BUSINESS BRIEFS

Stocks clawed back much of the ground they lost in an early plunge but still ended lower, continuing a dismal month for the stock market.

Major indexes pulled back sharply in early trading Tuesday, wiping nearly 550 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Traders blamed worries over slowing growth in China and costs related to President Donald Trump’s trade policies.

Caterpillar lost 7.6 percent after saying taxes on imported steel were driving up costs. Big gains by McDonald’s and Verizon helped soften the losses elsewhere.

New Puerto Rico fiscal plan OK’d; governor says it’s too austere

A federal control board has approved a five-year fiscal plan for Puerto Rico, though Gov. Ricardo Rossello warns it’s too austere and will affect government services.

The economic blueprint approved Tuesday aims to help pull the U.S. territory out of an economic crisis after a 12year slump and devastation caused by last year’s Hurricane Maria. The plan estimates that $82 billion in federal hurricane recovery funds will briefly boost Puerto Rico’s economy.

But President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that what he called the “ridiculously high amount of funds” can’t be used to pay the island’s debt. He said “inept politicians” on the island are trying to do that.

Caterpillar has a big 3Q, but Wall Street senses pessimism

Caterpillar beat most profit and revenue expectations in the third quarter, but company shares were punished Tuesday when Wall Street sensed some pessimism in the company’s outlook, which remains unchanged.

Caterpillar Inc. still anticipates fullyear adjusted earnings of $11 to $12 per share. This is in range of the $11.64 per share that analysts polled by FactSet predict, but the construction equipment company had raised the forecast twice this year and investors appeared to expect more of the same.

MoviePass to be jettisoned by parent company

MoviePass, the struggling discount movie ticket subscription service, is being spun off by the company that owns it. Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc. did not try to obscure the reasons why on Tuesday. MoviePass has become a burden.

MoviePass drew in millions of subscribers, luring them with a $10 monthly rate. But that proved costly. Because MoviePass typically pays theaters the full cost of tickets – $15 or more in big cities – a single movie can put the service in the red. At one point Helios and Matheson had to take out a $5 million emergency loan to pay its payment processors after missed payments resulted in service outages.

Then, last week, the company acknowledged that it is being investigated by the New York Attorney General on allegations that it misled investors.

First sign language Starbucks opens in nation’s capital

Coffee drinkers in the nation’s capital can now order that tall pumpkin spice iced skim latte in sign language.

Starbucks has opened its first U.S. “signing store” to better serve hearing impaired customers. The store in Washington is just blocks from Gallaudet University, one of the nation’s oldest universities serving deaf and hard of hearing students.

Marlee Matlin, the only deaf actor to win an Academy Award, posted an Instagram video of herself ordering a drink early Tuesday. “The sign for the week is COFFEE,” she wrote.

Starbucks announced in July that it would hire 20 to 25 deaf or hard of hearing baristas to work at the store.

— The Associated Press