Contest: Baton Rouge has been nominated for the Levitt AMP grant, which would bring a free live music concert series to Howell Community Park. The Arts Council and BREC partnered together to get the nomination and is now competing against 32 other U.S. cities. BREC is asking for residents to vote online here to help Baton Rouge get the concert series grant. Voting closes on Nov. 20.
Shopping sprees: Americans stepped up their shopping last month, spending more online and buying more cars, evidence that consumers can still drive the economy’s growth. The Commerce Department said this morning that retail sales rose 0.3% in October, rebounding from a 0.3% decline the previous month. Sales increased 3.1% compared with a year ago. Read the full report.
Fallout: The strike at General Motors pushed U.S. industrial production from factories, mines and utilities down 0.8% in October, the lowest drop since May 2018, the Federal Reserve said this morning. U.S. factories were using 74.7% of their capacity in October, lowest since September 2017, and is down 4.1% since October 2018. See the full report.
