The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas hit $4.62 as of Memorial Day, $1.58 higher than a year earlier and about 12% above the pre-2022 high of $4.11 set in 2008.
The stocks in the Russell 1000 with the highest dividend yields on Nov. 19, 2021, rose an average of 4% over the following six months. Shares of Russell 1000 companies without dividends fell an average of 29% over that time.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Wednesday down 1164.52 points, or 3.6%, and the S&P 500 dropped 4%, or 165.17 points. The Dow and S&P recorded their worst percentage declines since June 11, 2020.
An exchange-traded fund tracking companies that have merged with SPACs is down about 30% for the year, a much sharper drop than the broader market.
The Securities and Exchange Commission estimates the plan will raise the cost to businesses to comply with its disclosure rules from $3.9 billion to $10.2 billion. The leap in expense equates to an ongoing additional cost of $420,000 a year on average for a publicly listed small company and $530,000 a year for a bigger firm, the SEC said.
U.S. consumer inflation eased in April to an 8.3% annual rate marked the first decline in eight months, down from an 8.5% annual rate in March.
In fiscal year 2021, the IRS paid $3.3 billion in interest to tax filers, more than triple what it paid in 2015. For the fiscal year that started in October, refund interest payments through March are down 11% but still well above 2019 levels.
Stocks skidded Friday, with the Dow falling more than 900 points. An April tech rout pushed the Nasdaq down 13% for the month, its worst since 2008.
