BUSINESS HEADLINES

AM Business Notebook

For: October 1, 2026

>>Ahead Of The Bell

(New York, NY) — The opening bell rings this morning as Wall Street ushers in a brand new trading month after stocks closed mixed yesterday to wrap up September. This comes following the latest U.S. economic data, which showed inflation slowed last month. The personal consumption expenditures price index for August increased at a three-point-four-percent annual rate. Elsewhere, the market is set to turn its eyes to the monthly jobs reports, which is slated to come out on Friday. At Wednesday’s closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 443 points to 50-906. The S&P 500 fell 19 points to 76-51. The Nasdaq gained 63 points to 26-861.

>>Federal Judge Approves Paramount Skydance Acquisition Of Warner Bros. Discovery

(Los Angeles, CA) — A federal judge in California has cleared the way for Paramount Skydance to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. The judge approved a settlement resolving an antitrust lawsuit brought by 12 state attorneys general who had opposed the 110-billion-dollar merger. Under the deal, Paramount will spend at least an additional one-point-five billion dollars on U.S. film production over the next five years and establish monitoring of editorial independence at its news operations. Paramount has set October 6th as the closing date for the merger. The deal would combine two major Hollywood studios, along with Paramount-Plus and HBO Max, and television networks including CBS, CNN, Comedy Central and Food Network.

>>Carnegie Mellon Receives Record Gift

(Pittsburgh, PA) — Carnegie Mellon University is celebrating what it calls the largest donation in higher education history. Citadel Advisors CEO Ken Griffin has pledged three-billion-dollars to the school to continue its international reach and target societal challenges. Most of that gift will establish a CMU campus in Miami, where Griffin maintains his home and runs his company.

>>16 Trucking Companies File For Bankruptcy

(Undated) — More than a dozen U.S. trucking companies have filed for bankruptcy in the last month as diesel prices climb to record highs. At least 16 have filed for either Chapter 7 or Chapter 11, including Xoco [[ SHOH-koh ]] Transport and Globemaster. While trucking companies face many pressures besides the price of fuel, the cost of diesel hit an all-time high last week of six-dollars-and-53 cents a gallon, an increase of two-dollars and 76-cents over the past year, according to Triple-A.

>>Fake iPhone Duo Preorder Page Could Steal Sensitive Data: Report

(Undated ) — If you’re looking to pre-order Apple’s first foldable iPhone, beware of scams. Malwarebytes reports that a fake preorder page for the iPhone Duo was discovered. The site resembles an Apple page and shows off a tab that offers 500 dollar voucher. However, the deceptive page reportedly uses a tool that can break into vulnerable iPhones, which could then steal sensitive data. Preorders for the iPhone Duo model don’t start until October 16th, and is set to drop a week later.