Business News

The Supreme Court upholds a tax on foreign income over a challenge backed by business interests

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has upheld a tax on foreign income over a challenge backed by business and anti-regulatory interests. The court on Thursday declined their invitation to weigh in on a broader, never-enacted tax on wealth. The justices left in place a provision of a 2017 tax law expected to generate $340 billion, mainly from foreign subsidiaries of domestic corporations that parked money abroad to shield it from U.S. taxes. The law was passed by a Republican Congress and signed by then-President Donald Trump. The case attracted outsize attention because it might have led to a decision dooming a wealth tax.

Mike Pence’s foundation launches a $10 million election-year campaign to preserve Trump-era tax cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence’s foundation is launching a $10 million campaign to preserve the Trump-era tax cuts. Parts of the 2017 tax bill that became law when Donald Trump was president expire after 2025. Pence’s Advancing American Freedom group is pressing conservatives not to stray from the fight before the November election. The group’s 13-page blueprint released Thursday showcases the arguments being made to Capitol Hill and to swing state voters. Democratic President Joe Biden wants to keep the tax breaks for those earning under $400,000 a year, but raise corporate rates and introduce taxes on the wealthy.

Bank of England keeps main interest rate at 16-year high of 5.25% despite inflation fall

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has kept its main interest rate at a 16-year high of 5.25%, even though inflation has fallen to its target of 2%. In a statement, some policymakers on the bank’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee voiced worries that some underlying measures of inflation, such as in the services sector, remain elevated, which could be stoked further if interest rates are cut too soon. The decision, which was widely anticipated by economists, is likely to disappoint the governing Conservative Party ahead of the U.K.’s general election in two weeks time.

Macron and African leaders push for vaccines for Africa after COVID-19 exposed inequalities

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has joined African leaders to kick off a planned $1 billion project to accelerate the rollout of vaccines in Africa. The effort comes after the coronavirus pandemic exposed gaping inequalities in access to vaccines globally. The African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator will provide financial incentives to vaccine manufacturers. Many African leaders and advocacy groups say Africa was unfairly locked out of access to COVID-19 treatment tools, vaccines and testing equipment when the pandemic swept the globe starting in 2020. The project was launched on Thursday.

OpenAI co-founder Sutskever sets up new AI company devoted to ‘safe superintelligence’

The Associated Press (AP) — One of the founders of OpenAI who was involved in a failed effort to push out CEO Sam Altman says he’s starting a safety-focused artificial intelligence company. Ilya Sutskever, a respected AI researcher who left the ChatGPT maker last month, said in a social media post on Wednesday that he’s setting up Safe Superintelligence Inc. with two co-founders. The company’s only goal and focus is safely developing “superintelligence” – a reference to AI systems that are smarter than humans. The company vowed not to be distracted by “management overhead or product cycles,” and under its business model, work on safety, security, and progress would be “insulated from short-term commercial pressures.”

Average long-term US mortgage rate falls again, easing to lowest level since early April

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Home loan borrowing costs eased again this week as the average rate on a 30-year mortgage declined to its lowest level since early April. The rate fell to 6.87% from 6.95% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.67%. This is the third straight weekly decline in the rate, which has mostly hovered around an average of 7% since April. Higher mortgage rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting homebuyers’ purchasing options. The elevated rates contributed to a lackluster spring homebuying season.

US jobless claims fall to 238,000 from 10-month high, remain low by historical standards

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits slipped last week. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 238,000 from a 10-month high of 243,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which evens out weekly ups and downs, rose by 5,500 to 232,750, highest since September. Weekly unemployment claims — a proxy for layoffs — remain at low levels by historical standards, a sign that most Americans enjoy unusual job security.

Stock market today: Nvidia keeps flying and helps Wall Street stay near its records

NEW YORK (AP) — Nvidia, the chip company that’s become Wall Street’s most influential stock, is rising again and helping to keep U.S. indexes around their record highs despite a mixed set of reports on the economy. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% Thursday after setting an all-time high for the 31st time this year before Wednesday’s holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 69 points, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.2% to its own record. Nvidia rose some more after supplanting Microsoft Tuesday as the most valuable company on Wall Street. Treasury yields climbed in the bond market to add some pressure on stocks.

Snapchat Inc. to pay $15 million to settle discrimination and harassment lawsuit in California

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Snapchat Inc. will pay $15 million to settle a lawsuit brought by California’s civil rights agency. The California Civil Rights Department accused the company of discriminating against female employees, failing to prevent workplace sexual harassment and retaliating against women who complained. The department announced Wednesday that the settlement covers women who worked for the company in California between 2014 and 2024. It is subject to court approval. The bulk of the settlement will pay compensation to employees who faced discrimination at the company. The company says it disagrees with the agency’s claims but that it decided to settle to avoid costly and lengthy litigation.

EU envoys agree on more Russia sanctions. LNG imports are among the targets.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union envoys have reached agreement on a “powerful and substantial” new series of sanctions that are part of its ongoing response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The EU’s Belgian presidency posted on social media on Thursday that the package provides new targeted measures and maximizes the impact of existing sanctions by closing loopholes. The measures will notably target imports of Russian liquid natural gas and make it harder to move around. The EU estimates that about 4 billion-6 billion cubic meters (141 billion-212 billion cubic feet) of Russian LNG was shipped on to third countries via EU ports last year. Details about the sanctions are likely to be released early next week if EU foreign ministers endorse them as expected on Monday.