AP Business Digest
Here are the AP’s top business stories that have moved or are planned to move today. All times U.S. Eastern. For up-to-the minute information on AP’s coverage, visit AP Newsroom’s Coverage Plan.
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UPCOMING
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MORTGAGE RATES
DESCRIPTION: Freddie Mac reports on this week’s average U.S. mortgage rates. By Alex Veiga. UPCOMING: 250 words after noon release.
UPCOMING: By 04/17/2025 12:00 p.m. EDT, Text, Photo
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NEW AND DEVELOPING
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US--TRUMP-FEDERAL RESERVE
Trump gripes about interest rates and says Fed Chair Powell’s ‘termination cannot come fast enough’
SUMMARY: President Donald Trump has slammed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, reiterating his frustration the Fed has not aggressively cut interest rates and saying the central bank leader’s “termination cannot come fast enough.†Trump hinted in a social media post Thursday at moving to fire Powell, whose term does not expire until next year. The Republican president’s broadside comes a day after Powell signaled the Fed will keep its key interest rate unchanged while it seeks “greater clarity†on the impact of policy changes in areas such as immigration, taxation, regulation and tariffs. A Supreme Court legal case could determine whether presidents can fire the heads of independent agencies such as the Fed.
WORDS: 900 - MOVED: 04/17/2025 10:27 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:b6148c8048dda538a6ca3b5a270fd09e&mediaType=text
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US--EDUCATION-TRUMP-HARVARD
Trump administration takes aim at Harvard’s international students and tax-exempt status
SUMMARY: President Donald Trump’s administration has escalated its ongoing battle with Harvard, threatening to revoke the university’s ability to host international students, who make up 27% of the campus. The threat emerged as the president called for withdrawing the school’s tax-exempt status. The Department of Homeland Security ordered Harvard late Tuesday to turn over detailed records of the school’s foreign student visa holders’ “illegal and violent activities†by April 30. The move deepens the crackdown on Harvard. On Monday, it became the first university to openly defy the administration’s demands related to activism on campus, antisemitism and diversity. The federal government has already frozen more than $2 billion in grants and contracts to the Ivy League institution.
WORDS: 593 - MOVED: 04/17/2025 10:17 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:07a10958bf078cb04b59d1fc9a3a27a8&mediaType=text
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EU--EUROPE-ECONOMY
European Central Bank cuts interest rates for the seventh time as global trade tensions escalate
SUMMARY: The European Central Bank cut interest rates Thursday for the seventh time to counter worries about economic growth fueled by President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught. The bank’s move should support economic activity in the 20 countries that use the euro currency by making credit more affordable for consumers and businesses. The bank’s rate-setting council decided at a meeting in Frankfurt to lower its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.25%. The bank has been steadily cutting rates after raising them sharply to combat an outbreak of inflation from 2022 to 2023.
WORDS: 631 - MOVED: 04/17/2025 10:05 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:d5db66fe8353571d2c88a27f9e916561&mediaType=text
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FINANCIAL MARKETS
Most of Wall Street ticks higher as UnitedHealth drags down the Dow
SUMMARY: U.S. stocks are holding steadier in the final day of trading for their holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% Thursday. A recovery for tech stocks following their sell-off from the day before helped push the Nasdaq composite up 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 522 points, but that was mostly because of one company, UnitedHealth Group, which reeled following a weaker-than-expected profit report. The U.S. bond market also held steadier, as it has for much of this week following last week’s scary swerves. That was even though President Donald Trump said he was hoping for the termination of the Federal Reserve’s chair.
WORDS: 818 - MOVED: 04/17/2025 9:51 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:7ddec17196daa9c9ae4c1802738abd21&mediaType=text
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TRUMP-TARIFFS-SOLAR
China dominates solar. Trump tariffs target China. For US solar industry, that means higher costs
SUMMARY: President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war with China means hopeful solar buyers may have a much harder time getting systems installed in the U.S. in coming months. That’s because Trump’s move threatens a massive source of panels and parts. Experts say the cost of projects will rise even with efforts to build a robust solar supply chain in the U.S., as China still dominates key components and manufacturing. Solar companies say some customers are holding off on plans until there is more clarity. But others are racing to beat the supply crunch and get crucial solar tax credits, which Trump might also cut.
WORDS: 993 - MOVED: 04/17/2025 9:36 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:e0a764b42a6ba638a4201c5683f98a6b&mediaType=text
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ML--EMIRATES-MALL
Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, home to a ski slope, to get $1.3 billion renovation
WORDS: 157 - MOVED: 04/17/2025 9:32 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:435c527373e27a94d97fb5a98c7754b0&mediaType=text
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EU--TURKEY-CENTRAL BANK
Turkey’s central bank hikes key interest rate to 46% amid political turmoil and global tariffs
WORDS: 472 - MOVED: 04/17/2025 9:26 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:33610217e70f157478e03f031d50fad9&mediaType=text
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UNITEDHEALTH-GUIDANCE CUT
UnitedHealth cuts 2025 forecast after dealing with first-quarter care use spike
SUMMARY: UnitedHealth chopped its 2025 forecast after being surprised by care use from its Medicare Advantage customers in a worse-than-expected first quarter. Shares of the health care giant started tumbling early Thursday. UnitedHealth said a rise in care use from its Medicare Advantage customers came in far above what the company planned for 2025 and became apparent as the quarter ended. The company’s UnitedHealthcare insurance business is the nation’s largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans. Those are privately run versions of the federal government program mostly for people ages 65 and older.
