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.

Walmart raises profit expectations as more Americans hunt deals in sluggish economy

SUMMARY: Walmart delivered another standout quarter, posting strong sales and profits that blew past Wall Street expectations as it wins over more cash-strapped Americans who have grown increasing anxious about the economy. With other retailers dialing back projections, the nation's largest retailer raised its financial outlook Thursday, setting itself up for a strong holiday shopping season. Walmart Inc., based in Bentonville, Arkansas, also said that it will be transferring the listing of its common stock to the tech-heavy Nasdaq from the New York Stock Exchange. CEO Doug McMillon, who surprised investors with plans to retire early next year, has reshaped Walmart itself as tech-powered retail giant that has leaned heavily into automation and artificial intelligence.

WORDS: 783 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 7:02 a.m. EST

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New study shows global luxury shoppers are spurning high-end brands over steep price hikes

SUMMARY: Global sales of personal luxury goods are expected to decline for the second consecutive year. A study by Bain & Co. reveals that consumers are pushing back against price hikes and global uncertainty is shaking consumer confidence. Sales of luxury apparel, footwear, and handbags are predicted to drop by 2% this year. This marks the first two-year slowdown since the 2008-09 financial crisis. Bain analysts view the post-pandemic sales surge as a bubble. Despite the decline, the market remains 25% larger than before the pandemic. Bain forecasts a rebound next year, assuming U.S. growth and recovery in China.

WORDS: 571 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 9:27 a.m. EST

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Verizon is cutting more than 13,000 jobs as it works to 'reorient' entire company

SUMMARY: Verizon is laying off more than 13,000 employees as it works to "reorient" the entire company and simplify operations. The job cuts began on Thursday, according to a memo from CEO Dan Schulman. He explained that Verizon's current cost structure limits its ability to invest, particularly in customer experiences. Beyond these layoffs, Verizon plans to significantly reduce outsourced and other outside labor expenses.

WORDS: 238 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 8:57 a.m. EST

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US futures climb after another blowout report from Nvidia and renewed hopes for a December rate cut

SUMMARY: U.S. stock futures are climbing after another blockbuster profit report from Nvidia suggested it and other stars created by the artificial-intelligence frenzy may indeed deserve their high stock prices. S&P 500 futures rose 1.6% before the opening bell Thursday. Dow futures rose 1% and Nasdaq futures were 2.1% higher. Nvidia rose 5.2% in pre-market trading after reporting a big profit for the summer that topped expectations, while also giving a forecast for revenue that again easily cleared estimates. A mixed report about the U.S. job market kept alive hope that the Federal Reserve may deliver another energizing cut to interest rates next month.

WORDS: 600 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 11:41 p.m. EST

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Starbucks union says 30 more US stores are joining week-old strike

SUMMARY: Starbucks' union is expanding its week-old strike against the company. Starbucks Workers United said baristas from 30 more stores in 25 U.S. cities planned to join the strike Thursday, including stores in Cleveland; Memphis, Tennessee; Springfield, Missouri, and Albany, New York. That brings the total number of stores with striking workers to 95 in 65 cities. The strike began last Thursday on Starbucks' Red Cup Day, which is typically one of its busiest days of the year. Starbucks said the strike has caused minimal disruption and Red Cup Day was the strongest in its history. The union is protesting the lack of progress in reaching a contract agreement with Starbucks.

WORDS: 339 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 9:22 a.m. EST

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Advocacy groups urge parents to avoid AI toys this holiday season

SUMMARY: Children's and consumer advocacy groups are urging parents not to buy AI-powered toys during the holiday season. These toys, marketed to kids as young as 2, are often powered by AI models like OpenAI's ChatGPT, which have been shown to harm children and teenagers. Fairplay, a children's advocacy group, warns that AI chatbots can foster obsessive use, explicit conversations, and unsafe behaviors. These toys are often marketed as educational but can disrupt children's relationships and creativity.

WORDS: 1035 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 7:59 p.m. EST

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U.S. employers added surprisingly solid 119,000 jobs in September, government says in delayed report

SUMMARY: U.S. employers added a suprisingly solid 119,000 jobs in September, the government said, issuing a key economic report that had been delayed seven weeks by the federal government shutdown. The Labor Department also said Thursday that the unemployment rate rose to 4.4% from 4.3% in August. The increase in payrolls was more than double the 50,000 economists had forecast. But Labor Department revisions showed that jobs fell by 4,000 in August instead of increasing by 22,000 as originally reported.

WORDS: 686 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 5:50 p.m. EST

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US filings for jobless benefits remained in historically healthy range during government shutdown

SUMMARY: New U.S. jobless claim applications fell last week, remaining within the healthy range of recent years, according to the government's first weekly layoffs data since before the government shut down on Oct. 1. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the week ending Nov. 15 fell by 8,000 to 220,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which softens some of the week-to-week volatility, fell by 3,000 to 224,250. The total number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the week ending Nov. 8 jumped to 1.97 million, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week.

