Major Stock Indexes Gain After Delayed Q3 GDP Data; Gold Hits Record $4,500

Mapped: Which States Are Raising the Minimum Wage in 2026—And Which Will Still Be at $7.25 an Hour

5 minutes ago

For workers in many states, 2026 will bring a higher minimum wage, though the timing isn’t the same everywhere. Most of the states making changes will boost pay beginning New Year’s Day, while a smaller group has increases scheduled for later in the year.

In total, 19 states are set to raise their minimum wage on January 1, reflecting either scheduled increases or inflation-based adjustments. California stands out for making two changes in 2026, with an increase at the start of the year followed by another on July 1. Three other states—Alaska, Florida, and Oregon—will raise their minimum wages later in the year, with increases taking effect on either July 1 or September 1.

Some states won’t see minimum wage changes in 2026 because they already raised pay in earlier years. In many cases, those increases were the result of multiyear schedules approved by lawmakers or voters, designed to lift wages gradually rather than all at once.

Four of those states—California, Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts—already require employers to pay at least $15 an hour statewide, putting them among the highest minimum-wage states in the country. Each reached that level through phased increases over several years, with some states adjusting pay in line with inflation.

Read the full article with maps here.

–Sabrina Karl

Used Car Prices Are Changing as 2025 Winds Down—Here’s What’s Getting Cheaper (and What Isn’t)

1 hr 35 min ago

If you’ve ever shopped for a car in December, you may have noticed that dealerships are more willing to negotiate. Year-end is one of the most volatile periods in the auto market, especially for used vehicles. This happens because dealers are trying to clear aging inventory before the new year while hitting annual sales targets and making room for incoming trade-ins tied to end-of-year buying. At the same time, many buyers pull back on major expenditures during the holidays, which naturally softens demand.

That’s why experts often point to late December, even New Year’s Eve, as one of the most buyer-friendly windows of the year. Timing alone can make a noticeable difference in what you pay, especially if you’re flexible on model year or trim level.

Not all used car prices behave the same way as the year winds down, and November’s data highlights those differences clearly. Month over month, several mainstream categories saw price declines as inventory built up and demand cooled. Sedans, smaller SUVs, and some midsize crossovers continued a gradual easing trend, which is good news for practical buyers focused on affordability and reliability.

Hybrids and electric vehicles saw the biggest price drop from October to November, with a decline of 1.8%.2 In addition to seasonal price influences, hybrids and EVs saw a sharp decline in demand due to the elimination of the $4,000 federal tax credit for hybrids and EVs purchased after Sept. 30, 2025.

Read the full article here.

–Gina Young

Economy Grew Faster Than Expected in Third Quarter

2 hr 5 min ago

The U.S. economy grew much faster than forecasters had expected in the third quarter, thanks to a drop in imports and a surge in consumer spending.

The inflation-adjusted Gross Domestic Product grew at an annual rate of 4.3% in the third quarter, up from 3.8% growth in the second, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Tuesday. That blew past the 3.2% growth forecasters had expected, and was well above the 2.6% average annual growth rate over the previous four years.

The surge in economic growth partly reflected a decrease in imports, which are subtracted from the GDP, and have declined as a result of President Donald Trump’s tariff campaign.

Other parts of the economy accelerated, including exports, government spending, and the all-important rate of consumer spending. Consumer spending is the largest factor in the GDP and rose 3.5%. The economy grew rapidly in the second half of the year, after shrinking in the first quarter due to a surge in imports aimed at avoiding the tariffs.

The GDP report had been scheduled to be released in October, but was delayed by the government shutdown. The BEA will revise its GDP estimate and release a final tally next month.

–Diccon Hyatt

Next Fed Meeting: When It Is in January and What to Expect on Interest Rates

3 hr 29 min ago

The Federal Reserve’s policy committee is scheduled to meet next on Jan. 27 and 28, and officials are expected to hold the central bank’s key interest rate steady after a series of cuts in recent months.

The Federal Open Market Committee will meet to consider whether to cut the federal funds rate from its current range of 3.5% to 3.75%. The Fed cut its interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point at each of the previous three meetings in an effort to prevent the recent job market slowdown from turning into a serious increase in unemployment.

Fed officials have been divided about whether to cut interest rates to help the job market or keep them high to fight inflation. The Fed’s dual mandate from Congress requires it to keep inflation low and employment high, and both have been headed in the wrong direction in recent months, creating a dilemma for the Fed. Lower borrowing costs could help encourage hiring, but could risk stoking inflation.

“A very large number of participants agree that risks are to the upside for unemployment and to the upside for inflation,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said after the December meeting of the policy committee. “So what do you do? You’ve got one tool. You can’t do two things at once. So at what pace do you move? It’s a very challenging situation.”

Read the full article here.

–Diccon Hyatt

Novo Nordisk Stock Soars on FDA Approval of Wegovy Pill

4 hr 12 min ago

After the bell Monday, Novo Nordisk (NVO) announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved its GLP-1 pill. Its stock is soaring in premarket trading Tuesday.

U.S.-listed shares of the Danish drugmaker surged about 8% before the bell after it said that FDA had “approved the Wegovy pill (once-daily oral semaglutide 25 mg) to reduce excess body weight and maintain weight reduction long term and to reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events.”

The firm, which also submitted the Wegovy pill to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and other regulatory authorities in the second half of this year, expects to launch it in the U.S. in early January. Wegovy already had been approved as a once-weekly injection by the FDA, EMA, and others.

The FDA approval for its blockbuster obesity medication in pill form gives Novo Nordisk a leg up on rival Eli Lilly (LLY), whose weight-loss pill is expected to be approved by the regulatory agency in the first quarter of 2026.

Eli Lilly shares slipped 0.7% before the bell but entered Tuesday up nearly 40% this year. U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk have lost almost 45% of their value in 2025.

Stock Futures Little Changed Ahead of GDP Data

4 hr 57 min ago

Futures contracts associated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average were near flat.

S&P 500 futures were fractionally higher.

Nasdaq 100 futures also were up fractionally.