Business News

Federal Reserve is likely to slow its rate cuts with inflation pressures still elevated

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans hoping for lower borrowing costs for homes, credit cards and cars may be disappointed after this week’s Federal Reserve meeting. The Fed’s policymakers are likely to signal fewer interest rate cuts next year than were previously expected. The officials are set to reduce their benchmark rate, which affects many consumer and business loans, by a quarter-point to about 4.3% when their meeting ends Wednesday. The problem is that while inflation has dropped far below its peak of 9.1% in mid-2022, it remains stubbornly above the Fed’s 2% target.

Trump weighs in on NY mayor, vaccines and drones in freewheeling press conference at Mar-a-Lago

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump told reporters that he would consider pardoning embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams, said the country was “not going to lose” the polio vaccine and weighed in on the flurry of drone sightings over New Jersey during a freewheeling press conference Monday at his Mar-a-Lago club. Holding court with reporters for the first time since he won the election and secured a second term, Trump also called on the Biden administration to stop selling off unused portions of the border wall, threatening legal action. “We’re going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on building the same wall we already have,” he railed. “It’s almost a criminal act.”

Journalists anticipate a renewed hostility toward their work under the incoming Trump administration

NEW YORK (AP) — When Donald Trump takes office as president for a second time, many journalists anticipate a hostile climate toward them and their work. This is, after all, a man who once labeled journalists as enemies and has talked about retribution toward enemies. Former Washington Post editor Martin Baron says he expects Trump to come after the press with every tool in his toolbox, “and there are a lot of tools.” Lawsuits, efforts to unmask anonymous sources, day-to-day demonization are all on the table. But some experts urge the press not to go into war footing, but to do its work and see how everything plays out.

Senate report alleges Amazon rejected warehouse safety recommendations due to productivity concerns

A U.S. Senate committee says at least two internal Amazon studies have found a relationship between worker speed and injuries in the online retailer’s warehouses. A 160-page report issued Sunday night by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions alleges Amazon rejected many of the studies’ safety recommendations out of concern the proposed changes might reduce productivity. The report was the final product of a probe into Amazon’s warehouse safety practices that U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders initiated last year. Amazon responded Monday by saying the report is “wrong on the facts and features selective, outdated information that lacks context and isn’t grounded in reality.”

Japan’s SoftBank plans to invest $100 billion in US projects over the next four years.

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump joined SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son to announce plans by the Japanese company to invest $100 billion in U.S. projects over the next four years. Trump announced the planned investment Monday at his Mar-a-Lago resort with Son at his side, along with Howard Lutnick, head of investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and Trump’s pick for commerce secretary. In a post on his Truth Social site last week, Trump said anyone making a $1 billion investment in the United States “will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals.”

2024 was big for bitcoin. States could see a crypto policy blitz in 2025 in spite of the risks

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The new year will usher in the bitcoin-friendly administration of President-elect Donald Trump and an expanding lobbying effort in statehouses. Together, they could push states to become more crypto-friendly and more public pension funds and treasuries to buy cryptocurrency. Proponents of the uniquely volatile commodity argue that it’s a valuable hedge against inflation, similar to gold. But the risks are significant. Critics say a crypto investment is highly speculative with so much unknown about projecting its future returns and warn that investors should be prepared to lose their cash.

Canada’s finance minister resigns as unpopular Trudeau faces biggest test of his political career

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has announced she is resigning from the Cabinet. Freeland has long been one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s most powerful ministers. She was also deputy prime minister. Freeland said that Trudeau had told her Friday that he no longer wanted her to serve as finance minister and that he offered her another role in the Cabinet. But she said in her resignation letter that the only “honest and viable path” was to leave the Cabinet. The Cabinet shakeup comes as Trudeau struggles with declining popularity and raises questions about how much longer he can stay in his job.

Schools are cutting bus service for children. Parents are turning to ride-hailing apps

CHICAGO (AP) — Reliance on school buses has been waning for years as districts struggle to find drivers and more students attend schools far outside their neighborhoods. As responsibility for transportation shifts to families, the question of how to replace the traditional yellow bus has become an urgent problem and a spark for innovation. Several startup companies have begun working with school systems to provide rideshare services. A 2023 Federal Highway Administration survey says only about 28% of U.S. students take a school bus. That is down from about 36% in the previous survey conducted in 2017.

‘Kraven the Hunter’ flops while ‘Moana 2’ tops the box office again

The Spider-Man spinoff “Kraven the Hunter” got off to a disastrous start in North American theaters this weekend. Studio estimates Sunday show the movie starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson earned only $11 million. This weekend’s other major studio release was Warner Bros.’ animated “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” which made $5 million. “Moana 2” easily beat out the new releases, becoming the fourth highest grossing film of the year with $717 million globally. “Wicked” also continued to perform and crossed the $500 million threshold worldwide. The rerelease of Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” also made the top 10 again, adding $3.3 million from 321 locations.

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts as bitcoin jumps to another record

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes are drifting ahead of a meeting by the Federal Reserve later this week that could set Wall Street’s direction into next year. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% in afternoon trading on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 30 points, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.2%. MicroStrategy, which has built a hoard of bitcoin, rose after the cryptocurrency jumped to another record. Treasury yields held relatively steady ahead of Wednesday’s Fed meeting, where officials are expected to cut interest rates again and give details about where they see rates heading next year.