Here are the key news updates that investors should consider as they kick off their trading day:
1. September’s Overcast Outlook
As the last week of September progresses, it becomes clear that the stock is on the decline. All three major U.S. markets fell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.2%, the S&P 500 Index fell 4.2% and the Nasdaq Index fell 5.9%.
Additionally, continued efforts to prevent a government shutdown in Washington will impact the economy this week. Please see below for instant job updates.
2. Shutdown Threat Looms
The week began with Congress facing no clear plan to approve a spending bill before Saturday’s deadline that would be needed to avoid a federal budget deficit. Extended closures could result in employees taking paid leave, potentially impacting significant profits and slowing the economy.
The Republican-controlled House failed to pass a budget proposal over the weekend, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was unable to rally support from conservatives who favored the cuts. Senate Majority Whip Sen. Rep. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., expressed uncertainty about the situation on CNN’s “State of the Union” program on Sunday, saying, “I don’t know. What’s going to happen?”
3. Expert Hollywood Writers Reached Agreement
Hollywood writers and producers reached a temporary employment agreement that could end the strike that lasted approximately 150 days. The specific terms of the deal were agreed in two days of talks over the weekend and have not yet been disclosed. The contract requires approval from members of the Writers Guild of America.
The organization informed its members that the agreement includes “significant benefits and protections for authors in all membership categories.” The authors discussed the majority of revenue streams and advocated the use of intellectual property in a growing economy. The closure, combined with an artist strike that began in July, caused delays in television production and film distribution at major media companies.
4. Amazon is Betting Big on the Artificial Intelligence Race
Amazon has made a big commitment to advancing artificial intelligence by pledging to invest $4 billion in artificial intelligence company Smart Wisdom Anthropic. Anthropic focuses on building chatbots that can compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
This partnership makes Amazon Web Services the first cloud provider for Anthropic and provides AWS customers with the ability to build on Anthropics technology. The proposal allows Amazon to deepen its involvement in artificial intelligence creation as it seeks to compete with companies like Microsoft and Alphabet in rapid growth.
5. Credit Card Bankruptcies Are Increasing
Credit Card bankruptcies are increasing According to a Goldman Sachs report, credit card companies are growing with the memories of the Great Recession. Losses currently stand at 3.63%, up 1.5 percentage points from the September 2021 low point.
Goldman Sachs expects these losses to increase by up to 5%. The prediction comes as U.S. credit card debt initially surpassed $1 trillion.
Summary
The stock market is going down in September, and there’s worry about the government shutting down. Hollywood writers settled their employment issues, Amazon invested a lot in AI, and credit card bankruptcies are increasing. It’s time for investors to be cautious.
