Tuesday Afternoon Business Brief

Stocks have edged lower, failing to maintain levels seen earlier in the session. For the month of September, the Dow and the S&P have risen more than 3 percent.

• The Conference Board says consumer confidence has risen this month to the highest seen since February.  The business group's index surged to 70.3, up from 61.3 in August.
• U.S. airlines collected more than $1.7 billion in baggage fees during the first half of the year, the largest amount ever collected in that six-month period. A report from the Transportation Department says Delta Air Lines again claimed the title as the airline collecting the most in baggage fees: nearly $430 million from January through June.
• California Gov. Jerry Brown plans to sign legislation today at Google headquarters to pave the way for driverless cars in California. The measure would set standards for testing and operating so-called autonomous vehicles, which would be in more widespread deployment in five years.
• The European Union has rejected the U.S. government's claim that it is complying with a World Trade Organization ruling against illegal U.S. subsidies to Boeing. A WTO panel has also ruled that European governments provided $18 billion in subsidies to Airbus, although not all were deemed illegal.

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