Wire stories category, Page 46
AP source: Biden to float windfall tax on energy producers
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday will raise the possibility of imposing a “windfall tax” on energy companies, as his administration aims to combat high gas prices just days before the midterm elections. The White House said Biden will deliver remarks to respond “to reports over recent days of...
IRS: Growing gap between U.S. income taxes owed and paid
WASHINGTON — The amount of income tax money owed but not paid to the IRS is projected to grow, the agency said Friday. For tax years 2014 through 2016, the estimated gross “tax gap” rose to $496 billion a year, an increase of more than $58 billion from prior estimates....
Stock indexes end mixed as Facebook parent company slumpsVideo
Wall Street delivered another mixed finish for stocks Thursday, as disappointing quarterly results from several big tech companies offset gains elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 fell 0.6%, with about 44% of stocks within the benchmark index losing ground. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial...
Economy returned to growth last quarter, expanding 2.6%Video
WASHINGTON — The economy grew at a 2.6% annual rate from July through September, snapping two straight quarters of contraction and overcoming high inflation and interest rates just as voting begins in midterm elections in which the economy’s health has emerged as a paramount issue. Thursday’s better-than-expected estimate from the...
Elon Musk takes control of Twitter, ousts top executives
Elon Musk has taken control of Twitter and ousted the CEO, chief financial officer and the company’s general counsel, two people familiar with the deal said Thursday night. The people wouldn’t say if all the paperwork for the deal, originally valued at $44 billion, had been signed or if the...
With Americans feeling pinched, Biden targets ‘junk fees’
NEW YORK — With time running out before the election, President Joe Biden highlighted his administration’s push to crack down on so-called junk fees that banks and other companies charge their customers. The announcement comes after months of high inflation have eaten away at Americans’ savings and made the economy...
Stocks end higher on Wall Street as earnings roll inVideo
Wall Street notched more gains Tuesday, as major stock indexes rallied for the third day and Treasury yields fell again. The S&P 500 rose 1.6%, with roughly 90% of stocks in the index notching gains. The benchmark index hadn’t been able to string together more than two gains in a...
Stocks march higher ahead of tech-heavy earnings week
Stocks shook off a shaky start and closed higher Monday, extending their gains from last week, as investors geared up for a heavy week of earnings from big technology companies. The S&P 500 rose 1.2%, with technology, health care and financial stocks accounting for a big share of the gains....
USDA announces $1 billion debt relief for 36,000 farmers
DES MOINES, Iowa — The federal government announced Tuesday a program that will provide $1.3 billion in debt relief for about 36,000 farmers who have fallen behind on loan payments or face foreclosure. The Department of Agriculture announced the farm loan relief program funded from $3.1 billion set aside in...
‘Bad situation’: Soaring U.S. dollar spreads pain worldwide
The cost of living in Cairo has soared so much that security guard Mustafa Gamal had to send his wife and year-old daughter to live with his parents in a village 70 miles south of the Egyptian capital to save money. Gamal, 28, stayed behind, working two jobs, sharing an...
Stocks rally on Wall Street in latest volatile move
Wall Street kicked off a busy week of corporate earnings with a broad rally Monday, the latest about-face for a market that has been unsteadily lurching between gains and losses in recent weeks. The S&P 500 climbed 2.6%, more than recovering the ground it lost in a sell-off Friday. The...
Fighting food poisoning: Sweeping poultry changes proposed
DES MOINES, Iowa — The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday proposed sweeping changes in the way chicken and turkey meat is processed that are intended to reduce illnesses from food contamination but could require meat companies to make extensive changes to their operations. Despite decades of efforts to try...
Stocks mount biggest comeback in years; S&P 500 jumps 2.6%
NEW YORK — Wall Street staged its biggest comeback in years Thursday, as stocks roared back from steep morning losses caused by a worse-than-expected report on inflation. The S&P 500 jumped to a gain of 2.6%, a stunning reversal after earlier being down as much as 2.4% and touching its...
Social Security recipients to receive historic hike next year
WASHINGTON — Millions of Social Security recipients will get an 8.7% boost in their benefits in 2023. That’s a historic increase and welcome news for American retirees and others — but it’s tempered by the fact that it’s fueled by record high inflation that’s raised the cost of everyday living....
Explainer: U.S. set to announce huge jump in Social Security payments
NEW YORK — Tens of millions of older Americans are about to get what may be the biggest raise of their lifetimes. On Thursday, the U.S. government is set to announce how big a percentage increase Social Security beneficiaries will see in monthly payments this upcoming year. It’s virtually certain...
TikTok going big on U.S. e-commerce? Job listings offer clues
NEW YORK — TikTok appears to be deepening its foray into e-commerce with plans to operate its own U.S. warehouses, the kind of packing and shipping facilities more associated with Amazon or Walmart than the social media platform best known for addictive short videos. In the past two weeks, TikTok...
Honda, LG to build $3.5B battery plant, hire 2,200 in Ohio
COLUMBUS — Honda says it will build a $3.5 billion joint-venture battery factory in rural southern Ohio and hire 2,200 people to staff it as the company starts to turn the state into its North American electric vehicle hub. Honda, which announced its first Ohio factory 45 years ago, also...
Wall Street ends mostly lower after another volatile dayVideo
Another volatile run on Wall Street left stocks lower Tuesday, extending the market’s recent losses as traders brace for updates on inflation and corporate earnings. The S&P 500 fell 0.7%, marking its fifth straight loss. The benchmark index had been down as much as 1.2% in the early going after...
Labor proposal could upend rules for gig workers, companies
The Biden administration published a new proposal Tuesday regarding how workers should be classified, saying that thousands of people have been incorrectly labeled as contractors rather than employees, potentially curtailing access to benefits and protections they rightfully deserve. The new U.S. Department of Labor regulations would replace a Trump-era rule...
Stocks close lower on Wall Street ahead of earnings reportsVideo
Wall Street added to its recent string of losses Monday, as stocks fell ahead of a busy week of inflation updates and the start of corporate earnings reporting season. The S&P 500 fell 0.7%, extending its losing streak to a fourth day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3% after...
Drought takes toll on U.S. cotton production
LUBBOCK, Texas — The cotton harvest is about to get underway in the Texas High Plains, the windswept region that grows most of the crop in the nation’s top cotton-producing state. But Barry Evans, like many others, has already walked away from more than 2,000 acres of his bone-dry fields....
U.S. hiring stayed solid in September as employers add 263,000
WASHINGTON — America’s employers slowed their hiring in September but still added a solid 263,000 jobs — potentially hopeful news that may mean the Federal Reserve’s drive to cool the job market and ease inflation is starting to make progress. Friday’s government report showed that last month’s job growth was...
Peloton to cut 500 jobs as turnaround efforts continueVideo
Peloton is looking to trim hundreds of jobs as the company continues to reorganize its business which has stalled as the coronavirus-related surge fades. The maker of high-end exercise equipment plans to cut approximately 500 jobs, or about 12% of its workforce. “A key aspect of Peloton’s transformation journey is...
Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates dip to 6.66% this week
WASHINGTON — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates ticked down modestly this week after six straight weeks of gains pushed rates to heights not seen in more than a decade, before a crash in the housing market triggered the Great Recession in 2008. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the...
11 Pa. turkey farm workers charged with cruelty caught on video
Eleven people working for one of the nation’s leading turkey producers have been charged with animal cruelty in Pennsylvania after state police said they were caught on video kicking, stomping and beating turkeys at several farms. The workers were responsible for capturing and crating turkeys destined for slaughter, Pennsylvania State...
