Business Headlines
U.S. job openings were unchanged at 6.9 million in March but hiring improved
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job openings were essentially unchanged in March but hiring improved before the full impact of the Iran war hit the economy. Employers posted 6.87 million jobs in March, compared to 6.92 million in February, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The job market has been up and down so far this year after a dismal 2025. And the Iran war, which began Feb. 28, has clouded the outlook for the economy and hiring. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that layoffs rose in March. But hiring improved: Employers added 5.55 million gross jobs, most since February 2024. More Americans also quit their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects. Job openings have come ... Read More
Wall Street flirts with records after oil prices give back some of Monday’s spurt
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is rising toward records Tuesday after an easing of oil prices let Wall Street turn its focus back to the big profits that companies keep producing. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% and was on track to top its all-time high set at the end of last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 248 points, or 0.5%, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was heading toward its own record after climbing 0.7%. Stocks got a boost after oil prices gave back some of their big jumps from Monday. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 3.3% to $110.70 after briefly topping $115 ... Read More
Asian shares slip and oil prices retreat from latest flare in Iran tensions
[caption id="attachment_1503898" align="alignnone" width="1024"] FILE - A train arrives at a Wall Street subway station in New York's Financial District on Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)[/caption]HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks declined Tuesday, tracking losses on Wall Street after U.S. stocks retreated from record highs. Oil prices fell back after rising earlier on escalating tensions in the war between the U.S. and Iran. U.S. futures edged 0.1% higher. Regional trading was thin, with markets in Japan, South Korea and mainland China closed for holidays. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.3% to 25,757.56, while Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.3%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.4% to 8,659.90 after the central bank raised its benchmark interest rate to 4.35%, saying conflict in ... Read More
Roomba pioneer aims to crack the household market again with an AI-powered pet robot
BEDFORD, Ma. (AP) - The robotics pioneer who helped unleash the Roomba vacuum is now betting that you might one day replace your beloved dog or cat with a plush robot that follows you around your home and adapts to your daily habits. Colin Angle unveiled a four-legged prototype of that artificial pet, called the Familiar, on Monday. Imagine a creature the size of a bulldog with doe-like eyes and bear cub ears and paws, extending itself into a greeting stretch that invites you to pat its touch-sensitive fake fur. “We chose a form factor that’s not a human, not a dog, not a cat, because we wanted to steer away from all of those preconceptions,” said Angle, who leads ... Read More
How a weaker dollar is quietly making life more expensive
NEW YORK (AP) — A hidden force is quietly pushing up costs for everything from your summer vacation to your weekly grocery bills: a weaker U.S. dollar. The dollar has fallen about 10% against other major currencies since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, a pullback potentially playing a role in Americans’ concerns about affordability. “It’s kind of a hidden tax,” says economist Thomas Savidge of the conservative-leaning American Institute for Economic Research. “What your dollar is going to be able to buy is going to shrink.” A look at where the dollar stands and what it means for you: Historic dollar decline The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against other major currencies, logged its steepest ... Read More
Trump family’s crypto firm sues investor Justin Sun, escalating feud
Eric Trump, executive vice president of Trump Organization Inc., left, and Donald Trump Jr., executive vice president of development and acquisitions for Trump Organization Inc., outside of the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, US, on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- The Trump family's flagship cryptocurrency venture filed a defamation suit on Monday against Chinese crypto mogul Justin Sun, escalating an ongoing legal and social media feud with one of the company's most notable investors. Sun sued the Trump-backed firm World Liberty Financial last month, accusing its officers of improperly freezing his investment in the firm's digital tokens.World Liberty Financial denied those claims publicly and on Monday accused Sun, in a lawsuit filed in Florida state court, of embarking ... Read More
Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh advances to Senate confirmation vote
Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's nominee for Chair of the Federal Reserve, testifies during his Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs confirmation hearing, April 21, 2026 in Washington. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)(WASHINGTON) -- A Senate committee on Wednesday voted to advance Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh, clearing a key hurdle in his path to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell before his term ends next month. Warsh's nomination will move to a confirmation vote on the floor of the upper chamber.The Senate Banking Committee voted 13-11 to approve the nomination on a party-line vote, with Republicans supporting the nomination and Democrats opposing it.The vote comes days after the Department of Justice moved to drop its criminal probe into Powell. Before ... Read More
Sinking AI stocks and rising oil prices weigh on Wall Street
NEW YORK (AP) — NEW YORK (AP) — Sinking AI stocks and another climb in oil prices because of the Iran war helped pull Wall Street off its record heights on Tuesday. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% from its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 25 points, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite fell 0.9% from its own record. Stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry led the way lower. Chip company Broadcom was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 after sinking 4.4%. Drops of 1.6% for Nvidia and 3.9% for Micron Technology also undercut the market. The weakness came after a report in The Wall Street Journal said some leaders at OpenAI are concerned about whether it ... Read More
US gasoline prices hit highest level in 4 years
A gas pump stands at a station in Manhattan on April 21, 2026 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- Gasoline prices in the United States hit their highest level in four years on Tuesday as negotiations over the Iran war appeared to show little signs of a resolution.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. ... Read More
