Business Highlights: Stocks' miserable month, EU inflation

___

Stocks end September down 9.3%, worst month since March 2020

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street closed out a miserable September with a loss of 9.3%, the worst monthly decline since March 2020. The S&P 500 fell 1.5% Friday and is at its lowest level in almost two years. The benchmark index has lost ground for six of the last seven weeks and posted its third straight losing quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.7% and the Nasdaq fell 1.5%. Nike fell sharply after the company had to slash prices to clear inventories, while Carnival dropped following weaker-than-expected quarterly results. Bond markets were showing more calm as yields relaxed.

___

Inflation hits record 10% in 19 EU countries using euro

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Inflation in the European countries using the euro currency has broken into double digits as prices for electricity and natural gas soar. EU statistics agency Eurostat reported Friday that consumer prices in the 19-country eurozone rose a record 10% in September from a year earlier, up from an annual 9.1% in August. Only a year ago, inflation was as low as 3.4%. Price increases are at their highest level since record-keeping for the euro started in 1997. The rise in inflation signals a looming winter recession for one of the globe’s major economies as higher prices undermine consumers’ spending power.

___

Resilient US consumers spend slightly more in August

WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumers spent a bit more in August than the previous month, a sign the economy is holding up even as inflation lifts prices for food, rent, and other essentials. Americans boosted their spending at stores and for services such as haircuts by 0.4% in August, after it fell 0.2% in July, the Commerce Department said Friday. The government’s report also showed that...