Market Update

Bank of America is now paying its U.S. workforce at least $21 an hour; nearly three times the federal minimum wage of $7.25, which has not moved in 10 years even though a majority of Americans support an increase.The pay hike announced by the nation’s second-biggest bank on Wednesday follows …

Democratic Senator Chris Coons, a close ally of President Biden, told CNN that while the caucus was still meeting, his overwhelming impression was that Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had blinked and Democrats would look to push ahead with a short-term increase of the debt limit.Coons, however, warned that Democrats would …

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied after President Joe Biden met with top CEOs, spurring a GOP debt ceiling offer. The debate on the U. S. debt ceiling has eased after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered on Wednesday a short-term suspension to avert a national default and economic crisis …

Bitcoin’s meteoric rise above $50,000 this week is likely to continue well into the fourth quarter on rising market sentiment considerations.The October edition of the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index, which provided an overview of where digital assets could be headed for the rest of the year, was out Tuesday.The report …

U. S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm has said the administration is facing a politically dangerous rise in gasoline prices, raising the prospect of releasing crude oil from the government’s strategic petroleum reserves. The White House’s average price of gasoline in pumps has remained at $ 3.19 a gallon (the …

The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are settling at $77.43. That is down $1.50 or -1.9%. The price is settling near the lows for the day at $77.06. The high for the day was up at $79.78.The move to the downside was helped by comments early in …

U. S. Joe Biden met with business leaders on debt ceiling. Biden reiterated that raising the debt limit is about paying what the Americans owe.Biden also stressed that any action regarding raising the debt limit should be bipartisan. Senate Republicans are threatening to stop the debt limit increase by using …

Gas prices fluctuated wildly on Wednesday, by 60% over just two days in Europe before sliding fast after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said his country is ready to help stabilize global energy markets.Dutch and U.K. futures plunged more than 7%. That’s after hitting fresh records earlier over increasing concerns of …

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday that certification of the Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline could soften the crisis due to hiking European gas prices.Prices have spiked in response to a recovery in demand, particularly from Asia, when storage levels are low.European Dutch wholesale gas for …

European and U.K. gas prices surged Wednesday by more than 25%, trigerred by high demand before the winter months.Critics have accused Moscow of intentionally limiting gas supplies to Europe to hasten the launch of Nord Stream 2, a controversial pipeline connecting Russia with Germany. Earlier on Wednesday, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry …