Elon Musk rails against bill that would avert a government shutdown
Tuesday evening, Congressional leaders ...
Tuesday evening, Congressional leaders released the text of a three-month spending bill that would prevent a shutdown, which would happen on Saturday without a bill. But President-elect Trump—and Elon Musk—both say it’s too bloated with unrelated provisions, imperiling its passage. Musk wrote on X that the 1,547-page, bipartisan bill “is a crime,” adding in another post, “Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” Trump also said he is “totally against” it, raising the prospect of a shutdown this weekend.
First severe bird flu case reported in the US. The...
First severe bird flu case reported in the US. The CDC said that a patient in Louisiana has been hospitalized with bird flu, the first confirmed severe case of the H5N1 illness in the US. More than 60 mild human cases of bird flu—the majority of them farmworkers—have been reported this year, following an outbreak that has killed 123 million poultry since 2022 and infected more than 860 dairy herds in 16 states since March. As for the severe case, the person had been in contact with birds—both sick and dead—in backyard flocks, the CDC said. Health officials stressed the risk to the human population remains low, but yesterday California declared an emergency over an outbreak of bird flu in dairy cattle.
You can now call 1-800-CHATGPT to have a phone call with OpenAI’s chatbot. Initially, callers get a free 15 minutes per month.
Formula 1 driver Sergio Pérez said he’s leaving Red Bull, creating an opening for someone who wants to become Max Verstappen’s teammate.
Oil settles up after US crude stocks fall, Fed's 2025 outlook curbs gains
(Reuters) - Oil prices settled higher on Wednesday after U.S. crude inventories...
(Reuters) - Oil prices settled higher on Wednesday after U.S. crude inventories fell and the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates as expected, but gains were capped as the Fed signalled it would slow the pace of cuts.
Brent futures closed up 20 cents, or 0.27%, to $73.39 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled up 50 cents, or 0.71%, to $70.58. Both benchmarks retreated from more than $1 a barrel gains at session highs.
U.S. crude stocks and distillate inventories fell while gasoline inventories rose in the week ending Dec. 13, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Total product supplied, a proxy for demand, was 20.8 million barrels per day, up 662,000 bpd from the prior week.
Dow ends down more than 1,100 points after Fed's hawkish interest-rate outlook
U.S. stocks finished lower on Wednesday, with the Dow...
U.S. stocks finished lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting its worst day in over four months after the Federal Reserve decided to lower its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points but reduced its forecast for further rate cuts in 2025.
The Dow Jones fell 1,123.03 points, or 2.6%, to end at 42,326.87. The blue-chip index fell for a 10th straight session, logging its longest losing streak since October 1974, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
The S&P 500 was off 178.45 points, or nearly 3%, to finish at 5,872.16. The large-cap index suffered its largest one-day point decline since 2020 and its largest one-day percentage fall since Aug. 5, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 716.37 points, or nearly 3.6%, ending at 19,392.69. It was the largest one-day percentage drop for the tech-heavy index since July 24, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
US crude oil stockpiles retreated by 4.7 million barrels last week, exceeding analysts' expectations of a 1.85-million-barrel drop, American Petroleum Institute data show. In contrast, gasoline and distillate inventories gained 2.4 million and 700,000 barrels, respectively, but remain 4% below the five-year seasonal average.
