Consumer confidence takes a hit

American consumers feel a bit less confident this month, their spirits pulled down by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

The Conference Board says its consumer confidence index fell to 119.8 in September from 120.4 in August. Conference Board economist Lynn Franco says that confidence “decreased considerably” in hurricane-hit Florida and Texas.

The reading still shows that U.S. consumers are in a mostly sunny mood, suggesting that “the economy will continue expanding at its current pace,” said Franco, the Conference Board’s director of economic indicators. The U.S. economy grew at a solid 3 percent annual rate from April through June, lifted by healthy consumer spending.

Just 18.1 percent of respondents told that Conference Board that jobs were “hard to get” in September — the lowest share since August 2001.

The index takes into account Americans’ views of economic conditions and their expectations for the next six months. Their view of today’s economy slipped from August when the assessment was the sunniest in 16 years.

Long-time Kohl’s CEO to retire

Kohl’s longtime CEO Kevin Mansell is retiring and will be replaced by Michelle Gass, a former Starbucks executive who has been with the company since 2013.

The company said Tuesday that the change will take place next May. Mansell, a 35-year company veteran, has been CEO since 2008.

Gass was hired as the company’s chief customer officer and took on the role of chief merchandising officer in 2015. She was with Starbucks for 17 years in roles overseeing marketing, Starbucks’ beverage, food and merchandising and global strategy. Gass began her career with Procter & Gamble.

Uber says it will leave Quebec

Uber said Tuesday it will cease operations in Quebec next month if the province doesn’t rescind new rules it introduced last week. Quebec Uber boss Jean-Nicolas Guillemette said it will stop operating Oct.14 if the government doesn’t back down.

Transport Minister Laurent Lessard said Friday the province would allow Uber to continue to operate if Uber drivers get background checks that are performed by police instead of private security firms. Uber drivers will also be required to undergo the same number of training hours as traditional taxi drivers, which is 35 hours, instead of 20 hours.

Guillemette said the province didn’t consult with the company before introducing the new rules. He said it makes it impossible for the service to continue in Quebec.

Russia might block Facebook

In its latest attempt to wrest control of the internet, Russia’s communications agency on Tuesday threatened to block access to Facebook if the company refuses to store its data locally.

Alexander Zharov, chief of the Federal Communications Agency, told Russian news agencies on Tuesday that they will work to “make Facebook comply with the law” on personal data, which obliges foreign companies to store it in Russia. Critics have slammed the law, which went into effect in 2015, for potentially exposing the data to Russian intelligence agencies.

Zharov said the Russian government understands Facebook is a “unique service” but said it will not make exceptions and will block it next year if Facebook does not comply.