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Wire stories category, Page 68

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Treasury Secretary Yellen sees room for U.S. to borrow, opens door to tax hike 
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen believes the U.S. government has more room to borrow, but said higher taxes would likely be required in the long run to finance future spending increases. Yellen appeared Wednesday before the Senate Banking Committee with the Biden administration considering up to $3 trillion in...
A late slide, led by Big Tech, leaves stock indexes lower 
A late-afternoon burst of selling on Wall Street erased an early gain for stocks Wednesday, pulling the market further below the all-time high it reached just a week ago. The S&P 500 dropped 0.5% after having been up 0.8% in the early going. Technology and communication services companies accounted for...
Explainer: Why is Biden halting federal oil and gas sales?
BILLINGS, Mont. — President Joe Biden shut down oil and gas lease sales from the nation’s vast public lands and waters in his first days in office, citing worries about climate change. Now his administration has to figure out what do with the multibillion-dollar program without crushing a significant sector...
Stocks close broadly lower on Wall Street as banks stumble
Stocks closed broadly lower on Tuesday and gave back nearly all of their gains from a day earlier as technology, industrial and bank stocks fell. The S&P 500 fell 30.07 points, or 0.8%, to 3,910.52. Technology stocks were the biggest drag on the market and pushed the Nasdaq 149.85 points...
Overstimulated? Stocks soar 75% in historic 12-month run
NEW YORK — It was one year ago that the terrifying free fall for the stock market suddenly ended, ushering in one of its greatest runs. On March 23, 2020, the S&P 500 fell 2.9%. In all, the index dropped nearly 34% in about a month, wiping out three years’...
New Small Business Administration head plans changes at agency; focus now is covid-19
NEW YORK — The new head of the Small Business Administration says she expects to make changes at the agency that she says will enable it to further help small companies devastated by the covid-19 pandemic. In an interview with The Associated Press on Friday, two days after she was...
Whiskey makers face worsening hangover from trade dispute
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A hangover from Trump-era tariff disputes could become even more painful for American whiskey distillers unless their entanglement in a trans-Atlantic trade fight is resolved soon. Bourbon, Tennessee whiskey and rye whiskey were left out of recent breakthroughs to start rebuilding U.S. trade relations with the European...
Facebook working on Instagram for kids under 13
Facebook says it is working on a version of its Instagram app for kids under 13, who are technically not allowed to use the app in its current form due to federal privacy regulations. The company confirmed an earlier report by Buzzfeed News on Friday, saying it is “exploring a...
Russian man admits ransomware plot against Tesla in Nevada
A Russian man has pleaded guilty to offering a Tesla employee $1 million to get computer malware into the electric car company’s massive electric battery plant in Nevada for a ransomware attack that never happened, according to court records. Federal public defenders representing Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov did not immediately respond...
L.L. Bean sees sales boom amid pandemic’s push to outdoors
FREEPORT, Maine — With Americans hunkering down and hankering to get outdoors during the pandemic, L.L. Bean recorded its best annual sales growth in nearly a decade, the company said Friday. The Freeport-based retailer started its fiscal year with store closings and worries about survival but the company weathered the...
Wall Street closing lower; bank stocks fall
Stocks are closing mostly lower on Wall Street Friday. The S&P 500 lost 0.1% to end with its first weekly loss in the last three. Bank stocks fell after the Federal Reserve announced it would end some emergency measures put in place for the industry last year to help deal...
Wall Street closes lower, pulled down by IT and energy
Stocks fell broadly on Wall Street Thursday, as rising bond yields once again pulled down shares of technology companies and the energy sector sold off on a sharp drop in oil prices. The S&P 500 index fell 1.5%, on track for its first weekly loss in three weeks. Technology companies...
AMC opening 98% of movie theaters
It’s showtime! AMC Theatres says it will have 98% of its U.S. movie theaters open on Friday, with more expected to open by March 26. Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. are up more than 4% before the market open on Thursday. Movie theaters all over shuttered their doors a...
U.S. sends investigators to probe another Michigan Tesla crash
LANSING, Mich. — For the second time this week, the U.S. government’s road safety agency is sending a team to investigate a Tesla crash in Michigan. This time, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is sending a special crash investigation team because a Tesla using the company’s Autopilot partially automated...
IRS will delay tax filing due date until May
The Internal Revenue Service is delaying the traditional tax filing deadline from April 15 until May 17, according to the House Ways and Means Committee. The IRS and Treasury Department didn’t immediately comment Wednesday or provide further details. But the committee confirmed and applauded the move, which provides added time...
Fed expects to keep its key rate near zero through 2023
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve foresees the economy accelerating quickly this year but still expects to keep its benchmark interest rate pinned near zero through 2023, despite concerns in financial markets about potentially higher inflation. With its brightening outlook, the Fed on Wednesday significantly upgraded its forecasts for growth and...
Wall Street closes higher after Fed says will keep rates low
Stock closed higher Wednesday, reversing an early slide after the Federal Reserve reassured Wall Street that it expects to keep its key interest rate near zero through 2023. The central bank’s renewed commitment to keeping rates at rock bottom lows comes even as its latest economic forecast calls for growth...
Report: Smoking headed for extinction in many countries by 2050
Cigarette use in a number of developing countries may fall to zero in the next three decades as smokers quit or switch to alternative products, according to a new report. Smoking will disappear by 2050 from the United States, parts of Europe, Australia and large chunks of Latin America if...
Texas company behind huge electricity bills seeks bankruptcy
The company that drew attention after sending huge electricity bills to customers after last month’s blackout-causing winter storm in Texas has filed for bankruptcy protection. Griddy Energy sold power to consumers at wholesale prices plus a $9.99 monthly fee. Its rates skyrocketed during the February deep freeze, when state grid...
Ford partners with University of Michigan on robotics research, new building
Digit marches on two legs across the floor of the University of Michigan’s Ford Motor Co. Robotics Building, while Mini-Cheetah — staccato-like — does the same on four and the yellow-legged Cassie steps deliberately side-to-side. A grand opening was held Tuesday for the four-story, $75 million, 134,000-square-foot complex. Three floors...
Stocks step back from all-time highs in choppy trading
Wall Street capped a choppy day of trading Tuesday with stock indexes closing mostly lower after coming within striking distance of matching the market’s longest winning streak of the year. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% after wobbling between small gains and losses most of the day. The modest pullback snapped...
Google gets into sleep surveillance with new Nest Hub screen
Google’s next internet-connected home device will test whether consumers trust the company enough to let it snoop on their sleep. New sleep-sensing technology will be a key feature on Google’s latest version of its Nest Hub, a 7-inch smart screen unveiled Tuesday. Like the previous generation, the $100 Nest Hub...
Brand firm takes controlling stake in Toys R Us parent 
NEW YORK — A New York-based brand management firm that already owns Anne Klein and Joseph Abboud is taking a controlling stake in the parent company of the iconic Toys R Us and Babies R Us brands. Yehuda Shmidman, co-founder, chairman and CEO at WHP Global, declined to offer the...
Stocks extend gains for fifth day, led by technology shares
Stocks shook off an early stumble and closed broadly higher Monday, nudging some of the major U.S. indexes to more all-time highs as the market added to its recent string of gains. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% after having been down 0.5% in the early going, extending its winning streak...
What to do if you are a victim of unemployment fraud
Unemployment fraud in the U.S. has reached dramatic levels during the pandemic — the Labor Department inspector general’s office estimates that more than $63 billion has been paid out improperly through fraud or errors since March 2020. Criminals are seizing on the opportunity created by the pandemic. Using data stolen...


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