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Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Dog days
Stocks are headed for a largely down week, with the S&P 500 off 0.2% so far this week and the Nasdaq Composite off 1.23%. For both indexes, a losing result would mark their second straight week of declines. The last time the Nasdaq had back-to-back weekly losses was December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the lone gainer so far this week, is up 0.3%. Follow live market updates.
2. Cooling off
Grocery items are offered for sale at a supermarket on August 09, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson | Getty Images
Inflation notched another period of cooling off last month, with the consumer price index up 3.2% from a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report was slightly better than what Wall Street expected, though the annual rate did come in slightly higher than the previous month — the first month-over-month rate increase in roughly a year. Core inflation, however, excluding volatile food and energy prices, increased just 0.2% for the month, as it did in June. Friday brings more inflation data in the form of the producer price index, out at 8:30 a.m. ET.
3. (Eh)SPN
Dwyane Wade spent 16 years playing in the NBA.
Nathaniel S. Butler | National Basketball Association | Getty Images
Disney hasn’t been shy about playing the field for new ESPN partners. But, as CNBC’s Alex Sherman and Lillian Rizzo report, top sports leagues aren’t sold on the pitch. The NBA and MLB have both questioned the advantage of a tie-up that could see lucrative broadcasting fees swapped for equity in ESPN. A deal of that nature would save Disney cash (right when it needs it) but could leave the leagues strapped. People familiar with the talks note that they’re still in early stages and have included few specifics, but Disney’s exclusive negotiating window to re-up rights with the NBA ends in April 2024, which means the clock is ticking.
4. Opioid case reopened
Protesters holding banners outside the courthouse. Members of P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) and Truth Pharm staged a rally and die-in outside New York’s Southern District Federal Court in White Plains.
Erik McGregor | LightRocket | Getty Images
The Supreme Court has blocked a $6 billion bankruptcy settlement for Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family. The settlement would have removed the company from the family’s ownership and protected the Sacklers from civil lawsuits related to Purdue-made opioid OxyContin. The order Thursday agrees to review the settlement, which was reached in May with U.S. states and thousands of local governments, and to weigh whether the Chapter 11 proceeding can release non-debtor third parties from claims brought by other non-debtors “without the claimants’ consent.”
5. Maui wildfires
An aerial view of Lahaina after wildfires burned through the town on the Hawaiian island of Maui, on August 10, 2023.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images
At least 55 people are dead after wildfires ripped through Maui this week. The fires are already the deadliest natural disaster in Hawaii since a 1960 tsunami, and the death toll is likely to rise, according to officials. President Joe Biden on Thursday promised assistance for residents who had lost loved ones or homes and said he’s directed FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell to streamline requests for federal aid. Meanwhile, major airlines have added flights to help get people off the island.
– CNBC’s Hakyung Kim, Jeff Cox, Alex Sherman, Lillian Rizzo, Dan Mangan, Spencer Kimball, Leslie Josephs and Reuters contributed to this report.
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