MassachusettsGazette.com

New applications for unemployment benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 199,000 in the week ending October 10, the Labor Department reported October 15. That was 1,000 above the previous week’s revised figure of 198,000.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released findings on October 14 from its supervisory review of the nine largest national banks under its oversight. The review examined policies in place between 2020 and September 2025.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated four individuals and 11 entities that it says are connected to Cartel del Noreste, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization.

The European Commission announced an additional information-alert capability in the Schengen Information System on October 15. It allows participating member states to make trusted information from non-EU countries and international organizations available through the system.

The European Union and eight countries signed an additional protocol to the Warsaw Convention in Strasbourg on October 14. The Council of Europe lists Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino and the United Kingdom alongside the EU.

The European Commission allocated an additional €130 million through the Border Management and Visa Instrument for drone and counter-drone capabilities at external borders.

A new global Multidimensional Poverty Index update published October 12 counts 1.2 billion people in acute multidimensional poverty across 108 countries. UNDP and Oxford’s poverty research initiative report an increase of 51.5 million from the previous comparable update.

Prices received by U.S. producers for final-demand goods and services increased 1.3% in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported October 15. The seasonally adjusted rise followed gains of 0.5% in August and 0.2% in July.

U.S. consumer prices increased 0.6% in September after a 0.4% August rise, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on October 14. Prices were 3.7% above their level a year earlier, compared with August’s 3.4% annual increase.

USDA Rural Development announced $1,024,615 for 11 Wisconsin projects through the Rural Business Development Grants program.

Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford have received the 2026 prize in economic sciences, according to an October 12 announcement from the American Economic Association. The association identifies their contribution as research into the microeconomic foundations of business cycles.

A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft docked with the International Space Station at 10:27 a.m. Eastern on October 15, NASA confirmed. It arrived at the space-facing port of the Harmony module on SpaceX’s 35th commercial resupply mission for the agency.

NASA described recent tests of solid-state battery prototypes in an October 14 research update. The SPEARS project is led by Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, with thermal-vacuum testing at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

Canada announced C$11.1 million for 16 projects led by 15 organizations on October 14. The investment comes through the Canadian Space Agency’s Space Technology Development Program, which supports early-stage development and testing.

NASA announced on October 14 that it will hold an Artemis program update at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on October 23. The briefing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Eastern and will be available online.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched a Dragon cargo spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:33 a.m. Eastern on October 13 for NASA’s 35th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station.

The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency opened a regional call for proposals backed by nearly C$40 million in additional federal funding for business artificial-intelligence projects.

Canada committed C$100 million on October 15 to support offshore-wind development in Nova Scotia, including preparation for the province’s Wind West initiative. The announcement was made in Dartmouth.

The European Commission presented a Water Resilience Investment Accelerator on October 14, designed to help 20 innovative pilot projects attract financing. It operates through Green Assist, an InvestEU advisory initiative funded by the LIFE programme.

Canada announced protection of more than 81,400 hectares of taiga forest and peatland south of Kapuskasing, Ontario, through a project led by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.