Business & Markets

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> US stock markets close down (S&P 500 -0.5%, Dow -1.2%, Nasdaq -0.2%) as oil prices stay near five-month high | See gas prices in your state (More)

> Audi will build first US factory in Georgia, President Donald Trump announces; $4.2B plant to produce 200,000 SUVs per year beginning in early 2030s (More)

> Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady this week, analysts say, in final meeting before next week's midterm elections | The Fed 101 (More, w/video)

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> Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to about 27% of its workforce, as it shifts more spending to AI infrastructure buildout (More) | Dollar General sued by Federal Trade Commission and 20 states over alleged deceptive pricing (More)

> Brazilian markets plunge following the reelection of left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; benchmark stock index posts 14% single-day loss, the worst since the COVID-19 pandemic (More)

> NBA partners with Kalshi and Polymarket, becoming the latest major US sports league to collaborate with the prediction market industry (More) | How prediction markets compare to the stock market (More)

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> Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady at 3.75%-4% days before Election Day; two dissenters voted to raise rates amid four-month-high inflation (More) | US stock markets close up (S&P 500 +0.3%, Dow +0.2%, Nasdaq +0.3%)

> Federal Trade Commission demands responses from Uber, Walmart, Delta, and six other companies on whether and how ‌they use consumers' personal data to determine prices, wages, and job offers

> Wendy's shares jump 15.2% on news Nelson Peltz’s hedge fund Trian Fund Management submitted $1.4B all-cash offer to buy fast-food chain and take it private (More) | Which quick-service restaurants do Americans rank highest? (More)   DoorDash offers $17 billion for Instacart in what would be a big consolidation for grocery delivery DoorDash is offering $17 billion to buy Instacart in a deal that could consolidate the grocery delivery business in the U.S. and abroad. https://apnews.com/article/doordash-instacart-delivery-d6f30f5d18c288eeba6babcb49260e06?

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🛒 DoorDash makes case for Instacart deal

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios DoorDash is seeking to portray its $17 billion Instacart acquisition as a defense of smaller businesses against Amazon and Walmart, Axios' Lucinda Shen reports. 🛍️ The two companies today launched Shop Local Together, where they address potential FTC concerns. Their argument: The combined companies "will have more resources, reach, and technology to help brick-and-mortar grocery stores and retailers compete against the world's biggest e-commerce giants." 🤑 The companies also plan to combine the two services' subscription fees, claiming that will save consumers $100 million annually. They also intend to cancel exclusivity agreements, allowing local grocers to work with any delivery platform. Go deeper.

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> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.3%, Dow -0.3%, Nasdaq -1.4%); Google parent company Alphabet shares drop 12.3% following third-quarter earnings report that fell short of analysts' expectations (More)

> US gross domestic product climbs at 3.4% annual rate, the fastest pace in a year, per Commerce Department third-quarter data (More, w/graph) | Inflation rate rises to 3.6%, personal consumption expenditures index shows (More)

> European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will resign from her position in February, roughly eight months before her eight-year term ends; Lagarde cited a desire to speak more openly about world affairs, without specifying issues (More)

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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.5%, Dow +0.4%, Nasdaq -1.1%) amid continued tech sell-off (More) | Anthropic reveals 12-fold year-over-year quarterly revenue increase and $895B in spending commitments ahead of IPO (More)

> Apple beats Wall Street expectations, reporting 12% year-over-year revenue increase in first earnings report with CEO John Ternus (More) | Chipmaker Marvell to acquire optical technology company Lumentum in $115B AI deal (More)

> Snap reaches agreement to settle social media addiction lawsuit filed by teenage plaintiffs ahead of opening arguments this week; Meta, Alphabet, and TikTok previously settled (More)

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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.4%, Dow -0.4%, Nasdaq +0.8%) as several Big Tech stocks make modest gains, offsetting Apple's 1.9% slide (More) | Do stocks rise or fall after elections? (More)

> Gas prices hit record high for an Election Day, with national average at around $4.15 per gallon; 2022 midterms set previous record of $3.75 (More) | See your state's average gas price (More, w/map)

> US job openings rise to 7.5 million, marking a four-month high; layoffs fall to 1.6 million, the fewest since March 2025, per Labor Department report covering data through September (More)