WASHINGTON — U.S. retail sales rose moderately in August, driven higher by a jump in auto buying and healthy online sales, evidence that consumers are still spending enough to support growth. The Commerce Department said Friday that retail sales increased 0.4% last month, down from a strong 0.8% in July....
Politics of Climate Change Put Corporations in Tough Spot
The polarizing politics of climate change have forced companies to choose between supporting the Trump administration's deregulation policies that could boost profits or opposing them to win over environmentally conscious consumers. That dynamic played out again Thursday when President Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency sought to revoke regulations on methane...
Thanks to Consumers, US Economy Is Rising Steadily if Slowly
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economic landscape would look even bleaker if not for America's consumers. The economy slowed in the spring, and many analysts think the weakness will continue in the months ahead. Yet consumer spending, which drives about 70% of growth, accelerated in the April-June quarter at the fastest...
AP FACT CHECK: Trump's Illusory Claims of Gains From Tariffs
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is painting a false picture of a U.S. economy unaffected by his trade war with China and other countries. He describes a blue-sky world in which rapidly escalating tariffs have no impact on American consumers even as a raft of businesses and economists say otherwise, chastising those...
AP FACT CHECK: Trump's Illusory Claims of Gains From Tariffs
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is painting a false picture of a U.S. economy unaffected by his trade war with China and other countries. He describes a blue-sky world in which rapidly escalating tariffs have no impact on American consumers even as a raft of businesses and economists say otherwise, chastising those...
AP FACT CHECK: Trump's Illusory Claims of Gains From Tariffs
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is painting a false picture of a U.S. economy unaffected by his trade war with China and other countries. He describes a blue-sky world in which rapidly escalating tariffs have no impact on American consumers even as a raft of businesses and economists say otherwise, chastising those...
Fed Cuts Key Rate in Its First Reduction in More Than Decade
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for the first time in a decade to try to counter threats ranging from uncertainties caused by President Donald Trump's trade wars to chronically low inflation and a dim global outlook. The Fed also repeated a pledge to "act...
US to Set up Plan Allowing Prescription Meds From Canada
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Wednesday it will create a way for Americans to legally and safely import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada for the first time, reversing years of refusals by health authorities amid a public outcry over high prices for life-sustaining medications. The move is a step...
Equifax to Pay up to $700M in Data Breach Settlement
WASHINGTON — Equifax will pay up to $700 million to settle with the U.S. and states over a 2017 data breach that exposed Social Security numbers and other private information of nearly 150 million people. The settlement with the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission, as...
California Might Finally Put a Lid on High-Interest Lenders
The California Assembly has passed legislation to end a 34-year era during which non-bank lenders have been free to charge consumers unlimited interest rates on loans from $2,500 to $10,000. By setting a 36% annual rate cap on such loans, Assembly Bill 539 by Assembly Banking and Finance Committee Chairwoman Monique Limón,...