By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal (Reuters) -Wall Street rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow briefly reaching record highs, as chip stocks surged on TSMC’s upbeat forecast and stronger-than-expected monthly retail sales indicated a robust U.S. consumer. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, beat market estimates for profit and forecast a jump in fourth-quarter revenue, driven by demand for artificial intelligence chips. The chipmaker’s U.S.-listed shares soared … Read more…

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. retail sales increased solidly in September likely as lower gasoline prices gave consumers more money to spend at restaurants and bars, supporting the view that the economy maintained a strong growth pace in the third quarter. The slightly stronger-than-expected rise in sales reported by the Commerce Department on Thursday also reflected sharp increases in receipts at clothing store outlets as well as miscellaneous store retailers. Consumers boosted online purchases … Read more…

By Alexandra Ulmer and Rachael Levy (Reuters) -Elon Musk gave around $75 million to his pro-Donald Trump spending group in the span of three months, federal disclosures showed on Tuesday, underscoring how the billionaire has become crucial to the Republican candidate’s efforts to win the Nov. 5 presidential election. America PAC, which is focused on turning out voters in closely contested states that could decide the election, spent around $72 million of that in the … Read more…

By Jody Godoy (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission adopted a final rule on Wednesday requiring businesses to make it as easy to cancel subscriptions and memberships as it is to sign up, in the agency’s last major rulemaking before the Nov. 5 election. The “click to cancel” rule requires retailers, gyms and other businesses to get consumers’ consent for subscriptions, auto-renewals and free trials that convert to paid memberships. The cancellation method must … Read more…

By Shankar Ramakrishnan, Echo Wang (Reuters) -Boeing is closing in on a plan to raise around $15 billion with common shares and a mandatory convertible bond as the jet maker bolsters finances worsened by a crippling strike, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The company on Tuesday said in regulatory filings that it could raise as much as $25 billion in stock and debt with its investment-grade credit rating at risk. One of … Read more…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday about efforts to surge security assistance to Ukraine and announced a new $425 million military aid package, the White House said. The security package includes air defense capability, air-to-ground munitions, armored vehicles and critical munitions, the White House said in a statement. Zelenskiy, writing on Telegram, expressed gratitude to Biden, both parties of Congress and the American people for the new … Read more…

By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) – Genaro Garcia Luna, who for several years led Mexico’s fight against the country’s violent drug trade, is set to be sentenced on Wednesday over his U.S. criminal conviction for accepting bribes from the cartels he was supposed to fight. Garcia Luna, 56, will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn federal court at a hearing starting at 4:30 p.m. ET (2030 GMT). He faces a … Read more…