Wire stories category, Page 87
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...
U.S. bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns
The Commerce Department said Friday it will ban Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat from U.S. app stores Sunday and will bar the apps from accessing essential internet services in the U.S. — a move that could effectively wreck the operation of both Chinese services for U.S. users. TikTok won’t face the...
Wall Street slumps as Big Tech once again leads decliners
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are lower Thursday as Wall Street continues to swirl after the Federal Reserve said it will keep interest rates at nearly zero for years to help nurse the wheezing economy. The S&P 500 was 1% lower in morning trading, after trimming an earlier loss that...
Federal Reserve sees rates near zero at least through 2023Video
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve expects to keep its benchmark interest rate pegged near zero at least through 2023 as it strives to accelerate economic growth and drive down the unemployment rate. The central bank also said Wednesday that it will seek to push inflation above 2% annually. The Fed...
Apple debuts discount watch, but no new iPhones … yetVideo
SAN RAMON, Calif. — Apple introduced a cheaper version of its smartwatch, its latest attempt to broaden the appeal of its trend-setting products while many consumers are forced to scrimp during the coronavirus pandemic. The scaled-down Apple Watch follows on the heels of a budget iPhone the company released five...
Stocks give up part of an early gain but still end higher
NEW YORK — Stocks gave up part of their gains from earlier in the day but still closed higher on Wall Street Tuesday. Gains for big technology companies outweighed losses in banks and elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% after being up more than 1% earlier. It’s...
Daimler AG to pay $1.5B to settle emissions cheating probes
WASHINGTON — Automaker Daimler AG and subsidiary Mercedes-Benz USA have agreed to pay $1.5 billion to the U.S. government and California state regulators to resolve emissions cheating allegations, officials said Monday. The Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency and the California attorney general’s office say Daimler violated environmental laws by...
Microsoft says its bid to buy TikTok has been rejected
The owner of TikTok has chosen Oracle over Microsoft as its preferred suitor to buy the popular video-sharing app, according to a source familiar with the deal who was not authorized to speak publicly about it. Microsoft announced Sunday that its bid for TikTok was rejected, removing the tech giant...
U.S. budget deficit hits record $3 trillion through 11 months
WASHINGTON — The U.S. budget deficit hit an all-time high of $3 trillion for the first 11 months of this budget year, the Treasury Department said Friday. The ocean of red ink is a product of the government’s massive spending to try to cushion the impact of a coronavirus-fueled recession...
Wall Street still shaky as tumultuous week comes to a close
NEW YORK — Stocks are trying for another comeback on Wall Street Friday, as a tumultuous week of big swings comes to a close. The S&P 500 was up 0.2% in morning trading, but only after an earlier gain of 0.8% vanished completely. Momentum has been lightning-quick to shift on...
Citi names Jane Fraser as first female CEO of Wall Street bankVideo
Citigroup Inc. picked Jane Fraser as its next chief executive officer, placing the first woman atop a major Wall Street bank. Fraser will succeed Mike Corbat, who is retiring in February after more than eight years in the top job. Fraser, who was named the company’s president last year in...
Mall owners Simon and Brookfield close to buying J.C. Penney out of bankruptcy
NEW YORK — Mall owners Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners are close to a deal to buy department store chain J.C. Penney out of bankruptcy and keep the chain running. Penney’s lawyer Josh Sussberg announced the tentative pact, which will save roughly 70,000 jobs and avoid liquidation, during...
U.S. job postings rise to 6.6 million in July
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers advertised more jobs but hired fewer workers in July, sending mixed signals about the job market in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The Labor Department said Wednesday that the number of U.S. job postings on the last day of July rose to 6.6 million from...
Luxury goods giant LVMH cancels $14.5B deal for Tiffany
NEW YORK — Luxury goods giant LVMH is ending its takeover deal of jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co., saying the French government had requested a delay to assess the threat of proposed U.S. tariffs and amid wider industry troubles caused by the pandemic. The Paris-based conglomerate said that both the...
Hobby Lobby faces calls for boycott over pro-Trump store display
Calls for a consumer boycott are being heard after a Hobby Lobby store was photographed with a pro-Trump display in one of its buildings. The image, originally posted to Twitter of the undetermined location arts-and-crafts store, showed “USA vote Trump” in decorative letters at the end of an aisle. Twitter...
Tech sell-off resumes; Nasdaq down more than 8% in 3 days
NEW YORK — Big tech stocks are continuing their Icarus-like flight path, and more sharp declines for them are pulling Wall Street lower in early Tuesday trading. The S&P 500 was down 1.9%, highlighted by the 2.7% tumble for tech stocks within the index. Apple sank 2.9% and Microsoft fell...
Analysis: Trump made a promise to save coal in 2016. He couldn’t keep it
President Donald Trump spent more than $1 billion in taxpayer funds, rolled back environmental rules and tried to stop power plant closings to fulfill a vow he made to West Virginia coal miners in the 2016 campaign. But nothing he’s done is rescuing the coal industry. Since Trump’s inauguration, U.S....
Unions threaten work stoppages amid calls for racial justice
NEW YORK — Ahead of Labor Day, unions representing millions across several working-class sectors are threatening to authorize work stoppages in support of the Black Lives Matter movement amid calls for concrete measures that address racial injustice. In a statement first shared with The Associated Press, labor leaders who represent...
Hyundai now says recalled vehicles should be parked outside
DETROIT — Hyundai has reversed itself on a recall to fix a defect that could cause engine fires and is now telling owners of more than 200,000 vehicles to park them outdoors until repairs are made. The company, along with affiliated South Korean automaker Kia, on Thursday said they were...
Tech rout sends stock market to its biggest loss since JuneVideo
NEW YORK — Wall Street’s euphoria took a break Thursday, as steep losses in technology stocks dragged the rest of the market down with them. It was the biggest decline for the U.S. stock market since early June, when investors were dealing with a surge of coronavirus infections in places...
