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F INANCIAL MARKETS
UNDATED (AP) — Shares have swung higher in Asia after a wobbly day of trading on Wall Street.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.7% , while Japan's Nikkei picked up 0.3%. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 0.8% , while the Shanghai Composite index was flat. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 gained 0.3%. Shares fell in Taiwan.
Yesterday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 index rose 0.2% to 3,117.43. Even with the latest gain, the benchmark index is on track for a weekly loss, though it’s still up 24.4% for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1% to 27,677.79.
The Nasdaq added less than 0.1% to 8,570.70, while the Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks picked up 0.94 points, also less than 0.1%, to 1,614.83.
ECONOMY-JOBS-REPORT
US jobs data to give clues to economy amid trade uncertainty
WASHINGTON (AP) — Today’s November jobs report will provide insight into whether steady hiring remains a source of strength for the U.S. economy even as the Trump administration’s trade conflicts have heightened uncertainties for employers.
Economists tell data provider FactSet that they believe the government will report that employers remained confident enough to add a solid 187,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate is expected to remain 3.6%, near a half-century low.
Steady job growth tends to reassure consumers that the economy is expanding and that their jobs and incomes remain secure, which, in turn, typically helps fuel spending.
UBER-SEXUAL ASSAULTS
Uber reports more than 3,000 sexual assaults on 2018 rides
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Uber says more than 3,000 sexual assaults were reported during its U.S. rides in 2018. That figure includes 229 rapes.
The report, which the company hailed as the first of its kind, provides a rare look into the traffic deaths, murders and reported sexual assaults that took place during billions of annual rides arranged in the U.S. using Uber's service.
Uber and its ride-hailing competitor Lyft have long faced criticism for not doing enough to protect the safety of their riders and drivers. AIRBNB-PARTY BAN
Airbnb introduces new rules to rein in parties, nuisances
UNDATED (AP) — Airbnb is taking more steps to crack down on parties and nuisance guests in the wake of a Halloween shooting at a California Airbnb rental.
The San Francisco-based company says it’s banning “open invite” parties. Those are often parties open to anyone and advertised on social media. The company is also banning large parties at apartment buildings and condos.
Airbnb says it will remove guests from its site who are repeatedly accused of noise, unauthorized guests and other infractions. Airbnb is under pressure to gain the trust of travelers, neighbors and lawmakers as it prepares for its planned initial public offering next year. OPIOIDS-SACKLERS-TUFTS
BOSTON (AP) — Members of the family that own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma say they will push to reverse Tufts University's decision to strip their name from campus facilities and programs.
Tufts leaders announced Thursday that it was cutting ties with the Sackler family over concerns about its role in the opioid crisis.
Tufts University plans to remove the Sackler name from the university's graduate school of biomedical sciences and its medical school building, along with a laboratory and two research funds.
Within hours of the announcement, however, the Sackler family vowed to fight back.
GM-BATTERY PLANT
GM, Korea's LG Chem in venture to build factory in Ohio
WARREN, Mich. (AP) — General Motors and Korea's LG Chem have formed a joint venture to build an electric vehicle battery cell factory near Lordstown, Ohio.
The companies also will work together on battery technology to bring down the cost.
The new plant will create more than 1,100 jobs in the area around Lordstown which is east of Cleveland. The joint venture plans to invest $2.3 billion in the operations and plan to break ground on the new plant sometime next year.
EU-GERMANY-ECONOMY
German factory production drops in Oct as economy struggles
BERLIN (AP) — Germany's Federal Statistical Office says the country's factory production dropped in October in another sign Europe's largest economy is struggling.
The office reports that industrial production was down 1.7% over September, and down 5.3% over the same month in 2018.
Germany just narrowly avoided entering a recession in the third quarter and economists say the data indicate it is continuing to flirt with stagnation and contraction in the final quarter as trade conflicts, global uncertainty and disruption in the auto industry continue to take their toll.
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