pace in more than two years — and more than twice the 2.1% annual rate of the previous quarter. Analysts say Americans defied higher prices, rising interest rates and widespread forecasts of a recession to spend at a brisk pace. Thursday’s report on the nation’s gross domestic product showed that consumers drove the acceleration, ramping up their spending on everything from cars to restaurant meals.

Facebook parent Meta posts sharply higher profit in Q3

( ) -q-24- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “to 34.15-billion dollars.”

Facebook parent Meta has posted sharply higher earnings for the third quarter.

[CutID: <Cuts> META-PROFIT-house-q-THUam.mp3
Time: 24s
Title: META-PROFIT-house-q-THUam
Out-cue: to 34.15-billion dollars]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Meta said the number of active users on Facebook was 3.05 billion as of Sept. 30, an increase of 3% from a year earlier. The company was sued by 41 states plus the the District of Columbia on Tuesday for harming young people’s mental health.

—————————————-
VERBATIM: The earnings were boosted by an increase in advertising revenue and lower expenses after Meta laid off thousands of workers. The company based in Menlo Park, California, said it earned nearly $11.6 billion in the July-to-September quarter. That’s up from $4.4 billion a year earlier. Revenue rose 23% to $34.15 billion.

Stellantis to invest in Chinese EV manufacturer

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “stake in Leapmotor.”

Stellantis says it plans to invest about 1.5 billion euros, or about $1.6 billion, in Leapmotor, a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer.

[CutID: <Cuts> STELLANTIS-LEAPMOTOR-house-q-THUam.mp3
Time: 26s
Title: STELLANTIS-LEAPMOTOR-house-q-THUam
Out-cue: stake in Leapmotor]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The companies said the 51% Stellantis-led joint venture will have exclusive rights to export and sell Leapmotor’s vehicles outside China.

——————————–
VERBATIM: The two companies said they have formed a strategic partnership and joint venture that aims to expand the Chinese EV maker’s global sales. Stellantis, the European-based maker of Jeep and Ram said it will benefit from Leapmotor’s “tech-first EV ecosystem” in China to meet its own targets for shifting to electric vehicles. The investment will give Stellantis an approximately 20% stake in Leapmotor.

USDA tightens restrictions on livestock and poultry producers

( ) -q-23- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “the same rules.”

Livestock and poultry producers will need to comply with more specific standards if they want to label their products as organic.

[CutID: <Cuts> USDA-ORGANIC-RULES-house-q-THUam.mp3
Time: 23s
Title: USDA-ORGANIC-RULES-house-q-THUam
Out-cue: the same rules]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The rules cover issues including outdoor space requirements, living conditions for animals, maximum density regulations for poultry and how animals are transported for slaughter.

———————————–
VERBATIM: The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards follow years of negotiations with organic groups, farm organizations and livestock and poultry producers. The Organic Trade Association pushed hard for new regulations. The association says the standards will promote consumer trust and ensure competing companies abide by the same rules.

Japan’s automakers unveil EVs galore at Tokyo show

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “sportscar EV concept.”

Toyota, Honda, Nissan and other Japanese automakers are serious about rolling out battery electric vehicles to catch up with the world’s frontrunners like Tesla and BYD.

[CutID: <Cuts> JAPAN-AUTO-SHOW-house-q-WEDam.mp3
Time: 26s
Title: JAPAN-AUTO-SHOW-house-q-WEDam
Out-cue: sportscar EV concept]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

——————————
VERBATIM: It’s a message being heard at the Tokyo Mobility Show, which runs through November 5 and where an EV is the star at practically every booth. Journalists got a preview of the concept models ahead of the show’s opening to the public Saturday. Among them are Toyota’s lean, angular Lexus concept, set to go on sale in 2026, which runs on lithium-ion batteries. Honda is showing a sportscar EV concept.

Carnival ruled negligent over cruise where 662 passengers got COVID-19

( ) -q-27- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “two earlier cruises.”

A cruise operator that failed to cancel a voyage from Sydney that led to a COVID-19 outbreak has been ruled negligent in an Australian class-action case.

[CutID: <Cuts> CARNIVAL-NEGLIGENCE-house-q-WEDam.mp3
Time: 27s
Title: CARNIVAL-NEGLIGENCE-house-q-WEDam
Out-cue: two earlier cruises]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The lead plaintiff was awarded about $2,800 for medical expenses. Her lawyer said passengers who were sicker could expect larger payouts. Carnival Australia said it was considering the judgment in detail.

——————————
VERBATIM: The Ruby Princess ocean liner left Sydney on March 8, 2020, for a 13-day cruise to New Zealand, but returned in 11 days as Australia’s borders were closing. More than 660 of the 2,671 passengers were infected and 28 died. The judge ruled Carnival was negligent under Australian consumer law. He noted Carnival already had outbreaks on two earlier cruises.

China latest step in the expansion of its space station.

( ) -q-20- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “for three months.”

China has announced plans to send a new telescope to probe deep into the universe as it prepared to launch the country’s next three-member crew for its orbiting space station.

[CutID: <Cuts> CHINA-SPACE-house-q-WEDam.mp3
Time: 20s
Title: CHINA-SPACE-house-q-WEDam
Out-cue: for three months]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. China says it plans to send a crewed mission to the moon by the end of the decade.

————————————-
VERBATIM: The spokesperson and deputy director general of the Chinese Manned Space Agency says the mission was part of an expansion of the space station. Three astronauts will replace a crew that’s been on the station for six months. One of the astronauts, Tang Hongbo, is a veteran who led a 2021 space mission for three months.

Forming a unity government in Poland

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “for prime minister.”

The leaders of three opposition groups that collectively won the most votes in Poland’s recent elections say they have agreed to form a government together.

[CutID: <Cuts> POLAND-UNITY-GOVT-house-q-TUEam.mp3
Time: 26s
Title: POLAND-UNITY-GOVT-house-q-TUEam
Out-cue: for prime minister]

TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

——————————
VERBATIM: The leaders also announced that Donald Tusk, the leader of the largest group, is their candidate to be prime minister. Tusk is a former prime minister and former president of the European Council. Their announcement came just before President Andrzej Duda was scheduled to open two days of postelection consultations with the heads of parties that won seats in the new parliament. Duda is required to tap a candidate for prime minister.