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Wall Street pointed toward strong gains before markets opened Monday as a bipartisan deal to end the federal government shutdown gained traction in the Senate, though it lacked any clear resolution to expiring health care subsidies that Democrats have been fighting for.Rising hopes for an end to the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history pushed futures for the S&P 500 0.9% higher, while Dow Jones futures gained 0.4%. Nasdaq futures climbed 1.5% on the strength of the technology sector.Health insurers were among the losers early Monday as lack of clarity on health care subsidies clouded their futures.Sunday’s test vote began a series of procedural maneuvers to move toward passing compromise legislation to fund the federal government, though final passage could be several days away. The Senate may hold a vote by mid-December on extending expiring health care tax credits, the key sticking point.President Donald Trump suggested in a social media post over the weekend with few details that the subsidies being sent to the “money sucking” insurance companies should instead be sent directly to people so they can buy their own health insurance.Cigna, UnitedHealth Group and Humana all fell between 1% and 2% in premarket, while some smaller health care companies saw drops of up to 9%.Monday’s gains were led by a rebound in technology shares as investors’ alarm over the run-up in stock prices related to the craze for artificial intelligence appeared to calm.U.S. chipmaker Micron jumped more than 5% before the opening bell, while Seagate Technology and Super Micro Computer each rose about 4.5%.Wall Street remains focused on the latest quarterly reports and forecasts from U.S. companies.More than 90% of companies within the S&P 500 have reported earnings for their latest quarter. Most companies have reported growth beyond Wall Street expectations and the influential tech sector has the strongest growth, according to data from FactSet.Corporate profits and forecasts were already being scrutinized by Wall Street as investors try to gauge whether the market’s overall high value is justified. The results have taken on more significance amid a lack of other data about the economy because of the U.S. government shutdown, which is now the longest on record.The shutdown is responsible for delays in key economic data on inflation and employment that traders and the Federal Reserve rely on in making decisions about investments and policy. The lack of data on employment is especially troubling because the job market has been weakening.The Fed has signaled a more cautious approach on interest rate cuts that Wall Street has been expecting to help stimulate the economy by reducing the cost of borrowing.The Fed has already cut its benchmark rate twice this year as it tries to counter the impact that a weakening employment market could have on economic growth. However, cutting rates could worsen inflation at a time when levels are stubbornly higher than the central bank’s 2% target.Wall Street is still mostly betting that the Fed will cut interest rates at its December meeting.Elsewhere, in Europe at midday Germany’s DAX gained 1.7% and the CAC 40 in Paris jumped 1.3%. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1%.South Korea’s Kospi added 3% to 4,073.24. Computer chipmaker SK Hynix, which is cooperating with Nvidia on artificial intelligence, surged 4.5%. Its bigger rival, Samsung Electronics, was up 2.8%.Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 added 1.3% to 50,911.76, lifted by big gains for AI related shares such as chipmaker Tokyo Electron, which surged 4.3%.The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 1.6% to 26,649.06 and the Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.5% to 4,018.60.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 picked up 0.8% to 8,835.90.Taiwan’s Taiex jumped 0.8%, while the Sensex in India gained 0.3%. Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott, AP Business Writers
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E-Commerce
The Senate took the first step to end the government shutdown on Sunday after a group of moderate Democrats agreed to proceed without a guaranteed extension of health care subsidies, angering many in their caucus who say Americans want them to continue the fight.In a test vote that is the first in a series of required procedural maneuvers, the Senate voted 60-40 to move toward passing compromise legislation to fund the government and hold a later vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire Jan. 1. Final passage could be several days away if Democrats object and delay the process.The agreement does not guarantee the health care subsidies will be extended, as Democrats have demanded for almost six weeks. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York voted against moving ahead with the package, along with all but eight of his Democratic colleagues.A group of three former governors New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine broke the six-week stalemate on Sunday when they agreed to vote to advance three bipartisan annual spending bills and extend the rest of government funding until late January in exchange for a mid-December vote on extending the health care tax credits.The agreement also includes a reversal of the mass firings of federal workers by the Trump administration since the shutdown began on Oct. 1 and would ensure that federal workers receive back pay.Senate Majority Leader John Thune quickly endorsed the deal and called an immediate vote to begin the process of approving it as the shutdown continued to disrupt flights nationwide, threaten food assistance for millions of Americans and leave federal workers without pay.