The Associated Press
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Analysts: How GOP Congress could boost US economy
WASHINGTON (AP) — Voters made clear Tuesday that they’re worried about the economy, despite steady job gains, a robust stock market and faster economic growth this year.
So what can — and should — the now-dominant Republicans in Congress and President Barack Obama do together to benefit more Americans?
Economists caution that the options are limited. But most say several actions could further help invigorate the economy — in areas like immigration, trade, corporate taxes and energy.
At least one analyst thinks Congress and the White House could help by doing nothing at all. Why? It would avoid escalating tensions over ideological differences and possibly causing a calamitous shutdown of the government or a default on the federal debt.
Exit polls showed that voters put the state of the economy at the top of their list of worries. And they want bipartisan action that serves Americans who aren’t wealthy.
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Bringing Mom & Dad to work bridges generation gap
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Seta Whitford-Stark was dumbfounded last year when she found out her daughter Amy quit her job at an employee-recruiting agency to work for LinkedIn, an Internet company that Seta had never heard of. Amy tried to explain what the online professional networking service did, but Seta couldn’t quite grasp the concept or why the 29-year-old would want to work there.
Then Seta got to observe Amy and her colleagues in action at LinkedIn Corp.’s New York office and came away with a much better understanding of her daughter’s career. She was back at LinkedIn again Thursday for its second annual “Bring In Your Parents Day,” joining thousands of parents at companies around the globe in an event that gives adult children a rare opportunity to showcase the cultural and technological changes that have transformed the modern workplace.
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Beef or Chicken? Beef prices hit fast-food chains
NEW YORK (AP) — Rising beef prices might not mean the cost of a Whopper is going to skyrocket, but it could mean you’ll be encouraged to order a chicken sandwich instead.
Beef prices have climbed in part because of rising demand overseas and droughts in recent years that have caused livestock producers to shrink their cattle herds. The average, year-to-date price for 81 percent lean ground beef is $2.18 per pound, said Kevin Good, an analyst at CattleFax, a Colorado-based tracker of the beef industry. That’s up 24 percent from a year ago.
The soaring prices have hurt fast-food restaurants that feature beef as the centerpiece of their menus: Burger King, Wendy’s and McDonald’s — the nation’s three biggest burger chains — all say they’re dealing with higher beef costs.
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Gleam is gone as gold prices sink to 4-year low
NEW YORK (AP) — Nothing is going gold’s way.
Inflation remains tame, the dollar looks strong and Americans are increasingly confident. Even fears that the Federal Reserve would set off another financial crisis have faded as the central bank ends its effort to pump money into the economy.
In short, all of the reasons for buying gold over recent years have disappeared, helping to drive prices for the metal to a four-year low.
Gold dropped $22 to settle at $1,145.70 an ounce on Wednesday, the lowest finish for the precious metal since April 2010. U.S. stocks, meanwhile, hover near all-time highs.
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Home Depot: Hackers also stole 53M email addresses
NEW YORK (AP) — Home Depot said Thursday that hackers accessed its system with a vendor’s username and password.
The Atlanta-based home repair retailer in September disclosed a massive data breach that involved 56 million debit and credit cards between April and September. On Thursday Home Depot said the hackers also stole 53 million customer email addresses.
The company said the file containing the email addresses did not contain passwords or other sensitive personal information.
The company said customers should be on guard against phishing scams that might trick them into sharing personal information. It is notifying affected customers in the U.S. and Canada and
Home Depot is one of several retailers that have reported large hacks over the past year.
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Investors find better balance in their 401(k)s
NEW YORK (AP) — Fewer investors are going all-in with their retirement savings.
Less than 10 percent of 401(k) accounts administered by Fidelity Investments were invested entirely in stocks last quarter. It’s the latest step in a yearslong march toward more balanced nest eggs. Fidelity keeps records for 13.1 million 401(k) participants, and its figures reach back to 2001, when the dot-com bubble was deflating and 33 percent of 401(k) plans were entirely in stocks. The percentage has dropped every year since then.
Putting all your retirement savings into stocks can be tempting. Stocks have the potential for much bigger returns than bonds or cash, particularly when bonds and money-market funds are offering such low interest rates. Last year, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index returned 32.4 percent, catnip for aggressive investors looking to maximize their savings.
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Novice crafter? There’s a project for that!
NEW YORK (AP) — Inspired by that colorful homemade gingerbread on Instagram or the hand-painted coasters on Pinterest, but worried about your skills?
Don’t fret. Craft stores and websites are targeting novice crafters this holiday season and beyond with how-to online videos and projects that don’t take hours to make.
Part of the push is an attempt to cater to millennials, those who were born between the early 1980s and the late 1990s. Many in this generation feel inspired by what they see online but don’t have the time, skills or money for complicated projects.
Take Michaels, the nation’s largest arts and crafts chain. It’s changed its online video strategy to better appeal to beginners and is offering tips to make holiday decorating easy.
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Applications for US jobless aid fall to 278,000
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, adding to signs that the job market should continue to improve.
The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications fell 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 278,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, declined 2,250 to 279,000, the lowest level in more than 14 years.
Applications are a proxy for layoffs and have retreated 18.5 percent in the past year. This suggests rising economic confidence among businesses, leading them to keep their workers and potentially look to hire more employees.
The decline in applications has overlapped with stronger hiring this year.
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Despite losses, GMO label backers aren’t quitting
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — In the end, not even Oregon’s backyard chicken owners and vegan foodies had enough money and clout to persuade voters to pass a ballot measure that would have required labeling of genetically modified foods.
Oregon is the fourth state in the West that has failed to pass a GMO labeling measure. A similar proposal also flopped Tuesday in Colorado, which joined Washington state and California as other states that have said no.
It would seem that if a label mandate could pass anywhere, it would have passed in a left-leaning state like Oregon, whose biggest city is a hub for hipsters, funky boutiques and farm-to-table dining.
But are opponents of GMOs ready to give up? Nope. They say they’re making headway against biotechnology companies like Monsanto Co. and are ready to continue the fight in legislatures, on ballots, and at the federal level.
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By The Associated Press=
The Dow Jones Industrial average rose 69.94 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,554.47. The S&P 500 index gained 7.64 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 2,031.21. The Nasdaq composite added 17.75 points, also 0.4 percent, to 4,638.47.
Benchmark U.S. crude fell 77 cents to close at $77.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell 9 cents to close at $82.86 on the ICE Futures exchange in London. Wholesale gasoline rose 4.3 cents to close at $2.130 a gallon. Heating oil rose 2 cents to close at $2.459 a gallon. Natural gas rose 21 cents to close at $4.404 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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