Business News

Brazil drought punishes coffee farms and threatens to push prices even higher

CACONDE, Brazil (AP) — Brazilian coffee farmers are grappling with above-average temperatures as the country, the world’s largest coffee producer, faces its worst drought in more than seven decades. Vietnam, the second-largest coffee producer, is also experiencing heat and drought, affecting its coffee crops. As a result, potential supply shortages in both countries have driven up global coffee prices. Prices prices haven’t reached the record highs the world saw in the late 1970s, after a severe frost wiped out 70% of Brazil’s coffee plants. But they have been soaring in recent years.

Stock market today: Wall Street closes its record-setting week mixed as FedEx slumps and Nike jumps

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks drifted around their all-time highs, as a record-setting week for Wall Street closed on a quieter note. The S&P 500 edged down by 0.2% from its record on Friday, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, added 38 points, or 0.1%, to its all-time high set on Thursday. FedEx dragged on the market after its profit and revenue for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations. Nike helped limit the market’s losses and jumped after naming a new chief executive officer. Treasury yields ticked higher.

House backs measure to overturn Biden auto emissions rule that Republicans say would force EV sales

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-controlled House approved a resolution Friday that would overturn a new Biden administration rule on automobile emissions that Republicans say would force Americans to buy unaffordable electric vehicles they don’t want. The rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency in March would impose the most ambitious standards ever in the United States to cut planet-warming emissions from passenger vehicles. The rule comes as EV sales, needed to meet the standards, have begun to slow. If the Senate should pass the resolution, it would face a likely presidential veto.

Seeking to counter China, US awards $3 billion for EV battery production in 14 states

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is awarding $3 billion to U.S. companies to boost domestic production of advanced batteries and other materials used for electric vehicles, part of a continuing push to reduce China’s global dominance in battery production. The grants announced Friday will fund a total of 25 projects in 14 states, including battleground states such as Michigan and North Carolina. The grants mark the second round of EV battery funding under the 2021 infrastructure law. An earlier round allocated $1.8 billion for 14 projects that are ongoing.

The AI boom may give Three Mile Island a new life supplying power to Microsoft’s data centers

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant says it plans to restart the reactor under a 20-year agreement that calls for tech giant Microsoft to buy the power to supply its data centers. Friday’s announcement by Constellation Energy comes five years after its then-parent company shut down the plant, saying it was losing money. The plant is located on an island in the Susquehanna River just outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was the site of the nation’s worst commercial nuclear power accident in 1979. The accident destroyed one reactor and left the plant with one functioning reactor. Constellation says it hopes to bring that reactor online in 2028.

EU pledges to loan Ukraine up to $39 billion to help rebuild its economy and power grid

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The European Union is ready to lend Ukraine up to $39 billion as part of a loan package organized by the Group of Seven major industrial nations. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the pledge Friday in Ukraine. Part of the money will be used to help the country repair and reconnect its war-damaged electricity grid and boost its heating capacity as winter approaches. Around half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is destroyed. Rolling electricity blackouts are leaving parts of the east in darkness. The main aim is to help Ukraine decentralize its power grid and to become less reliant on the big power stations that make easier targets for Russian forces.

High insulin prices spur a federal lawsuit against three pharmacy benefit managers

The federal government is suing some pharmacy benefit managers over a system of drug rebates that regulators say has made the price of insulin soar for patients. The Federal Trade Commission says three companies that process about 80% of prescriptions in the United States have engaged in anticompetitive practices that spur price increases. Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, run prescription drug coverage for insurers, large employers and other clients. They set up formularies, or lists of covered drugs, and negotiate rebates off the drug prices. PBMs say the lawsuit shows that the FTC doesn’t understand how drug pricing works.

Trump Media plummets to new low on the first trading day the former president can sell his shares

Shares of Trump Media have slumped to new lows on the first trading day that its biggest shareholder, former President Donald Trump, is free to sell his stake in the company behind the Truth Social platform. Shares of Trump Media tumbled almost 7% to $13.73 at the opening bell Friday, putting the value of the company at less than $3 billion. Trump owns more than half of it. Trump and other insiders in the company have been unable to cash in on the highly volatile stock due standard lock-up agreements that prevent big stakeholders from selling stakes for a set period after a company becomes publicly traded. TMTG began trading publicly in March.

A strike by Boeing factory workers shows no signs of ending after its first week

Boeing has started rolling furloughs of nonunion employees as a week-old labor strike by 33,000 union machinists shows no signs of ending. Federal mediators joined talks between Boeing and the union this week. Company and union officials reported that little progress was made during the two sessions. Boeing’s CEO said Friday that the company remains committed to reaching an agreement as soon as possible. The strike mostly involves workers at factories in the Puget Sound area of Washington state. It will quickly affect Boeing’s balance sheet since the company gets much of its cash when it delivers new planes.

Facebook loses jurisdiction appeal in Kenyan court paving the way for moderators’ case to proceed

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has lost an appeal in a Kenyan labor court. On Friday, the court ruled that Meta could be sued in Kenya over the mass sacking of content moderators. The case involves 185 content moderators from various African countries. They were working for a Meta contractor in Nairobi. Their lawyer confirmed the case would proceed in the labor court. The moderators are seeking $1.6 billion in compensation. They accused Meta of exploitation and mental health damage. Facebook is facing two lawsuits in Kenya. One involves content moderator Daniel Motaung, and the other involves the 185 moderators. They challenged the termination of their employment contracts.