NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rallied to records on hopes that inflation is heading back in the right direction. The S&P 500 jumped 1.2% Wednesday to top its prior all-time high set in March. The Nasdaq composite added 1.4% to its own record set a day earlier, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9% to beat its prior high. Treasury yields also eased after a report showing a slowdown in inflation boosted expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this year. Homebuilders and other stocks that benefit most from lower rates led the way. GameStop and other meme stocks were among the market’s few losers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Led by lower food and auto prices, inflation in the United States cooled slightly last month after three elevated readings, likely offering a tentative sigh of relief for officials at the Federal Reserve as well as President Joe Biden’s re-election team. Consumer prices rose 0.3% from March to April, down slightly from 0.4% the previous month. Measured year-over-year, inflation ticked down from 3.5% to 3.4%. And a gauge of underlying inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, reached its lowest level in three years. Inflation had been unexpectedly high in the first three months of this year after having steadily dropped in the second half of 2023.
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans unexpectedly paused their spending in April from March as inflation continued to sting and elevated interest rates made taking on debt more burdensome. Retail sales were unchanged, coming in well below economists’ expectations, and the figure followed a revised 0.6% pace in March, according to Commerce Department data released Wednesday. It rose 0.9% in February. That comes after sales fell 1.1% in January, dragged down in part by inclement weather. Excluding gas prices and auto sales, retail sales fell 0.1%.
Senators urge $32 billion in emergency spending on AI after finishing yearlong review
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of four senators led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is recommending that Congress spend at least $32 billion over the next three years to develop artificial intelligence and put safeguards around it. The group writes in a report released Wednesday the U.S. needs to “harness the opportunities and address the risks” of the quickly developing technology. The senators say they sometimes disagreed on the best paths forward but they eventually found consensus on policy recommendations included in the 33-page report because they felt the stakes were so high.
Billionaire Frank McCourt says he’s putting together a consortium to buy TikTok
Billionaire businessman and real estate mogul Frank McCourt says he’s putting together a consortium to purchase TikTok’s U.S. business. The announcement, made Wednesday, adds to the number of investors hoping to benefit from a new federal law that requires TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the popular platform or face a ban. Other investors, including former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, have expressed a desire to purchase TikTok. However, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance has already said it’s not planning to sell the platform. The Chinese government is unlikely to approve a sale, especially not one with the recommendation engine that powers the videos that populates users’ feeds.
House signs off on FAA bill that addresses aircraft safety and the refund rights of passengers
Congress has passed a bill that is designed to add more safety inspectors at aircraft factories and to give air travelers automatic refunds for canceled or long-delayed flights. The House gave final approval on Wednesday to a $105 billion measure to reauthorize Federal Aviation Administration programs and sent it to President Joe Biden. The Senate passed the bill last week. It will require FAA to hire more air traffic controllers and safety inspectors and increase the use of collision-avoidance technology at airports. Supporters say the legislation’s provisions are a key step in improving aviation safety after a number of close calls between planes at U.S. airports in the last two years.
Morocco’s automotive industry shifts gears to prep for electric vehicle era
TANGIERS, Morocco (AP) — Morocco has grown its automotive industry from virtually non-existent to Africa’s largest in less than two decades. The North African kingdom supplies more cars to Europe than China, India or Japan, and has the capacity to produce 700,000 vehicles a year. Moroccan officials are determined to maintain the country’s role as a car-making juggernaut by competing for electric vehicle projects. But whether one of Africa’s few industrialization success stories can stay competitive as worldwide auto production transitions to EVs and increasingly relies on automation remains to be seen. Morocco’s industry and trade minister says the government is focused on offering more than cheap labor to foreign automakers that are looking for outsourcing destinations.
The US says Boeing violated a 2021 settlement. That doesn’t mean the company will face charges
The Justice Department says Boeing has violated terms of a deal that allowed the giant aircraft manufacturer to avoid prosecution for fraud in 2021. What happens next? The government says it hasn’t decided. Federal prosecutors accuse Boeing of failing to adhere to a settlement involving two deadly crashes of the company’s 737 Max jetliners more than five years ago. They could revive their original fraud charge, but they also may choose to keep Boeing on probation or ask a federal judge in Texas to permanently dismiss the criminal charge. A three-year probationary period was about to expire when a door plug on a new 737 Max blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.
Yemeni security forces deploy in Aden as anger simmers over lengthy power outages
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni authorities have deployed security forces and armored vehicles across the port city of Aden, in preparation for the latest in a series of protests over hours-long electricity outages caused by a shortage of fuel for power stations. For several days, hundreds of demonstrators in three central districts of Aden blocked roads and set tires on fire as temperatures soared. On Monday and Tuesday, security forces moved in to disperse the demonstrations, beating protesters and barricading some streets, according to witnesses who spoke to The Associated Press. The government in the south pays up to $1 billion a year to import fuel, but is behind on payments.
Labor laws largely exclude nannies. Some are banding together to protect themselves
NEW YORK (AP) — Nannies, housekeepers, and home care workers are excluded from many federal workplace protections in the United States, and the private, home-based nature of the work means abuse tends to happen behind closed doors. Domestic workers, who make less than half of what a typical worker makes and are disproportionately women and immigrant women, are especially vulnerable to workplace violations and discrimination, experts say. Even in the 11 states with laws on the books that protect domestic workers, those often go unenforced. But nannies across the nation are lobbying lawmakers for better protections and training their peers on how to exercise their rights.
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