CNBC
U.S. stock futures were lower this morning, one day after the Federal Reserve announced an October start for gradually shrinking its balance sheet. It also signaled one more interest rate hike this year. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 and Dow closed at record highs and bank stocks surged. (CNBC)
The Fed said it will begin to roll off its $4.5 trillion balance sheet next month. While the post-meeting policy statement was widely expected, it was a little more hawkish than traders had anticipated. Central bankers decided to hold interest rates steady. (CNBC)
Weekly jobless claims and the Philadelphia Fed's business index for September are both out at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Federal Finance Housing Agency's home price index comes at 9 a.m. ET, with the Conference Board's leading indicators index at 10 a.m. ET. (CNBC)
IN THE NEWS TODAY
Hurricane Maria, a category 3, thrashed parts of the Dominican Republic with heavy rain and high winds as it passed off its east coast this morning after making a direct hit on Puerto Rico that caused severe flooding and cut power to almost all the island. (Reuters)
The wiggling fingers of a young girl trapped in the quake rubble of her collapsed school in Mexico City raised hopes and prodded rescuers to work furiously hour after hour early this morning. At least 245 people have been killed after a powerful temblor struck the capital. (AP)
Senate Republicans announced plans to vote next week on their latest bid to scuttle Obamacare even as a popular comedian who has become part of the U.S. healthcare debate denounced the bill. Former President Obama warned of "real human suffering." (Reuters & CNBC)
*Sen. Graham overheard on phone call imploring colleague to vote for GOP health bill (AP)
*Trump endorses GOP senators' last-ditch Obamacare repeal plan (CNBC)
President Trump was met with silence when he congratulated the leaders of African countries on the continent's economic progress, telling them, "I've so many friends going to your countries, trying to get rich. I congratulate you. They're spending a lot of money." (CNBC)
S&P Global Ratings downgraded China's long-term sovereign credit rating by one notch to A+ from AA-, citing increasing risks from the country's rapid build-up of credit. S&P's downgrade follows a similar demotion by Moody's Investors Service in May. (Reuters)
Hackers roamed Equifax's computer network for more than four months before the company's security team uncovered the data breach, the Wall Street Journal has learned. Equifax sent the information in a note to some of its customers.
*Equifax tweets sent breach victims to phishing site (CNBC)
*Why the United States was wide open to a disaster like Equifax (CNBC)
The Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed that hackers penetrated its electronic system for storing public-company filings in 2016 and could have traded on the information. In a statement, SEC Chair Jay Clayton didn't provide much detail about the intrusion. (WSJ)
Twitter will meet with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence staff next week in relation to inquiries into the 2016 U.S. election. The committee, along with other congressional committees and special counsel Robert Mueller, is investigating possible links between Trump's campaign and Russia. (Reuters)
STOCKS TO WATCH
Albertsons, one of the largest U.S. grocers, is acquiring meal kit service Plated, the company's first high-profile move since Amazon bought Whole Foods Market. The deal distinguishes Plated from the meal kit industry's largest competitor, Blue Apron (APRN), which was higher in the premarket.
Google announced that it signed a $1.1 billion cooperation agreement with Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC to bolster its smartphone and emerging hardware business. Under the agreement, Google will acquire a team of HTC employees. HTC will receive $1.1 billion in cash.
Apple (AAPL) admitted that its new Series 3 smartwatch with built-cellular capabilities is having some technical issues when making calls. The company says it is working to fix the problem.
Tesla (TSLA) is teaming up with AMD to develop an artificial intelligence chip for its self-driving cars, a source told CNBC. The carmaker has more than 50 employees involved in the project, including chip star Jim Keller.
Anadarko Petroleum (APC) says that its board had authorized a $2.5 billion share repurchase program through 2018. Anadarko also reaffirmed its 2017 production forecast for its Gulf of Mexico and Delaware Basin assets.
CONTRIBUTORS
Matthew J. Belvedere
Peter Schacknow
Tom DiChristopher