“The time to act is now,” Thune said.Returning to the White House on Sunday evening after attending a football game, President Donald Trump did not say whether he endorsed the deal. But he said, “It looks like we’re getting close to the shutdown ending.” Five Democrats switch votes In addition to Shaheen, King and Hassan, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, home to tens of thousands of federal workers, also voted in favor of moving forward on the agreement. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen also voted yes.The moderates had expected a larger number of Democrats to vote with them as 10-12 Democratic senators had been part of the negotiations. But in the end, only five Democrats switched their votes the exact number that Republicans needed. King, Cortez Masto and Fetterman had already been voting to open the government since Oct. 1.The vote was temporarily delayed on Sunday evening as three conservatives who often criticize spending bills, Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Rick Scott of Florida and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, withheld their votes and huddled with Thune at the back of the chamber. They eventually voted yes after speaking to Trump, Lee said.Another Republican, Sen John Cornyn of Texas, had to fly back from Texas to deliver the crucial 60th vote. Schumer votes no After Democrats met for over two hours to discuss the proposal, Schumer said he could not “in good faith” support it.Schumer, who received blowback from his party in March when he voted to keep the government open, said that Democrats have now “sounded the alarm” on health care.“We will not give up the fight,” he said.Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with the Democrats, said giving up the fight was a “horrific mistake.”Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., agreed, saying that in last week’s elections people voted overwhelmingly Democratic “to urge Democrats to hold firm.” A bipartisan agreement Democrats had voted 14 times not to reopen the government as they demanded the extension of tax credits that make coverage more affordable under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans said they would not negotiate on health care, but GOP leaders have been quietly working with the group of moderates as the contours of an agreement began to emerge.The agreement includes bipartisan bills worked out by the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund parts of government food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things. All other funding would be extended until the end of January, giving lawmakers more than two months to finish additional spending bills.The deal would reinstate federal workers who had received reduction in force, or layoff, notices and reimburse states that spent their own funds to keep federal programs running during the shutdown. It would also protect against future reductions in force through January and guarantee federal workers would be paid once the shutdown is over. House Democrats push back House Democrats swiftly criticized the Senate.Texas Rep. Greg Casar, the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said a deal that doesn’t reduce health care costs is a “betrayal” of millions of Americans who are counting on Democrats to fight.“Accepting nothing but a pinky promise from Republicans isn’t a compromise it’s capitulation,” Casar said in a post on X. “Millions of families would pay the price.”Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota posted that “if people believe this is a ‘deal,’ I have a bridge to sell you.”House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries blamed Republicans and said Democrats will continue to fight.“Donald Trump and the Republican Party own the toxic mess they have created in our country and the American people know it,” Jeffries said. Health care debate ahead It’s unclear whether the two parties would be able to find any common ground on the health care subsidies before a promised December vote in the Senate. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said he will not commit to bring it up in his chamber.Some Republicans have said they are open to extending the COVID-19-era tax credits as premiums could skyrocket for millions of people, but they also want new limits on who can receive the subsidies and argue that the tax dollars for the plans should be routed through individuals.Other Republicans, including Trump, have used the debate to renew their yearslong criticism of the law and called for it to be scrapped or overhauled. Shutdown effects worsen Meanwhile, the consequences of the shutdown have been compounding. U.S. airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights on Sunday for the first time since the shutdown began, and there were more than 7,000 flight delays, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks air travel disruptions.Treasury Secretary Sean Duffy said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that air travel ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday will be “reduced to a trickle” if the government doesn’t repen.At the same time, food aid was delayed for tens of millions of people as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits were caught up in legal battles related to the shutdown.And in Washington, home to tens of thousands of federal workers who have gone unpaid, the Capital Area Food Bank said it is providing 8 million more meals ahead of the holidays than it had prepared for this budget year a nearly 20% increase. Associated Press writers Stephen Groves and Kevin Freking contributed to this report. Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
