* Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson faces 5 key challenges
* Strong US consumer spending at risk of reversing, strategist predicts
* Seven large US tech stocks have driven all of the gains in global stocks this year
* Autoworkers reach deal with Ford, marking a move toward ending strikes
* Big oil companies are doubling down on outlook for rising use of fossil fuels
* California suspends Cruise robotaxis after accident
* New US home sales rise to 19-month high in September:

US consumer spending strengthened in the third quarter, economists estimate. “Initially, we were anticipating that a lot of that consumer strength was driven by special factors early in the summer,” says Matthew Luzzetti, chief US economist at Deutsche Bank. “But the latest data show that there was more persistence.”