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Some buyers call classes by ‘Flip or Flop’ stars misleading
NEW YORK (AP) — HGTV “Flip or Flop” stars Tarek and Christina El Moussa are capitalizing on their fame by offering pricy classes that promise to teach people how to flip homes for profit. But some participants said a class time was largely spent pushing them to buy more classes.
The classes are run by Zurixx LLC, an education company based in Utah.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has received 50 complaints about classes connected to Zurixx since 2013. And at least one local Better Business Bureau office has warned people about its events, citing the more than 150 complaints it has received.
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US stocks slip but steer clear of larger losses
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks dodged bigger losses and finished barely lower on Wednesday. Health care companies fell and Apple pulled technology companies down, but banks rose.
Earlier in the day, stocks had appeared to be headed for a second day of notable losses, but they recovered some of that lost ground in late trading. Weak earnings for major companies hurt real estate investment trusts and health care companies. Tech stocks slid as investors were unimpressed with Apple’s latest results. Banks continued to report strong earnings and Boeing boosted industrial companies.
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Report: Women won’t earn as much as men for 170 years
GENEVA (AP) — The global gap in earnings between men and women will not be closed for another 170 years if current trends continue, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum.
The Switzerland-based forum’s annual Global Gender Gap Report, released Tuesday, lists economics and health as the most challenging disparities between men and women worldwide. Of the economic divide, the report says that “at the current rate of change, and given the widening economic gender gap since last year, it will not be closed for another 170 years.”
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Sales of new homes rose 3.1 per cent in September
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans bought new homes in September, a sign that demand remains solid despite a shortage of properties on the market.
New-home sales advanced 3.1 per cent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 593,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The gains were concentrated in the Northeast, Midwest and South, as sales tumbled last month in the West.
So far this year, sales have increased 13 per cent compared to the same period in 2015.
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Coke profit falls 28 per cent, but global volume up 1 per cent
ATLANTA (AP) — Coca-Cola’s profit fell 28 per cent in the third quarter, but the beverage giant also said Wednesday that its global volume rose.
The company said global volume rose 1 per cent in the quarter, with gains in North America, Asia and Europe and other markets. In the quarter before, the company said global volume was flat.
In North America, volume rose 2 per cent, thanks to its water and sports drink brands, which include Dasani and Powerade. The company also reported growth of its Sprite, Fanta and energy drink brands in North America, offsetting a decline in Diet Coke.
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Southwest 3Q profit falls 34 per cent on higher costs
DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines Co. says third-quarter profit fell 34 per cent on falling fares and higher costs, and the company gave a weak revenue forecast for the rest of the year.
The shares slid Wednesday, leading other airline stocks lower too.
Southwest said that overall pricing remains “soft,” and it forecast that a key measure of revenue per mile will fall by between 4 per cent and 5 per cent in the fourth quarter — more sharply than it fell in the third quarter.
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Boeing has a banner 3Q and sees more of the same ahead
DALLAS (AP) — Boeing’s third-quarter profit rose 34 per cent on lower taxes, and the company raised its forecast for 2016 earnings, revenue and airplane deliveries.
CEO Dennis Muilenburg called the aircraft market “generally positive” with a “moderate” pace of sales orders.
Demand for the single-aisle 737 remains strong, he said, but the company might slow production of the bigger, two-aisle 777 jet until replacement demand picks up again early next decade.
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Tesla surprises with 3Q profit
DETROIT (AP) — Electric car maker Tesla Motors has posted its first quarterly profit in three years.
Tesla reported net income of $22 million, or 14 cents per share, in the third quarter, up from a loss of $229 million in the July-September period a year ago. Revenue more than doubled to $2.3 billion.
Tesla last made a profit in the first quarter of 2013.
The results surprised Wall Street, which forecast a loss of 86 cents per share, according to analysts polled by FactSet. Analysts had expected revenue of $2.2 billion.
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Despite ratings drop, Olympics boosts Comcast in 3Q
NEW YORK (AP) — Comcast’s profit rose 12 per cent in its most recent quarter thanks to the Olympics and gains in video subscribers.
The cable giant has been winning back video subscribers despite an overall drop in the number of people who pay for traditional TV. There has also been a trend toward smaller audiences, even for big sporting events like NFL football and the Olympics.
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Toyota adds 5.8M vehicles to global Takata recall total
DETROIT (AP) — Toyota is recalling about 5.8 million vehicles in Japan, Europe, China and other countries to replace potentially deadly Takata air bag inflators.
The company says it knows of one person injured in a crash involving one of the vehicles but it hasn’t determined if the injury was caused by a ruptured inflator.
The vehicles have inflators that can rupture and spew shrapnel. U.S. vehicles with the same inflators are already under recall.
Toyota says the recall brings to 23.1 million the total number of vehicles it has recalled worldwide to fix inflators.
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Ford recalls nearly 412K SUVs to fix fuel leaks
DETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling nearly 412,000 older SUVs worldwide to fix fuel leaks that could cause fires.
The recall covers certain 2010 to 2012 Ford Escapes and 2010 to 2011 Mercury Mariners with 3-litre flex-fuel V6 engines.
Ford says a fuel supply part can develop a crack and leak gasoline that could catch fire. A company statement says it’s not aware of any accidents, fires or injuries caused by the problem. Most of the recalled SUVs are in North America.
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The Dow Jones industrial average rose 30.06 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 18,199.33. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 3.73 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2,139.43. The Nasdaq composite fell 33.13 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 5,250.27.
Brent crude, the international standard, lost 81 cents, to 1.6 per cent, to $49.98 a barrel in London. In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline slid 2 cents to $1.48 a gallon. Heating oil lost 1 cent to $1.55 a gallon. Natural gas fell 4 cents to $2.73 per 1,000 cubic feet.
