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^FINANCIAL MARKETS
Stocks waver
NEW YORK (AP) _ Stocks have been wobbling between small gains and losses on Wall Street, having given up an early gain.
The mixed trading came a day after the S&P 500 index closed at a record high for the first time since July.
A number of companies were making big moves after reporting their latest quarterly results.
General Motors climbed 5% after its earnings came in ahead of forecasts. Google parent company Alphabet fell 2.3% after missing estimates.
^BREXIT
EU Council president: This might be last Brexit extension
LONDON (AP) _ The European Council president says the Brexit extension granted to Britain might be the last one.
A day after he announced that the European Union agreed to delay Britain's exit from the 28-nation bloc up to Jan. 31, Donald Tusk said in a message to his "British friends" posted on Twitter on Tuesday that the extension "may be the last one. Please make the best use of this time."
EU leaders have gathered several times to discuss new deadlines for Brexit, whose initial March 29 date has been pushed back three times.
^CONSUMER-CONFIDENCE
US consumer confidence falls for third consecutive month
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence fell for a third consecutive month in October as optimism about job prospects and business conditions down the road grew weaker.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index edged down to 125.9 in October, compared with 126.3 in September. Feelings about the present situation improved, but future expectations frayed.
Conference Board economist Lynn Franco said Tuesday that even with the recent declines, confidence remains high and that should support strong holiday shopping.
Confidence has been rattled by a global slowdown and a U.S.-China trade war which have hurt American manufacturers and increased uncertainty.
^PENDING HOME SALES
Pending home sales reached a 21-month high in September
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in September, a sign that the housing market is still benefiting from lower mortgage rates.
The National Association of Realtors says its pending home sales index rose 1.5% from August to September to 108.7, its highest level since December 2017. Measured year over year, pending home sales have surged 3.9%.
Home buying has grown more affordable thanks to steadily dropping mortgage rates. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 3.75, according to Freddie Mac. That's down almost a full percentage point from November 2018.
Still, economists say surging home prices could slow sales once mortgage rates stabilize.
Pending sales are a measure of home purchases that are usually completed a month or two later.
^HOME-PRICES
US home prices rise at slow pace for 2nd straight month
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices increased modestly in August, a trend that could make homebuying affordable for more Americans.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 2% in August from a year earlier. That matched July's annual increase as the slowest in seven years. Wages have been increasing more quickly than home prices since February, reversing a years-long trend.
As many once-hot Western markets cool off, cities in the Southeast are starting to see the nation's fastest price gains. Phoenix reported the biggest price increase, rising 6.3% from a year ago. But Charlotte saw the next highest gain, at 4.5%, followed by Tampa at 4.3% and Atlanta with 4%.
Low mortgage rates and steady hiring have revived home sales this year, after a slump in 2018.
^WORLD-ECONOMY-COMMODITY-PRICES
World Bank: Weak economy to pull down energy, farm prices
WASHINGTON (AP) — A weakening global economy is pulling down the prices of energy and farm commodities.
The World Bank says that energy prices will drop 14.6% this year and 3.1% in 2020 and that farm prices will fall 4.7% this year and eke out 0.6% growth next year. The forecasts are sharply lower than what the anti-poverty agency was predicting in April.
Metals and minerals prices are expected to skid 5.2% this year and 1.4% in 2020.
The global economy has been decelerating, weighed down by trade tensions and a slowdown in China, the world's second-biggest economy.
The International Monetary Fund expects the world economy to grow just 3% this year, down from 3.6% in 2018, and world trade to expand 1.1%. Both are the weakest numbers since the recession year 2009.
^EARNS-GENERAL-MOTORS
GM 3Q profit falls 7% as auto workers strike cuts production
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors' third-quarter net profit fell 7% as a strike by the United Auto Workers union halted U.S. vehicle production.
The Detroit automaker earned $2.35 billion, or $1.60 per share. Excluding some one-time restructuring costs, the company made $1.72 per share, beating Wall Street estimates of $1.38, according to a survey by FactSet.
GM said Tuesday that the strike by the United Auto Workers cost it $1 billion in the quarter, or 52 cents per share, even though only two weeks of the strike took place within the financial reporting period.
GM expects the strike to cost $2.86 billion in net income for the full year.
The strike forced the company to lower its full-year pretax profit guidance from $6.50 to $7 per share, to $4.50 to $4.80.
