Rising food costs take a bite out of Thanksgiving dinner

BUSINESS NEWS IN BRIEF

Americans are bracing for a costly Thanks-giving this year, with double-digit percent increases in the price of turkey, potatoes, stuffing, canned pumpkin and other staples.

Higher production costs are only part of the reason; disease, rough weather and the war in Ukraine are also contributors.

Turkey supplies are at their lowest point since 1986 after a deadly avian flu wiped out flocks, and prices are up about 28%.

But experts say there won't be shortages of whole birds because producers shifted production to meet Thanksgiving demand.

Meanwhile, stores like Walmart, Lidl and Aldi are offering deals to lessen the sticker shock.

WASHINGTON

Key Fed official says he's open to slowing hikes in December

Christopher Waller, a key Federal Reserve official, added his voice to a rising number of Fed officials who have suggested that the central bank will likely slow the pace of its interest rate hikes beginning in December.

Waller, a member of the Fed's Board of Governors, said he was open to raising the Fed's key rate by a half-point next month in light of evidence that inflation may be cooling.

At each of its four most recent policy meetings, the central bank has raised its benchmark rate by an aggressive three-quarters of a point.

The cumulative effect has been to make many consumer and business loans costlier and to raise the risk of a recession.

WASHINGTON

US retail sales rose 1.3% last month, a sign of resilience

Americans stepped up their spending at retailers, restaurants, and auto dealers last month, a sign of consumer resilience as the holiday shopping season begins amid painfully high inflation and rising interest rates.

The government said Wednesday that retail sales rose 1.3 percent in October from September, up from a flat reading in September from August.

The increase was led by car sales and higher gas prices.

Still, excluding autos and gas, retail spending rose 0.9 percent last month. Even adjusting for inflation, spending increased at a solid pace. Prices rose 0.4 percent in October from September.

NEW YORK

Amazon begins mass layoffs among its corporate workforce

Amazon has begun mass layoffs in its corporate ranks, becoming the latest tech company to trim its workforce amid rising fears about the wider economic environment.

On Tuesday, the company notified regional authorities in California that it would lay off about 260 workers at various facilities that employ data scientists, software engineers and other corporate workers.

The company would not specify how many more layoffs may be in the works beyond the ones confirmed through the filing in California. Some corporate employees in Seattle, Washington said on LinkedIn on Tuesday they were let go, too.

In an announcement posted on its website Wednesday, Amazon said impacted employees were notified on Tuesday.

WILMINGTON, DEL.

Musk testifies in lawsuit over Tesla compensation package

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is defending himself in a shareholder lawsuit challenging a compensation package he was awarded by the company's board of directors that is potentially worth more than $55 billion.

Musk appeared in a Delaware courtroom Wednesday. He denied that he dictated terms of the 2018 compensation package or attended any board or committee meetings at which the plan was discussed. Musk said instead that he was entirely focused on the execution of the company.

An attorney for the shareholder plaintiff spent much of his early cross-examination trying to draw Musk into admitting that he controls Tesla to such an extent that he can sway the board to do his bidding.

Wall Street slips as Target stumbles and weighs on retailers

Wall Street closed lower as hefty drops in retailers and technology companies offset gains elsewhere in the market.

The S&P 500 lost 0.8% Wednesday. The Nasdaq fell 1.5%, and small-company stocks fell even more. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed slightly lower.

Target fell sharply after delivering a dismal financial report. Target also cut its forecasts for the holiday season and said its sales slowed sharply in recent weeks. The government reported that retail sales rose overall last month, but it's unclear how much of that strength is due to increased purchases versus higher prices. Crude oil prices ended lower.

- The Associated Press