Business News

Homeland Security ends TSA collective bargaining agreement, in effort to dismantle union protections

WASHINGTON (AP) — A union representing Transportation Security Administration workers calls the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to end the collective bargaining agreement with them an “unprovoked attack.” The department Friday criticized the union and said poor performers were being allowed to stay on the job, hindering efforts to “keep Americans safe.” 

US employers add a solid 151,000 jobs last month though unemployment up to 4.1%

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added solid 151,000 jobs last month, but the outlook is cloudy as President Donald Trump threatens a trade war, purges the federal workforce and promises to deport millions of immigrants. The Labor Department reported Friday that hiring was up from a revised 125,000 in January. The unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.1%. The job market has been remarkably resilient over the past year despite high interest rates.

Stock market today: Wall Street careens up and down again as it closes a brutal week

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is careening again. The S&P 500 was edging up by 0.4% in afternoon trading, but that was only after flipping between an earlier gain of 0.6% and loss of 1.3%. It’s a fitting ending to a brutal week of scary swings dominated by worries about the U.S. economy and uncertainty about what President Donald Trump will do with tariffs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 186 points, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%. Treasury yields also swung in the bond market following a slightly weaker-than-expected report on U.S. jobs, while the Federal Reserve’s chair said again it can wait to cut or raise interest rates.

Fed Chair Powell says interest rates on hold with economic uncertainty widespread

NEW YORK (AP) — Chair Jerome Powell says in written remarks that the Federal Reserve is likely to keep its key interest rate unchanged in the coming months as it waits for widespread “uncertainty” stemming from President Donald Trump’s policies to resolve. Powell said the Trump administration is making policy changes in several areas, including trade, taxes, government spending, immigration and regulation, and added that the “net effect” of those changes are what will matter for the economy and the Fed’s interest rate policies.

A judge in the nation’s capital declines to block DOGE from Treasury systems

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in the nation’s capital is refusing to block employees of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury systems containing sensitive personal data for millions of Americans. The judge did, however, acknowledge privacy concerns about their work. DOGE is still limited by a different court order in New York. In Washington, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly previously restricted DOGE’s work at Treasury to two employees with read-only access but declined Friday to grant a longer-term block. She found that the retirees and union leasers who sued haven’t shown they’re at immediate risk of lasting damage.

Small Business Administration to relocate 6 offices in so-called ‘sanctuary cities’

NEW YORK (AP) — The Small Business Administration said it will relocate six of its regional offices in so-called “sanctuary cities,” part of a broader Trump administration effort to crack down on cities that it deems have immigrant-friendly policies. In a statement, SBA administrator Kelly Loeffler said offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City and Seattle will be relocated to “less costly, more accessible locations that better serve the small business community and comply with federal immigration law.” There’s no legal definition for sanctuary city policies, but they generally limit cooperation by local law enforcement with federal immigration officers.

Private lunar lander is declared dead after landing sideways in a crater near the moon’s south pole

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A private lunar lander is no longer working after landing sideways in a crater near the moon’s south pole. Intuitive Machines announced the news Friday, less than 24 hours after the botched landing attempt. The lander, named Athena, missed its mark by more than 800 feet and ended up in a frigid crater. It managed to send back pictures confirming its position and activate a few experiments before going silent. Company officials say it’s unlikely its batteries can be recharged and the mission is over. NASA paid $62 million to Intuitive Machines to get its three experiments to the moon.