^CHINA-US-TELECOM RESTRICTIONS
China accuses US of 'economic bullying' over equipment ban
BEIJING (AP) — China is accusing the U.S. of "economic bullying behavior" after U.S. regulators cited security threats in proposing to cut off funding for Chinese equipment in U.S. telecommunications networks.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Tuesday said China would "resolutely oppose the U.S. abusing state power to suppress specific Chinese enterprises with unwarranted charges in the absence of any evidence."
Geng told reporters that, "The economic bullying behavior of the US is a denial of the market economy principle that the U.S. has always advertised."
The Federal Communications Commission votes next month whether to bar telecom companies from using government subsidies to pay for networking equipment from Huawei and ZTE.
The move mostly affects small, rural companies, since larger U.S. wireless companies do not use equipment from the two Chinese firms.
^COAL BANKRUPTCY
Coal giant Murray Energy seeks bankruptcy protection
A major U.S. coal mining company is seeking bankruptcy protection.
Ohio-based Murray Energy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization Tuesday.
Former CEO Robert Murray said the move was necessary to access liquidity and best position the company for long-term success.
Many coal companies are struggling as communities have switched from the fossil fuel to less-polluting renewable energy or natural gas.
Several other major coal producers have filed for bankruptcy protection this year, including Blackjewel Mining in West Virginia and Cloud Peak Energy in Wyoming.
Robert Murray is a major backer of President Donald Trump, who has made saving coal jobs a key part of his campaign. Murray hosted a fundraiser for Trump in July, which had been expected to raise $2.5 million.
The company announced Tuesday that Robert Moore will replace Murray as CEO.
^AMAZON-GROCERY DELIVERY
Amazon drops monthly fee to boost grocery delivery sales
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon has a new plan to try and jumpstart its grocery delivery business: cut some fees for its Prime members.
The online retailer says it will no longer charge $15 a month for its Amazon Fresh service, which delivers raw meat, vegetables and other groceries to customers' doorsteps. But the service is only for subscribers of its Prime membership, which costs $119 a year. And at least $35 must be spent to qualify for free delivery in two hours.
Delivery is still a tiny part of the $740 billion grocery market, but Amazon thinks that dropping its fees will attract more people to the service. To handle a jump in users, Amazon is only offering it to those already signed up for Fresh. Others will have to request an invitation.
^FORD-VAN RECALL
Ford recalls vans for 2nd time to fix drive shaft problem
DETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling nearly 320,000 Transit full-size vans in North America for a second time because the drive shafts can fail, causing loss of power.
The company says the recall covers the 2015 through 2017 model years. The drive shaft coupling can crack, and continued driving can cause the shaft to break free. In addition to power loss, a falling shaft can allow movement while in park if the parking brake isn't on. The shaft also can damage brake and fuel lines.
Ford says it's not aware of any crashes or injuries due to the problem.
It's the second recall for the same problem. Ford says it will replace the couplings every 40,000 miles until a final repair is developed. Dealers will do a permanent fix once parts are ready.
^GRUBHUB-SHARES
Grubhub valuation tumbles as rivals encroach
NEW YORK (AP) — Shares in Grubhub are down more than 30% after it sharply cut its revenue expectations for the year and warned of intense competition.
The steep decline in share price wiped away almost $2 billion of the company's valuation in the public market at the opening bell.
In a letter to shareholders the company said, "supply innovations in online takeout have been played out" and that annual growth is slowing to a longer-term rate of low double digits.
The Chicago food delivery company cut its fourth-quarter revenue projections to between $315 million and $335 million and forecast earnings of between $15 million and $25 million.
Grubhub is facing significant pressure from new rivals including UberEats, DoorDash and PostMates.
Executives will speak with industry analysts Tuesday in a conference call.
^RECYCLING BOTTLES
Beverage companies aim to get bottles recycled, not trashed
Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo and Keurig Dr. Pepper are investing $100 million to improve U.S. bottle recycling and processing.
The American Beverage Association says the three companies were responsible for the bulk of the 100 billion plastic bottles produced in the U.S. in 2017. Only about one-third of those were recycled because of spotty collection, outdated processing facilities and other issues.
American Beverage Association CEO Katherine Lugar says low recycling rates are a source of frustration for consumers and corporations.
Normally fierce competitors, the companies decided to join together to bring change to the market more quickly.
The companies will work with the nonprofit Recycling Partnership to help cities improve recycling. They're also working with Closed Loop Partners, a firm that invests in new technologies to improve processing of recycled plastics.
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