More records fall on Wall St. as quarter ends; Fed chief make first remarks since rate cut

Wall St. closes Sept., 3Q on a high note

NEW YORK — Wall Street closed its latest winning month and quarter with more records.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.4 percent Monday to an all-time high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added less than 0.1 percent, to its record set on Friday. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.4 percent.

Wall Street has catapulted to records on hopes the slowing U.S. economy can keep growing while the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates to offer it more juice. A big test will arrive Friday, when the U.S. government offers its latest monthly update on the job market.

An overriding worry on Wall Street is whether the economy may already be heading for a recession. Even though the Fed cut rates earlier this month and has indicated more relief is on the way, U.S. employers have already begun paring back on their hiring.

“Payrolls remain the biggest catalyst” for the U.S. stock market until the election, strategists and economists at Bank of America wrote in a BofA Global Research report.

Fed chair: US economy is in ‘solid shape’

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell has signaled that more rate cuts are in the pipeline, though their size and speed will depend on the evolution of the economy.

In remarks Sept. 30 before the National Association for Business Economics in Nashville, he said the economy and hiring are largely healthy. He emphasized that the Fed is recalibrating its key interest rate, which is now at about 4.8 percent.

The comments were Powell’s first public remarks since the Fed’s last meeting, when officials penciled in two more rate cuts to be made this year.

Factory polls show China economy weakening

NEW YORK — China’s economy weakened further in recent weeks, according to surveys released Sept. 30, signaling the need for more support as the government ratchets up stimulus.

The Caixin purchasing managers survey showed new manufacturing orders fell at the fastest pace in two years in September.

“Operating conditions in China’s manufacturing sector deteriorated in September after improving during August,” the report said. “Furthermore, firms lowered their hiring and purchasing activity.”

An official survey released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed a less drastic decline but it marked a fifth straight month of contraction. The purchasing managers index was at 49.8 in September, up from a six-month low of 49.1 in August. The index is on a scale where figures above 50 indicate expansion.

The survey showed that factory output rose while new orders fell in China, which is South Carolina’s largest global reading partner.

Chinese stock markets surged Monday, reflecting enthusiasm over a barrage of policy measures announced last week, including lower interest rates and smaller down payment requirements for mortgages and a cut in required bank reserves.

Britain’s last coal power plant closes

LONDON — Britain’s last coal-fired power plant is closed Sept. 30, ending 142 years of coal-generated electricity in the nation that sparked the Industrial Revolution.

The Ratcliffe-on-Soar station in central England was to finish its final shift at midnight after more than half a century of turning coal into power. The U.K. government hailed the closure as a milestone in efforts to generate all of Britain’s energy from renewable sources by 2030.

Plant manager Peter O’Grady said it was “an emotional day.”

“When I started my career 36 years ago, none of us imaged a future without coal generation in our lifetimes,” he said.

The shutdown makes Britain the first country from the Group of Seven major economies to phase out coal — though some other European nations, including Sweden and Belgium, got there sooner.

The world’s first coal-fired electricity plant, Thomas Edison’s Edison Electric Light Station, opened in London in 1882. Ratcliffe-on-Soar, which opened in 1967, is a landmark. Its eight concrete cooling towers and 650-foot chimney that are seen by millions passersby on the M1 highway or nearby trains.

Many US Verizon users hit by service outage

NEW YORK — Some Verizon customers across the U.S. were hit by a service outage Sept. 30.

The issue appeared to knock out wireless phone service for tens of thousands of Verizon users. Data from outage tracker DownDetector shows that reports topped 100,000 shortly after 11 a.m. — and while that number dropped significantly, nearly 48,000 were still facing issues closer to 4 p.m.

Frustrated users online shared that they didn’t have service in many parts of the country — including the Southeastern U.S., where residents are still reeling from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. But the outage wasn’t isolated to one region. DownDetector’s map also showed many reports coming from the West Coast, Midwest and Northeast.

Verizon confirmed the issue with its network and apologized Monday “for any inconvenience some of our customers experienced today.” The company added while service has been restored for many customers, it was continuing to work to fully resolve this issue.