Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

U.S. stocks closed little changed on Wednesday after a forced two-day closure due to super storm Sandy, as gains in utilities and financial shares offset declines in the healthcare and technology sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 10.75 points, or 0.08%, to 13,096.46, down 2.5% for the month. The S&P 500 closed at 1,412.16,…

U.S. stocks opened mostly higher on Wednesday as U.S. equity trading resumed after a two-day shutdown caused by Hurricane Sandy. The Dow Jones industrial average lately gained 64.59 points, or 0.49 percent, to 13,171.80. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 5.91 points, or 0.42 percent, to 1,417.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index was off 0.86…

U.S Steel (X) doubled its third-quarter net income as a tax benefit helped balance pressure from price decreases and a challenging global economy. It  earned $44 million, or 28 cents per share, in the quarter that ended Sept. 30. That compares with $22 million, or 15 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue fell more…

State-owned industrial and defense vehicle Russian Technologies is to buy 35 737 MAX planes from U.S. aerospace company Boeing Co (BA)  for $3.5 billion, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday. Boeing has predicted that Russia and neighboring states will take delivery of 1,140 new aircraft over the next 20 years, valued at $130…

Home prices rose in nearly all U.S. cities last month, the latest evidence of a steady recovery in housing. The Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller index reports that national home prices increased 2 percent in August compared with the same month a year ago. That’s the third straight increase and a faster pace than in July.

Hurricane Sandy, one of the worst storms ever to hit the eastern U.S., late on Monday slammed into the New York area, killing more than a dozen people, causing catastrophic flooding in residential areas and transport systems, leaving six million or more people without power, and causing damage measured in the multibillions of dollars.