The Dow Jones industrial average rose 62.03 points, or 0.4%, to 15,191.70. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 13.45 points, or 0.8%, to 1,695.00. The NASDAQ composite rose 46.50 points, or 1.2$, to 3,817.98 on Wednesday, Day One of the slimmer U.S. government.
AMAZON TO HIRE 70,000 FULL-TIME SEASONAL WORKERS
Amazon.com, Inc. announced that it will hire 70,000 full-time seasonal workers in the U.S. to meet holiday order demand. Some of those hires will be at Amazon's Phoenix warehouse and distribution facility. The hiring plan represents a 40% increase over last year, the Seattle-based company said in a statement. Amazon converted “thousands” of seasonal workers recruited in 2012 into regular full-time staff and expects to do the same this year, it said.
NEW TUCSON-PORTLAND NONSTOP FLIGHT
A new nonstop service between Tucson and Portland, Oregon on Alaska Airlines is to start November. 1. Alaska's schedule shows a daily incoming flight arriving at 1:05 p.m. with the outbound at 1:35 p.m. Fares start at $129 each way. Tickets are on sale now at AlaskaAir.com. Alaska Airlines is the first airline to offer a new destination that qualifies for the Tucson Airport Authority's Air Service Incentive Program, which provides marketing incentives and landing fee waivers see flytucson.com
IN TOP 10 RANKING FOR ARIZONA INN
The Arizona Inn, Tucson's historic midtown landmark, has been named tenth in the 2013 list of 10 top small city hotels in the continental United States in the 18th annual poll by readers of Travel + Leisure magazine. This top-10 list also includes hotels in South Carolina, New Mexico, San Francisco, Miami, and Boston. The Arizona Inn, built in 1930 by Arizona Congresswoman Isabella Greenway, is still owned and operated by its founding family and continues to fulfill its original mission as a sophisticated desert retreat giving its guests comfort, privacy, quiet and sunshine. arizonainn.com
SOCCOR MADNESS IN TUCSON
Soccer is becoming a major tourist attraction in Tucson. A new, 2,000-seat soccer stadium is due to open at the largest professional sports venue in the area, Kino Sports Complex, this fall. The stadium will house FC Tucson, the city's semi- professional soccer club, and will host a Major League Soccer pre-season training camp and tournament next spring. In 2012 and 2013, four MLS teams participated in the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup pre-season tournament; last year, the final match was broadcast on NBC Sports. Organizers are committed to establishing Tucson as Major League Soccer's Western hub for pre-season training.
THE GREAT AMERICAN BEER BAR AWARDS
Tap & Bottle, a craft beer and wine-tasting room and bottle shop, located on North Sixth Avenue in downtown Tucson, has placed third in the Mountain West region in the Great American Beer Bars list, compiled by CraftBeer.com. The list reflects a survey of the website's readers for innovative and unique establishments where craft-brewed beers are served. Tap & Bottle, which opened in June, features 20 constantly rotating beers on tap, and hosts a Sunday beer brunch with on-site food trucks.
US GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CLOSES PARKS, MONUMENTS
Visitors arrived to find “CLOSED” signs at the Statue of Liberty, the Smithsonian and other parks and historic sites across the country. Callers looking for help from the government reached only voicemail. And federal employees were left to wonder when they would return to work. The first government shutdown in 17 years took hold in ways large and small. About 800,000 federal employees were sent home — a number greater than the combined U.S. workforces of Target, General Motors, Exxon and Google.
Locally, several organizations we are told will be suspending services, up to 3,000 non-essential government workers at Davis Monthan and other government jobs are being told not to report to work. Saguaro National Park is expected to lock its gates. "The city of Tucson will go on," said Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild. "We will continue to deliver services on the local level."
US MANUFACTURING EXPANDS IN SEPT. BEST PACE IN 2-1/2 YEARS
WASHINGTON — U.S. factory activity expanded last month at the fastest pace in 2 1/2 years, an encouraging sign that manufacturing could lift economic growth and hiring in the coming months. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said its manufacturing index rose in September to 56.2, the highest since April 2011. That’s up from 55.7 in August and the fourth straight increase in the index. A reading above 50 indicates growth. Manufacturers added jobs last month at the fastest pace in more than a year and ramped up production, the survey showed. They also received new orders at a healthy pace, though slower than in August.
UTILITIES, SOLAR COMPANIES FIGHT OVER RATES
ATLANTA — Sunlight is free, but if you use it to make electricity your power company wants you to pay. Utilities in many states say solar-friendly rate plans, conceived to promote alternative energy sources, are too generous and allow solar customers to avoid paying for the grid even though they use it. Some power companies are proposing an extra fee for solar customers. Others are trying to roll back or block programs that allow those customers to trade the solar power they generate during sunny days for power they need from the grid during other times. As rooftop solar expands from a niche product to a mainstream way to save money on power bills, utilities are afraid they will lose so many customers — and revenue — that they won’t be able to afford to build and maintain the grid.
SEPT. US SALES FALTER – WHILE AUTOMAKERS PREDICT REBOUND
DETROIT — Automakers expect little impact from the federal government shutdown, and they predict a fourth-quarter rebound after a rare sales decline in September. Auto sales dropped 4% from a year ago to just over 1.1 million, mainly due to a calendar quirk that pulled Labor Day weekend transactions into August’s numbers. The drop ended a 27-month streak of gains for the industry. General Motors, Honda and Volkswagen reported double-digit declines for last month. Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai posted smaller decreases. Only Ford and Chrysler reported gains among the bigger automakers.
MERCK PLANS TO CUT 8,500 MORE JOBS
Merck & Co. plans to cut another 8,500 jobs as the drugmaker continues its struggle with competition from cheaper generic medications that have squeezed the pharmaceutical industry for several quarters now. The New Jersey-based company said the reductions are in addition to a total of 7,500 cuts it had previously announced but hasn’t carried out. That means it is slashing about 20% of its workforce, currently at about 81,000 people. Merck, the world’s third-largest drugmaker, said the restructuring will cost a total of between $2.5 billion and $3 billion before taxes, mainly due to employee severance costs. But it expects the moves to help generate annual savings of about $2.5 billion by the end of 2015.