Front-month Brent prices briefly touch highs above $80 a barrel

Oil futures settled higher Wednesday, as a hefty decline in domestic crude supplies and uncertainty tied to the energy impact from Hurricane Florence combined to lift U.S. prices past $70 a barrel.

China said to be wary, despite threat of new tariffs on $200 billion in goods

The Trump administration is giving Beijing another chance to try to stave off new tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese exports, asking top officials for a fresh round of trade talks later this month, people briefed on the matter said.

U.S. stocks closed mostly higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow bouncing back from lows. However, the Nasdaq’s effort to build on its recent gains hit a wall as shares of chip makers sunk and the unveiling of Apple Inc.’s new product lineup didn’t result in share pop for the world’s most-valued company.

More workers quitting old jobs for better pay at new ones

The numbers: The number of job openings in the U.S. climbed to a record 6.94 million in July in a clear sign that a booming economy is entering the second half of the year with a big dollop of momentum.

Trade worries simmer

U.S. stocks shrugged off a wobbly start to close higher Tuesday, with the Dow climbing by triple digits, as energy and telecommunications rallied. However, trade worries were simmering below the surface as investors continued to watch the situation between the U.S. and China

Critical information for the U.S. trading day

Play it again, Tim Cook.

Apple AAPL, +0.50% just might pull yet another rabbit from the hat at its big iPhone launch event today. The company’s shares are in the green in premarket action, helping stock-index futures edge higher.

Hopes for Brexit deal continue to grow, but British utility company SSE among the session’s big losers

Europe’s main stock benchmark climbed Wednesday, as analysts said the region’s bourses were following the U.S. equity market’s lead.

Away from all the drama surrounding Elon Musk and his Twitter account, Bernstein says Model 3 production on track

Tesla Inc. shares got a shot in the arm Monday after Wall Street analyst notes that suggested the recent selloff might be a chance to own the stock at a discount.

It has its perks

For some people, the middle seat isn’t a curse to avoid, but a perk to covet.

Ralphiee Esperas, a 30-year-old Phoenix resident who works in marketing, says his love affair with middle seats started a couple of years ago on a flight from Phoenix to Iowa, when he found himself in the middle seat on an evening flight. After striking up a conversation with the woman on his right, whom he recalls as being in her 60s, he offered to buy her a drink.

Domestic stocks get a boost in Japan, handing Nikkei a gain

Asian stock markets largely fell Tuesday, with the downdraft pushing Hong Kong into a bear market.

The region mostly slumped, with only Japan breaking the pattern, even after the S&P 500 SPX, +0.19% and Nasdaq COMP, +0.27% snapped a four-session losing streak and the White House announced a second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was in the works.