Business News

Biden releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from Northeast reserve in bid to lower prices at pump

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it’s releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from a Northeast reserve established after Superstorm Sandy in a bid to lower prices at the pump this summer. The sale is from storage sites in New Jersey and Maine and will be allocated in increments of 100,000 barrels at a time. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says the move is intended lower costs for American families and consumers in time for the summer driving season. AAA says prices averaged about $3.60 per gallon as of Tuesday, up 6 cents from a year ago. The Northeast reserve was created a decade ago and is separate from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Texas and Louisiana.

Trump or Biden? Either way, US seems poised to preserve heavy tariffs on imports

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Donald Trump agree on essentially nothing, from taxes and climate change to immigration and regulation. Yet on trade policy, the two presumptive presidential nominees have embraced surprisingly similar approaches. Which means that whether Biden or Trump wins the presidency, the United States seems poised to maintain a protectionist trade policy — a policy that experts say could feed inflation pressures. The protectionist tilt of the two presidential contenders reflects the widespread view that opening the nation to more imports — especially from China — wiped out American manufacturing jobs and shuttered factories. It’s an especially potent political topic in the Midwestern industrial states that will likely decide who wins the White House.

The White House says FDIC chairman to step down following report on agency’s toxic workplace culture

NEW YORK (AP) — The chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will step down from his post once a successor is appointed. The White House said Monday that President Joe Biden will name a replacement for Martin Gruenberg “soon” and called for the Senate to quickly confirm the person’s nomination. Gruenberg’s announced departure comes after a damning report about the agency’s toxic workplace culture was released earlier this month and political pressure from the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, who called for his resignation earlier Monday.

Group of Tesla shareholders ask investors to vote against Musk’s compensation package

A group of Tesla shareholders is asking investors to vote against a compensation package worth more than $40 billion for CEO Elon Musk, saying that it’s not in the electric vehicle maker’s best interest. The shareholder group, which includes New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, SOC Investment Group and Amalgamated Bank, said in a letter to shareholders that ratification of Musk’s pay package would do nothing to promote Tesla’s long-term growth and stability. Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm said last month that Elon Musk delivered on the growth sought at the automaker.

EU reprimands Kosovo’s move to close down Serb bank branches over the use of the dinar currency

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The European Union has reprimanded Kosovo over the unilateral closure of six branches of a Serbia-licensed bank. The EU said Tuesday that the move would negatively impact the life of the ethnic Serb minority living in northern Kosovo and damage Kosovo-Serbia normalization talks. Kosovo police closed the branches of the Postal Saving Bank on Monday in line with the decision to ban the use of the Serbian dinar currency in the country. The government is requiring areas dominated by the ethnic Serb minority in Kosovo to adopt the euro currency which is used in the rest of the country and abolished the use of the Serbian dinar.

All that ‘checkout charity’ adds up. Domino’s plans $174 million from it for St. Jude hospital

The world’s top-selling pizza chain is betting big on the generosity of its customers. And they are not alone. Domino’s recently pledged $174 million over the next ten years to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, expecting the funds to come from its longstanding roundup campaign that invites customers to donate the difference between their purchase total and the next-highest dollar amount. Domino’s is the latest and largest example of philanthropic allies new and old finding success through “checkout charity.” The fundraising tool raked in 24% more money in 2022 than 2020 among the highest making programs, for a total of $749 million, according to the professional association Engage for Good.

Stock market today: Wall Street squeaks higher to set more records

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes drifted higher to set more records following another quiet day of trading. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% Tuesday to surpass its record set last week. The Nasdaq composite added 0.2%, a day after setting its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% and is sitting just below its record set last week. Macy’s jumped after it joined the long list of companies reporting better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Treasury yields eased a bit in the stock market, and stocks fell in much of Europe and Asia.

AI companies make fresh safety promise at Seoul summit, nations agree to align work on risks

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Leading artificial intelligence companies made a fresh pledge at a mini-summit Tuesday to develop AI safely, while world leaders agreed to build a network of publicly backed safety institutes to advance research and testing of the technology. Google, Meta and OpenAI were among the companies that made voluntary safety commitments at the AI Seoul Summit, including pulling the plug on their cutting-edge systems if they can’t rein in the most extreme risks. The two-day meeting is a follow-up to November’s AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in the United Kingdom, and comes amid a flurry of efforts by governments and global bodies to design guardrails for the technology amid fears about the risk it poses both to everyday life and to humanity.

Macy’s tops expectations for the first quarter as luxury and beauty sales shine

NEW YORK (AP) — Macy’s sales and profits fell during the first quarter as higher costs and other financial challenges had customers pulling back on spending. The results, announced Tuesday, beat Wall Street expectations. And Macy’s raised its outlook for sales and profits, sending shares up in pre-market trading. Macy’s reported on Tuesday earnings of $62 million, or 22 cents per share for the quarter ended May 4. That compares with $155 million, or 56 cents per share in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings per share was 27 cents. Revenue dipped to $4.85 billion, down from $4.98 billion in the year-ago period. Wall Street had been looking for a profit of 16 cents per share, on sales of $4.82 billion, according to a survey by FactSet.

Turkish Airlines resumes flights to Afghanistan nearly 3 years after the Taliban captured Kabul

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban have confirmed the resumption of Turkish Airlines flights to Kabul’s international airport. It comes nearly three years after the carrier’s services were suspended following the collapse of the Western-backed government. Afghanistan’s Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation said the first Turkish Airlines flight landed Tuesday and was greeted by government officials. Turkish Airlines flights have returned with a schedule of four weekly round-trip flights between Istanbul and Kabul on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The Taliban seized power in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces departed after two decades of war.