Finance

Jobs Report Punctuates a Bad Week

Stock Market sees it worst week of the year so far.

The much anticipated job report was released on Friday, which put the finishing touches on the worst week of the year for the stock market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 410.34 points (1%), the S&P 500 dropped 94.99 points (1.7%) and the Nasdaq Composite slumped 436.83 points (2.6%).

That concluded the worst week for the S&P 500 and the Dow since March, 2023 - nearly a year and a half ago. 

The job report had shown that the pace of job growth was slower than what Wall Street had expected, despite picking up from the previous two months. Furthermore, the unemployment rate dipped slightly lower to 4.2% in August. 

After last week’s performance, the probability of a quarter-percentage-point cut by the Fed this month currently sits at 70%. Meanwhile, there is a 30% chance of a half-percentage-point cut. 

From the Street:

😟 Economic worries starting to take hold?

⏬ Stock Futures slip during terrible week in the market.

Tech

Apple is Coming for Your Snoring

New Apple Watch to detect sleep apnea.

Add a new ability to the apple watch: detecting sleep apnea. Two new models, the Apple Watch Series 10 and Apple Watch Ultra 3, are reported to have new sensors in them - a new heart rate sensor and a ECG sensor.

Sleep apnea, a condition where breathing starts and stops during sleep, has been detectable by other wrist products. However, this would be the first time for any sort of Apple Watch. The delay had to do with the fact that in order to accomplish this, the watch would have to be able to monitor blood oxygen levels - which is a feature that has been disabled in Apple Watches sold in this country, due to a patent infringement dispute with health device maker Masimo. 

Therefore, Apple apparently found a new way, these sensors, to be able to detect such a thing, working around the patent infringement and catching up to competitors. This also indicates the fact that Apple will be significantly bolstering its sleep tracking capabilities, as users would have to be wearing the watch when sleeping for a few days before it could potentially diagnose sleep apnea. 

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Business

Guts. Glory. Recalls?

Over a million Ram trucks affected.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a recall for more than 1.2 million Ram 1500 trucks. This includes nearly 159k vehicles in Canada and more than 13k vehicles in Mexico. In fact, nearly 20% of these recalled vehicles are outside of the U.S.

The recall is for 2019, 2021 and 2024 models that were made by Stellantis, Chrysler’s parent company, due to a software malfunction. The malfunction can cause the anti-lock brake system (ABS) control module to disable the electronic stability control system. If operating the vehicle with a disabled electronic stability control system, it could increase the risk of a crash. 

Additionally, the company is also recalling 7,300 of its MOPAR ABS that have been used as replacement parts. 

"FCA is unaware of any related injuries or accidents," Frank Matyok, a spokesperson for Stellantis said in a statement to USA TODAY. "In accordance with regulation, affected customers will be notified by first-class mail. The Company urges customers to follow the instructions therein."

To eradicate the issue, dealers will update the ABS control module on the recalled vehicles, once they are brought in. So, fortunately, it seems like a pretty quick and easy process for you Ram 1500 truck owners out there. Plus, this update will be completed for free.

Recall notification letters will be sent out beginning on October 3rd. Truck owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. The number for this recall is 85B. 

Around the Water Cooler:

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World News

Oh Canada

I didn’t know you could move a vote up…

There might be a federal election sooner than originally planned in Canada. The leftist New Democratic Party (NDP) pulled their support, after their leader said on Thursday that policies supported by liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre hurt Canadians. 

Jagmeet Singh had said on social media on Wednesday that he had “ripped up” a key agreement with Trudeau’s Liberal government, which helped keep the minority government in power. The next election in Canada was expected to be held in October of 2025, however, this news could certainly move that up. Singh declined to provide a timeline on when he would vote against the Liberals in a no-confidence vote.

“I will look at any vote that comes before us and we will make a decision in the best interests of Canadians, as any minority government normally operates,” Singh said. The Liberals currently have 154 seats in the 338 Canadian House of Commons. The Conservatives hold 119 and the NDP hold 24. The Bloc Quebecois, a party based solely in Quebec and devoted to Quebec sovereignty, has 32 seats. 

Singh and Trudeau had reached their agreement in March of 2022, which committed the Liberals to implement several NDP priorities, such as dental care and pharmacare in exchange for the NDP caucus supporting the Liberals on key votes. 

Most polls currently show the conservatives well ahead of the Liberals, with the NDP sitting third. Ending this agreement is believed to put even more pressure on the Liberals. With the Liberals already trailing, and Trudeau lacking popularity, they might not want an election any time soon - which could provide the NDP with more leverage. Will the Liberals listen to their potential demands, or seemingly call their bluff, so to speak, and play hardball. 

“Justin Trudeau has let Canadians down,” Singh said on Thursday. “Trudeau’s Liberals can’t deliver change. They are too weak and too selfish to stop Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives."

“There’s a battle ahead of us, the fight for the Canada of our dreams,” added Singh. “The fight to restore hope and the promise that working hard gets you a good life.”

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U.S. News

Salmonella Making It’s Way Around

It’s been a busy summer for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). First, there was a listeria outbreak to deal with. And now, a salmonella outbreak to worry about.

The FDA and CDC are both investigating this latest outbreak, which, so far, has affected nine states. 65 people have been diagnosed with salmonella, which has been linked to eggs supplied by Milo’s Poultry Farm, LLC. This outbreak began all the way back on May 23rd, with the most recent case being August 10th, according to the FDA. 

24 of the 65 people have had to be hospitalized. But, fortunately, there have been no deaths yet. 

"The true number of sick people in this outbreak is likely much higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses," the CDC says. "This is because many people recover without medical care and are not tested for Salmonella. In addition, recent illnesses may not yet be reported as it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak."

People who have contracted salmonella during this outbreak range from ages 2 to 88. 56% of the cases were female, while 92% of the cases were white people. 

Milo’s Poultry Farm, LLC. is located in Bonduel, Wisconsin - almost 30 miles north of Green Bay. They have voluntarily recalled all of the eggs supplied by their farm. The recalled eggs were distributed to retailers and foodservice distributors in Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan. The eggs were labeled with either Milo’s or Tony’s Fresh Market.

This comes on the heels of the more deadly listeria outbreak this summer. 57 have been hospitalized with nine passing away, due to listeria from Boars Head meats. The company is now facing multiple lawsuits because of it.

Soooo… Milo’s Poultry Farm, you might want to find a good lawyer.

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Sports

NFL Goes to Brazil!

Safety was top of mind, but everything seemed to go smooth.

The NFL season has gotten underway, including the first ever game in Brazil Friday night - a dramatic 34-29 victory for the Philadelphia Eagles over the Green Bay Packers. 

Brazil has the eighth largest economy in the world and more than 210 million people, making it a great spot for the NFL to try and further their expansion. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called it “the spark that just creates the fire,” on the Pat McAfee show last week. “We are really focused on becoming a global game,” he added. 

Which was clear for anyone who actually watched the game on Friday. As the NFL put the money ahead of everything else. Such as player safety: as players were advised to not leave their hotel and then had to play on a slippery surface which was not used to hosting football games. Product quality: as anyone who watched that game must’ve suffered from eye bleeding in the first half, maybe in part to these teams playing a game after a 12 hour flight, or having to do so immediately in week one. And also putting it ahead of the actual fans: who could only watch the game if they subscribed to the Peacock app. For the NFL, the bottom line is the bottom line. 

And this is just the beginning, as Goodell also said he’d like to get to a point where the NFL is playing 16 international games in a single season. For now, this was just the first of five international games in 2024. 

We hope your team had a better week one than the Carolina Panthers or New York Giants…

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