Economy
Tag: Economy
Equal pay bill nears approval in House, long odds in Senate
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats were poised to pass legislation Thursday that they say would help close the gap between what men and women...
With layoffs down and spending up, US rebound gains momentum
WASHINGTON (AP) — A much-awaited economic boom coming off the pandemic recession appeared to edge closer to reality Thursday with fresh data showing the...
US stocks rise to records on more proof of economic recovery
U.S. stocks are rallying toward records on Thursday after a suite of encouraging data showed how hungry Americans are to spend again, how fewer...
US average mortgage rates fall again; 30-year loan at 3.04%
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mortgage rates fell for a second straight week amid signs of economic improvement.
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A year after stocks soared, CEOs must show it was warranted
NEW YORK (AP) — It's time to show the receipts, CEOs.
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Growers fret as Mexico moves to legalize marijuana
BADIRAGUATO, Mexico (AP) — For the first time that María can remember, half of her marijuana harvest is still in storage on her ranch...
Africa CDC urges India to lift COVID vaccine export limits
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Africa's top health official said Thursday he wants to believe that India will lift export restrictions on COVID-19 vaccines as...
Mideast’s largest mall operator to expand amid vaccine hopes
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Middle East's largest operator of malls expects revenue and earnings to climb back to pre-pandemic levels by...
US industrial production warms with the weather, rising 1.4%
WASHINGTON (AP) — American industry rebounded last month as the United States recovered from an unusually frigid February.
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Citigroup profit triples in 1Q, tops estimates; revenue down
NEW YORK (AP) — Citigroup's profits more than tripled in the first quarter, the banking conglomerate said Thursday, helped by the release of billions...
$1,400 stimulus checks helped March retail sales soar 9.8%
NEW YORK (AP) — Newly vaccinated and armed with $1,400 stimulus checks, Americans went on a spending spree last month, buying new clothes and...
Turkish central bank maintains key rate unchanged at 19%
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s central bank on Thursday kept a key interest rate unchanged at 19%, in its first rate decision since the...
US warns of punitive actions for Lebanese blocking reforms
BEIRUT (AP) — A senior U.S. official warned Thursday that Lebanese politicians who continue to block reforms in the crisis-hit country could face punitive...
Asian stock markets mixed after Wall St retreats from record
BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets were mixed Thursday after Wall Street retreated from a record high as major banks reported strong profits at...
Treasury Department creates office to oversee virus relief
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department has created a new office to supervise the disbursement of the billions of dollars in relief money authorized...
Nashville mayor: Oracle to bring 8500 jobs, $1.2B investment
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Oracle Corporation plans to bring 8,500 jobs and a $1.2 billion investment to fast-growing Nashville over the coming decade, a...
Fed survey: Economy rebounding, helped by stimulus, vaccines
A Federal Reserve survey has found that the economy was rebounding in late February through early April, helped by billions of dollars in a...
Powell defends Fed’s consideration of climate change risks
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday defended the Fed's increasing scrutiny of the threat that climate change could pose to...
Biden begins to undo Trump-era ban on abortion referrals
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday began to undo a Trump-era ban on clinics referring women for abortions, a policy that drove...
Senate OKs tough former regulator as market watchdog chief
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has approved President Joe Biden’s choice of Gary Gensler to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, signaling an emphasis...
Mexico president focusing efforts to stop child migrants
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Wednesday he plans to visit his country’s southern border to discuss with governors...
Banks to see big profits as COVID ‘bad’ loans become ‘good’
NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s largest banks are expected to report big profits for the first quarter amid renewed confidence that pandemic-battered consumers...
JPMorgan 1Q profit up sharply, helped by improving economy
NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase saw its first-quarter profit jump nearly five fold from a year earlier, as the improving economy allowed the...
Wells Fargo earned $4.74 billion in Q1, topping estimates
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Wells Fargo had its best quarter in a year and a half, posting a profit of $4.74 billion and...
Swap the crop? New York hemp farmers eager to grow marijuana
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Legal marijuana is coming to New York and hemp farmer Samir Mahadin sees it as a potential lifeline.
