Hurricane Irma Continues to Pound Florida, Heads North to Georgia

Hurricane Irma has been downgraded to a Category 1 Storm and could reach tropical storm status later today. Nearly 5 million Floridians are without power. Irma is pounding north Florida and is headed north to Georgia and the Carolinas today. Meanwhile, Lowe’s ( LOW ) and JCPenney ( JCP ) say they are looking to hire about 2000 workers each in the region impacted by Hurricane Harvey. The NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange will have a moment of silence today to remember the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks. Also, police and firefighter charities will ring the opening bells to begin the day’s trading. ‘Answer the Call’, which provides financial assistance to families of NYC first responders killed in the line of duty, will ring the opening bell. Dow futures are pointing to a higher start as fears ease over North Korea. The country failed to conduct another missile test over the weekend, as some predicted might happen. Reuters reports the United Nations is set to vote today on a new resolution to impose new sanctions on North Korea over its latest nuclear test but it is unclear whether China and Russia will support it.

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