Business News

Wholesale inflation in US edged up in July from low levels

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale prices in the United States picked up in July yet still suggested that inflationary pressures have eased this year since reaching alarming heights in 2022. The producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers— rose 0.8% last month from July 2022. The latest figure followed a 0.2% year-over-year increase in June, which had been the smallest annual rise since August 2020. On a month-to-month basis, producer prices rose 0.3% from June to July, up from no change from May to June. The producer price figures can provide an early sign of how fast consumer inflation will rise in the coming months.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried jailed in New York; judge says crypto mogul tampered with witnesses

NEW YORK (AP) — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been sent to jail after a bail hearing in New York City. Federal Judge Lewis A. Kaplan issued the order Friday. Prosecutors pushed for his incarceration. His lawyers insisted he shouldn’t be jailed for trying to protect his reputation. The 31-year-old onetime crypto whiz has been living at his parent’s California home since his December extradition from the Bahamas. He was staying at home to comply with a $250 million bail package severely restricting his internet and phone usage. Prosecutors say Bankman-Fried tried to harass a key government witness. His lawyers say he did not. The judge agreed that he had.

Worldcoin scans eyeballs and offers crypto. What to know about the project from OpenAI’s CEO

NEW YORK (AP) — Weeks after its international launch, Worldcoin is drawing the attention of privacy regulators around the world. Kenya’s government going so far as to shut down the service indefinitely. The international ID startup also is facing investigations in Europe over whether the biometric data that the company is collecting is truly secure. The goal of Worldcoin and the company backing it, Tools for Humanity, is to give people a form of identification that could never be stolen or duplicated. Worldcoin creates a “World ID” by capturing an image of a person’s irises. It’s a creation of Sam Altman, the CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, and offers cryptocurrency worth $50 to $60 to get people to sign up.

UBS ends billions in taxpayer-funded support that paved way for Credit Suisse takeover

GENEVA (AP) — Swiss taxpayers are off the hook from a government-engineered rescue plan that doled out billions to help UBS, the country’s largest bank, take over its ailing rival Credit Suisse. UBS said Friday that it’s shut down state support that had made available up to $230 billion to help shepherd through its takeover of Credit Suisse to avert an international banking crisis. UBS said it had repaid billions in loans and liquidity support from the Swiss government and central bank. It’s also ended the government’s multibillion offer to buffer the bank against losses. The Swiss finance minister says she wasn’t happy about the hastily arranged merger in March but that it was necessary stabilize the financial center.

US government sanctions Russians on the board of Alfa Group in response to war in Ukraine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed financial sanctions against four Russians on the board of Alfa Group. That’s one of Russia’s largest conglomerates, with interests in oil, natural gas and banking. The sanctions announced Friday are part of continued efforts to place restrictions on the Russian economy since the invasion of Ukraine. Also sanctioned is the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. That group is involved in the technology sector, and the Treasury Department says it has helped Russia counteract other sanctions stemming from the war. The sanctions against the four individuals would block access to their U.S. properties and financial interests.

British economy unexpectedly grows by 0.2% in second quarter largely because of June weather boost

LONDON (AP) — The British economy unexpectedly grew in the second quarter of the year, largely as a result of a strong rebound in June when many businesses particularly in the leisure sector benefited from the warm and settled weather. The Office for National Statistics said Friday that the economy expanded by 0.2% in the April to June period, compared with the previous three-month period. That was higher than the 0.1% recorded in the first quarter and ahead of economists’ expectations for no change. The positive outcome was due to a 0.5% monthly increase in June when pubs and restaurants were buoyed by the hot weather. July results are expected to show the reverse since that month was one of the wettest ever.

In the twilight of the muscle car era, demand for the new 486-horsepower V-8 Ford Mustang is roaring

DETROIT (AP) — Ford says it will start shipping new versions of the Mustang muscle car next week, and more than two thirds of the orders are for 5-liter V-8 engines. The high V-8 take rate comes as Detroit automakers are phasing out the rumbling gas burners in order to meet government emissions requirements as they transition to electric vehicles. Ford says it has about 13,000 U.S. orders for the 2024 Mustangs, which also can be equipped with a four-cylinder turbocharged engine. Of the orders, 67% have the V-8, and more than a quarter of those have manual transmissions. General Motors announced in March that it will stop making the Chevrolet Camaro early next year. Stellantis will stop making gas versions of the Dodge Challenger and Charger by the end of this year.

Stock market today: Wall Street is mixed after pickup in wholesale inflation

Stocks are mixed on Wall Street as choppy trading keeps the market on track for its second losing week in a row. Investors are reviewing reports on inflation and consumer sentiment for clues about the Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates. The government reported a slight increase in inflation in wholesale prices last month, which could persuade the Fed that its work on bringing inflation to heel isn’t done. The University of Michigan’s preliminary August survey showed consumer sentiment fell slightly. The S&P 500 rose less than 0.1% in afternoon trading Friday. The Dow rose 133 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.5%.

Chinese tech giant Huawei reports sales, profit up despite US sanctions

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese tech giant Huawei says its revenue rose 3% over a year earlier and its profit margin widened in the first half of 2023 despite sanctions that limit its access to U.S. processor chips. China’s first global tech brand has responded to U.S. curbs that devastated its smartphone brand by increasing emphasis on serving hospitals, electric car brands and other industrial customers. The company said first-half revenue rose 3.1% to 310.9 billion yuan, or $43.1 billion. It gave no profit figure but said its profit margin was 15%. Huawei struggled after then-President Donald Trump cut off access to U.S. processor chips and other technology in a feud with Beijing over technology and security.

Celebrity hair, makeup and nail stylists: How the Hollywood strikes have affected glam squads

NEW YORK (AP) — A world of hair, makeup and manicurists have been idled by the Hollywood strikes at a time when they were still rebuilding from the covid shutdowns. And many don’t have a Plan B. In more than a dozen interviews with The Associated Press, many fear they’ll lose their homes and health insurance. They’re not alone as the writers and actors strikes drag on. The entertainment industry has hundreds of journeyman job descriptions impacted by the strikes, from script supervisors to costume designers. Says one Los Angeles-based hair stylist: “Hair is what I love. There’s really nothing else.”