At least 6 killed in devastating wildfires on Hawaiian island of Maui
KAHULUI, Hawaii — A wildfire tore through the heart of Maui...
KAHULUI, Hawaii — A wildfire tore through the heart of Maui on Wednesday with alarming speed and ferocity, destroying dozens of homes and businesses in a historic tourist town, killing at least six people and injuring at least two dozen others, and forcing panicked residents to jump into the ocean to flee the flames.
The fire was widespread in Lahaina Town, including on Front Street, a popular shopping and dining area, County of Maui spokesperson Mahina Martin said by phone early Wednesday. Traffic has been very heavy as people try to evacuate the area, and officials asked people who weren’t in an evacuation area to shelter in place to avoid adding to the traffic, she said.
Wildfire has engulfed businesses on Front Street in downtown Lahaina in West Maui, home to 12,000 people.
The Coast Guard is responding to people who were forced to go into the ocean due to the flames.
Dow, S&P 500 post back-to-back declines ahead of key inflation report
U.S. stocks finished lower for a second session in a row on Wednesday, in a selloff that intensified...
U.S. stocks finished lower for a second session in a row on Wednesday, in a selloff that intensified into the closing bell, ahead of Thursday’s release of the July consumer-price index. The Dow Jones Industrial AverageDJIA shed about 190 points, or 0.5%, ending near 35,123, according to preliminary FactSet data. The S&P 500 index SPX shed 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP fell 1.2%, with all three indexes posting back-to-back losses. August kicks off a notoriously volatile stretch of the year for Wall Street.Investors now also have the likely impact of the highest Fed interest rates in 22 years to consider. Higher rates already helped cool inflation, but it still remains above the central bank’s 2% annual target. A lack of continued progress on that front could prompt more rate hikes from the Fed, and increase the odds of a U.S. recession.
Southwestern Energy’s (SWN) second-quarter net income fell 80% year-over-year as the E&P continued to cut back on operations and focus on strengthening its balance sheet and debt reduction.
Southwestern said during the earnings call it had directed the $123 million it received in net proceeds from its sale of Utica assets toward debt reduction. Total debt as of June 30 was $4.05 billion, down from $5.12 billion at the same time in 2022.
US companies are barreling towards a $1.8 trillion wall of maturing corporate debt
US firms are barreling towards a giant wall of corporate debt...
US firms are barreling towards a giant wall of corporate debt that's about to mature over the next few years, Goldman Sachs strategists said this week.
The investment bank estimated that $790 billion of corporate debt was set to mature in 2024, followed by $1.07 trillion of debt maturing in 2025. That amounts to $1.8 trillion of debt reaching maturity within the next two years, in addition to another $230 billion that will reach maturity by the end of this year, Goldman strategists said.
The wave of debt that will need to be refinanced could spell trouble for companies, as interest rates have been raised aggressively by the Fed over the last year. The Fed funds rate is now targeted between 5.25%-5.5%, the highest range since 2001.
