Wire stories category, Page 86
5 questions as Mike Pence, Kamala Harris prepare for debate faceoff
NEW YORK — Vice President Mike Pence and Democrat Kamala Harris meet on the debate stage for the first and only time Wednesday night in Utah. Some key questions heading into the debate: How much does this debate matter? Vice presidential debates rarely move the needle in significant ways during...
5 things to know about the Big Tech antitrust report
After years of calling Big Tech too big, Democratic lawmakers are calling for Congress to rein in Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple by breaking them up, limiting future mergers and blocking self-dealing that could hurt competitors. Those proposals are in a 450-page report issued Tuesday by a House antitrust panel,...
Stocks drop after President Trump calls off stimulus talksVideo
Stocks dropped Tuesday on Wall Street when President Donald Trump ordered a stop to negotiations with Democrats on a coronavirus economic stimulus bill until after the election. The S&P 500 index slid 1.4% after having been up 0.7% prior to the president’s announcement, which he made on twitter about an...
Trump halts covid-19 relief talks until after electionVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday called an abrupt end to negotiations with Democrats over additional covid-19 relief, delaying action until after the election despite ominous warnings from his own Federal Reserve chairman about the deteriorating conditions in the economy. Trump tweeted that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was “not...
U.S. trade deficit up to $67.1 billion in August, 14-year high
The U.S. trade deficit rose in August to the highest level in 14 years. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that the gap between the goods and services the United States sells and what it buys abroad climbed 5.9% in August to $67.1 billion, highest since August 2006. Exports rose 2.2%...
Boeing says pandemic will cut demand for planes for a decade
Boeing is lowering its expectations around demand for new planes over the next decade as the coronavirus pandemic continues to undercut air travel. The company on Tuesday predicted that the world will need 18,350 new commercial airplanes in the next decade, a drop of 11% from its 2019 forecast. The...
Fed Chairman Powell: Lack of further stimulus imperils recovery
WASHINGTON — Strong financial support from the government and the Federal Reserve have spurred a solid recovery from the pandemic recession, but the rebound may falter without further aid, Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned Tuesday. Powell said that government support — including expanded unemployment insurance payments, direct payments to most...
Europe’s central bank moves toward introducing digital euro
With consumers increasingly using cashless ways to buy things, the European Central Bank on Friday took a step closer to issuing a digital version of the euro currency shared by 19 countries, saying it had to be ready to launch digital money if a changing world requires it. The central...
Congress takes another run at airline bailout; fate unclear
House Democrats on Friday proposed a new $28.8 billion bailout for the airline industry after the carriers began furloughs of more than 32,000 workers to cut costs during a pandemic that has devastated air travel. Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged the airlines to delay those furloughs while Congress tries to approve...
Unemployment drops, but U.S. hiring slows for 3rd month in sign of struggling economy
WASHINGTON — America’s employers added 661,000 jobs in September, the third straight month of slower hiring and evidence from the final jobs report before the presidential election that the economic recovery has weakened. With September’s hiring gain, the economy has recovered only slightly more than half the 22 million jobs...
Wall Street turn mixed after Trump’s positive virus test
NEW YORK — Wall Street is easing off its knee-jerk reaction to sell after President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, and stocks are clawing back much of their sharp losses from earlier in the morning on Friday. After slumping as much as 1.7% after trading began, the S&P...
Consumer spending gains slow to 1% in August
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer spending slowed in August and personal income fell as a $600 weekly benefit for Americans who are unemployed during the pandemic expired. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that spending grew by just 1%, the weakest growth since spending fell 12.7% in April when rapidly spreading COVID-19...
Subway bread isn’t bread, Irish court says
Ireland’s Supreme Court has ruled that bread sold by the fast food chain Subway contains so much sugar that it cannot be legally defined as bread. The ruling came in a tax dispute brought by Bookfinders Ltd., an Irish Subway franchisee, which argued that some of its takeaway products -...
Google to pay $1 billion over 3 years for news content
Google will pay publishers $1 billion over the next three years for their news content. The internet search giant said said Thursday that it has signed agreements for its news partnership program with nearly 200 publications in Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, the U.K. and Australia. “This financial commitment - our...
U.S. layoffs remain elevated as 837,000 seek jobless aid
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits declined last week to a still-high 837,000, evidence that the economy is struggling to sustain a tentative recovery that began this summer. The Labor Department’s report, released Thursday, suggests that companies are still cutting a historically high number of jobs, though the weekly...
JPMorgan to pay $920M for manipulating bond, metals markets
NEW YORK — JPMorgan Chase admitted Tuesday to manipulating the markets for precious metals and U.S. Treasuries, agreeing to pay $920 million in fines and penalties for the illegal behavior. U.S. financial regulators and the Department of Justice said traders at JPMorgan used a tactic known as “spoofing” over an...
Disney to lay off 28,000 at its parks in California, Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. — Squeezed by limits on attendance at its theme parks and other restrictions due to the pandemic, The Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday it planned to lay off 28,000 workers in its parks division in California and Florida. Two-thirds of the planned layoffs involve part-time workers but they...
Wall Street claws back some of its losses from SeptemberVideo
Stocks notched solid gains Monday as Wall Street clawed back some of its sharp and sudden September losses. The S&P 500 rose 1.6%, it’s third straight gain. The benchmark index was coming off its first four-week losing streak in more than a year and is on track to close out...
Federal judge postpones Trump ban on popular app TikTok
NEW YORK — A federal judge on Sunday postponed a Trump administration order that would have banned the popular video sharing app TikTok from U.S. smartphone app stores around midnight. A more comprehensive ban remains scheduled for November, about a week after the presidential election. The judge, Carl Nichols of...
Wall Street gains, but S&P 500 still faces 4th weekly loss
NEW YORK — Stocks are solidly higher after shaking off an early stumble Friday, though the S&P 500 is still heading for a fourth straight week of losses amid Wall Street’s September swoon. The S&P 500 rose 1.6% after flip-flopping between small gains and losses a few times in the...
Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf apologizes for comments about diversity
NEW YORK — Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf apologized Wednesday for comments he made suggesting it is difficult to find qualified Black executives in the financial industry. Scharf said in a memo to employees “there is a very limited pool of Black talent to recruit from” in corporate America. The...
California moves to end sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035Video
SACRAMENTO — California will outlaw sales of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks by 2035, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday, a move he says will cut greenhouse gas emissions by 35% in the nation’s most populous state. His plan would not ban people from owning gas-powered cars or selling them...
U.S. homes sales rise 2.4% in August
Sales of existing homes rose 2.4% in August to its highest level since 2006 as the housing market recovers from a widespread shutdown in the spring brought on by the coronavirus outbreak. The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6...
U.S. cruises vow 100% coronavirus testing in plan for resuming sailingVideo
Major cruise lines say they will test all passengers and crew for covid-19 prior to boarding as part of their plan for resuming sailing in the Americas. The Cruise Lines International Association, a trade group that represents 95% of global ocean-going cruise capacity, said Monday that its members will also...
U.S. household wealth hits record even as economy struggles
WASHINGTON — Americans’ household wealth rebounded last quarter to a record high as the stock market quickly recovered from a pandemic-induced plunge in March. Yet the gains flowed mainly to the most affluent households even as tens of millions of people endured job losses and shrunken incomes. The Federal Reserve...
