The daily business briefing: October 25, 2016

1. ObamaCare premiums to rise by double digits in 2017

The Obama administration announced Monday that ObamaCare premiums would rise by double digits in 2017. A report from the Department of Health and Human Services forecast an average 25 percent rise for midlevel benchmark plans across the 39 states served by the federally run insurance marketplace. Major national insurance carriers have also scaled back their participation in the ObamaCare exchange, which could leave about 20 percent of consumers with only one option of insurer. The Obama administration is emphasizing that taxpayer-provided subsidies should offset the increases for most consumers, but "headline rates are generally rising faster than in previous years," a DHHS spokesman acknowledged.

The Associated Press

2. Twitter reportedly plans to lay off 8 percent of workforce

Twitter reportedly plans to cut about 300 jobs, or about 8 percent of its workforce, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The microblogging service cut about the same percentage of employees last year when co-founder Jack Dorsey took over as CEO. The layoff plans still could change, and one source said an announcement could come before Twitter releases its quarterly earnings on Thursday. A Twitter representative made no immediate comment. The company has been trying to trim spending and losses as sales growth slows. Its stock has dropped by 40 percent in the last 12 months.

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Bloomberg

3. AT&T and Time Warner shares slip

AT&T shares fell by 1.7 percent on Monday on fear that antitrust regulators would disapprove of its planned $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner. Time Warner shares also dropped by 3 percent, and traded about 20 percent below the company's implied value under the deal. If the acquisition goes through, AT&T will get vast amounts of content, including cable TV channels HBO and CNN, and film studio Warner Bros., to boost streaming content for its customers.

Reuters

4. Buick becomes first U.S. brand in Consumer Reports top 3 in decades

Buick on Monday became the first U.S. auto brand in three decades to place in the top three of Consumer Reports' annual ranking of the most reliable automobiles. Lexus, Toyota's luxury brand, placed first, followed by Toyota at No. 2, and Buick, General Motors' upscale line, at No. 3, based on a survey of more than a half-million car owners. Audi came in fourth, followed by Kia, Mazda, Hyundai, Infiniti, BMW, and Honda. General Motors reported Tuesday that its net income and revenue hit a record level in the third quarter, sending its stock rising by more than 2 percent in pre-market trading.

USA Today MarketWatch

5. Stocks edge up as focus turns to Apple

Global stocks gained on Tuesday thanks to upbeat economic data. In the U.S., stock futures edged up ahead of Tuesday's opening bell after the S&P 500 rose by 0.5 percent to hit a two-week high on Monday, getting a lift from strong earnings. Attention later in the day will focus on Apple, which reports its quarterly earnings after the closing bell. Apple, the world's most valuable company, is expected to report its first annual revenue drop since 2001, although analysts predicted that strong early demand for the iPhone 7 would ease a sales slump.

MarketWatch Bloomberg