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New Speaker Mike Johnson grasps for a funding plan with a government shutdown rapidly approaching

WASHINGTON (AP) — New House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing his first big test as he tries to win House Republican support for a short-term funding plan to avert a government shutdown. The task looks increasingly difficult. Federal agencies are making plans for a shutdown that would shutter government services and halt paychecks for millions of federal workers and military troops. It’s a disruption that Johnson has said he wants to avoid. But House lawmakers left Washington without a plan after a week of setbacks. Republicans who were granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations say Johnson is still sounding out support among Republicans and is expected to unveil the legislation over the weekend.

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Drinks giant Diageo sees share price slide after warning about sales in Caribbean and Latin America

LONDON (AP) — Spirits and beer giant Diageo saw billions wiped off its market value on Friday after it warned that a sharp slowdown in its business in Latin America and the Caribbean was hitting sales and potential profits. In early trading in London, the company’s share price was down by 14% after it told investors that it expects growth in the first half of the current financial year to be slower than the previous half-year. It blamed a “materially weaker” outlook in Latin America and the Caribbean as a result of “macroeconomic pressures” and customers downtrading to cheaper products. The region accounts for around 11% of Diageo’s total sales.

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Oil companies attending climate talks have minimal green energy transition plans, AP analysis finds

Oil and gas companies have a large presence at international climate talks aimed at getting the world to sharply reduce emissions, which lead to climate change. The companies say they are part of the transition to green energy, and indeed have the capital and engineering prowess to help technologies like wind, solar and carbon capture further develop. But an Associated Press review of nearly 40 oil and gas companies that participated in last year’s climate talks, called COP27, cast doubts on any true commitment to energy transition. Most companies have minimal, if any, investment in green energies, and instead invest billions of dollars in traditional activities of exploration, extraction and refining of oil. Many of the same companies are expected to be at COP28.

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Tesla faces strikes in Sweden unless it signs a collective bargaining agreement

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Pressure is growing on Tesla in Sweden, where a trade union is demanding that the Texas-based automaker sign a collective bargaining agreement, which most employees in the Scandinavian country have. Tesla has no manufacturing plant in Sweden, but 130 members of the powerful metalworkers’ union IF Metall walked out on Oct. 27 at seven workshops across the country where its popular electric cars are serviced. Other trade unions joined in solidarity, including dockworkers at Sweden’s four largest ports who decided Tuesday to stop the delivery of Tesla vehicles to increase pressure on the automaker to accept the metal workers’ demands. Tesla, which is non-unionized globally, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Barbie’s Ken left out again as Cabbage Patch Kids and Fisher-Price Corn Popper make Toy Hall of Fame

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Fans have pushed the Fisher-Price Corn Popper into the National Toy Hall of Fame. It joins baseball cards, Cabbage Patch Kids and NERF foam toys in the class of 2023, announced Friday. The Fisher-Price push toy was voted in by fans as part of the Toy Hall of Fame’s 25th anniversary celebration. Baseball cards, Cabbage Patch Kids and NERF toys were chosen in the usual way, with input from a panel of national experts. Each year, the Hall of Fame in Rochester, New York, recognizes a group of toys that have inspired creative play and enjoyed long-lasting popularity.

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Biden and Xi will meet Wednesday for talks on trade, Taiwan and fraught US-China relations

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will discuss trade, Taiwan and fraught U.S.-Chinese relations when they meet next week in the San Francisco Bay area. Biden and Xi will be in San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. China’s Foreign Ministry confirms Xi will attend APEC at Biden’s invitation. Biden and Xi have no shortage of difficult issues to address in their first engagement in a year. Taiwan’s upcoming election, differences over U.S. export controls on advanced technology, North Korea, the Israel-Hamas war and more are expected to be on the agenda.

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The S&P 500 rose 67.89 points, or 1.6%, to 4,415.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 391.16 points, or 1.2%, to 34,283.10. The Nasdaq composite rose 276.66 points, or 2%, to 13,798.11. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 18.09 points, or 1.1% to 1,705.32.