Junk rating

How did it come to this? S&P Global Ratings is weighing downgrading the credit score of Boeing, one of America’s most storied companies, to junk. The embattled planemaker continues to suffer from the fallout of a protracted labor strike. The walkout however is just the latest crisis for a company whose recent stretch of troubles go back at least six years, to two horrific crashes of its flawed 737 Max planes that killed 346 people. Since then, the hits have kept coming for Boeing. As for S&P, it estimates the company will incur a cash outflow of approximately $10 billion in 2024, due in part to costs associated with the strike. The company is also likely to need additional funding to meet its day-to-day cash needs and finance debt maturities. Junk rated companies usually face higher borrowing costs than their investment-grade counterparts. Boeing has $4 billion of debt coming due in 2025 and also $8 billion coming due in 2026, Moody’s Ratings said last month. If the strike continues toward the end of the year, a credit rating downgrade is more likely, S&P warned. —David E. Rovella

A new book by Watergate journalist Bob Woodward alleges former President Donald Trump while in office sent Vladimir Putin Covid-19 testing devices at the height of the pandemic when such tests were scarce for Americans. The book also reportedly says that, since Trump lost re-election in 2020 to President Joe Biden and left office, he’s had as many as seven private phone calls with the Kremlin leader. “That is just the most recent, stark example of who Donald Trump is,” Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday. The Democratic presidential nominee said people were “scrambling to get these kits” during the pandemic, adding, “and this guy who is president of the United States is sending them to Russia, to a murderous dictator, for his personal use?” A Trump spokesperson denied the account.

Investors in catastrophe bonds are girding themselves for substantial losses as the combined destructive force of Hurricanes Helene and Milton looks set to trigger payment clauses on a scale not seen in years. Two weeks after Helene unleashed severe floods in more than a dozen US states, Florida is bracing itself for the impact of Milton, now a Category 5 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale. It’s expected to make landfall early Thursday morning, pushing a wall of water onshore. Millions of people have already fled the coastline, including residents in the densely populated city of Tampa.

Roblox shares slumped Tuesday after short seller Hindenburg Research said it’s betting against the controversial gaming platform. The stock fell as much as 9.4% in intraday trading Tuesday in New York, hitting the lowest level since early August. The online gaming company’s stock has shed more than 15% so far this year. Hindenburg said in its report that Roblox has inflated key metrics and alleged that it doesn’t have sufficient safety screens to prevent pedophiles from using the platform.

Ever since President Xi Jinping sought to put an end to China’s slowdown last month, investors have clamored for him to back up monetary easing with a powerful fiscal stimulus to help fuel one of the nation’s biggest stock rallies in years. But those who hoped to get an answer on Tuesday were disappointed. The National Development and Reform Commission, China’s economic planning agency, used the government’s first briefing after a weeklong national holiday to announce that a meager 200 billion yuan ($28 billion) in spending would be advanced from next year, after analysts forecast a fiscal package worth as much as 3 trillion yuan. “I don’t know what the chairman of the NDRC was thinking with this,” said Alicia Garcia Herrero, Asia Pacific chief economist at Natixis SA. “Frankly the more they wait to clarify, the worse it can be because people will realize there’s no fiscal side to this stimulus—that it’s all monetary, propping up stocks and so on. And that’s quite dangerous.”

Ukraine’s allies are detecting that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy may be getting ready to adopt a more flexible approach as they look at ways to help bring an end to Russia’s war. The Ukrainian leader has publicly reinforced Kyiv’s main demands on ending the war, including a full withdrawal of Russian forces from territory it occupies and NATO membership for Ukraine. Zelenskiy this week again ruled out “bargaining” over Ukrainian sovereignty or territory. But Ukrainian officials have signaled that they’re prepared to recognize that an endgame should come into play.

A personal injury startup making artificial intelligence products for law firms has raised $135 million in a new funding round valuing it at more than $1 billion. The deal by EvenUp was led by Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from Premji Invest, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, SignalFire and B Capital Group. More than 1,000 law firms use its product, according to the company, which helps prepare cases and analyze large volumes of documents.

One of the most influential academics in AI, Geoffrey E. Hinton, has been awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for training artificial neural networks and laying the foundations for today’s machine learning applications. Hinton will share the 11 million-krona ($1.1 million) award with fellow scientist John J. Hopfield. Their work began in the 1980s, setting the stage for the current boom in AI that was enabled by an explosion of computing power and massive troves of training data. However, Hinton has in recent years warned about AI becoming too powerful.

Chemical spills, deteriorating facilities and rodent infestations have called into question the safety of Yosemite National Park. Employees blame hospitality company Aramark, which says it’s trying to clean things up. So just how did this iconic American destination become such a mess? Watch Bloomberg Originals for the full story.

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