WORDS: 133 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 8:55 a.m. EST

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GE Appliances bolsters ties with US suppliers as it moves production from China to Kentucky

SUMMARY: GE Appliances says it has awarded more than $150 million in new contracts to U.S. suppliers as a result of its decision to shift production from China to Kentucky. It says the contracts range from $330,000 to $41 million, span 10 states and cover crucial segments of the supplier chain for washer and dryer production. The suppliers include U.S. Steel and family-owned companies. With the new contracts, GE Appliances says it's increasing domestic spending on suppliers by 3.3%. The suppliers will support production of a combo washer/dryer and a lineup of front load washers. The production is moving from China to the company's Appliance Park complex in Louisville.

WORDS: 576 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 8:02 a.m. EST

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Warner Music and AI startup Udio settle copyright battle and ink license deal

SUMMARY: Warner Music Group has resolved its copyright dispute with Udio and signed a deal to collaborate on a new AI song creation service. Announced Wednesday, this is the second agreement between a major label and Udio. AI is transforming the music industry, with AI-generated music flooding streaming services. Warner's deal with Udio, set to launch in 2026, aims to create new revenue streams while protecting artists' work. Similar to Universal's recent agreement, Udio will remain a closed system. Artists will be credited and paid if their work is used. Sony Music has yet to sign a deal with Udio.

WORDS: 366 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 7:56 a.m. EST

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Prada heir Lorenzo Bertelli will have strategic role at Versace as executive chairman

SUMMARY: Prada heir Lorenzo Bertelli is set to play a major strategic role as executive chairman of Versace following the Prada Group's 1.25 billion-euro deal to acquire its rival. The acquisition is expected to finalize in coming weeks. Bertelli, 37, has been marketing director at Prada since 2019 and head of corporate responsibility since 2020. He announced his new role on a Bloomberg podcast, stating he doesn't expect major changes at Versace in the first year. The Prada Group announced the acquisition in April, aiming to boost Versace's performance. Versace is expected to make up 13% of Prada Group's pro-forma revenues.

WORDS: 312 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 7:10 a.m. EST

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Building an emergency fund can feel daunting, but these tips can help

SUMMARY: Maybe your car broke down, your computer was stolen, or you had a surprise visit to urgent care. Emergencies are inevitable, but you can help by building an emergency fund. The industry standard is to save three to six months of expenses in an emergency fund. However, this can feel daunting if you live paycheck to paycheck or if you have debt. But if you're in either of these situations, it's even more crucial to build a financial safety net that can help you in times of crisis. You can start with setting small milestones for yourself to reach, then progress to bigger goals.

WORDS: 996 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 5:10 a.m. EST

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Larry Summers takes leave from teaching at Harvard after release of Epstein emails

SUMMARY: Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has abruptly gone on leave from teaching at Harvard University over recently released emails showing he maintained a friendly relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. That's according to Summers' spokesperson. Summers has been retreating from his public commitments amid the fallout of the emails revelation. Earlier Wednesday, Summers severed ties with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, and other organizations over the emails. He was also affiliated with multiple think tanks, research centers and media organizations. Several of them confirmed that those affiliations have ended.

WORDS: 890 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 7:45 a.m. EST

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Nvidia earnings clear lofty hurdle set by analysts amid fears about an AI bubble

SUMMARY: Nvidia's sales of the computing chips powering the artificial intelligence craze surged beyond the lofty bar set by stock market analysts in a performance that may ease recent jitters about a Big Tech boom turning into a bust that topples the world's most valuable company. The results announced late Wednesday provided a pulse check on the frenzied spending on AI technology that has been fueling both the stock market and much of the overall economy since OpenAI released its ChatGPT three years ago. Nvidia has been by far the biggest beneficiary of the run-up because its processors have become indispensable part of AI technology. The company's stock price rose more than 5% after the quarterly numbers came out.

WORDS: 792 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 1:06 p.m. EST

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How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday, 11/19/2025

SUMMARY: The U.S. stock market swung through another unsettled day of trading, ahead of a couple of crucial tests for Wall Street. The S&P 500 added 0.4% after veering between a small loss and a leap of 1.1% earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6%. Nvidia climbed as traders made their final moves before it delivered its latest profit report, which arrived after trading finished for the day. Much is riding on it because of worries that AI stock prices may have shot too high. Treasury yields held relatively steady.

WORDS: 267 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 4:53 p.m. EST

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Nvidia's earnings attest to its leadership in the AI race. By the numbers

SUMMARY: Nvidia reported more eye-catching numbers for its fiscal third quarter Wednesday, with net income jumping 65% and revenue increasing 62% from a year earlier. Nvidia last month became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company's chips is the main reason that the company's stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023. A look at some of the numbers behind the company's rise.

