The daily business briefing: October 25, 2018
Stocks struggle to rebound after plunge erases 2018 gains, Tesla shares soar after a surprise quarterly profit, and more


1. Stocks plummet, erasing 2018 gains
U.S. stocks plunged on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing down 608 points, or 2.4 percent, and the S&P 500 falling by 3.1 percent. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.4 percent, entering correction territory as tech stocks fell sharply. Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Alphabet all lost ground. The rout wiped out gains for the year. Investors are worried about rising interest rates, and the possibility that President Trump's trade wars will cut into corporate profits. October has brought major losses; it has been the worst month for the S&P since May 2010. Stock-index futures pointed to a slight rebound early Thursday, with futures for the Dow and the S&P up 0.7 percent and those of the Nasdaq-100 rising 1.2 percent.
2. Tesla shares soar after surprise quarterly profit
Tesla shares jumped by 9.7 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the electric-car maker reported the third quarterly profit in its eight years as a public company. Tesla reported adjusted earnings of $2.90 per share on $6.82 billion in revenue, blasting past average analyst expectations of losses of 15 cents per share on $6.32 billion in revenue. The company said in a statement that the period marked "a truly historic quarter for Tesla," with its first mass-market car, the Model 3, becoming "the best-selling car in the U.S. in terms of revenue and the 5th best-selling car in terms of volume."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
3. New York sues Exxon, saying it downplayed climate change risk
New York's attorney general sued Exxon Mobil on Wednesday, accusing the energy giant of defrauding investors about its ability to handle the risks of climate change. "Exxon built a facade to deceive investors into believing that the company was managing the risks of climate change regulation to its business when, in fact, it was intentionally and systematically underestimating or ignoring them, contrary to its public representations," New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said in a statement. The litigation marks the biggest legal step yet to hold a fossil fuel company accountable for downplaying the threat of human-driven global warming.
4. Microsoft beats earnings forecasts as cloud computing bet pays off
Microsoft on Wednesday reported quarterly revenue and profit that beat Wall Street's expectations, sending its stock up 1.9 percent in after-hours trading. The software giant got a boost from an increase in businesses signing up for its Azure cloud computing services and Office 365 software. The company has been beating analysts' expectations for more than two years as companies move from on-premise data centers to cloud computing. Microsoft's share price has tripled since Satya Nadella took over as chief executive in 2014 and shifted the company's focus to building data center software and services.
5. Ford shares jump after earnings beat expectations
Ford shares shot up by more than 6 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the automaker reported quarterly earnings and profit that beat analysts' expectations. The shares had closed down 4.8 percent before the report. Ford earned an adjusted 29 cents per share on $37.6 billion in revenue, as strong truck sales in North America offset a drop in car sales. Analysts polled by FactSet had forecast 28 cents per share on $37 billion in revenue, on average. "This quarter shows that our business remains very strong in key areas," CEO Jim Hackett said in a statement. "We continue to make progress on our efforts to redesign Ford to be far more competitively fit, disciplined in capital allocations, and nimble enough to win in a fast changing world."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
-
Book reviews: ‘Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America’ and ‘How to End a Story: Collected Diaries, 1978–1998’
Feature A political ‘witch hunt’ and Helen Garner’s journal entries
By The Week US Published
-
The backlash against ChatGPT's Studio Ghibli filter
The Explainer The studio's charming style has become part of a nebulous social media trend
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?
Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson Published
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published