Tech stocks lead a rally on Wall Street

September 4, 2026

Stocks on Wall Street closed higher Thursday as a recent run-up in bond yields eased further and big technology companies rallied, helping the market recoup its losses from earlier in the week. The S&P 500 rose 1.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite closed 1.4% higher. The indexes are now on track to post a gain for the week. The mixed start to September follows a mostly positive August during which every major index notched a gain for the month. Big technology and communication services stocks accounted for a large share of the rally. Their huge ...

Unemployment claims tick up to 206,000 but remain at historic lows

September 4, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, but layoffs are still rare and jobless claims remain at historically low levels. The Labor Department reported Thursday filings for benefits ticked up to 206,000 last week from a revised 204,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, rose modestly to 207,250 last week. Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch them because they can be a sign of where the job market is headed. For the past year, claims have mostly stayed ...

US oil giant Chevron confirms it will expand operations in Venezuela

September 3, 2026

Oil giant Chevron confirmed that it will expand operations in Venezuela after President Donald Trump announced an ambitious deal to develop the nation’s oil reserves and give the Pentagon a stake in the profits. Chevron, the only U.S. oil company with a major presence in Venezuela, said Wednesday that it has been assigned additional acreage in the Orinoco Belt, where it has active operations. The company plans to invest more than $7 billion over the next five years, with the goal of more than doubling its current production to about 600,000 barrels a day. “Chevron’s history in ...

US job openings rise slightly to 7.3 million as labor market remains sturdy despite higher costs

September 2, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — Employers posted slightly more job openings in July but the American labor market remained sturdy in the face of higher costs that are squeezing household budgets. U.S. job openings ticked up to 7.27 million in July from a revised 7.18 million in June, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) also showed that layoffs fell. But so did the number of people quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects. The report showed that gross hiring — before subtracting those who lost or quit ...

Apple’s new CEO John Ternus takes helm from Tim Cook

September 2, 2026

The Associated Press Apple’s new CEO John Ternus took the helm of the iconic tech giant on Tuesday, ending Tim Cook’s 15-year tenure during which the company’s value skyrocket to $4.6 trillion thanks to the iPhone’s enormous popularity. The transition to a new CEO comes at a pivotal time for Apple. Artificial intelligence has unleashed the greatest upheaval within the industry since Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in 2007. Apple has gotten off to a rough start in AI after stumbling in its efforts to deliver new features built on the technology, as promised nearly two ...

Judge says Smucker’s lawsuit against Trader Joe’s over frozen PB&J can proceed

September 1, 2026

A federal judge has ruled that J.M. Smucker can proceed with a lawsuit against Trader Joe’s over frozen sandwiches that Smucker claims are too similar to its Uncrustables. Smucker sued Trader Joe’s in federal court in Ohio last fall, claiming Trader Joe’s committed a trademark violation when it introduced frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with the same round shape and crimped edges as Uncrustables. The lawsuit further alleged that Trader Joe’s put its crustless PB&Js peanut in packaging that too closely resembled the coloring of an Uncrustables box and featured a ...