Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Flat day
Stocks were little changed Monday while treasuries rose ahead of a key inflation report this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell just 0.03% and the S&P 500 ticked down 0.04%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.03%. The rate on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose about 4 basis points to 4.42%. Investors are waiting for March’s consumer price index report on Wednesday as the latest gauge on inflation. CPI is expected to show an increase of 0.3% last month, according to economists polled by Dow Jones. Follow live market updates.
2. Settling
A Tesla Model X burns after crashing on U.S. Highway 101 in Mountain View, California, U.S. on March 23, 2018.
S. Engleman | Via Reuters
Tesla settled a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of Walter Huang, an Apple engineer who died after his Model X SUV crashed into a highway barrier in 2018 with Autopilot features on. The NTSB previously investigated the incident and said Tesla’s driver assistance systems were partly to blame for the crash, in addition to possible driver distraction and road construction. The deal comes as jury selection and a trial were beginning Monday. Tesla filed to seal the terms of the settlement from public view.
3. Forgiven
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as he announces a new plan for federal student loan relief during a visit to Madison Area Technical College Truax Campus, in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S, April 8, 2024.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
President Joe Biden announced a new plan to forgive student debt on Monday. If enacted, all borrowers will get up to $20,000 of unpaid interest on their federal student debt forgiven. Some low and middle-income borrowers could have their entire interest canceled under Biden’s plan. In addition to canceling interest, the proposed rule will forgive the debt of those who have been in repayment for 20 years or longer on undergraduate loans or attended schools of questionable value.
4. Moving on
A representation of cryptocurrency Binance is placed on a PC motherboard, in this illustration taken June 16, 2023.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters
Binance’s new CEO Richard Teng said the cryptocurrency exchange has moved past cultural issues after paying a $4.3 billion fine to settle charges from the Justice Department. The DOJ alleged Binance used a move first, ask forgiveness later approach. Former CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to charges last year and stepped down from the company. “In those very early stages of development … Binance was operating in a different fashion,” Teng told CNBC Tuesday. “But we have moved past that, as the company moved into regulatory maturity, [and] we are moving toward sustainability.”
5. Low spirits
A Spirit commercial airliner prepares to land at San Diego International Airport in San Diego, California, U.S., January 18, 2024.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Spirit Airlines said Monday it will defer deliveries of new aircraft and furlough about 260 pilots in an effort to boost liquidity. The deferrals of the Airbus aircraft are expected to increase the budget carrier’s liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years. The pilot furloughs will take place in September, according to the airline. The announcement comes as Spirit tries to convince investors it can boost liquidity as it deals with the grounding of many of its Airbus planes due to a Pratt & Whitney engine recall.
— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim, Yun Li, Lora Kolodny, Annie Nova, Ryan Browne and Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.
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