Dollar mixed
The U.S. dollar is mixed against other North American currencies in New York trading.
It’s worth 1.34 Canadian dollars, unchanged from late Thursday.
And the dollar is trading at 22.34 Mexican pesos, up from late Thursday.
Wall Street yo-yos as S&P 500 heads for 4th weekly loss
By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are wobbling Friday morning, as the S&P 500 heads for a fourth straight week of losses amid Wall Street’s sudden September swoon. The S&P 500 was 0.1% higher after flip-flopping between small gains and losses a few times after trading opened. Stocks have been erratic recently, and indexes have taken several sharp turns in momentum each day. The S&P 500 is still on pace for a loss of 2.1% this week, which would give the index its first four-week losing streak in more than a year. Smaller stocks were faring slightly better Friday, while Treasury yields edged lower.
Orders for big-ticket manufactured goods ticks up just 0.4%
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods increased just 0.4% in August following a much larger gain in the previous month. It was the fourth consecutive monthly increase, but the most recent uptick was far weaker than the 11.7% surge in July, according to Commerce Department data Friday. Economists had expected production to ease somewhat after manufacturers rebounded strongly in previous months from COVID-19 related shutdowns, but the growth in August was less than half what economists had projected.
Global shares mixed…More Trump tax return court arguments
HONG KONG (AP) — Global shares were mixed today, cheered by a modest rally on Wall Street and rising hopes for fresh stimulus for the U.S. economy. In early trading, France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.5%, while Germany’s DAX slipped 1.4%. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged 0.2%. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.5% higher. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave up earlier gains, sinking 0.3%. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.1%. On Wall Street, Dow and S&P futures are down.
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York prosecutor engaged in a long-running battle to obtain Donald Trump’s tax returns is resorting to “speculation and innuendo” to justify his demands, the president’s lawyers argued in court papers filed Thursday on the eve of an appeals court showdown. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments today after a district court judge last month rejected Trump’s renewed efforts to invalidate a subpoena that the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. issued to the president’s accounting firm. Vance’s office says there’s “a mountainous record” of public allegations of misconduct to support its efforts to obtain Trump’s tax returns.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is expected to file an antitrust action against Google in coming weeks, focusing on its dominance in online search and whether it was used to stifle competition and hurt consumers, a person familiar with the matter tells The Associated Press. The department also is examining Google’s online advertising practices, said the person, who could not discuss an ongoing investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Antitrust officials at the department briefed state attorneys general this week on the planned action against Google, seeking support from states across the country that share concerns about Google’s conduct.
UNDATED (AP) — Hong Kong Disneyland has reopened for the second time as the semi-autonomous Chinese city again appears to have brought new coronavirus cases down to near-zero. The resort shut down during the initial stage of China’s outbreak when Hong Kong closed schools and offices. Disneyland reopened after cases dropped off but then was shut again once infections began to climb again over the summer. The resort reopened today with social distancing measures for lines, restaurant seating and rides and more frequent cleaning in crowded areas. Hong Kong’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism and the government has been moving steadily to bring back business without sparking new outbreaks in the densely populated city of 7.5 million.
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her family are facing a 35 million pound ($45 million) hit from the coronavirus pandemic, partly due to a shortage of tourists. Keeper of the Privy Purse Michael Stevens says a lack of income from visitors to royal buildings is likely to bring a shortfall of 15 million pounds, or $19 million, over three years. He says the impact of the pandemic is also likely to cause a 20 million pound shortfall in a 369-million-pound program to replace antiquated heating, plumbing and wiring at Buckingham Palace. The accounts show that the monarchy cost British taxpayers 69.4 million pounds in the year to the end of March.
