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Hit by scandal, Japan’s top automaker Toyota reports lower profits
( ) -q-27- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “of airbag inflation.”
Toyota’s July-to-September profit has sunk to less than half of what it was in the same period the previous year.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Toyota expects to sell 10.85 million vehicles for this fiscal year, down from more than 11 million vehicles last year.
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VERBATIM: The reasons…a production stoppage that followed a certification scandal and a recall of dented vehicle sales. The Japanese automaker says its quarterly profit totaled 3.7 billion dollars. Toyota suspended production on some models after acknowledging wide-ranging fraudulent testing. It included the use of inadequate or outdated data in crash tests, as well as incorrect testing of airbag inflation.
Japanese automaker Honda reports lower profits as China sales decline
( ) -q-29- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “6.2 billion dollars.”
Honda said its profits slipped nearly 20% in the first half of the fiscal year from the same period the previous year, as sales suffered in China.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.
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VERBATIM: Honda’s April-to-September profits totaled $3.2 billion dollars, declining from nearly four-billion dollars for the same period the previous year. Company officials say although Honda sold more motorcycles globally in the first fiscal half, boosted by healthy demand in Asia, its car sales fell, especially in China. Honda lowered its profit forecast for the fiscal year through March by 330 million dollars to 6.2 billion dollars.
Bitcoin spikes to record as traders expect Trump’s victory to boost cryptocurrencies
( ) -q-18- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “World Liberty Financial.”
The price of bitcoin has hit a new high as investors feel President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election will be a boon for cryptocurrencies.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Bitcoin jumped nearly 8% to a record $75,345 in early trading on Wednesday before falling back a bit.
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VERBATIM: Mr. Trump has taken a favorable view of cryptocurrencies. He has pledged to make America “the crypto capital of the planet” and create a strategic reserve of bitcoin. Ahead of the election, Mr. Trump also launched a new venture to trade cryptocurrencies called World Liberty Financial.
Pro-Abortion Measures See Mixed Results On Election Day
Pro-abortion forces lost Tuesday on a Florida ballot measure but prevailed in two other states. By rejecting adding abortion rights to their state constitution Florida voters kept a ban on abortion after the first six weeks of pregnancy in place. It’s the first time abortion rights groups have lost in a statewide ballot question since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended a national legal right to abortion in 2022. Most voters did support the measure, but it fell short of the 60% required to pass. It was a victory for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Pro-abortion measures were adopted in Maryland and New York.
Listen DownloadRepublicans Claim Senate Majority
Republicans have taken the Senate majority for first time in four years. Republicans seized control after flipping more than enough Democrat-held seats, holding onto GOP incumbents and wresting away the majority for the first time in four years. The unexpected battleground of Nebraska pushed Republicans over the top as Sen. Deb Fischer [R-Neb] brushed back a challenge from independent newcomer Dan Osborn. That came after Republican Sen. Ted Cruz [R-TX] of Texas defeated Democrat Colin Allred. Democratic efforts to salvage their majority slipped further out of reach with Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown [D-OH] in Ohio lost his reelection to Republican Bernie Moreno. Early on, Republicans picked up the seat in West Virginia.
Listen DownloadSaudi oil giant Aramco posts Q3 profits of $27.5 billion
( ) -q-22- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “the year before.”
Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco has reported third-quarter profits of $27.5 billion, down about 15% from last year as low oil prices ate into its revenues.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Oil prices have been depressed in recent days as tensions in the Middle East appear to have receded slightly and as China’s economy has slowed. Benchmark Brent crude traded Tuesday at around $75 a barrel.
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VERBATIM: Aramco, formally known as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., had revenues of $111.1 billion over the July-to-September quarter. It made $113 billion during the same quarter last year. Profit for the first nine months of 2024 was $83.9 billion, down from $94.5 billion the year before.
South Korea fines Meta $15 million for illegally collecting Facebook users’ info
( ) -q-22- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “handles private information.”
South Korea’s privacy watchdog has fined Meta 21.6 billion won for illegally collecting Facebook users’ sensitive personal information.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission concluded that Meta unlawfully collected sensitive information of around 980,000 Facebook users, including their religion, political views and whether they were in same-sex unions, and shared the data with 4,000 advertisers.
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VERBATIM: The information included data about their political views and sexual orientation. Meta is accused of sharing the information with thousands of advertisers for targeted advertisements. It was the latest in a series of penalties against Meta by South Korean authorities in recent years as they increase their scrutiny of how the company handles private information.
China files complaint at WTO over EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles
China has moved forward with a complaint at the World Trade Organization that alleges the European Union has improperly set anti-subsidy tariffs on new Chinese-made electric vehicles.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.
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VERBATIM: The Chinese diplomatic mission to the WTO says it “strongly opposes” the measures. It insisted its move was designed to protect the EV industry and support a global transition toward greener technologies. The European bloc announced last week it was imposing import duties of up to 35% on electric vehicles from China.
Polls Suggest Senate GOP To Flip More Seats Than Democrats
North Carolina Sets New Early Voting Record
Fed set to cut rates again while facing a hazy post-election outlook
( ) -q-24- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “office in January.”
No one knows how Tuesday’s presidential election will turn out, but the Federal Reserve’s move two days later is much easier to predict.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.
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VERBATIM: With inflation continuing to cool, the Fed is set to cut interest rates for a second time this year. On Thursday, the Fed’s policymakers are on track to cut their benchmark rate by a quarter-point, to about 4.6%, after having implemented a half-point reduction in September. The Fed’s future actions, though, will become more unsettled once a new president and Congress take office in January.
OPEC extends its oil output cuts by one month until the end of December
( ) -q-25- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “by one month.”
