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Harvey knocks out more refineries, shifting global oil flows
DALLAS (AP) - With more refineries shutting down along the Gulf Coast, Hurricane Harvey will likely cause temporary shifts in the flow of oil and gasoline around the world. The storm has taken down a huge chunk of U.S. refining capacity, and it will be days or even weeks before the energy sector in the southeast Texas Gulf Coast is back to normal operations. Meanwhile, gasoline prices continue to rise and could get worse before they get better.
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Trump order undermines rebuilding better for future floods
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump’s decision to roll back an order by his predecessor on building in flood plains has new resonance with much of the Texas Gulf Coast and Houston under water in the wake of Harvey. The 2015 order revoked by Trump two weeks ago would have made it easier for storm-ravaged communities to use federal emergency aid to rebuild roads and bridges to better withstand future disasters.
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Trump pushes tax overhaul to ’bring back Main Street’
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - President Donald Trump says that his push to overhaul the nation’s tax code will “bring back Main Street by reducing the crushing tax burden.” He’s offering a populist appeal for a still-forming tax plan that would heavily benefit corporate America. Trump has kicked off the lobbying effort for a tax overhaul at an event in Springfield, Missouri.
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US clears breakthrough gene therapy for childhood leukemia
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. has cleared a breakthrough cancer treatment that uses gene therapy to turn patients’ own blood cells into assassins that attack childhood leukemia. The Food and Drug Administration calls it a historic approval. Maker Novartis Pharmaceuticals says the onetime infusion will cost $475,000 but that patients won’t pay if they don’t show a response within a month.
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Waiting, watching: Business owners worry about Harvey damage
For five days, small business owners in and around Houston were in limbo, not knowing if their companies had been damaged or flooded by Harvey. Some owners tried to keep an eye on their businesses with surveillance cameras. But many were without any information until they got a break in the weather and they started being able to assess the damage.
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What grocery shoppers want: Low prices, one-stop shopping
NEW YORK (AP) - Lower prices and convenience are high on the shopping list of what people want when it comes to groceries. The splashy price cuts Amazon made as the new owner of Whole Foods attracted some curious customers. But whether shoppers who found cheaper alternatives to Whole Foods will come back, or those who never visited will give it a try, may help determine what kind of effect the deal has on how and where people do their grocery shopping.
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EPA grants fuel waivers for Gulf Coast, Southeastern states
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Environmental Protection Agency has issued emergency waivers allowing states from Maryland to Texas to ignore some clean-air requirements for gasoline. The move is intended to ensure an adequate fuel supply despite disruptions caused by Harvey. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt says the waivers issued Wednesday will help ensure an adequate supply of fuel throughout the South, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.
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New Uber CEO says company must change to get to next level
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - New Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told company employees Wednesday that Uber must change, and what got it to this point won’t get it to the next level. Khosrowshahi, who was CEO of Expedia, spoke at Uber’s San Francisco headquarters three days after Uber’s board offered him the job.
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The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 11.29 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,457.59. The Dow Jones industrial average picked up 27.06 points, or 0.1 percent, to 21,892.43. The Nasdaq composite gained 66.42 points, or 1.1 percent, to 6,368.31 as technology companies rose for the third day in a row. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks added 7.64 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,391.32.
Wholesale gasoline rose another 10 cents, or 5.7 percent, to $1.88 a gallon. Benchmark U.S. crude lost 48 cents, or 1 percent, to $45.96 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, fell $1.14, or 2.2 percent, to $50.86 a barrel in London. Heating oil added 1 cent to $1.67 a gallon. Natural gas lost 4 cents to $2.94 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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