Morning Money Memo…

Federal highway safety regulators want to expand the Takata airbag recall to cover the entire country.

Five deaths have been linked to exploding air bags.

So far, more than 14 million recalls have been issued globally.

(Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images)

Until now, the U.S. recalls of faulty airbags have been mostly limited to high-humidity areas like Florida and the Gulf Coast.

"If Takata refuses, then we will take appropriate action to begin a process with Takata and the automakers to force them to take action to recall all of the affected vehicles," said David Friedman of The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "Exclusively for driver-side air bags, we have determined that we can no longer support a regional recall based solely on the areas of high temperatures and high humidity."

Profits Up for Home Improvement Chains

The recent improvement for the housing market has lifted profits at America's two largest home improvement chains. Lowe's 3rd quarter profits jumped 17 percent. The retailer raised its annual forecast. On Tuesday, Home Depot reported a growth in sales and profits despite the negative publicity from a major credit card breach.

S&P 500 at Record High

The S&P 500 index closed Tuesday at another record high with a 10-point gain. The previous high was set the day before. Futures were down slightly this morning - but initially with no strong trend. Investors were waiting for the release of minutes by the Federal Reserve.

China Limits Energy Consumption

Chinese government officials have imposed limits on growth in energy consumption aimed at making the country less dependent on coal. Under the State Council's development plan issued today, energy consumption by 2020 must be no more than 28 percent higher than the 2013 level. For coal, specifically, the increase would be limited to 16 percent. The plan was released a week after China said it would stop the growth of its carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 at the latest. China emits more greenhouse gases than any other country.