Wall Street Today | Yellen Reports New Debt-Limit Accounting Maneuver to Congress

The NYSE didn’t elaborate on what prompted what it called a “system issue” as the session began, nor did it say how much it may ultimately cost. Banks, retailers and industrial companies were among those affected, including $Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.US)$, $McDonald's (MCD.US)$, $Walmart (WMT.US)$ and $Morgan Stanley (MS.US)$ .

Gasoline prices are on the upswing again, rising 35 cents per gallon in just the past month to an average national price of $3.45. More gains could be in store in the weeks and months ahead, since prices tend to rise in the spring and summer when more people drive.The big refining companies will start reporting fourth quarter earnings this week, and they're likely to offer optimistic predictions for the year ahead.
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$Microsoft (MSFT.US)$ issued a disappointing revenue forecast for the current quarter in its earnings call on Thursday, causing a reverse in the stock price after the shares initially rallied on better-than-expected earnings for the December quarter. Microsoft's Azure cloud growth slowed to 31%, barely beating analysts' projections. Management called for $50.5 billion to $51.5 billion in revenue for the next quarter, while analysts expected over $52 billion, with Azure growth slowing further.

Chip maker expects quarterly earnings of $1.64 to $1.90 a share, while Street expects $1.86 a share. $Texas Instruments (TXN.US)$ Chief Financial Officer Rafael Lizardi told analysts on a conference call that his inventory "scorecard" is based on having a broad, diverse customer base and lowering the risk of obsolescence, so the company's high inventory level serves both short-term and long-term customers .

The US Justice Department and eight states sued $Alphabet-A (GOOGL.US)$ 's Google, calling for the break up of the search giant’s ad-technology business over alleged illegal monopolization of the digital advertising market.

$Walmart (WMT.US)$ said Tuesday it is raising its minimum wage for store employees to $14 an hour, representing a roughly 17% jump for the workers who stock shelves and cater to customers.Starting in early March, the retailer’s U.S. average wage is expected to be more than $17.50.

$3M (MMM.US)$ said it is cutting 2,500 manufacturing jobs globally as the company confronts turbulence in overseas markets and weakening consumer demand. “Consumers sharply cut discretionary spending and retailers adjusted their inventory levels,” 3M Chief Executive Mike Roman said during a conference call. “We expect the demand trends we saw in December to extend through the first half of 2023.”