Transcript:
Conway Gittens: I’m Conway Gittens from the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s what we saw today on TheStreet.
The Dow Jones recovered slightly on Thursday after falling 1,100 points the previous day due to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook. The rest of the market also added to losses. On the bright side, existing home sales in November were the strongest since March. Sales grew 6.1% over the past 12 months, the best annual gain in nearly 3-1/2 years. The median sales price rose to $406,100.
RELATED: Amazon under investigation over worrisome issues
Turning to other business headlines, the Teamsters union is calling Amazon’s largest-ever shutdown, with workers striking at seven locations. Drivers at three facilities in Queens, Atlanta, San Francisco, suburban Chicago and Southern California are participating.
Workers are calling on the world’s second-largest private employer to come to the bargaining table. They complain that Amazon’s aggressive fulfillment targets are harming their health. However, the striking workers are just a fraction of Amazon’s more than 800,000 employees spread across 600 locations. Therefore, the strike is not expected to have a major impact on Amazon’s extensive distribution network as the holiday shopping season enters its sprint.
The strike does, however, represent a growing problem facing Amazon: worker dissatisfaction. Even the Senate report sides with workers, saying Amazon is pushing warehouse workers to the breaking point, leading to a surge in workplace injuries. As a result, Amazon could face fines of up to $100,000 from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration.
Amazon said the data used in the report was misleading and that the company takes the health and safety of its employees very seriously.
This is enough for your daily briefing. I’m Conway Gittens from TheStreet at the New York Stock Exchange.
Watch ICYMI this week:
- Dollar stores face major pushback from Trump administration
- Elon Musk is in a league of his own
- Americans just saved $5 billion, but the banks won’t be happy
- How Swifties turned Eras Tour into an economic force
