The daily business briefing: September 14, 2023

1. Rising gas prices pushed inflation higher in August

Consumer prices rose slightly more than economists expected in August due to surging gasoline prices, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. The consumer price index increased by 0.6%, its biggest monthly jump since June 2022, or 3.7% year-on-year. Gasoline prices climbed 10.6%, accounting for more than half of the overall increase. The core index, which excludes volatile fuel and food prices, increased just 0.3% for the month and 4.3% on an annual basis, slightly less than economists predicted. The data continued a trend of easing inflation likely to allow the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates steady at their meeting next week while leaving the door open to another hike in 2023, if necessary. Reuters

2. Arm sets price in year's biggest IPO

British chip designer Arm on Wednesday set the price for its initial public offering at $51 a share, at the top end of a planned $47 to $51 range. The price, which underwriters and Arm executives settled on in a Wednesday meeting, valued the company at $54.5 billion, short of the $64 billion Arm owner SoftBank valued it at recently when buying a stake held by its Vision Fund, The Wall Street Journal reported. Arm shares start trading Thursday on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the year's biggest IPO, which will raise about $5 billion for SoftBank, a Japanese technology investor. The Wall Street Journal

3. UAW prepares for Friday strike, barring last-minute deal

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain said Wednesday the union's members were prepared to start a limited strike on Friday against the Detroit automakers General Motors, Ford and Chrysler's Stellantis, as a deadline for a new contract arrives. The union said the walkout would start at a limited number of factories and expand if the talks stall. The tactic marks a change from the UAW's previous all-out strikes, aiming to give labor negotiators leverage in ongoing negotiations, The New York Times reported. It will keep most of the union's 150,000 U.S. members working but still disrupt the companies' operations. All three automakers said they were bargaining in good faith and ready to reach a deal. The New York Times

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4. Stock futures gain ahead of wholesale inflation data

U.S. stock futures rose early Thursday as investors waited for wholesale inflation data. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were up 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively, at 7 a.m. ET. The Nasdaq was up 0.5%. The 30-stock Dow fell 0.2% on Wednesday, weighed down by 3M. The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively. The consumer price index released Wednesday showed 3.7% annual inflation, slightly above the 3.6% economists had predicted, as gas prices surged. Core inflation came in slightly lower than expected. Investors will be looking at the producer price index, a measure of wholesale inflation, for further insight into the Federal Reserve's next moves on interest rates. CNBC

5. MGM Resorts targeted in cyberattack

MGM Resorts International was attacked by the same hackers that targeted Caesars Entertainment Inc. weeks earlier, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing four people familiar with the matter. MGM declined to provide details about the alleged cyberattack, and it wasn't clear whether the hackers used ransomware, although Bloomberg's sources said the cybercriminals demanded a ransom. Caesars didn't respond to Bloomberg's requests for comment but is expected to shed light on the nature of the cyberattack in a regulatory filing soon. MGM was still working to resolve issues that disrupted its websites four days after the hacking, blamed on a group known as Scattered Spider. Bloomberg