Business News

US inflation is lingering and tariffs threatened by Trump could nudge prices in wrong direction

WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve rose slightly last month, the latest sign that some consumer prices remain stubbornly elevated, even as inflation is cooling in fits and starts. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer prices rose 2.6% in December from a year earlier, up from a 2.4% annual pace in November and the third straight increase. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices increased 2.8% compared with a year ago, the same as in November and October. The figures arrive just two days after Federal Reserve officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, decided to pause their interest rate cuts.

5 years after Britain left the EU, the full impact of Brexit is still emerging

LONDON (AP) — Friday marks five years since Britain left the European Union at 11 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2020. People and businesses are still wrestling with the economic, social and cultural aftershocks of a decision that divided the country. For businesses, Brexit has meant new red tape, costs and delays to trading with the 27 EU countries. Brexit supporters argue that short-term pain will be offset by Britain’s new freedom to strike trade deals around the world, though so far they have had only a minor impact. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised to “reset” relations with the EU after years of acrimony. But rejoining the bloc remains a distant prospect.

Former ‘Meet the Press’ moderator Chuck Todd exits NBC News after nearly two decades

Former “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd is leaving NBC News after nearly two decades at the network. He joined NBC as political director in 2007, and was led “Meet the Press” from 2014 to 2023, giving him one of the most high-profile media jobs in Washington. As such, he occasionally drew barbs from President Donald Trump and his supporters. Todd said he’ll continue to host his podcast after leaving NBC and has some other projects in the works. He offered no details in a memo to his colleagues on Friday, his last day at the network.

Donations to UNRWA USA have spiked since the start of the war in Gaza

Support from Americans has surged for the U.S. nonprofit that raises money for UNRWA, the U.N. agency that serves Palestinian refugees. Mara Kronenfeld is the executive director of UNRWA USA, which is a separate but affiliated nonprofit that supports UNRWA’s mission through advocacy and fundraising. She said around 7,000 people donated annually to her organization before the war that broke out on Oct. 7, 2023. Since, some 139,000 people have given to them. That’s despite the U.S. government cutting off funding for UNRWA and accusations from Israel that it supports Hamas.

Swiss criminal court convicts commodities firm Trafigura in Angola bribery case

GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s top criminal court convicted a multinational company for the first time, ruling against commodities trader Trafigura in a case of bribery linked to lucrative oil industry contracts in Angola. The federal court in the southern city of Bellinzona gave Trafigura a fine of 3 million Swiss francs (about $3.3 million) over payments totaling nearly $5 million to a foreign public official. The court stopped short of imposing the maximum $5 million penalty, ruling that the firm did have compliance measures in place at the time — over a decade ago. Trafigura was ordered to set aside $145 million for possible compensatory claims.

Apple’s iPhone sales during the holiday season slipped despite a highly anticipated AI rollout

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple on Thursday disclosed its iPhone sales dipped slightly during the holiday-season quarter, signaling a sluggish start to the trendsetting company’s effort to catch up to the rest of Big Tech in the race to bring artificial intelligence to the masses. The iPhone’s roughly 1% drop in revenue from the previous year’s October-December period wasn’t entirely unexpected, given the first software update enabling the device’s AI features didn’t arrive until just before Halloween, and the technology still isn’t available in many markets outside the U.S. Despite the iPhone’s weakening sales, Apple’s stock price climbed in extended trading after Apple CEO Tim Cook made a series of encouraging remarks about the future.

Stock market today: Apple leads as Wall Street shaves off its losses for the week

Apple and other big U.S. companies reporting fatter profits than expected are helping stock indexes shave off their sharp losses from the start of the week. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% on Friday and was on track for a 0.2% weekly gain, despite Monday’s scare that the AI boom may not require as much investment as thought. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 17 points. The Nasdaq composite rose 1.4%. Treasury yields held relatively steady after an update on inflation across the United States came in almost exactly as economists expected.