Business News

Dow drops 864 points, and Japanese stocks suffer worst crash since 1987 amid U.S. economy worries

NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly everything on Wall Street is tumbling as fear about a slowing U.S. economy worsens and sets off another sell-off for financial markets around the world. The S&P 500 sank 2.4% in midday trading Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 864 points, and the Nasdaq composite slid 2.8%. That followed a 12.4% plunge for Japan’s Nikkei 225, its worst day since 1987. Stocks and Treasury yields pared their losses after a report showed U.S. services businesses are continuing to grow. But worries are still high after Friday’s report showed U.S. employers pulled back on hiring last month by more than expected.

Financial markets around the globe are falling. Here’s what to know about how we got here

NEW YORK (AP) — Markets on Wall Street and around the world are in a mini-panic. Worried about a slowing U.S. economy, investors sent the market in Japan to its worst day in decades and have sliced billions in market value off some of the world’s biggest technology companies. They’ve turned a relatively calm year in markets on its head. For most of the year, investors worldwide drove stock markets higher, convinced that central banks were successfully getting inflation under control, and buoyed by a healthy U.S. economy and the promise of artificial intelligence. That confidence has taken a hit the past few days.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index plunges 12.4% as investors dump a wide range of shares

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index has plunged more than 12% as investors worried that the U.S. economy may be in worse shape than had been expected and dumped a wide range of shares. Tokyo’s benchmark fell more than 4,400 points to 31,458.42 on Monday. It dropped 5.8% on Friday, logging its worst two-day decline ever. Its biggest single-day rout was a plunge of 3,836 points, or 14.9%, on the day dubbed “Black Monday” in October 1987. Share prices have fallen in Tokyo since the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday. The Nikkei index is now 3.8% below the level it was at a year ago.

Hospitality workers’ union endorses Harris, dismissing Trump’s pledge of tax-free tips

WASHINGTON (AP) — The hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president. It’s a rejoinder to Republican Donald Trump’s effort to woo restaurant and hotel workers by promising to make their tips tax-free. The endorsement includes a commitment by the union to have its members knock on more than 3.3 million doors for Harris in swing states. Trump proposed excluding tips from federal income taxes during a rally in Nevada. Both of Nevada’s Democratic senators have supported Trump’s idea, a sign of its potential popularity.

Chinese businesses hoping to expand in the US and bring jobs face uncertainty and suspicion

WASHINGTON (AP) — In 2022, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer welcomed a Chinese battery company’s plan to build a $2.36 billion factory and bring a couple thousand jobs to Big Rapids. But now the project is in the crosshairs of some U.S. lawmakers and local residents. They suspect the Chinese company could spy for Beijing and work to extend China’s influence in the U.S. heartland. The company, Gotion High-Tech, rejects the accusations. Lured by the large U.S. market, Chinese businesses are coming to the United States with money, jobs and technology, only to find rising suspicion at a time of an intensifying U.S.-China rivalry that has spread into the business world.

Harris once wanted to ban fracking. Trump wants voters in energy-rich Pennsylvania to remember

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Facing the need to win Pennsylvania, Vice President Kamala Harris has sworn off any prior assertion that she opposed fracking. But that hasn’t stopped Republican Donald Trump from wielding her now-abandoned position to win over working-class voters in the key battleground state where the industry means jobs. Last week, in his first appearance in Pennsylvania since Harris became the Democrats’ presumptive nominee, Trump repeatedly warned that Harris would ban fracking and devastate the economy in the nation’s No. 2 natural gas state. Harris called to ban fracking as a presidential primary candidate in 2019.

A year after Maui wildfire, chronic housing shortage and pricey vacation rentals complicate recovery

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Thousands of displaced residents on Maui have faced a year of anxious uncertainty since the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century devastated Lahaina. Government and nonprofit groups have offered temporary solutions, including providing hotel rooms, leasing apartments, assembling prefabricated homes and paying people to take in loved ones. But a housing market squeezed by vacation rentals is undermining attempts to find long-term shelter for survivors. Some estimates say members of at least 1,500 households have already left for other islands or other states. Locals fear more will depart if they can’t find stable, affordable, convenient housing.

Americans are ‘getting whacked’ by too many laws and regulations, Justice Gorsuch says in a new book

WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is out with a new book in which he says ordinary Americans are “getting whacked” by too many laws and regulations. Gorsuch said in an Associated Press interview that Americans’ rights are threatened by the explosion of laws and regulations in recent decades. The book is called “Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law” and it’s being published Tuesday. Gorsuch refused to comment on President Joe Biden’s recent proposal to cap justices’ terms and impose an enforceable ethics code on the court. The 56-year-old justice also defended the recent ruling that’s indefinitely delayed the election interference case against Donald Trump. Gorsuch is one of three Trump-nominated justices.

US hiring fell sharply in July, an unexpected setback for the economy stoking recession fears

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy suffered an unexpected setback in July, as hiring fell sharply and the unemployment rate rose for the fourth straight month in a sign that higher interest rates may be taking a bigger toll on businesses and consumers. Friday’s report from the Labor Department showed that employers added just 114,000 jobs in July — far fewer than the 175,000 forecasters had expected — and that unemployment rose to 4.3%, highest since October 2021. The news shook financial markets around the world. The S&P 500 index ended Friday down 2%.

Unemployment rise spurs fears of slowdown, yet recession signals have been wrong — so far

WASHINGTON (AP) — A surprising rise in the unemployment rate last month has rattled financial markets and set off new worries about the threat of a recession — but it could also prove to be a false alarm. Friday’s jobs report also showed hiring slowed last month. It coincides with other signs the economy is cooling amid high prices and elevated interest rates. The U.S. economy used to flash reliable signals when it was in or near a recession. But those red lights have gone haywire since the COVID-19 pandemic struck and upended normal business activity. Over the past two or three years, they’ve signaled downturns that never arrived as the economy just kept rolling along.