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Wells Fargo profit jumps to $4.74 billion in first quarter
Wells Fargo & Co. says first-quarter net income jumped to $4.74 billion from $653 million a year earlier, when the pandemic struck the global...
US urges Lebanese leaders to break political impasse
BEIRUT (AP) — A senior U.S. official on Wednesday berated Lebanese politicians for fighting over the formation of a new government for months while...
Asian stock markets advance after new Wall St high
BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets rose Wednesday after Wall Street hit a high following an uptick in U.S. inflation and an order by...
Televisa, Univision to jointly produce Spanish TV content
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Grupo Televisa, Mexico’s largest television network, announced Tuesday it is joining with U.S. Spanish-language broadcaster Univision to form a third...
New Zealand bans live cow exports due to welfare concerns
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand announced Wednesday it is banning the export of live cows and other farm animals by sea due...
Fed leaders agree: Economics has a racial-disparity problem
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Federal Reserve policymakers on Tuesday underscored their concern that Black and Hispanic people are sharply underrepresented in the economics field,...
US intel report: Virus impact to cause global ‘aftershocks’
WASHINGTON (AP) — The effects of the coronavirus pandemic are expected to contribute over the next year to “humanitarian and economic crises, political unrest,...
Czechs reject mandatory quotas on local food in stores
PRAGUE (AP) — Czech lawmakers have rejected a proposed bill to reduce dependency on food imports by imposing a quota of locally-produced food to...
Muslims mark Ramadan amid virus surge and new restrictions
MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Muslims in many parts of the world marked the start of Ramadan on Tuesday, but a spike in coronavirus...
Business leaders urge Biden to set ambitious climate goal
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 300 businesses and investors, including such giants as Apple, Google, Microsoft and Coca-Cola, are calling on the Biden administration...
Grab to list in US via $40 bln merger with Altimeter Growth
HONG KONG (AP) — Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing company, Grab Holdings, said Tuesday that it plans to merge with U.S.-based Altimeter Growth Capital in...
Spain’s PM wants EU recovery funds to create greener nation
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain's left-wing government wants the massive coronavirus windfall it will be receiving from the European Union to transform the nation...
Consumer prices jump 0.6% in March, biggest gain since 2012
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer prices increased a sharp 0.6% in March, the biggest uptick since 2012, while inflation over the past year jumped...
China’s March exports rise 30.6% as global demand revives
BEIJING (AP) — China’s exports rose 30.6% over a year ago in March as global consumer demand strengthened and traders watched for signs of...
UK economy grows 0.4% amid confidence from vaccine rollout
LONDON (AP) — The U.K. economy grew 0.4% in February, rebounding from a sharp drop the previous month, as the rapid rollout of COVID-19...
Biden wants infrastructure deal, but GOP doubts persist
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden wants Congress to know he's sincere about cutting a deal on infrastructure, but Republican lawmakers have deep-seated doubts...
Ecuador picks conservative for president; Peru sets runoff
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador will be led for the next four years by a conservative businessman after voters rebuffed a left-leaning movement that...
US nominates NY lawyer to monitor United Auto Workers union
DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. attorney's office in Detroit is recommending that a federal judge name New York lawyer Neil Barofsky to monitor the...
Air Canada, Canadian government agree on pandemic bailout
TORONTO (AP) — Air Canada and the Canadian government agreed Monday on financing that will allow the airline to access as much as $5.9...
Biden wants infrastructure deal, but GOP doubts persist
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden wants Congress to know he's sincere about cutting a deal on infrastructure, but Republican lawmakers have deep-seated doubts...
UN chief urges wealth tax of those who profited during COVID
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared Monday that the world’s failure to unite on tackling COVID-19 created wide inequalities, and he called...
California re-opens enrollment for health insurance coverage
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California on Monday re-opened enrollment for its state health insurance exchange, hoping more people will buy coverage now that the...
Stocks end slightly below latest record highs as tech slips
U.S. stock indexes gave up some of their recent gains Monday, pulling the S&P 500 slightly below the record high it hit last week....
US budget deficit jumps to record $1.7 trillion this year
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government's budget deficit surged to an all-time high of $1.7 trillion for the first six months of this budget...
