Business News

Stock market today: A slide for Walmart yanks Wall Street from its record, and Dow drops 600

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is retreating from its record as a slide for Walmart weighs on U.S. stock indexes. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% Thursday after setting all-time highs in each of the last two days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 618 points, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.7%. Walmart gave a forecast for upcoming profit that fell short of analysts’ expectations, which helped pull stocks down across the retail industry. Treasury yields eased a bit in the bond market following a couple weaker-than-expected reports on the U.S. economy. Stock indexes were mixed across Europe and mostly fell in Asia.

Amazon MGM takes creative reins of James Bond, ending an era of family control of 007

NEW YORK (AP) — In a James Bond shakeup that stirred the film industry, MGM Amazon announced that the studio has taken the creative reins of the 007 franchise after decades of family control. Longtime Bond custodians Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said Thursday they would be stepping back. Amazon MGM Studios, Wilson and Broccoli formed a new joint venture in which they will all co-own James Bond intellectual property rights. But Amazon MGM will have creative control. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. The deal is expected to close sometime this year. Bond had been a family business since Albert “Cubby” Broccoli secured the rights to adaptations of Ian Fleming’s novels and put out 1962’s “Dr. No.”

Sightly more Americans apply for unemployment benefits last week, but layoffs remain relatively low

Slightly more Americans applied for jobless benefits last week, but layoffs remained in the same recent healthy range. The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits rose by 5,000 to 219,000 for the week ending Feb. 15, the Labor Department said Thursday. Analysts projected that 215,000 new applications would be filed. Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs. The four-week average fell by 1,000 to 215,250. The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of Feb. 8 rose to 1.87 million, an increase of 24,000 from the previous week.

Indigenous resistance stalls Colombia’s potential renewable energy boom in La Guajira

CABO DE LA VELA, Colombia (AP) — The La Guajira region in northern Colombia, home to the Indigenous Wayuu community, holds vast potential for renewable energy, especially wind power, but projects have faced resistance. The Wayuu, who are concerned about land rights, cultural impacts, and insufficient consultation, have brought projected plans to a standstill. Tensions have also risen over plans for offshore wind farms, which threaten the livelihood of traditional fishermen. While the government promotes a “just energy transition” to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, including coal from the nearby Cerrejón mine, the Wayuu claim the benefits of this transition are not reaching them. Divisions within the community over financial aid from companies have further complicated the issue.

Russia’s Lavrov joins top European diplomats at a G20 meeting in South Africa. Rubio is skipping it

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is in South Africa for a two-day meeting of the Group of 20 nations, where top European diplomats are expected to reinforce their support for Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is a high-profile absentee. Lavrov traveled to Johannesburg for the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting two days after landmark bilateral talks between the United States and Russia over ending the war in Ukraine. Those talks sidelined the U.S.’s European allies and Ukraine. Rubio’s decision to boycott this week’s meeting and his pledge to also skip the main G20 summit in South Africa in November threatens to undermine the G20’s effectiveness.