Business Highlights: Record holiday travel crowds expected; Binance founder pleads guilty

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Record crowds are expected to take to the air and roads for Thanksgiving

DALLAS (AP) — Millions of people are expected to hit airports and highways in record numbers over the Thanksgiving holiday. The busiest days to fly will be Tuesday and Wednesday as well as the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 2.6 million passengers on Tuesday and 2.7 million passengers on Wednesday. Sunday will draw the largest crowds with an estimated 2.9 million passengers, which would narrowly eclipse a record set on June 30. Meanwhile, AAA forecasts that 55.4 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home with roads likely to be the most clogged on Wednesday.

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Founder of Binance, world’s largest crypto exchange, pleads guilty to anti-money-laundering charge

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government has dealt a massive blow to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The company’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty to a felony charge Tuesday related to his failure to prevent money laundering on the platform. Binance also agreed to a roughly $4 billion settlement with the U.S. over violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and apparent violations of sanctions programs, including failure to put into place a suspicious transaction reporting programs. Zhao has announced that he stepped down as the company’s chief executive. U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said the settlement is one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history.

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UAW chief, having won concessions from strikes, aims to expand membership to nonunion automakers

DETROIT (AP) — Entering contract talks with Detroit’s three automakers, Shawn Fain set lofty expectations for what he could gain for his union members — and delivered on many of them. He secured significant pay raises, improved benefits, the right to strike over plant closures and a raft of other concessions. But to the United Auto Workers president, the agreements that emerged from talks that were marked by six weeks of strikes were merely the start of a renaissance for the 88-year-old union. Now, Fain has set his latest ambitious goal: To gain UAW membership in nonunion companies across the industry — from foreign automakers with U.S. operations like Toyota to electric vehicle makers like Tesla to EV battery plants.

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OpenAI’s unusual nonprofit structure led to dramatic ouster of sought-after CEO

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Unlike Google, Facebook and countless other tech giants, the company behind ChatGPT was not created to be a business. Rather, its creators set it up as a nonprofit, hoping it wouldn’t be beholden to commercial interests — like Google and Facebook. While OpenAI later transitioned into a for-profit entity, its controlling shareholder remains the nonprofit OpenAI Inc. It’s this unique structure made it possible for four OpenAI board members — three of whom don’t work for the company — to oust CEO Sam Altman, leading to an employee revolt that has put the organization’s future into jeopardy.

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Federal Reserve minutes: Officials saw inflation slowing but will monitor data to ensure progress

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials concluded earlier this month that inflation was steadily falling and agreed to closely monitor incoming data to ensure that the pace of price increases would continue slowing toward their 2% target, according to the minutes of their meeting. As a result, the policymakers decided to leave their key benchmark rate unchanged but to keep it elevated for an extended period. Speaking at a news conference after the meeting, Fed Chair Jerome Powell kept the door open for another rate hike, though most economists say they think the central bank is done raising rates.

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Stock market today: Wall Street drifts lower in a rare stumble following its big rally

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s rally ran out of momentum, and stocks drifted lower a day after hitting their highest level since the start of August. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% Tuesday for just its third loss in the last 17 days. The Dow dipped 62 points, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.6%. Lowe’s and Best Buy both sank despite reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected. Each cited challenges ahead and cut their forecasts for results over the full year. Treasury yields were relatively steady following the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting.

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Best Buy posts better-than-expected 3Q profits but sales sluggish amid spending malaise

NEW YORK (AP) — Best Buy Co. posted stronger-than-expected profits, but reported a deeper-than-expected drop in revenue for the fiscal third quarter as shoppers continue to pull back on buying gadgets in an uncertain economy. The nation’s largest consumer electronics chain also cut its fourth-quarter sales outlook, sending shares down 5% in premarket trading. The job market has remained resilient, but Americans are facing higher prices on many items, even as the inflation rate is easing. And they’re also facing more expensive credit with the Federal Reserve hiking benchmark interest rates to combat inflation. It costs more to take out loans for appliances, cars and houses, or to use a credit card. As a result, consumers have become reluctant to spend unless there is a sale.

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Home sales slumped to slowest pace in more than 13 years in October as prices, borrowing costs, soar

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slumped in October to their slowest pace in more than 13 years, as surging mortgage rates and rising prices kept many prospective homebuyers on the sidelines. Existing home sales fell 4.1% last month from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.79 million, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. That’s short of the 3.90 million sales pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet. Sales sank 14.6% compared with the same month last year. The national median sales price rose 3.4% from October last year to $391,800.

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After the dollar-loving Milei wins the presidency, Argentines anxiously watch the exchange rate

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The exchange rate is top of mind for millions of Argentines coping with triple-digit inflation. Now they are anxious for signs of what the victory of President-elect Javier Milei will mean for the value of the peso. It has tanked against the U.S. dollar in the past year. Inflation is running at an annual rate of more than 140%. Uncertainty about prices was rampant this campaign season, with many Argentines stocking up to beat potential post-election price increases. Inflation is a chief reason voters elected Milei, an outsider and right-wing populist who promised drastic measures to curb price hikes.

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The S&P 500 dipped 9.19 points, or 0.2%, to 4,538.19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 62.75 points, or 0.2%, to 35,088.29. The Nasdaq composite fell 84.55 points, or 0.6%, to 14,199.98. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies shed 23.82 points, or 1.3% to 1,783.26.