logo
Wall Street opens higher following Friday's dramatic selloff

Wall Street opens higher following Friday's dramatic selloff

Reuters7 hours ago
Aug 4 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes opened higher on Monday after a sharp pullback in the previous session, as markets priced in prospects of deeper rate cuts by the Federal Reserve following a surprisingly soft jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opens new tab rose 135.4 points, or 0.31%, at the open to 43724.02. The S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab rose 33.7 points, or 0.54%, to 6271.71​, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab rose 203.8 points, or 0.99%, to 20853.907.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

CNN data guru in twist calls Trump ‘most influential president' and reveals how he's ‘remaking the USA'
CNN data guru in twist calls Trump ‘most influential president' and reveals how he's ‘remaking the USA'

The Independent

time10 minutes ago

  • The Independent

CNN data guru in twist calls Trump ‘most influential president' and reveals how he's ‘remaking the USA'

In a surprising TV moment, CNN data guru Harry Enten called Donald Trump the 'most influential president' of the century and revealed how he's 'remaking the United States of America.' Enten, the network's chief data analyst, recently talked with anchor Omar Jimenez on CNN Newsroom about Trump's controversial tariff and immigration policies as well as the flurry of executive orders he has signed in his second term. Trump announced sweeping global tariffs on April 2, which was dubbed 'Liberation Day,' but his tariff policy since then has been anything but predictable. A baseline 10 percent tariff was imposed on all imported goods on 'Liberation Day', with some countries facing additional reciprocal tariffs. These reciprocal tariffs were quickly suspended as the Trump administration attempted to negotiate trade agreements with other countries. Throughout this bumpy tariff ride, critics came up with a nickname for Trump: TACO or Trump Always Chickens Out. But Enten told Jimenez, 'I don't think that's true.' 'I think the theme of this segment is going to be, love it, like it, lump it, Trump's remaking the United States of America,' Enten said. The data guru said the effective tariff rate is at 18 percent, which is up from two percent last year and the highest since the 1930s. 'I can't think of a more influential president during this century, and it starts here with tariffs. He said he was going to raise tariffs, and despite the claims otherwise, he is in fact doing that,' Enten said. The CNN segment came after the Trump administration announced Thursday the 10 percent universal tariffs would remain in place but would only apply to countries where the U.S. exports more than it imports. Most counties face this levy, according to a senior administration official who spoke to CNN. Countries with which the U.S. has a trade deficit now face a 15 percent tariff. Some nations, which the senior official said had some of the highest trade deficits with the U.S., were hit with even higher levies. Enten then jumped into immigration statistics under Trump: 'How about net migration in the United States? Get this, it's down. It's gonna be down at least 60 percent.' 'We may be dealing with, get this, negative net migration to the United States in 2025. That would be the first time there is negative net migration in this country in at least 50 years. We're talking about down from 2.8 million in 2024,' Enten said. He continued: 'And that is a big reason why that I'm saying that Trump, at least in my mind, is the most influential president certainly this century and probably dating a good back chunk into the 20th century as well.' The data guru also talked about the 180 executive orders Trump has signed this year. 'You have to go all the way back to the FDR administration once again to find a year in which there were as many executive orders signed as we have this year. To give you an idea, [former President Joe] Biden, during his first year, signed 77. That's the entire year. We're only a little bit more than halfway through this year,' Enten said.

North Carolina DMV audit recommends reforms to reverse customer wait times, worker morale
North Carolina DMV audit recommends reforms to reverse customer wait times, worker morale

The Independent

time10 minutes ago

  • The Independent

North Carolina DMV audit recommends reforms to reverse customer wait times, worker morale

Customers at North Carolina 's Division of Motor Vehicles are waiting longer in lines that are often far away from home, while agency staffing fails to keep pace with the state's surging population, according to agency reviews that also recommend major reforms. Elected Republican Auditor Dave Boliek on Monday released two audits totaling nearly 600 pages that scrutinize the DMV — the bane of motorists in many states. But long lines and frustrations are acute in the ninth-largest state. 'Our DMV affects the economy. It affects people having to take off of work unnecessarily. It takes our students out of the classroom,' Boliek told reporters. 'This has to be fixed and it has to be a top priority.' Constituent complaints, REAL ID brings problems to fore Boliek promised during last year's campaign to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the DMV if elected. Elected leaders' constituents have complained about the inability to book appointments online close to home and the struggles for their teenagers to complete driving tests. It's not unusual for customers to camp outside driver's license offices in the wee hours hoping to get seen later that day. Problems continued as federal REAL ID license security standards took effect in May. Erin Van Dorn of Holly Springs said at Boliek's news conference it took her and her teenage son four trips to the DMV — the last time 130 miles (209 kilometers) away in Mount Airy — to obtain his license. Information technology and staffing shortages were to blame. 'My son has missed a total of four days of school,' Van Horn said. 'It's just been a very big ordeal for us.' New Democratic Gov. Josh Stein's administration brought in former state legislator Paul Tine as the new Division of Motor Vehicles commissioner and has pledged a turnaround. Longer waits, continued examiner shortages A DMV performance audit Monday said average wait times for customers at the state's driver's license locations increased by over 15% since 2019 to 1 hour and 15 minutes. And close to 14% of the wait times lasted over 2 hours and 30 minutes — a 79% increase from 2019. And nearly half of all transactions by customers aren't happening at the license office closest to where they live. 'The employee experience has diminished as well,' Boliek said. The audit said there were 160 vacant license examiner positions as of April. And while the state's population has grown by 29% over the last 20 years, the number of examiner positions has grown by just 10%. Boliek's staff heard DMV employee complaints about burnout, security and low pay — average examiner position salaries were well below $50,000 last year. The audit attributes many problems to DMV's relationship to the Cabinet-level state Department of Transportation that oversees the agency. The auditor said DMV has undersized influence within DOT when it comes to decision-making and getting budget requests approved by the legislature. Agency independence among recommendations Boliek's most significant recommendation is for policymakers to consider turning DMV into an autonomous agency separate from DOT. Boliek said the recommendation is no slight upon Tine and current Teansportation Secretary Joey Hopkins, whom he said are taking steps toward reform. But he said a permanent change is needed to address situations where the commissioner and secretary don't cooperate as well. Other recommendations include creating a public online dashboard measuring keys performance goals and initiating nonconventional initiatives to reduce wait times and backlogs. Boliek said outside driving school instructors could administer road tests required of new drivers. The DMV could open 'pop-up' license offices at a vacant mall anchor store or create 'fast-pass' options for customers who pay extra to reach the front of the line. 'We can't keep doing things the same old way," he said. DMV, DOT chiefs back most recommendations In a written response to the audits, Tine and Hopkins agreed with nearly all of the recommendations and said many already getting carried out. But they opposed the recommendation to separate DMV, saying the agency's core functions align with the Transportation Department's mission to improve highway safety. 'We know that with the right leadership and follow-through, we will get results -– getting people out of lines and empowering our hard-working DMV employees," Stein spokesperson Morgan Hopkins said. The GOP-controlled General Assembly could still attempt to implement the change. A stopgap budget measure on Stein's desk provides funds to hire over 60 license examiners. And a new state law has established a temporary moratorium on renewing standard licenses, allowing them to remain valid within North Carolina for up to two years beyond the expiration date.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store