What to know about the Elon Musk v Sam Altman trial over OpenAI
Elon Musk arrives to court for his lawsuit against OpenAI at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building on April 28, 2026 in Oakland, California. (Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images)(OAKLAND, Calif.) -- Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and prominent AI executive Sam Altman are facing off in court with major implications for OpenAI, the San Francisco-based tech giant led by Altman.The federal case, which concerns OpenAI's evolution from nonprofit to profit-seeking, kicked off on Monday in Oakland, California. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is managing proceedings alongside nine jurors and no alternates, according to a court filing last month.The star-studded list of potential witnesses includes Altman, Musk and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, among other tech luminaries, a court filing showed.Musk sued OpenAI and Altman, its CEO, in 2024, alleging that the company abandoned its mission ... Read More
US stocks fall on a shaky Wall Street as Brent oil briefly barrels above $107
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks pulled back from their record heights on a shaky Wall Street Thursday following mixed profit reports from Tesla and other big companies. Oil prices, meanwhile, jumped on worries about what will happen next in the war with Iran. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% and halted a weekslong rally that had erased all its losses because of the war and then carried it to all-time highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 179 points, or 0.4%, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.9% from its own record. Tesla helped drag the market lower after sinking 3.6% even though it reported better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Investors focused instead on a big jump ... Read More
US stocks rally to records, but Brent oil also tops $100 on worries about the Iran war
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market rallied to more records Wednesday after GE Vernova, Boston Scientific and other big companies joined the parade reporting fatter profits for the start of the year than analysts expected. But caution still hung over Wall Street, and oil prices rose on uncertainty about what will happen in the war with Iran. The S&P 500 jumped 1% and topped its prior all-time high set on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 340 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite set its own record after jumping 1.6%. GE Vernova flew 13.7% higher after the company, whose products help generate about a quarter of the world’s electricity, reported profit for the first three months ... Read More
Trump’s Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh testifies before Congress amid Powell probe
Kevin Warsh, former governor of the US Federal Reserve, during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring meetings on Friday, April 25, 2025. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump’s selection to chair the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, testified in a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday as his nomination faces bipartisan opposition centered on a federal criminal investigation into the central bank’s current leader.The probe into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, which focuses on alleged false testimony to Congress about an office renovation, threatens to derail or delay Warsh’s nomination.Powell, who was appointed by Trump in 2017, has rebuked the probe as a politically motivated effort to influence interest-rate policy.In his opening remarks, Warsh voiced support for the independence of the ... Read More
Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping down, John Ternus set to replace him
(NEW YORK) -- Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping down, with the company announcing on Monday that John Ternus will take his place as the head of the technology giant.Cook will become the executive chairman of Apple’s board of directors, the company said. Ternus will officially become CEO on Sept. 1."It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company," Cook said in a statement on Monday."John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honor. He is a visionary whose contributions to Apple over 25 years are already too numerous ... Read More
Stocks close lower and oil prices rise as US-Iran ceasefire uncertain before deadline
Stock Market Wall Street (Matteo Colombo/Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- Stocks closed slightly lower and oil prices rose on Monday as tensions mounted in the Strait of Hormuz, putting pressure on the ceasefire between the U.S and Iran a day before it's set to expire.The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 4 points, or 0.01%, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.2%.U.S. Marines seized an Iran-flagged container ship in the Gulf of Oman on Sunday, according to CENTOM, just a day after two Indian ships came under fire in the Strait of Hormuz.A potential second round of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran remained in doubt on Monday. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday that Iran has not yet made any ... Read More
Businesses can claim refunds starting Monday for Trump tariffs declared unconstitutional
NEW YORK (AP) — A refund system for businesses that paid tariffs which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled President Donald Trump imposed without the constitutional authority to do so is scheduled to launch Monday. Importers and their brokers will be able to begin claiming refunds through an online portal beginning at 8 a.m., according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency administering the system. It’s the first step in a complicated process that also might eventually lead to refunds for consumers who were billed for some or all of the tariffs on products shipped to them from outside the United States. Companies must submit declarations listing the goods on which they collectively put billions of dollars toward the import ... Read More
Stocks surge and oil prices plunge after Iran says Strait of Hormuz ‘completely open’ during Israel-Lebanon ceasefire
: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on April 17, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- Stocks closed significantly higher and oil prices plunged on Friday after a senior Iranian official declared the Strait of Hormuz "completely open" for commercial traffic for the duration of the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 869 points, or 1.7%, while the S&P 500 jumped 1.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 1.5%.In a post on X on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said: "In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period ... Read More
What does the US blockade of Iran shipping mean for gas prices?
