Comcast offers student discounts

Comcast has expanded its low-income broadband service to thousands of students in Spokane County, the company announced Wednesday.

More than 13,000 students who receive Pell Grants are eligible for Comcast’s Internet Essentials broadband service, which costs $9.95 per month plus tax.

Eligible students also have the option to purchase a low-cost computer with the Internet Essentials program, according to the company.

Eligible students must be enrolled at Carrington College, Eastern Washington University, Glen Dow Academy of Hair Design, Gonzaga University, International Beauty Education Center, Northwest HVAC/R Training Center, Paul Mitchell the School Spokane, Spokane Community College, Spokane Falls Community College or Studio Beauty School.

Manufacturing grew at slowest pace in a year

A measure of activity at U.S. service providers and manufacturers in September grew at the slowest pace in a year, restrained by nagging supply-chain and labor challenges as well as the delta variant.

The IHS Markit flash composite index of purchasing managers at service providers and manufacturers dropped to 54.5 from 55.4 a month earlier, the group reported Thursday.

Readings above 50 indicate growth and the gauge has declined each month since hitting a record 68.7 in May.

“The slowdown was led by a cooling of demand in the service sector, linked in part to the delta variant spread,” Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said in a statement.

“However, while manufacturers have seen far more resilient demand, factories face growing problems in sourcing enough supplies and labor to meet orders.”

Results were similar in the euro area where business activity at service providers and manufacturers slipped to a five-month low.

Growth slowed especially sharply in Germany and France, IHS Markit said.

The group’s gauge of activity at U.S. services slid to its lowest level since July of last year.

Wall Street rallies, erases weekly losses

Stocks on Wall Street rallied for the second straight day Thursday and have reversed the market’s sharp pullback at the start of the week.

The S&P 500 rose 1.2%, with more than 85% of companies in the benchmark index notching gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.5%, and the Nasdaq rose 1%.

The rally put the major indexes on pace for weekly gains just four days after a broad sell-off handed the S&P 500 its biggest skid since May and knocked the Dow more than 600 points lower.

Still, markets have had a rough September, and investors could be in for more choppiness as they work through a mix of concerns, Schutte said.

The change in investor sentiment has also put oil prices in the green. Benchmark U.S. crude oil is up 1.2% for the week.

Bond yields moved solidly higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.43% from 1.32% late Wednesday, a big move.

All told, the S&P 500 index rose 53.34 points to 4,448.98.

The Dow gained 506.50 points to 34,764.82 while the Nasdaq rose 155.40 points to 15,052.24.

Small-company stocks, which are typically a good measure of investor confidence for economic growth, also jumped over to the winning column.

The Russell 2000 rose 40.48 points, or 1.8%, to 2,259.04.

From staff and wire reports