Business & Finance News

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service says a 2027 HSA-eligible health plan must generally have a deductible of at least $1,750 for individual coverage or $3,500 for family coverage. Annual out-of-pocket costs, excluding premiums, cannot exceed $8,700 for an individual or $17,400 for a family. A recent Marsh employer survey found 63% of U.S. health plan sponsors with at least 50 employees offer a qualifying high-deductible plan.

Boston-based Newleos Therapeutics received a five-year grant of up to $15.5 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for NTX-2001 in cocaine use disorder. The milestone-based award funds a Phase 1 drug-drug interaction study and a Phase 2 efficacy trial, and it is the company's first federal research grant. The FDA granted Fast Track designation to the drug for alcohol use disorder, which affects approximately 30 million people in the United States.

Apollo Global Management chief economist Torsten Slok wrote on Oct. 24 that outside tech, AI has delivered no financial payoff. Margins are flat across the other 493 S&P 500 companies, and surveys from the St. Louis Fed and Census Bureau put work use of generative AI at about 40% of workers. Azure revenue rose 48% and Google Cloud 103% in the quarter ended Sept. 30, but the buyers of that capacity reported job cuts, not margin gains.

CVS Health said on Wednesday it will split into two companies, reversing the 2018 Aetna acquisition that former CEO Larry J. Merlo had hailed as transformative. The company containing Aetna and Caremark will keep the CVS Health name, while the other, CVS Pharmacy, will own the 9,000 CVS drugstores. CEO David Joyner said the goal is 'more affordability, greater access, and a simpler experience,' but CVS Health shares fell 12.5% the day after the announcement.

CNBC's Jim Cramer said Thursday that the AI stock sell-off likely has further to run, but he urged investors not to panic. Opposition to new data centers after the midterm elections has raised doubts about AI infrastructure spending, and Micron fell 17%, GE Vernova 7% and Sandisk 22%. Cramer said CoreWeave, Iren and Nebius face particular risk because they borrowed to fund projects that could face regulatory delays.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases October employment data at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday, and economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect the U.S. to have added 59,000 roles, up from 29,000 in September. Unemployment is projected to hold at 4.2%, while annual wage growth of 2.9% would trail inflation, which rose to 3.7% in September. Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG, said "the problem is the low rate of turnover" and noted that fewer people are entering the labor force.

A new National Association of Realtors report finds 1 in 10 first-time homebuyers paid all cash, a record high since data collection began in 2003. The share of first-time buyers remains at a near-record low of 22%, and NAR deputy chief economist Jessica Lautz said inheritances are really driving the change. Buyers who paid all cash were older, with a median age of 54 versus 38 for those who financed, and 28% of them used an inheritance.

Charlie Bouckaert, JPMorgan's global head of M&A, told Fortune's Morgan Chittum that some private equity firms may have to stop waiting to sell by the second half of 2027. Private equity unsold investments reached 33,853 as of Sept. 30, 2026, up from 33,575 at the end of June, according to PitchBook figures reported by the Wall Street Journal. PitchBook estimates it would take more than eight years to clear that inventory at the current pace of exits.

Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin said Thursday the company has not yet seen AI agents change customer booking, though early signs point to a possible industry shift. Expedia shares fell about 12% Thursday after it forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $3.69 billion to $3.75 billion, a midpoint below the $3.74 billion analyst estimate, according to FactSet. Gorin blamed the weaker outlook on Middle East and European events, the midterm elections and a shifted fall sale.

Motorists could see U.S. gasoline prices fall below $4 a gallon for the first time since July, energy experts say. GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan told CBS News the national average, $4.06 on Thursday, should dip below that threshold by next week. Brent crude fell below $100 on Thursday for the first time since September, while Tom Kloza of Gulf Oil expects the average to sink below $4 within 10 days.

Food startup Wonder, created by serial entrepreneur Marc Lore in 2018, said Thursday it has confidentially filed for an IPO. It now runs roughly 170 brick-and-mortar locations across the U.S. and has spent at least $1 billion on deals, including Grubhub and Blue Apron. Its Series D round earlier this year lifted its pre-money valuation to $9 billion, after more than $3 billion in venture funding.

The US Labor Department reported Thursday that 189,000 people applied for jobless benefits last week, the fewest since mid-July and down from 195,000 the week before. The four-week average dipped to 194,750, and claims have stayed at or below 200,000 for eight straight weeks. So far this year employers have added an average of 68,000 jobs a month, including a disappointing 29,000 last month. Economists expect October hiring figures on Friday to show 65,000 jobs added, according to a FactSet survey of forecasters.

NPR's Planet Money reporters Wailin Wong and Adrian Ma examined adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) as some Americans reconsider them amid high interest rates. Wong said 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are at 7% or more, while ARMs make up only about 5% of U.S. mortgages. Redfin analysis of data back to 1971 found that about 70% of the time, ARM borrowers had at least one chance to refinance into a lower rate, according to Redfin's Chen Zhao.

Los Angeles-based electric truck startup Harbinger raised a $240 million Series D, almost a year after its $160 million Series C. Tiger Global, Capricorn's technology impact fund and defense-focused Ridgeline co-led the round, with FedEx investing again after leading last year's round. The company has now raised more than $650 million in total, according to Bloomberg News, which first reported the round.

Palo Alto Networks is negotiating to acquire Clutch Security, a startup securing AI agents' access to company systems, for $500 million in cash plus milestone payouts, a person familiar said. Clutch was last valued at $85 million after a $20 million Series A in January 2025 led by Lightspeed and SignalFire, and is approaching $10 million in annual recurring revenue. The price would be about 50 times ARR, and The Information first reported the talks.

Humanoid robot maker Agility Robotics debuted on the Nasdaq after a SPAC merger with Churchill Capital Corp XI Corp. on Wednesday. The deal and related financings raised $465 million, excluding transaction fees, which Agility will use to bring its Digit 5 robot to market. Agility says it has received more than $300 million in pre-orders for Digit 5 from customers including Toyota Motor Co. and GXO Logistics Inc. Early access begins in the first half of 2027.

Trump-backed venture World Liberty Financial said on Thursday it will start repurchasing its WLFI governance token, which has fallen about 10% since the US midterm elections. The token is down more than 60% so far this year, according to CoinMarketCap.com. Funding could come from an initial allocation that may include revenue from reserves backing its USD1 stablecoin. The company says the buybacks will become an ongoing part of its strategy and aim to boost voting power among long-term holders.

US stocks tumbled on Thursday, a day after midterm elections, with the S&P 500 down 4.36% and the Nasdaq Composite off 5.52%. Every sector finished lower, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.44%. Exit polls showed AI infrastructure was a key issue, and voters backed politicians promising to clamp down on data centers. Brian Mulberry of Zacks Investment Management said the sell-off capped weeks of worry over declining free cash flow at hyperscalers.

Tesla is ending Cybertruck production at its Texas factory in 2027, Musk said on X, freeing the space for two-seater Cybercab robotaxis. Musk had predicted in late 2023 that the company would sell around 250,000 a year, but it has sold only tens of thousands over three years. The Cybertruck is the third product Tesla has discontinued, after the Model S and Model X, whose factory space is being used to make Optimus humanoid robots.

Blue Origin plans to launch its next New Glenn rocket in January 2027, according to a memo from CEO Dave Limp to staff, as cited by CNBC and the Financial Times. The delay follows a May launchpad explosion that damaged the pad ahead of an Amazon Leo satellite flight, and Limp reportedly cited bad weather slowing repairs. The new window is about 10 days later than the earlier target, Limp wrote, adding that returning New Glenn to flight "remains our top priority.