WORDS: 404 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 4:38 p.m. EST

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Wall Street swings through another erratic day ahead of a couple of crucial tests

SUMMARY: The U.S. stock market swung through another unsettled day of trading, ahead of a couple of crucial tests for Wall Street. The S&P 500 added 0.4% after veering between a small loss and a leap of 1.1% earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6%. Nvidia climbed as traders made their final moves before Wall Street's most influential stock delivered its latest profit report. Much is riding on it because of worries that AI stock prices may have shot too high. Treasury yields held relatively steady ahead of Thursday's jobs report from the U.S. government.

WORDS: 854 - MOVED: 11/18/2025 11:35 p.m. EST

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Labor Department won't release full October jobs report, a casualty of the 43-day federal shutdown

SUMMARY: The Labor Department said Wednesday that it will not be releasing a full jobs report for October because the 43-day federal government shutdown meant it couldn't calculate the unemployment rate and some other key numbers. Instead, it will release some of the October jobs data -- most importantly the number of jobs that employers created last month -- along with the full November jobs report, now due a couple of weeks late on Dec. 16. The department's "employment situation? report usually comes out the first Friday of the month. But the government shutdown disrupted data collection and delayed the release of the reports. For example, the September jobs report, now coming out Thursday, was originally due Oct. 3.

WORDS: 486 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 1:54 p.m. EST

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U.S. trade deficit drops 24% in August as Trump's tariffs reduce imports

SUMMARY: The U.S. trade deficit fell by nearly 24% in August as President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs pushed imports lower. In a report delayed for more than seven weeks by the federal government shutdown, the Commerce Department said Wednesday that the the gap between what the United States buys from other countries and what it sells them fell to $59.6 billion in August from $78.2 billion in July. Imports fell 5.1% to $340.4 billion in August from July when U.S. companies were stocking up on foreign products before Trump finalized taxes on products from almost every country on earth that went into effect Aug. 7.

WORDS: 477 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 10:33 a.m. EST

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Fiber is something most people could use more of. But experts advise caution with 'fibermaxxing'

SUMMARY: U.S. consumers who have had their fill of protein-enhanced cereal and ice cream are about to meet the next big food fad. It's fiber. Market research firm Mintel says the number of new products promoted with high or added fiber saw a big uptick this year. There's even a term for trying to get more fiber into your diet: fibermaxxing. Fiber feeds gut bacteria and helps move food through the digestive system. It also lowers cholesterol levels, regulates blood sugar and can help with weight loss. Experts say most Americans don't get enough of it but fiber-heavy foods like fruit, vegetables and whole grains are the way to go, not packaged foods.

WORDS: 935 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 9:08 a.m. EST

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Trump nominates new CFPB director, but White House says agency is still closing

SUMMARY: President Trump has nominated Stuart Levenbach as the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This move allows Trump's budget director, Russell Vought, to remain as acting director while the administration works to dismantle the agency. Levenbach, currently an associate director at the Office of Management and Budget, has experience in science and natural resources. His nomination is not expected to proceed to confirmation. Under the Vacancies Act, Vought can act as director for 210 days, but the nomination suspends this limit. The CFPB has been largely nonfunctional this year, with many employees ordered not to work.

WORDS: 539 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 11:42 a.m. EST

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Ford recalls more than 200,000 Bronco and Bronco Sports for instrument panel failure

SUMMARY: Ford Motor Co. is recalling more than 200,000 Bronco and Bronco Sport vehicles because an instrument panel can fail, increasing the risk of a crash. Federal auto safety regulators said in a report that the instrument panel may not display at startup, leaving the driver without critical safety information. The recall includes 128,607 Ford Bronco Sports, model years 2025-2026 and 101,002 Ford Broncos, also model years 2025-2026, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. Ford is not aware of any injuries caused by the instrument failure. Owners will be instructed early next month to take their vehicles to a Ford or Lincoln dealership to have the software updated.

WORDS: 123 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 9:34 a.m. EST

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Europe could get Cypriot natural gas by 2027, president says

SUMMARY: The president of Cyprus says some of the estimated 20 trillion cubic feet of natural gas discovered in waters off the island nation could reach European markets as soon as 2027. President Nikos Christodoulides told an energy conference Wednesday that the first quantity of natural gas that could be exported abroad will come from one of six discovered deposits called Cronos. It's operated by a consortium made up of Italian company Eni and French firm TotalEnergies. Christodoulides said that the consortium would make its final decision to move ahead with the project next year. Cronos gas could potentially reach a processing plant in the Egyptian port city of Damietta for liquefaction and transport to European markets by ship in 2027.

WORDS: 514 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 9:44 a.m. EST

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