Business Highlights: UAW strike expands to GM plant in Texas; Big profits lift Wall Street
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UAW strikes at General Motors plant in Texas as union goes after automakers’ cash cows
DETROIT (AP) — First it was Ford, then Stellantis, and now a General Motors factory has been added to the growing list of highly profitable plants where the United Auto Workers union is on strike. On Tuesday, about 5,000 workers walked out at GM’s factory in Arlington, Texas, that makes big, high margin SUVs such as the Chevrolet Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade. The strikes in Texas, as well as at the largest Ford factory in the world in Louisville, Kentucky, and a Stellantis plant that makes lucrative Ram pickups in Michigan, are aimed at getting the companies to capitulate to union demands for richer wages and benefits than the automakers so far have offered. Automakers say they won’t stick themselves with costs that could make their vehicles more expensive than competitors.
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Stock market today: Wall Street rises after corporate profits top forecasts and oil prices sink more
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street closed higher after Verizon and other big companies reported fatter profits for the summer than expected. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% Tuesday. The Dow added 204 points, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.9%. The pace is picking up for profit reports, and the hope is that companies in the S&P 500 will report their first growth in a year. Such strength is crucial for the stock market, which has slumped under the weight of higher bond yields. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped a day after reaching another 16-year high. Crude oil prices tumbled again.
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States sue Meta claiming its social platforms are addictive and harm children’s mental health
Dozens of US states, including California, New York, Arizona and Indiana are suing Meta Platforms Inc. for harming young people’s mental health and contributing the youth mental health crisis by knowingly designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to the platforms. The lawsuit filed in federal court in California also claims that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent, in violation of federal law.
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California regulators suspend recently approved San Francisco robotaxi service for safety reasons
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California regulators have revoked the license of a robotaxi service owned by General Motors after determining its driverless cars that recently began transporting passengers throughout San Francisco are a dangerous menace. The California Department of Motor Vehicles’ indefinite suspension of the Cruise robotaxi service comes just two months after another state regulator, the Public Utilities Commission, approved an expansion that authorized around-the-clock rides throughout San Francisco. That approval came over a chorus of protests, including some lodged by police and fire officials who asserted the driverless vehicles had been impeding traffic in emergencies.
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Google’s ad sales growth accelerated in 3Q, but investors are unimpressed with the performance
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google’s digital advertising sales growth accelerated during the summer, advancing a recent revival that helped its corporate parent Alphabet Inc. to deliver a quarterly profit that exceeded analysts’ projections. The third-quarter results released Tuesday for the July-September period included a 9% increase in Google’s ad sales from the same time last year. Those gains were the main reason that Alphabet’s total revenue and profit exceeded forecasts. But investors appeared to be disappointed by a performance in Google’s recently rapidly growing Cloud services division that came in below analyst projections. Alphabet’s stock fell 4% in extended trading after the numbers came out.
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Microsoft reports higher profits and revenue powered by cloud computing and AI investments
REDMOND, Wash. (AP) — Microsoft has reported a 27% increase in profit for the July-September quarter compared to the same time last year. The company reported quarterly net income of $22.3 billion, or $2.99 per share, which beat Wall Street expectations. The Redmond, Washington-based software maker posted revenue of $56.5 billion in the quarter, up 13% from last year, also beating expectations. Analysts polled by FactSet Research expected Microsoft to earn $2.65 per share on revenue of $54.5 billion. Analysts are currently projecting Microsoft will produce revenue of $58.7 billion for the October-December quarter.
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Coke raises full-year sales forecast after stronger-than-expected 3rd quarter
Coca-Cola is raising its full-year revenue forecast after a stronger-than-expected third quarter. The Atlanta beverage giant said its net revenue grew 8% to $11.9 billion. That topped the $11.4 billion Wall Street forecast, according to analysts polled by FactSet. Net income was up 9% to $3.1 billion. Adjusted for one-time items, Coke earned 74 cents per share, higher than the 69 cents analysts had forecast. Coke said its global case volumes rose 2% for the July-September period. The company continued to raise prices to offset higher ingredient costs, but at a more moderate pace. Prices were up 9%; Coke raised prices by double-digit increases in the previous five quarters.
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Spain’s acting government to push for a 37½-hour workweek. That’s if it can remain in power
MADRID (AP) — The parties forming Spain’s acting government say they will push for a 37½-hour workweek. The coalition partners struck the agreement on Tuesday as they try to remain in power following an inconclusive election in July. Spain has had a 40-hour workweek for the past two decades. The proposal is for Spain to have a 38½-hour workweek next year and for that to fall to 37½ hours in 2025. Spain’s Socialist Party and its junior leftist coalition partner Sumar or Joining Forces have until Nov. 27 to earn the backing of the majority of Spain’s Parliament to form a new government. Another election will be held in January if they fail.
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The S&P 500 rose 30.64 points, or 0.7%, to 4,247.68. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 204.97 points, or 0.6%, to 33,141.38. The Nasdaq composite rose 121.55 points, or 0.9%, to 13,139.87. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 13.62 points, or 0.8% to 1,679.50.