Dismal day for stocks…Oil prices drop… Pilots ratify new contract with Spirit

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks have collapsed again today and cemented February as the worst month for the market in two years. The dominant fear for the month has been the threat of higher inflation and interest rates. The S&P 500 fell 30 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,713, while the Dow Jones industrial average lost 380 or 1.5 percent, closing at 25,029 and the Nasdaq composite dropped 57 points or 0.8 percent, to 7,273.

NEW YORK (AP) — Energy stocks in the S&P 500 lost 2.3 percent today for the sharpest drop among the 11 sectors that make up the index. They were hurt by a sharp drop in the price of oil after a government report showed that the amount of oil in U.S. inventories rose more than analysts expected last week. Benchmark U.S. crude lost $1.37 to settle at $61.64 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 85 cents to $65.78 per barrel.

MIRAMAR, Fla. (AP) — Pilots for Spirit Airlines have ratified a five-year contract that will raise pay rates by an average 43 percent. The airline and the Air Line Pilots Association say 70 percent of pilots who voted favored the agreement. The union says the contract also includes double-digit contributions to pilots’ retirement plans and job-protection provisions.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Music-streaming pioneer Spotify is hoping to attract a new crowd of fans on Wall Street as its competition with Apple heats up. It’s pursuing an unusual initial public offering that’ll sell some of its existing stock instead of issuing more shares to raise money. Spotify took its first steps toward the IPO in a confidential filing. It shows Spotify’s music-streaming service boasts 71 million subscribers, nearly twice as many as Apple’s rival service. But Spotify still isn’t profitable.

NEWARK, N.Y. (AP) — An electronics manufacturing company plans to create more than 350 jobs and retain hundreds of others at a new facility it plans to build in upstate New York with millions in incentives from the state. Gov. Andrew Cuomo says IEC Electronics will move from its current location in Newark in Wayne County to the nearby technology park. The maker of medical, aerospace and industrial electronics will create up to 362 jobs and retain another 463.

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