Saudi Arabia and allied oil producing countries say they will postpone a plan to gradually increase oil output until the end of the year.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.
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VERBATIM: The group extended output cuts by one month. No reason was given for the move, which comes ahead of the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday. In June, OPEC said 2.2 million barrels a day in voluntary cuts were extended until September but would then be gradually reduced month by month until they are eliminated by September 2025. OPEC later extended the cuts until November. On Sunday, they extended the cuts again by one month.
The UAE opens its annual oil-and-gas summit
( 8a ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “barrels a day.”
The United Arab Emirates has opened its annual oil-and-gas summit as it plans to increase energy output even as global prices have fallen.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.
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VERBATIM: The massive Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference comes after the UAE just last year hosted the United Nations COP28 climate talks. Those talks ended with a call by nearly 200 countries to move away from fossil fuels — the first time the conference made that pledge. But the UAE as a whole still plans to increase its production of oil to 5 million barrels a day.
Hurricanes, strikes hurt job growth in October
( ) -q-27- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “jobs in October.”
America’s employers added just 12,000 jobs in October.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The unemployment rate remained at 4.1%. The report provided a somewhat blurry view of the job market at the end of a presidential race that has pivoted heavily on voters’ feelings about the economy.
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VERBATIM: It’s a total that economists say was held down by the effects of strikes and hurricanes that left many workers temporarily off payrolls. Last month’s hiring gain was down significantly from the 223,000 jobs that were added in September. But economists have estimated that Hurricanes Helene and Milton, combined with strikes at Boeing and elsewhere, had the effect of pushing down net job growth by tens of thousands of jobs in October.
Apple sells $46 billion worth of iPhones over the summer as AI helps end slump
( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “iPhone’s quarterly sales.”
Apple snapped out of a recent iPhone sales slump during its summertime quarter.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.
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VERBATIM: It’s an early sign Apple’s recent efforts to revive demand for its marquee product with an infusion of artificial intelligence are paying off. According to Apple’s fiscal fourth-quarter report, sales of the iPhone totaled $46.2 billion for the July-to-September period, a 6% increase from the same time last year. That improvement reversed two consecutive year-over-year declines in the iPhone’s quarterly sales.
Los Angeles County sues Pepsi and Coca-Cola over plastic bottles
( ) -q-30- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “100% recycled plastic.”
Los Angeles County is taking on Pepsi and Coke for their role in plastic pollution.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Pepsi and Coca-Cola have been ranked as the world’s top plastic polluters for five consecutive years.
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VERBATIM: In a lawsuit filed this week, the county alleged Pepsi and Coca-Cola have misled the public about the recyclability of their plastic bottles and downplayed the negative impacts of plastic disposal. Coca-Cola and Pepsi own brands like Dasani, Sprite, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, and more. A spokesperson representing both companies denied the accusations, saying their bottles are “designed to be recycled and remade and can include up to 100% recycled plastic.”
Will people leave Florida after devastating hurricanes? History suggests not
( ) -q-28- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “last two decades.”
Up and down Florida’s Gulf Coast, residents are deciding whether to stay or go following two recent hurricanes.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.
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Such questions about Florida’s appeal are raised regularly after the state experiences a busy hurricane season. One such season was in 2004, when four hurricanes crossed the Sunshine State. If moves into the state offer any answer, then hurricanes have served little as deterrents. Florida’s population has grown by a third to 23 million residents in the two decades since Charley, Frances, Jeanne and Ivan ravaged the state.
52-48? Senate Republicans Eyeing Wide Majority In 119th Congress
Meta’s third-quarter profit surges 35%
( ) -v-33- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “std.”
Meta Platforms has posted stronger-than-expected third-quarter results fueled by its advertising revenue growth and its push to incorporate artificial intelligence. Correspondent Jeremy House reports.
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VERBATIM: Despite the strong results, the Instagram and Facebook parent company warned that it expects a significant acceleration in infrastructure spending next year. For the three months ending on September 30, the Menlo Park, California, company earned $15.69 billion, or $6.03 per share. That’s up 35% from $11.58 billion, or $4.39 per share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 19%. JH reporting.
Samsung reports ‘major’ progress in supply deal for AI chips
( ) -q-27- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “weaker U.S. dollar.”
Samsung Electronics has reported progress on a major supply deal for artificial intelligence-focused chips, aiming to reassure investors following a slowdown in semiconductor profits during the last quarter.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.
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VERBATIM: The South Korean technology giant says its operating profit for the July-to-September period increased by more than 277% from a year earlier to $6.65 billion. But the figure represented a 12% decline from the second quarter. Samsung attributed the decline largely to one-off costs such as provision of employee incentives in its computer chip division and the effects of a weaker U.S. dollar.
US applications for jobless benefits fall as layoffs remain at healthy levels
( ) -q-20- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “to 236-thousand, 500.”
Fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Continuing claims, the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits, declined by 26,000 to 1.86 million for the week of October 19.
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The Labor Department reports jobless claim applications fell by 12,000 to 216,000 for the week of October 26. That’s fewer than the 227,000 analysts forecast. The four-week average of weekly claims fell by 2,250 to 236,500.
Microsoft reports quarterly sales up 16% to $65.6 billion
( ) -q-25- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “company’s annual revenue.”
Microsoft reports its quarterly sales grew 16% to $65.6 billion as the company sought to assure investors its huge spending on artificial intelligence is paying off.
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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.
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VERBATIM: The company has spent billions of dollars to expand its global network of data centers and other physical infrastructure required to develop AI technology. That technology would compose documents, make images and serve as a lifelike personal assistant at work or home. Microsoft’s CEO says as a result, AI-related products are now on track to contribute about $10 billion to the company’s annual revenue.