With a 2 percent gain in September, the S&P 500 Index has set a record: positive returns in each of the first 10 months of the year. There’s never been a full calendar year when this has happened every month. Going back to November 2016, the index has ripped off 12 consecutive monthly gains. The S&P hasn’t had a down ...

As you are by now all probably aware, Richard Thaler won this year’s Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. All question of whether this is a “real” Nobel can now be laid to rest, since the announcement was made via the Nobel Prize’s official verified Twitter account. Thaler won the prize for his research in behavioral economics, although he’s far ...

Bloomberg Volkswagen AG is flanking its push into electric cars with plans to roll out battery-powered commercial vehicles targeted at urban areas as growing public concerns about air quality boost demand. The Volkswagen Truck & Bus division will invest 1.4 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in new technology including electric drivetrains, autonomous systems and cloud-based software, Andreas Renschler, head of the ...

Bloomberg Facebook Inc. unveiled a cheaper virtual-reality headset that works without being tethered to a computer, rounding out its plan for pushing the emerging technology to the masses. The new $199 wireless headset, called Oculus Go—meant to be the company’s most accessible VR device—will be available in early 2018. Facebook also trimmed the price of its high-end Oculus Rift headset ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. introduced a waterproof Kindle e-reader long-awaited by enthusiasts, the latest in a string of consumer devices from the online retail giant this year. The device, an updated version of the Kindle Oasis, has a faster 4G wireless connection, six-week battery life, and a brighter 7-inch screen, slightly larger than the previous model. Waterproofing has long been an ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Narendra Modi has kicked off India’s race to turn all new passenger car sales electric by 2030. The largest order has gone to a company that hasn’t commercially started producing the vehicles. Tata Motors Ltd. hasn’t sold a single electric car yet, though Chief Executive Officer Guenter Butschek says its late-mover status is an advantage at a ...

Bloomberg Judging from General Motors Co.’s test cars and Elon Musk’s predictions, the world is headed towards a future that’s both driverless and all-electric. In reality, autonomy and battery power could end up being at odds. That’s because self-driving technology is a huge power drain. Some of today’s prototypes for fully autonomous systems consume two to four kilowatts of electricity—the ...

Bloomberg Economic indicators show ‘stabilized and stronger growth’ and the momentum of a 6.9 percent expansion in the first six months of 2017 ‘may continue in the second half,’ People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said. Imports and exports increased rapidly, fiscal income grew, and prices have been steady, Zhou said, according to a statement the central bank ...

Bloomberg Brian Moynihan’s efforts to boost Bank of America Corp. profit through cost cutting finally got some help from interest rates. The lender posted the highest net income in six years as the chief executive officer cut expenses more than forecast and net interest income rose to the highest since 2011. During his seven years as CEO, Moynihan has worked ...

Bloomberg FirstRand Ltd., Africa’s biggest lender by market value, offered to buy UK challenger bank Aldermore Group Plc for about 1.1 billion pounds ($1.4 billion). Shares in the British firm soared. Aldermore received ‘an indicative proposal’ from Johannesburg-based FirstRand of 313 pence per share, 37 percent more than its average share price this year, and directors at the UK lender ...