Stocks have their worst month since March 2020

Wall Street closed out a miserable September Friday with the S&P 500’s worst monthly skid since March 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic crashed global markets.

The benchmark index ended the month with a 9.3% loss and posted its third consecutive losing quarter. It’s at its lowest level since November 2020 and is down by more than a quarter since the start of the year.

The main reason financial markets continue to struggle is fear about a possible recession as interest rates soar in hopes of beating down the high inflation that’s swept the world.

“Quite frankly, if it’s a deep recession you’re going to have to see more of a sell-off,” said Quincy Krosby, chief equity strategist for LPL Financial. “This is what the market is trying to navigate now.”

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard was the latest Fed official Friday to insist it won’t pull back on rates prematurely.cruise ship operator Carnival dropped 23.3% for the biggest decline among S&P 500 stocks after it reported a bigger loss for its latest quarter than analysts expected and revenue that fell short of expectations. Rivals Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Group slid 18% and 13.2%, respectively.

Nike slumped 12.8%, its worst day in more than 20 years, after it said its profitability weakened during the summer because of discounts needed to clear suddenly overstuffed warehouses. The amount of shoes and gear in Nike’s inventories swelled by 44%.

Treasury yields initially eased a bit Friday, letting off some of the pressure that’s built on markets, but then turned higher later.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.81% from 3.79% late Thursday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed action, rose to 4.23% from 4.19%. offering far more associated with old-fashioned bank branches than today’s smartphone apps: safe deposit boxes.

The New York-based lender no longer allows customers to rent new boxes. If a Chase bank branch is shut, its safe deposit boxes will be closed as well and their holders won’t be able to open a new box at another location.

“We made a business decision to stop offering new safe deposit boxes as of December 2021, but that doesn’t affect current customers who have boxes,” Jpmorgan spokesman Tom Kelly said.

Banks have offered safe deposit boxes for decades as places for customers to store valuables and important documents. The future of the business is uncertain as U.S. lenders close branches at a record pace. Even as financial firms also open new branches, they’re often smaller locations without room for the large vaults that house safe deposit boxes.

Firefly launch fails on second attempt

A year after its first rocket launch failed, a new aerospace company was unsuccessful early Friday in its second attempt to place multiple satellites into orbit.

Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket was unable to lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base and follow a planned arc over the Pacific Ocean toward space.

A live video feed showed the launch countdown go to zero and then abort at 12:52 a.m. Friday.

“The vehicle went into auto abort after ignition. This is designed into the system to ensure safety,” the company said in a Twitter post. “The team scrubbed tonight’s launch attempt and is reviewing data to determine our next launch window.”

The rocket’s payload included multiple small satellites designed for a variety of technology experiments and demonstrations as well as educational purposes.