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Channel Tunnel Chaos Enters Day Two as Power Fault Drags On

The disruption, caused by a fault in the system's overhead power supply, on Tuesday upended plans for thousands of passengers in London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. Rail passengers travelling between the UK and mainland Europe are enduring a second day of major disruption after a power failure shut down the Channel Tunnel, halting both Eurostar and LeShuttle services. The fault, linked to the overhead power supply, brought traffic to a standstill and left thousands of travellers stranded on both sides of the Channel. Although some services have begun to move again, operators warn that delays and cancellations will continue while engineers work to stabilise the system. Eurostar has urged passengers to avoid travelling unless essential, as many trains remain suspended or heavily delayed. LeShuttle customers are also facing long queues, with significant backlogs reported at both Folkestone and Calais. The timing has added to the frustration, hitting one of the busiest travel per...

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Stock Market Today: S&P 500 Breaches 5,300 as Stocks Rally to Records After CPI

 


U.S. stocks rallied on Wednesday, with all three major indexes closing at record highs. A soft reading on consumer prices fueled hopes that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates sooner than expected.
  • The S&P 500 rose nearly 1.2%, closing at 5,308.18, above 5,300 for the first time ever.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped about 0.9%, creeping closer toward the 40,000 level.
  • The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed about 1.4%, notching its second record close in as many days.

The Consumer Price Index rose 0.3% over the previous month and 3.4% over the prior year in April, a deceleration from March. “Core” inflation, which strips out the cost of food and gas, also cooled. This relatively cool inflation reading led the 10-year Treasury yield to fall 4.35%, its lowest level in a month, and sparked new bets on Fed rate cuts as soon as September. Around 70% of traders now expect at least one cut by the September meeting, a notable increase from a week ago.

Stocks have ground higher amid rekindled confidence that the U.S. economy is in good enough shape for the Federal Reserve to start bringing down rates from their current historic highs. That optimism has fueled a resurgence in bullishness in the market.

Elsewhere on the macroeconomic front, retail sales fell flat last month, coming in well short of Wall Street’s expectations.

In summary, the stock market continues to surge, and investors are closely watching inflation data and Fed policy decisions.


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