Biden tells execs US needs to invest, lead in computer chips
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden used a virtual meeting with corporate leaders about a global shortage of semiconductors to push Monday for his...
Muslims navigate restrictions in the second pandemic Ramadan
CAIRO (AP) — For Ramadan this year, Magdy Hafez has been longing to reclaim a cherished ritual: performing the nighttime group prayers called taraweeh...
Lebanon extends area claimed in border dispute with Israel
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s outgoing minister of public works said Monday that he has signed a decree that would increase the area claimed by...
Fed’s Powell sees US boom ahead, with COVID still a risk
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy is poised for an extended period of strong growth and hiring, the chair of the Federal Reserve said...
Biden sees `win’ for US in electric vehicle battery deal
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two big South Korean electric vehicle battery makers said Sunday they have settled a long-running trade dispute that will allow one...
Asian shares decline on vaccine, virus worries
BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were lower on Monday, as investors grew wary over the recent surge in coronavirus cases in many places while...
Ecuador goes with conservative banker in presidential vote
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Voters in Ecuador appeared to turn to a conservative businessman in Sunday's presidential runoff election, rebuffing a leftist movement that...
Business faces tricky path navigating post-Trump politics
WASHINGTON (AP) — For more than a half-century, the voice emerging from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s monolithic, Beaux Arts-styled building near the White...
IMF: Vaccine inequity threatens Mideast’s economic recovery
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Middle East economies are recovering from the coronavirus pandemic faster than anticipated, largely due to the acceleration of...
AP source: Electric vehicle battery firms settle trade spat
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two big South Korean electric vehicle battery makers have settled a long-running trade dispute that will allow one of them to...
After Amazon: Labor tries to regroup in wake of Alabama loss
WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite the strongest public support and the most sympathetic president in years, the American labor movement just suffered a stinging defeat...
EXPLAINER: What is behind the latest unrest in N Ireland?
LONDON (AP) — Young people have hurled bricks, fireworks and gasoline bombs at police and set hijacked cars and a bus on fire during...
Biden budget seeks more for schools, health care and housing
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden released a $1.5 trillion wish list for his first federal budget, asking for substantial gains for Democratic priorities...
Biden budget seeks more for schools, health care and housing
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden released a $1.5 trillion wish list for his first federal budget Friday, asking for substantial gains for Democratic...
Feds charge 3 more in massive California unemployment fraud
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Federal prosecutors said Friday that they have charged three Southern California women with using prison inmates' names to bilk a...
Tech company gains help push S&P 500 to record high
Wall Street capped another week of gains with more milestones Friday, as strength in technology and health care stocks helped push the S&P 500...
Wholesale prices up 1% in March, energy leads the way again
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Wholesale prices jumped again in March pushed by another big increase in energy prices, the government reported Friday.
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Ecuador, Peru to elect presidents amid strengthened pandemic
LIMA, Peru (AP) — A surging coronavirus pandemic that has brought on new lockdown measures and exacerbated fatigue in Ecuador and Peru has left...
Kim compares North Korea’s economic woes to 1990s famine
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for waging another “arduous march” to fight severe economic difficulties, for...
Chipmaker TSMC says revenue up 16.7% as demand surges
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s biggest contract producer of processor chips, said Friday its revenue rose 16.7% in the...
German industrial production down again in February
BERLIN (AP) — Industrial production in Germany dropped for a second consecutive month in February, official data showed Friday, a showing that increases the...
Ready to buy a home? The trick is finding or affording one
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nathan Long and Lili Chin have struck out so far in their four-month search to find an affordable home in...
Asian shares mostly lower on strong China price data
BANGKOK (AP) — Shares fell Friday in most Asian markets after China reported a stronger than expected rise in prices that could prompt authorities...
Grim view of global future offered in intelligence report
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence officials are painting a dark picture of the world's future, writing in a report released Thursday that the coronavirus...
EXPLAINER: Starving for more chips in a tech-hungry world
SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — As the U.S. economy rebounds from its pandemic slump, a vital cog is in short supply: the computer chips...
California plans $536M for forests before wildfire season
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will authorize $536 million toward forest management projects and efforts to reduce wildfires before the worst of the fire...
