Oil futures moved higher on Wednesday, buoyed by a second straight weekly decline in U.S. crude supplies, as a slowdown in the U.S. inflation rate lifted prospects for interest-rate cuts and the potential for stronger energy demand.

Charles M.C. Lee, professor emeritus at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, has been questioning the wisdom of trading halts for some time.

Mizuho analysts are betting the stock of the small biotech Terns Pharmaceuticals Inc. could rally sharply if the company’s oral weight-loss drug proves successful when data from an early-stage trial is released later this year.

Surveys of consumers as well as businesses have been pessimistic for some time. Now the hard data, such as the retail-sales report for April, is starting to weaken as well, though it’s still much better than what the so-called soft data is suggesting.

The average cost of child care for two children is now greater than the average rent in all 50 states, and greater than the average mortgage payment in 45 states.

Move, along with a recently completed at-the-market offering, should reduce net leverage for the indebted cinema operator by about 10%, says B. Riley analyst.