This weekend, U.S. travelers began to feel the initial impact of flight reductions mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a plan designed to help compensate for the understaffing of air traffic controllers due to the ongoing government shutdown. On Sunday, more than 13,000 U.S. flights were canceled or delayed, and things are only going to get worse this week as the total percentage of flights reduced each day is mandated to reach 10% of all U.S. air traffic by Friday. But the pain might not end there. Now, the U.S. transportation secretary has warned that air traffic could slow to a trickle ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Heres what you need to know. Whats happened? Last week, the FAA issued an order mandating that airlines begin reducing the number of flights they operate each day. The reason for this order is to lessen the burden on airports and their air traffic controllers, all of whom have not been paid in over a month due to the ongoing government shutdown. This lack of payment has led to air traffic controller staffing shortages, as many controllers have taken on other jobs to help pay the bills while their checks are on pause. Fewer air traffic controllers increase the safety risk in the skies. One way to help mitigate that risk is to reduce flights. And that is exactly what the FAA announced last week. On Friday, the first phase of those reductions went into effect, with airlines ordered to reduce flights by 4% over the weekend. That percentage will grow in steps throughout the week to 10% by this Friday. But even the 4% reduction has already led to significant disruptions this weekend. According to data from flight-tracking service FlightAware, on Sunday, there were a total of 10,477 flight delays into, out of, or within the United States. Additionally, another 2,952 US flights were canceled, with the FAAs mandated reductions likely contributing significantly to that number. window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); Tomorrow, FAA-mandated flight reductions will increase to 6%, rising to 8% on Thursday, and 10% on Friday. However, it might not end there if the government shutdown drags on. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently told Fox News that reductions could reach 20%, without giving a timeline for that number. Thanksgiving travel warning But the bad news surrounding U.S. air traffic doesnt end there. As noted by CNBC, on Sunday, Duffy told CNNs State of the Union that air travel in America is only going to get worse ahead of the Thanksgiving holidays. Thanksgiving is on Thursday, November 27, this yeara little more than two weeks away. Many people begin traveling for their Thanksgiving holidays earlier in the week. It is one of the busiest travel weeks in America. The two weeks before Thanksgiving, youre going to see air travel be reduced to a trickle, Duffy said, adding that many Americans are not going to be able to get on an airplane, because there are not going to be that many flights that fly if this thing doesnt open back up. The thing Duffy is referring to is the federal government. The government has been shuttered since October 1 in what is now the longest U.S. government shutdown in history, in a fight primarily over the funding of healthcare subsidies for millions of Americans. The Trump administration and Republicans dont want those needed subsidies renewed, while Democrats support renewing them so cash-strapped Americans can continue to pay for their healthcare. Hope on the horizon? Duffy has previously claimed that the FAA-mandated flight reductions isnt about politics but safety. Yet reducing the number of flights in America could serve to add pressure on Congress to reach a deal to reopen the government, as public anger and frustration over air traffic disruptions mount. Still, there is no doubt that the fastest resolution to Americas air traffic rut is by reopening the federal government and getting paychecks back to air traffic controllers. And thats why there may be hope on the horizon. Last night, the Senate advanced a bipartisan deal that would see the U.S. government reopened. But the deal, which does not protect Americans access to healthcare subsidies, still needs to be passed by the House and then signed by President Trump. Theres no guarantee either one of those things will happen, however. Even if an agreement on the new bill could be reached relatively quickly and signed into law, a return to normal air traffic over U.S. skies could still take weeks, causing headaches during the Thanksgiving travel period ahead.
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E-Commerce
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