US stocks fall to close week; gold, metal prices plunging

January 31, 2026

NEW YORK — Financial markets churned on Friday as investors tried to figure out what President Donald Trump’s new nominee to lead the Federal Reserve will mean for interest rates. U.S. stocks fell, with the S&P 500 down 0.4% after sinking as much as 1.1% earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 179 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.9%. The value of the U.S. dollar rallied, but only after swiveling a couple times following Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh. And some of the wildest action was again in precious metals markets, where gold and ...

Trump’s unlikely Fed choice could reshape top central bank

January 31, 2026

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh to chair the Federal Reserve could bring about sweeping changes at a central bank that dominates the global economy and markets like no other. Warsh, if approved by the Senate, will be under close scrutiny from financial ...

Venezuela’s acting leader signs oil industry revamp

January 30, 2026

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday signed a law that will open the nation’s oil sector to privatization, reversing a tenet of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has ruled the country for more than two decades. Lawmakers in the ...

Street ends day where it started

January 30, 2026

NEW YORK — A day of dramatic swings on Wall Street, including Microsoft’s worst drop in years and a sudden reversal for the price of gold, finished with only relatively modest moves on Thursday. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% after flirting with its record high in the morning and dropping by as much as 1.5% later in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55 points, or 0.1%, after erasing an earlier loss of more than 400 points, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.7%. Microsoft was the heaviest weight on the market by far, and the tech giant tumbled 10% even though it reported ...

Briefcase: Norfolk Southern declares dividend

January 30, 2026

ATLANTA Norfolk Southern Corp. announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share on its common stock. The dividend is payable Feb. 20 to shareholders of record on Feb. 6. The company has paid a dividend on its common stock for 174 consecutive quarters since its formation in 1982. PITTSBURGH F.N.B. Corp. declares $0.12 per share cash dividend The board of directors of F.N.B. Corp. declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.12 per share on its common stock. The dividend is payable on March 16 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 2. The company has ...

Ticker: Comcast reports $2.17B in fourth quarter profit

January 30, 2026

Comcast Corp. on Thursday reported fourth-quarter profit of $2.17 billion. On a per-share basis, the Philadelphia-based company said it had profit of 60 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 84 cents per share. The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 75 cents per share. The cable provider posted revenue of $32.31 billion in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $32.14 billion. Citizens exceeds Q4 ...