Business Highlights: GM and Stellantis in talks with the UAW; US growth accelerated last quarter
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General Motors and Stellantis in talks with United Auto Workers to reach deals that mirror Ford’s
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis are meeting with United Auto Workers bargainers to see if they can reach a contract agreement that mirrors a deal signed with crosstown rival Ford. Nearly 17,000 striking workers at Ford left the picket lines when the agreement was announced Wednesday night and will return to work shortly. About 57,000 Ford workers still have to vote on the tentative deal. GM and Stellantis will have to follow the pattern set by Ford or it’s likely that UAW President Shawn Fain will add factories to its partial strikes that began on Sept. 15.
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Grandpa Google? Tech giant begins antitrust defense by poking fun at its status among youth
WASHINGTON (AP) — Google is beginning its defense against a federal lawsuit accusing it of illegally thwarting competition for its ubiquitous search engine. Thursday’s testimony came from a top executive who talked about the precarious nature of the company’s success. Prabhakar Raghavan, a senior vice president at Google, testified at federal court in Washington as the tech giant defends itself in the biggest antitrust trial in the last 25 years. He described Google as a company beset by competitors and sometimes derided by younger people as “Grandpa Google.” The Justice Department accuses Google of using anticompetitive tactics to maintain dominance in internet search.
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US economic growth accelerated to strong 4.9% rate last quarter as consumers shrugged off Fed hikes
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s economy expanded at a robust 4.9% annual rate from July through September as Americans defied higher prices, rising interest rates and widespread forecasts of a recession to spend at a brisk pace. The economy expanded last quarter at the fastest pace in more than two years — and more than twice the 2.1% annual rate of the previous quarter. Thursday’s report on the nation’s gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — showed that consumers drove the acceleration, ramping up their spending on everything from cars to restaurant meals.
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Norfolk Southern investing in more automated inspection systems on its railroad to improve safety
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Norfolk Southern has installed the first of what will be more than a dozen of a new generation of automated inspection portals on its tracks in Ohio — not far from where one of its trains derailed in February and spilled hazardous chemicals that caught fire. The new portals are equipped with high-speed cameras that will take hundreds of pictures of every passing rail car to help quickly identify defects on moving trains. The pictures are analyzed by artificial intelligence software. Other major railroads have invested in similar inspection technology to supplement — and where regulators approve it, replace — human inspections. University of Delaware railroad safety expert Allan Zarembski said it’s significant that Norfolk Southern is investing in so many of these portals.
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Europe’s central bank halts rate hikes as war in the Middle East casts a shadow over the economy
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank has taken a break from interest rate increases. The pause announced Thursday follows 10 straight hikes, dating back to July 2022. That record pace of hiking was aimed getting painful inflation under control. But now inflation is down, and the Israel-Hamas war is casting a shadow of uncertainty over the global economy. There are fears about rising oil prices. With that backdrop and concerns growing that high credit costs used to fight inflation might slow economic growth and tip Europe into a recession, the ECB held rates at a record-high 4%.
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Ford earnings fall short of estimates after it strikes a tentative deal with striking autoworkers
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford has reported significant growth in the third quarter, although its financial results fell short of Wall Street estimates. The automaker’s net income swung to a $1.2 billion profit from a year-earlier loss of $827 million, while revenue increased by 11%, coming in at $43.8 billion. Ford’s latest quarterly profit, adjusted for one-time items, amounted to 39 cents a share. That was below the 46 cents a share expected by industry analysts. The results came out just a day after Ford reached a tentative contract agreement with the United Auto Workers union. The four-year labor deal could bring a close to the union’s series of strikes at targeted factories run by Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis.
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Harris will attend an AI summit at a UK estate that was a base for World War II codebreakers
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.K. prime minister is defending China’s invitation to a summit on artificial intelligence that Vice President Kamala Harris will attend next week. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says there can be no serious strategy for drawing up guardrails for artificial intelligence without at least trying to engage all of the world’s leading AI powers. Harris’ trip to the summit will come a day after President Joe Biden is expected to unveil an executive order on the emerging technology. Harris will speak about the Democratic administration’s approach to artificial intelligence Nov. 1 and then participate in the summit Nov. 2. The summit will take place at Bletchley Park, which was a base for World War II codebreakers.
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UK PM Sunak warns against rush to regulate AI before understanding its risks
LONDON (AP) — As authorities around the world scramble to draw up guardrails for artificial intelligence, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warns against moving too fast on regulating the rapidly developing technology before it’s fully understood. Sunak warned about acting too quickly even as he outlined a host of risks that AI could bring. He said in a speech Thursday that only governments are able to keep people safe from AI’s risks, and it shouldn’t be left up to the tech companies developing it. Sunak is hosting a summit next week that’s focusing on the risks from so-called frontier artificial intelligence. These are cutting edge systems that can carry out a wide range of tasks but could contain unknown risks to public safety and security.
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Stock market today: More drops for Big Tech pull Wall Street nearly 10% below its summertime high
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street tumbled after big-name companies warned an uncertain global economy may hurt their profits. The S&P 500 lost 1.2% for its ninth drop in 11 days and touched its lowest level in five months. It’s nearly 10% below its high mark for the year. Another steep fall for Big Tech dragged on the market and sent the Nasdaq composite to a loss of 1.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 251 points. Treasury yields fell after erasing earlier gains. Reports showed the U.S. economy continues to storm ahead despite much higher interest rates that have lashed the stock market.
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The S&P 500 fell 49.54 points, or 1.2%, to 4,137.23. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 251.63 points, or 0.8%, to 32,784.30. The Nasdaq composite shed 225.62 points, or 1.8%, to 12,595.61. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 5.57 points, or 0.3% to 1,657.