Stocks tumble ahead of likely rate hike

Stocks finished broadly lower Tuesday as Wall Street, increasingly anxious about the slowing economy, looks ahead to a widely expected interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve in its bid to squash the highest inflation in decades.

The S&P 500 fell 43.96 points to 3,855.93, while the Dow dropped 313.45 points to 30,706.23. The Nasdaq lost 109.97 points to close at 11,425.05. The Russell 2000 index gave up 25.34 points, or 1.4%, to 1,787.50.

Best Buy fell 4.1%, Microsoft slid 0.8%, Abbott Laboratories dropped 1.7% and JPMorgan Chase closed 2% lower.

U.S. crude oil prices fell 1.5% and weighed down energy stocks. Exxon Mobil fell 0.8%.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, rose to 3.56% from 3.52% from late Monday and is trading at its highest levels since 2011.

Stocks have been slumping and Treasury yields rising as the Fed raises the cost of borrowing money in hopes of slowing down the hottest inflation in four decades. The central bank’s aggressive rate hikes have been making markets jittery, especially as Fed officials assert their determination to keep raising rates until they are sure inflation is coming under control.

Ford fell 12.3% for the biggest decline in the S&P 500 after slashing its third-quarter earnings forecast because a parts shortage will leave it with as many as 45,000 vehicles unfinished on its lots when the quarter ends Sept. 30. Last week, FedEx and General Electric warned investors about damage to their operations from inflation.

Fake meat executive takes bite out of man

A top executive at plant-based food company Beyond Meat has been charged with felony battery after a fight outside a college football game in which he was accused of biting a man’s nose.

Doug Ramsey was also charged with making a terroristic threat after the attack Saturday in a parking garage outside a University of Arkansas football game in Fayetteville.

According to a police report, Ramsey was angered when another driver inched in front of him in a traffic lane and made contact with the front passenger wheel on Ramsey’s Ford Bronco SUV.

The police report alleges Ramsey got out of his vehicle and punched through the back windshield of the other driver’s car. The driver told police that he got out of his car and Ramsey pulled him close and began punching him. Ramsey also bit the tip of the other driver’s nose, ripping the flesh, according to the police report.

The driver and witnesses told police that Ramsey threatened to kill the other man. Occupants of both vehicles got out and separated the two men.

Ramsey, 53, spent more than 30 years at Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson Foods before joining Beyond Meat as chief operating officer late last year. He held top leadership positions at Tyson, including president of its poultry division and president of its global McDonald’s business.

Hertz to order 175,000 GM EVs over 5 years

Hertz plans to order up to 175,000 electric vehicles from General Motors over the next five years.

The agreement announced Tuesday includes electric vehicle deliveries through 2027 and will include SUVs, pickups and luxury automobiles from Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and BrightDrop. The companies expect that deliveries of the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV will start in the first quarter of next year.

Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr said Hertz’s current goal is for one-quarter of its fleet to be electric by the end of 2024.

Correction

Californians who qualify for the Middle Class Tax Refund must have filed a 2020 tax refund by Oct. 15, 2021, to be eligible for the payment. Because of an editing error, a story in Tuesday’s edition incorrectly stated the tax-filing year.

Compiled from Associated Press reports.