WORDS: 515 - MOVED: 04/17/2025 8:59 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:c5e879fadc2fc99eee65c80dac3cda62&mediaType=text
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US--UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
US jobless benefit claims fall last week as labor market remains strong despite recession fears
SUMMARY: U.S. applications for jobless benefits fell again last week as the labor market continues to hold up despite fears of a tariff-induced recession. Jobless claim applications fell by 9,000 to 215,000 for the week ending April 12, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s well below the 225,000 new applications analysts forecast. Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs, and have mostly stayed between 200,000 and 250,000 for the past few years. The four-week average of applications fell by 2,500 to 220,750. The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of April 5 jumped by 41,000 to 1.89 million.
WORDS: 335 - MOVED: 04/17/2025 8:54 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:10f25f51e4ec0510a3a020aa20ec48d9&mediaType=text
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CB--PUERTO RICO-BLACKOUT
Officials demand answers as crews work to restore power after another Puerto Rico blackout
SUMMARY: Crews are working to restore power to Puerto Rico after a blackout across the entire island affected the main airport, several hospitals and hotels filled with Easter vacationers. The blackout left 1.4 million customers without electricity and more than 400,000 without water. About 47% had power back on Thursday morning. The blackout snarled traffic, forced businesses to close and left those unable to afford generators scrambling to buy ice and candles. It’s the second island-wide blackout in less than four months. The cause wasn’t yet known, but Puerto Rico has had chronic outages due to hurricane damage and a lack of maintenance and investment in its power grid.
WORDS: 694 - MOVED: 04/17/2025 8:53 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:5b13e983386e13fb6894cb3960902a8c&mediaType=text
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BE WELL--WORKING WELL-MENTAL HEALTH LEAVES
Taking a mental health leave from work is an option most people don’t know about
SUMMARY: Taking a mental health leave from work is becoming more of an option for people in the United States even thought most of them probably don’t know it. Both employees and employers are recognizing that stepping back from work to deal with chronic depression and anxiety sometimes is a necessary and healthy choice. A dedicated mental health leave can last months or weeks, or involve getting advance approval to to take a day or days off when needed. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act entitles workers at most U.S. organizations with 50 or more employees to up to 12 weeks of leave for serious health conditions.
WORDS: 1279 - MOVED: 04/17/2025 7:30 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:d5b2969b8325cff74f5bb0dc2fb9bdf8&mediaType=text
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AS--JAPAN-TRADE
Japan reports a $63 billion trade surplus with the US as it talks with Trump on tariffs
SUMMARY: Japan recorded a trade deficit for the fiscal year that just ended but racked up a $63 billion surplus with the United States. The Finance Ministry reported Thursday that the deficit was 5.2 trillion yen, or $37 billion, for the fiscal year through March, the fourth straight year of red ink. Exports to the U.S. are a contentious issue for U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese negotiators are in Washington to argue their case against higher U.S. tariffs. Japan is a key longtime U.S. ally and major investor in the U.S., employing hundreds of thousands of Americans in the U.S.
WORDS: 432 - MOVED: 04/17/2025 4:05 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:d23573689292edd7b3cea7496438a4a0&mediaType=text
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AF--IVORY COAST-COCOA
Struggling Ivory Coast cocoa farmers are worried about US tariff plans
SUMMARY: Cocoa has long provided a lifeline in Ivory Coast but adverse weather and plant diseases have hurt harvests in recent years. Now, cocoa farmers in the country worry even more about U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans to impose a 21% tariff on products from Ivory Coast — the highest among West African nations. Trump has suspended the tariff plans for 90 days, pending further review. But authorities in Ivory Coast have warned that such tariffs could send the price of cocoa even higher, which in turn could destabilize the local market.
WORDS: 601 - MOVED: 04/17/2025 1:32 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:406a27c616a35cc3861ba9cb2b91fd60&mediaType=text
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TRUMP-MELONI
Italy’s Meloni will test her mettle as EU-US bridge when she meets Trump in Washington
SUMMARY: Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni will test her mettle as an EU facilitator when she meets with Donald Trump in the White House. The meeting on Thursday marks the first face-to-face between a European leader and the U.S. president since he announced, and then temporarily suspended, tariffs of 20% on European exports. Meloni is traveling in her role as Italy’s leader, but she has been in close contact with EU Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen ahead of the trip. The 90-day pause on the retaliatory tariffs has raised some hopes for negotiation, and experts say that Meloni’s margins for progress are more in bringing clarity on Trump’s goals than in outright concessions.
WORDS: 731 - MOVED: 04/17/2025 12:05 a.m. EDT
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