Close-up of Chevron sign at a gas station, showing California gas prices, in Walnut Creek, California, April 8, 2025. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- The United States continued to mount a naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, exerting financial pressure on Tehran while at the same time choking off a source of oil amid a historic global shortage.The move comes as Americans grapple with a surge in gasoline prices that threatens to eat away at household budgets and slow the economy.Gasoline prices in the U.S. registered at $4.10 on average per gallon on Wednesday, standing about 35% higher than before the war, AAA data showed.The blockade risks higher prices at the pump ... Read More
Live Nation illegally monopolized the market for tickets, jury finds
Live Nation logo. (Photo by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- Live Nation illegally monopolized the market for tickets, protecting its position through pressure and leverage, jurors in Manhattan federal court found Wednesday.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. ... Read More
S&P 500 hits record high as US-Iran ceasefire enters second week
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- The S&P 500 hit a record high on Wednesday as the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran entered its second week, appearing to boost hopes of a resolution to the Middle East conflict.The uptick in markets came hours after President Donald Trump reiterated his desire to wind down the conflict, saying the war is "very close to over" in a portion of an interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo that aired on Tuesday.The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% on Wednesday, registering at 7,005.78 points. The index reached a previous high of 7,002.28 points on Jan. 28.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 125 points, or ... Read More
Prices surged in March after oil shock set off by Iran war
A view of the vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz following the two-week temporary ceasefire reached between the United States and Iran on the condition that the strait be reopened, seen in Oman, April 8, 2026. (Anadolu via Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- Inflation surged in March after an oil shock triggered by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, government data showed on Friday. The inflation report matched economists' expectations.Prices rose 3.3% in March compared to a year earlier, marking a steep rise from a year-over-year inflation rate of 2.4% in the prior month. Annual inflation jumped to its highest level in two years, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data showed.The jump in prices owed in large part to a ... Read More
Dow closes up more than 1,300 points after US-Iran ceasefire
A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Monday, April 6, 2026. Signs of last-ditch efforts to secure a truce in the war that has rattled global markets spurred a cautious advance in stocks as oil retreated. (Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- Stocks closed significantly higher on Wednesday, just hours after the U.S. and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire.The Dow Jones Industrial average surged 1,325 points, or 2.8%, while the S&P 500 climbed 2.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 2.8%.As part of the accord, Iran says it will allow tankers passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for oil and gas, as long as they coordinate with ... Read More
Jobs report shows strong hiring in March, exceeding economists’ expectations
Job interview (Narisara Nami/Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- The U.S. recorded strong job gains in March, rebounding from dismal losses a month earlier, a jobs report on Friday showed. The reading far exceeded economists' expectations.The U.S. added 178,000 jobs in March, according to the report, which marked a sharp increase from 133,000 jobs lost in the previous month.The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.3% in March from 4.4% in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said. Unemployment remains low by historical standards.The BLS collected survey data through the second week of March, before the full effects of the oil shock set off by the Iran war.As in previous months, the health care sector stood out as a top source of ... Read More
Stocks close mixed after Trump vows to hit Iran ‘extremely hard’ in coming weeks
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, March 31, 2026 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- Stocks closed mixed in volatile trading on Thursday after President Donald Trump delivered a televised address vowing to hit Iran "extremely hard" over the coming weeks.The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 60 points, or 0.1%, after opening down by 600 points, while the S&P 500 ticked up 0.1. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 0.1%.Each of the major indexes tumbled more than 1% in early trading, but they quickly recovered most or all of those losses.The rollercoaster trading followed losses across Asian and European markets. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index slipped 2.3% and the pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.6%.Oil prices, meanwhile, surged as ... Read More
Trump slaps 100% tariff on some pharmaceutical drugs via executive order
President Donald Trump answers questions after signing an executive order to limit mail-in voting in the Oval Office of the White House, March 31, 2026, in Washington. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump on Thursday slapped 100% tariffs on some pharmaceutical products, ramping up his effort to boost U.S. drug manufacturing.The move, in the form of an executive order, targets patented drugs that lack a "most favored nations" pricing agreement with the U.S. Under such agreements, companies ensure the U.S. will pay the same amount that other wealthy countries pay for similar medications.Companies face a reduced levy if they agree to bring production to the U.S. or enter into pricing deals with the administration, the executive order says. If companies commit to bring their ... Read More
Mortgage rates hit highest level since September as Iran war rattles financial markets
A ''For Sale'' sign is outside a residential home in Oro Valley, Ariz., Dec.12, 2025. (Michael Yanow/NurPhoto via Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- Mortgage rates have climbed to their highest level since September as fallout from the Iran war ripples through financial markets, Freddie Mac data on Thursday showed.The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped to 6.46%, continuing a weeks-long surge since the war began on Feb. 28, during which time mortgage rates have increased nearly half a percentage point.Mortgage rates remain slightly lower than this time a year ago, when the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage stood at 6.64%.The recent spike in borrowing costs risks further strain on U.S. households as they weather elevated gasoline ... Read More
Dow soars over 950 points after Trump suggests US may end Iran war without reopening Strait of Hormuz
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media onboard Air Force One on March 29, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared more than 950 points on Tuesday after President Donald Trump appeared to suggest the U.S. may end the Iran war without reopening the Strait of Hormuz.In a post on social media, Trump indicated that the task of reopening the strait may fall to other countries, urging them to "go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT."The Dow jumped 970 points, or 2.1%, by early afternoon, while the S&P 500 climbed 2.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 3.4%.Since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on Feb. 28, Trump has voiced mixed messages about ... Read More
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