An olive branch: Though he didn’t support him for president, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards is congratulating Donald Trump on winning Tuesday’s presidential election and is pledging to work with the president-elect, The Associated Press reports. “The campaign is over, and it is critical that we set the politics aside and come together to strengthen the country we all love,” Edwards says in a statement. The governor is heading to Washington today, seeking further flood aid from Congress. Edwards adds that Louisiana “will be a strong partner with President-elect Trump and his new administration as we continue to recover from historic flooding, as we make critical investments in our infrastructure and as we work to give our kids every opportunity to succeed.”
Falling down: The nation’s short-term energy report suggests that gasoline pump prices nationwide will plunge below $2 a gallon in January, The Advertiser reports. The federal Energy Information Administration says despite a decline in crude oil output in the U.S., demand will slacken, driving prices down. Crude production averaged 9.4 million barrels per day in 2015, but was expected to average 8.8 million barrels a day this year. Production is predicted to fall by another 100,000 barrels a day in 2017. Low gas prices have devastated Louisiana’s economy, accounting for the loss of 25,000 jobs in the state. Read the full story.
Going up: The S&P Index neared a one-month high as U.S. stocks rose in heavy trading amid speculation that Republican President-elect Donald Trump will pursue business-friendly policies, Bloomberg reports. A knee-jerk selloff in global stocks and a rally in haven assets reversed on wagers that Trump would increase fiscal spending to spur economic growth, and because he struck a more conciliatory tone in his first speech as president-elect. That conciliatory speech made “a world of difference,” says Krishna Memani, New York-based chief investment officer at OppenheimerFunds. Read the full story.
