By STAN CHOE, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are hanging around their records on Wednesday as Wall Street waits to hear from the Federal Reserve in the afternoon about what it will do with interest rates.

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The S&P 500 rose 0.3% in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 193 points, or 0.4%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% higher. All three indexes are coming off their latest all-time high.

The bond market was also relatively still as the countdown ticked to the announcement from the Fed. The widespread expectation is that it will announce the second cut of the year to its main interest rate in hopes of helping the slowing job market. More important will be whether the Fed gives hints about whether it will keep cutting at its next meeting in December.

The U.S. stock market has surged to records in part because of expectations for continued cuts to rates, which would help make stock prices look less expensive than they’ve become. But the Fed has warned that it may have to halt the cuts if inflation accelerates beyond its still-high level, because lower rates can worsen inflation.

Making an already tough course for Fed officials more difficult is the U.S. government’s shutdown. That has delayed important updates on the economy that would normally help guide the Fed’s decision-making process.

In the meantime, the deluge continues of big U.S. companies reporting how much profit they made during the summer. The pressure is on to deliver growth because that’s another way they can quiet criticism that their stock prices shot too high in recent months.

Caterpillar rallied 9.3% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Joe Creed said Caterpillar saw resilient demand, as customers bought more equipment, even with a “dynamic environment.”

CVS Health rose 3.1% after topping analysts’ expectations for the latest quarter, despite big losses related to its decision to reduce openings of new primary care clinics in the future. CEO David Joyner said the” company has “stabilized operations.”

Teradyne soared 19% after the company, which makes automated test equipment and advanced robotics systems, likewise reported a stronger profit than analysts expected. CEO Greg Smith credited strength related to artificial-intelligence applications and said “AI-related test demand remains robust.”

Nvidia, meanwhile, was the strongest force lifting the S&P 500 after rising 4.9%. It became the first company valued at $5 trillion on Wall Street, just three months after the AI darling was the first to break through the $4 trillion barrier.

They helped offset a 3.3% drop for Mondelez International, even though it reported stronger results than analysts expected. The company, whose brands include Oreo cookies and Toblerone chocolate, has been dealing with record-high inflation for the cost of cocoa. It expects challenging conditions to continue in some markets, though it hopes that price increases are moderating for cocoa.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe following a stronger finish in Asia.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.2% to another record. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.8% after President Donald Trump met with South Korea’s leader following his visit in Japan.

Stocks rose 0.7% in Shanghai ahead of a meeting between Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping. The world’s two largest economies have been locked in an escalating trade war, with Washington imposing high tariffs and tightened technology controls and China retaliating with curbs on rare earth shipments, one of its key sources of leverage.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 3.98% from 3.99% late Tuesday.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Lawmakers say the legislation is intended to help the city better respond to the needs of the nearly 34,000 migrants still in its shelter system. “There’s honestly no excuse,” said City Councilmember Alexa Avilés, who chairs the Council’s Immigration Committee. “We have a very large population that it’s tending to, and they haven’t disappeared. They are still here.”

A woman and her daughter staying at one of the city’s hotel shelters for families early last year. In recent months, the city has closed most of those facilities, as the number of new arrivals declines. (Ado Talwar/City Limits)

Under a local law passed last year, the city was required to survey migrants in the shelter system about their workforce development and health needs, and share the results in a report for the City Council by Sept. 30.

But almost a month later, the Adams administration has yet to submit those findings—and has not yet started administering the surveys, City Limits has learned.

“The development of studies of this magnitude takes time and deliberate coordination across multiple city agencies to ensure that the survey is accurate, rigorously distributed and yields the necessary and reliable results needed,” said a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), one of the two city agencies tasked with conducting the surveys.

Councilmembers and immigrant advocates criticized the delay, saying the legislation is intended to help the city better respond to the needs of migrants in its care. While the number of new arrivals has been decreasing for months, there are still nearly 34,000 in the shelter system, most of them families with children. 

“[I’m] incredibly frustrated by all of this. There’s honestly no excuse, other than lack of interest in being able to meet the mandates of the law,” said City Councilmember Alexa Avilés, who chairs the Council’s Immigration Committee. “We have a very large population that it’s tending to, and they haven’t disappeared. They are still here.”

Under the bills passed last year, two city agencies were tasked with conducting the surveys: The Department of Health is responsible for surveying migrants’ about their long-term health needs, chronic conditions, and access to healthcare as part of Local Law 74.

The Mayor’s Office of Talent and Workforce Development, created by the Eric Adams administration in 2022 through an executive order, is in charge of surveying their economic opportunities and workforce development obstacles under Local Law 73.

