The daily business briefing: December 6, 2023

1. Job openings fall to lowest since 2021

U.S. job openings fell in October to a 2-1/2-year low, adding to evidence that the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes to bring down inflation are having the desired effect of damping the economy. The Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey indicated there were 1.34 vacancies for every unemployed person last month, down from 1.47 in September and the lowest since August 2021. The bigger-than-expected drop in vacant jobs came after inflation cooled in October, boosting expectations that the Fed would stop raising interest rates or even cut them as soon as March. Fortune, Reuters

2. CVS to simplify prescription drug pricing

CVS is simplifying its prescription drug pricing by restructuring the system for reimbursing its pharmacies for the medicines they sell. Under the plan, pharmacy benefit managers will pay back CVS's 9,500 retail drug stores for what they spent, plus a flat fee for their services in getting the prescriptions to customers. The plan is similar to entrepreneur Mark Cuban's model at his Cost Plus Drugs company, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the CVS plan on Tuesday. The new CVS CostVantage approach could change the cost of prescriptions for some patients, but it won't necessarily reduce prices on all drugs. The Wall Street Journal, CNN

3. 23andMe hack affects millions

Hackers used old passwords to access information on 6.9 million 23andMe customers, more than half of the genetic testing firm's users, multiple news organizations reported. The compromised data included the genetic testing firm's ancestry reports, birth years and ZIP codes for the affected customers, 23andMe told CNN. The company had said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday that the accounts of only about 14,000 customers, 0.1% of its users, had actually been breached. It stood by that number Tuesday, but said basic information on 5.5 million profiles was accessed using the company's DNA Relatives feature, and some family tree information was compromised for 1.4 million DNA Relatives profiles. BBC News, CNN

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4. Stock futures edge up after Dow, S&P drop for second day

U.S. stock futures rose early Wednesday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 dipped for the second straight day on Tuesday, pausing their recent rally. Futures tied to the Dow and the S&P 500 were up 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively, at 7 a.m. ET. Nasdaq futures were up 0.3%. The Dow and the S&P 500 fell 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively, on Tuesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.3%. Despite this week's struggles, the three major U.S. benchmark indexes have risen enough in the past five weeks to put them on track to finish the quarter and 2023 with big gains. Bitcoin continued its rally, briefly hitting $44,000, its highest level since early 2022, and holding above $43,000.  CNBC, The Wall Street Journal

5. Moody's downgrades China's credit outlook

Credit ratings agency Moody's on Tuesday downgraded its outlook for China's financial health, the latest in a series of setbacks for the world's second-largest economy. Moody's cited the potential cost to Beijing of bailing out local governments and state-owned businesses saddled with crippling debt. Moody's had viewed China's finances as stable before issuing its new, negative outlook. China's Ministry of Finance criticized the change, saying the country's economy can bounce back and local governments can handle the loss of revenue despite a real estate downturn. Moody's didn't change the Chinese government's A1 credit rating, which is within the "investment grade" range and signals generally low risk. The New York Times