Government averts rail strike; mandates unions accept a tentative agreement
With a potentially economically devastating nationwide rail strike looming in early December, the US...
With a potentially economically devastating nationwide rail strike looming in early December, the US House yesterday passed a resolution that would force rail worker unions to accept a tentative agreement with management and make any strikes illegal.
In a 290–137 bipartisan vote, the House approved the resolution just a day after President Biden urged congressional leaders to avert a strike. A second resolution that passed with support from just three Republicans would grant rail workers seven days of paid sick leave (a major sticking point in the negotiations).
The vote marks the first time Congress has flexed its power to block a national rail strike since the 1990s. Back then, President Biden was one of six senators to oppose the bill that ended a 1992 rail strike, arguing against government interference in labor.
November is in the books, and…the stock market isn’t a total disaster anymore? Stocks...
November is in the books, and…the stock market isn’t a total disaster anymore? Stocks ended up higher for the second straight month, the first time they’ve gone back-to-back in the green since 2021. Yesterday’s rally was fueled by Jerome Powell, who made it clear he’s willing to start slowing down rate hikes as soon as the next Fed meeting. Meanwhile, Biogen got a boost from the news that its experimental Alzheimer's drug slowed cognitive decline.
Fusion power is 'approaching' reality thanks to a magnetic field breakthrough
Fusion power may be a more realistic prospect than you think. As Motherboardreports, researchers at the Energy Department's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have discovered that a new magnetic field setup more than tripled the energy output of the fusion reaction hotspot in experiments, "approaching" the level required for self-sustaining ignition in plasmas. The field was particularly effective at trapping heat within the hotspot, boosting the energy yield.
The notion of using magnets to heat the fuel isn't new. University of Rochester scientists found they could use magnetism to their advantage in 2012. The Lawrence Livermore study was far more effective, however, producing 40 percent heat and more than three times the energy.
Dow jumps over 700 points, Nasdaq ends up 4% as investors cheer Powell's remarks
Stocks saw broad gains Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell confirmed that the central...
Stocks saw broad gains Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell confirmed that the central bank will slow the pace of its aggressive rate-hiking campaign that has weighed on markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 737.24 points, or 2.18%, to 34,589.77. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 4.41% to 11,468.00. The S&P 500 added 3.09% to 4,080.11.
“It makes sense to moderate the pace of our rate increases as we approach the level of restraint that will be sufficient to bring inflation down,” Powell said in a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. “The time for moderating the pace of rate increases may come as soon as the December meeting.”
Powell cautioned the Fed may stay with restrictive policy for a long time before it ends its inflation fight. “Despite some promising developments, we have a long way to go in restoring price stability,” Powell said.
Crude oil prices moved further up today after the U.S. Energy Information Administration ...
Crude oil prices moved further up today after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reporteda crude oil inventory decline of 12.6 million barrels for the week of November 25.
At 419.1 million barrels, oil inventories are 8 percent below the five-year average for this time of the year. Last week’s inventory move compared with a draw of 3.7 million barrels estimated for the previous week.
In fuels, the EIA estimated inventory builds.
Gasoline inventories added 2.8 million barrels in the reporting period, with production averaging 9.4 million bpd, compared with a build of 3.1 million barrels for the previous week, with production at 9.2 million barrels daily.
In middle distillates, the EIA reported an inventory increase of 3.5 million barrels for the week to November 25, with production averaging 5.3 million bpd, compared with an inventory build of 1.7 million barrels for the previous week and production of 5.1 million bpd.