The surveys should have been given to case managers and on-site shelter staff 11 months ago, in November 2024, according to the legislation. The results were supposed to be provided to the commissioner of these agencies no later than May 31, 2025.

“We are diligently working with our agency partners and we’re happy to share that the survey will be live within the next few weeks,” a DOHMH spokesperson said, though did not provide an exact date or other details.

“In addition to time, projects of this magnitude require careful reflection of the community we are attempting to reach and how we can reach them without increasing the fear and worry they may already be experiencing,” the spokesperson said.

Over the last few months, federal agents have increased arrests as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown, including at New York City courts and on the streets. They recently arrested people outside the Row Hotel, a city-operated emergency migrant shelter, and targeted vendors on a busy street in Chinatown. 

At the same time, the city has been shutting down its network of emergency shelters for migrants as fewer new arrivals enter the system. The majority of migrant families are now housed in traditional shelter sites run by the Department of Homeless Services. 

“The mayoral administration is inexplicably behind by nearly a year to develop and distribute these surveys amongst the city’s newest immigrants who have now mostly exited city shelters,” a City Council spokesperson said in a statement. “This failure is a squandered opportunity to learn from the latest wave of migration to New York City.”

The execution of the surveys is not the only Council law the Adams administration has delayed: another bill to allow people to report poor conditions in vacant apartments in their building has still yet to be implemented. City Hall has also refused to carry out a package of laws expanding the city’s rental voucher program, a dispute now playing out in court.

“The city’s inability to complete a survey among a now small number of asylum-seekers who remain stuck in our shelter system showcases the failure of this administration to prioritize the needs of our most vulnerable populations,” Carlos Arnao of the New York Immigration Coalition said in a statement to City Limits. “We urge Mayor Adams to take proactive steps to comply with the law during the remaining months of his lame-duck administration.”

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Daniel@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post City Hall Misses Deadline to Comply With Council Law Requiring Migrant Shelter Surveys appeared first on City Limits.

After placing veteran quarterback Carson Wentz on injured reserve earlier this week, the Vikings have added another player with experience at the position.

In search of a quick study at the position, the Vikings signed veteran quarterback John Wolford to the practice squad. He previously played for head coach Kevin O’Connell with the Los Angeles Rams, and thus, should be able to pick up the offense in short order.

The addition of Wolford provides depth behind starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy and backup quarterback Max Brosmer. The plan is for McCarthy to return from a high ankle sprain when the Vikings travel to play the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Ford Field.

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SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba (AP) — Hurricane Melissa was grinding across Cuba on Wednesday as a Category 3 storm after pummeling Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Cuba had been evacuated to shelters. A hurricane warning was in effect for Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, Holguin and Las Tunas provinces as well as the southeastern and central Bahamas.

Melissa had top sustained winds of 105 mph and was moving north-northeast at 14 mph according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The hurricane was centered 45 miles northwest of Guantánamo, Cuba, and 205 miles south of the central Bahamas.

The agency warned that preparations for the storm in the Bahamas “should be rushed to completion.”

Melissa struck Jamaica on Tuesday with top sustained winds of 185 mph before weakening over land.

It was forecast to continue weakening as it crossed Cuba and remain a strong hurricane as it moves across the southeastern or central Bahamas later Wednesday. The storm is expected to make its way late Thursday near or to the west of Bermuda, where a hurricane watch is in effect.

The storm was expected to generate a storm surge of up to 12 feet in the region and drop up to 20 inches of rain in parts of eastern Cuba. The intense rain could cause life-threatening flooding with numerous landslides, U.S. forecasters said.

The hurricane could worsen Cuba’s severe economic crisis, which already has led to prolonged power blackouts, as well as fuel and food shortages.

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“There will be a lot of work to do. We know there will be a lot of damage,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said in a televised address, adding that “no one is left behind and no resources are spared to protect the lives of the population.”

He urged the population not to underestimate the power of Melissa, “the strongest ever to hit national territory.”

Officials in Jamaica were assessing the damage. More than half a million customers were without power late Tuesday as officials reported that most of the island had downed trees, power lines and extensive flooding.

Extensive damage was reported in parts of Clarendon in the south and in the southwestern parish of St. Elizabeth, which was “under water,” said Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council.

The storm damaged four hospitals and left one without power, forcing officials to evacuate 75 patients, McKenzie said.

The government said it hopes to reopen all of Jamaica’s airports as early as Thursday to ensure quick distribution of emergency relief supplies.

The storm already was blamed for seven deaths in the Caribbean, including three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.