U.S. stocks (^DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC) are looking to end the week with an up day and while they are in the green, it's not by much. Still, the S&P 500 is flirting with its biggest weekly gain of 2015.
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Here are some of the other stories Yahoo Finance is keeping an eye on today.
Record gun sales
Apparently it's a good time to be a firearms dealer. Despite, or perhaps because of several recent and tragic gun crimes garnering national attention, the FBI says they conducted close to one point eight million background checks in September alone. That number would translate to an all-time record for monthly gun sales in this country.
Spending gas savings
A new report from the JP Morgan Chase Institute (JPM) suggests Americans are spending the money they are saving at the gas pump this year. Government projections suggest the average household will save $700 at the pump this year and JP Morgan says 80% of that money is going back into the economy. The report which looked at actual bank account records, does not jibe with government data on retail and food service sales that declined in January and February and were flat in both April and June
Tesla's tough talk
While responding to reports that Apple (AAPL) was hiring away key members of his staff, Tesla (TSLA) chief Elon Musk turned the tables suggesting, "They [Apple] have hired people we’ve fired. We always jokingly call Apple the ‘Tesla Graveyard’ ...If you don’t make it at Tesla, you go work at Apple. I’m not kidding.”
Twitter courts advertisers
With Jack Dorsey officially back at the helm, Twitter (TWTR) is stepping up its efforts to court advertisers. The social network announced that it will allow marketers to easily place pre-roll video ads, and publishers will be able to collect a portion of the profit.
Snapchat and Star Wars
The Force is with Snapchat! The social media app helped Sphero, a maker of new Star Wars toys, launch a successful ad campaign for their new gadget. Sphero worked with five Snapchat influencers and generated over 10 million views in just 24 hours.
