As Childcare Costs Surpass Inflation, More Women Leave the Labor Market
9 minutes ago
With the price of childcare escalating even faster than rent and college tuition for some families, more mothers are opting to leave their jobs and becoming full-time caregivers for their children.
The cost of daycare increased by 5.2% in September 2025 compared to a year before, according to a report from Bank of America. That’s almost twice as fast as overall inflation, which rose 3% annually in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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In 2025, for the first time since 2021, there was an increase in the number of women who said their family is the reason they are not in the labor force, according to the report.
Childcare costs are rising so fast that the price for one child is more than a month’s rent for some families, according to a 2024 report from the Department of Labor. Average costs also surpassed the average annual tuition and fees at a four-year public college by nearly $1,800, according to a report from The Conference Board.
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Oil Stocks Soar After US Seizes Venezuelan President Maduro
36 minutes ago
Investors are digesting the news from over the weekend that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro no longer is in charge of the South American nation. Early returns are promising for energy firms.
Shares of oil producers, refiners, and oilfield-services firms rose sharply in premarket trading Monday, two days after the U.S. military launched a strike on Venezuela and captured Maduro to face drug-trafficking charges here. Maduro, who had been indicted during the first Trump administration, was set to appear in Manhattan federal court this morning.
After Maduro’s capture, President Donald Trump said the U.S. would “run” Venezuela until an orderly transition is possible, and that U.S. oil companies would rebuild the oil infrastructure of the South American country.
Energy stocks rose in response before the bell Monday, with those of Chevron (CVX)—the only U.S.-based oil company currently active in Venezuela—soared 6%. Shares of rival oil producers ConocoPhillips (COP) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) were up 6% and 3%, respectively.
Shares of oilfield-services firms Halliburton (HAL), SLB (SLB), and Baker Hughes (BKR) jumped a respective 8%, 8%, and 6.5%.
Also surging were oil refiners Valero Energy (VLO), Marathon Petroleum (MPC), and Phillips 66 (PSX), whose shares were up 7%, 5%, and 5%, respectively.
West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, were 0.7% higher at $57.75 per barrel.
QXO Stock Pops as Firm Gets $1.2B Investment From Apollo-Led Group to Pursue Acquisitions
1 hr 20 min ago
Apollo Global Management evidently sees great potential in Brad Jacobs’ plans for QXO. Shareholders of the roofing and waterproofing company are responding positively to the asset manager’s investment.
QXO (QXO) shares surged 7% in premarket trading Monday after the Greenwich, Conn.-based firm announced that an Apollo-led group had made a $1.2 billion convertible preferred equity investment to help fund future acquisitions.
QXO says it is aiming for “$50 billion in annual revenues within the next decade through accretive acquisitions and organic growth,” with a goal of becoming “the tech-enabled leader in the $800 billion building products distribution industry.”
Jacobs, a serial entrepreneur who has taken six companies public, stepped down from his chairman roles at XPO (XPO) and its spinoff GXO Logistics (GXO) on Dec. 31 to more sharply focus his efforts on his personal investment firm, Jacobs Private Equity, and QXO, where he is chief executive and chairman.
QXO shares have added nearly a quarter of their value over the past year.
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Stock Futures Rise After US Captures Venezuelan President Maduro
1 hr 55 min ago
Futures contracts associated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average were fractionally higher.
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S&P 500 futures were up 0.3%.
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Nasdaq 100 futures pointed 0.7% higher.
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