Northern Ireland leaders seek calm after violence escalates
BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — Authorities in Northern Ireland sought to restore calm Thursday after Protestant and Catholic youths in Belfast hurled bricks, fireworks...
California advances bill aimed at massive unemployment fraud
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers on Thursday advanced what they called commonsense legislation requiring two state agencies to share information aimed at helping...
IMF policy panel endorses $650 billion increase in resources
WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund on Thursday authorized a $650 billion expansion of the 190-nation lending institution's resources with the aim of...
Fed’s Powell: US nears full reopening to ‘different economy’
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy, boosted by quickening vaccinations and signs of rapid hiring, is headed toward a strong recovery, Federal Reserve Chair...
Pandemic impact may weigh on commercial real estate recovery
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The distribution of COVID-19 vaccines is fueling optimism that Americans will increasingly return to the ways they used to shop,...
Mortgage rates dip for first time since January
McLEAN, Va. (AP) — Mortgage rates fell for the first time in more than two months as buyers continue to be stifled by high...
US jobless claims up to 744K as virus still forces layoffs
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week to 744,000, signaling that many employers are still cutting jobs...
Spain’s Sánchez tries to contain migration with Africa visit
MADRID (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is on a mini-tour to two African nations that are key in the European country's new...
German factory orders up for 2nd straight month in February
BERLIN (AP) — Factory orders in Germany, an important indicator for Europe's biggest economy, rose for the second consecutive month in February, official figures...
Asian shares mostly higher after S&P record high
BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mostly higher in Asia on Thursday after a mixed close on Wall Street, where gains for several Big Tech...
US resumes funding to UN agency for Palestinian refugees
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a resumption of U.S. assistance to the Palestinians, including to the U.N. agency that deals...
The Latest: 11 new COVID-19 cases in China’s lone outbreak
BEIJING — Chinese officials say 11 more people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in a southwestern city bordering Myanmar that is the scene of...
Biden open to compromise on infrastructure, but not inaction
President Joe Biden drew a red line on his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan Wednesday, saying he is open to compromise on how to pay...
Virginia becomes first Southern state to legalize marijuana
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia became the first Southern state to legalize marijuana Wednesday, as lawmakers voted to approve Gov. Ralph Northam’s proposed changes...
Major economies support $650 billion boost in IMF resources
WASHINGTON (AP) — Finance officials of the world’s major economies on Wednesday agreed on a proposal to boost the resources of the International Monetary...
US resumes funding to UN agency for Palestinian refugees
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a resumption of U.S. assistance to the Palestinians, including to the U.N. agency that deals...
Leaders of Russia and China tighten their grips, grow closer
MOSCOW (AP) — They're not leaders for life — not technically, at least. But in political reality, the powerful tenures of China's Xi Jinping...
Fed in March saw brighter outlook, yet underscored patience
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials were encouraged last month by evidence the U.S. economy was picking up, but they showed no sign of...
No timetable for withdrawal of troops after US, Iraq talks
BAGHDAD (AP) — The mission of U.S. forces in Iraq has shifted to training and advisory roles, allowing for redeployment of combat forces remaining...
Biofuels producers, farmers not sold on switch to electric
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The president and auto industry maintain the nation is on the cusp of a gigantic shift to electric vehicles...
US trade deficit jumps 4.8% to $71.1 billion in February
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit grew to a record $71.1 billion in February as a decline in exports more than...
Report: Pandemic amped up anti-Semitism, forced it online
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Coronavirus lockdowns last year shifted some anti-Semitic hatred online, where conspiracy theories blaming Jews for the pandemic’s medical and...
Asian stocks mixed after lackluster day on Wall Street
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street took a breather, with major indexes edging lower.
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AP Interview: India could resume vaccine exports by June
NEW DELHI (AP) — The world's largest vaccine maker, based in India, will be able to restart exports of AstraZeneca doses by June if...
Lawmakers call YouTube Kids a ‘wasteland of vapid’ content
A House subcommittee is investigating YouTube Kids, saying the Google-owned video service feeds children inappropriate material in “a wasteland of vapid, consumerist content" so...
