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Omar Marques | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesUnitedHealth Group provided a 2025 profit forecast below Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, saying it expects pressure across its government-supported health insurance businesses, and its shares fell 9%.The largest U.S. health insurer forecast a profit of as much as $30 per share. That upper end was below analysts' estimates of $31.18 per share, according to LSEG data.CEO Andrew Witty said the company was setting next year's forecast "more conservatively than is typical" due in part to cuts in payments from the government for Medicare plans and low state payment rates for Medicaid plans for low-income people.The insurance bellwether's comments also dragged shares of rivals CVS Health, Elevance and Humana down 3% to 5%.UnitedHealth's third-quarter med...

Traders, gamblers and politicos now have new tools to express their views this election cycle in the form of event contracts, but the new markets still need to win over Wall Street power players and the legal system to become investment stars. Kalshi and Interactive Brokers launched presidential election contracts this month on their nascent platforms after Kalshi won a key round in its legal fight with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC is seeking to shut down the markets on appeal, but the presidential election promises to be a big opportunity for the platforms to prove themselves to investors while the process works its way through the courts. The platforms previously consisted mainly of lightly traded contracts around other events, like economic data releases. Those ser...

An icon of ASML is displayed on a smartphone, with an ASML chip visible in the background.Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesShares in semiconductor equipment maker ASML fell 16% on Tuesday after the Dutch company published financial results a day early, issuing disappointing sales forecasts.The move pulled other chip stocks lower, with Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom all falling after the report.ASML, which is based in Veldhoven, Netherlands, said it expects net sales for 2025 to come in between 30 billion euros and 35 billion euros ($32.7 billion and $38.1 billion), at the lower half of the range it had previously provided.Net bookings for the September quarter were 2.6 billion euros ($2.83 billion), the company said — well below the 5.6 billion euro LSEG consensus estimate. ...

Cars sit in a Chevrolet dealership's lot in Chicago on June 20, 2024.Scott Olson | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesDETROIT — A growing number of Americans with auto loans owe more than their vehicles are worth, according to a report Tuesday from Edmunds.com.The auto data and consumer research company reports the average amount owed on so-called upside-down loans climbed to an all-time high of $6,458 during the third quarter. That compares to $6,255 in the prior quarter and $5,808 a year earlier.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsUpside-down car loans are not necessarily dire on their own, but a growing number of consumers being underwater is another indication of pressure on American consumers.A sign of that strain came last month, when the Federal Reserve reported delinquency rates on au...