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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GOOGLE-AI-SHOWCASE
DESCRIPTION: Google is expected to unveil plans to inject even more artificial intelligence into its dominant search engine in an acceleration of a shift that's upending the way people find information online while threatening to reduce the flow of traffic to other online publishers that need all the visitors they can get to help sell digital advertising.
UPCOMING: By 05/20/2025 1:45 p.m. EDT, Text, Photo
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MALAYSIA-LABOR ABUSE
DESCRIPTION: Around 280 Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia are demanding hundreds of thousands of dollars in back wages and other money owed to them after their former employer, a plastic parts supplier to big Japanese companies like Sony, Panasonic, and Daikin, closed down. The workers at Kawaguchi Manufacturing's factory in Port Klang, Malaysia's largest port city, were left stranded when the company withheld their wages for up to eight months before shutting down late last year. The workers have filed complaints in Malaysia and back home in Bangladesh. Such disputes have become a diplomatic sore point between Bangladesh and Malaysia, drawing scrutiny on a small but powerful group of recruitment agencies and middlemen who monopolize such jobs.
UPCOMING: By 05/20/2025 10:00 p.m. EDT, Text, Photo, Video
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NEW AND DEVELOPING
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MUSK-TESLA
Elon Musk says he's committed to still be Tesla's CEO in 5 years' time
SUMMARY: Billionaire Elon Musk says he's committed to being CEO of Tesla in five years' time. The question came as Musk made a video appearance at the Qatar Economic Forum hosted by Bloomberg. A moderator asked: "Do you see yourself and are you committed to still being the chief executive of Tesla in five years' time?" Musk responded: "Yes." Tesla has faced intense pressure as Musk worked with the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump as part of its Department of Government Efficiency effort, particularly amid its campaign of cuts across the U.S. federal government.
WORDS: 154 - MOVED: 05/20/2025 10:13 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:76e38b748142268260a79bd72071f7f8&mediaType=text
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US--CONGRESS-TAX CUTS
Trump comes to the Capitol to try to persuade a divided GOP to unify around his big tax cuts bill
SUMMARY: President Donald Trump has arrived on Capitol Hill to try to seal the deal on what he calls his "big, beautiful bill." He will try to unify divided House Republicans on the multitrillion-dollar package that is at risk of collapsing before planned votes this week. The president has implored GOP holdouts to "STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE." But negotiations are slogging along. It's not at all clear the package, with its sweeping tax breaks and cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy programs, has the support needed. With all Democrats opposed, the Republicans can handle only a few defections from their slim House majority.
WORDS: 967 - MOVED: 05/20/2025 9:59 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:ebc172c76ac51434e9bfa28d867bd9a0&mediaType=text
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FINANCIAL MARKETS
US stocks drift as S&P 500 flirts with its first drop in 7 days
SUMMARY: U.S. stock indexes are drifting as momentum slows for Wall Street after it rallied from a deep hole nearly all the way back to its all-time high set earlier this year. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% Tuesday and may be set for its first drop in seven days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 55 points, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.5%. Treasury yields drifted higher in the bond market, while the value of the U.S. dollar was relatively stable against other currencies. Stock indexes abroad mostly rose following cuts to interest rates by central banks in China and in Australia.
WORDS: 737 - MOVED: 05/20/2025 9:53 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:02ba2e767cdf0306c28ec9210bec90ed&mediaType=text
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EU--WORLD BEE DAY
On 'World Bee Day,' the bees did not seem bothered. They should be
SUMMARY: Tuesday was the eighth annual "World Bee Day." Bees and other pollinators have been on the decline for years. Experts blame a combination of factors. They include insecticides, parasites, disease, climate change and lack of a diverse food supply. A significant part of the human diet comes from plants pollinated by bees. And not just honeybees but hundreds of species of lesser-known wild bees. Many of them are endangered. The U.N. General Assembly sponsored the first "World Bee Day" in 2018 to bring attention to the bees' plight. Steps as small as planting a pollinator garden or buying raw honey from local farmers were encouraged.
WORDS: 331 - MOVED: 05/20/2025 9:23 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:498d981856e9963235c02cac11160c9e&mediaType=text
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US--MISSISSIPPI-WAITING ON FEMA
While Trump overhauls FEMA, Mississippi tornado survivors await assistance
SUMMARY: Mississippi's request for federal disaster assistance is pending more than two months after 18 tornadoes ripped through the state. The delays could provide a glimpse into what's in store for communities around the country as the summer storm season arrives and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is mired in turmoil. And hurricane season is just around the corner. The emergency management director in one of the state's hardest-hit counties said debris removal operations have ground to a halt and people who lost their homes aren't getting the help they need.
WORDS: 849 - MOVED: 05/20/2025 8:42 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:00c644598b4f4693c116b9eb5eae3bae&mediaType=text
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EU--EUROPE-RUSSIA-SANCTIONS
New EU and UK sanctions target Russia's shadow fleet of tankers illicitly transporting oil
SUMMARY: The European Union and U.K. have imposed fresh sanctions on Russia, notably targeting almost scores of ships from the shadow fleet illicitly transporting oil to skirt Western restrictions imposed over the war on Ukraine. The 27-nation bloc targeted 189 ships in all, and imposed asset freezes and travel bans on several officials as well as a number of Russian companies. The measures were endorsed by EU foreign ministers in Brussels. Russia uses its "shadow fleet" of ships to to transport oil and gas, or to carry stolen Ukrainian grain. The EU has now targeted almost 350 of the ships in total. In parallel, the U.K. targeted the shadow fleet in a raft of 100 new sanctions.
WORDS: 517 - MOVED: 05/20/2025 8:01 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:02d78e4aeda205391f72dfccdc005561&mediaType=text
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US--HOME DEPOT-RESULTS
Home Depot's revenue rises in first quarter as customers spend more tackling smaller projects
SUMMARY: Home Depot's revenue climbed in the first quarter as customers spent slightly more as they tackled smaller projects. Revenue rose to $39.86 billion from $36.42 billion a year earlier, beating the $39.3 billion that analysts polled by FactSet expected. Sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of a retailer's health, edged down 0.3%. In the U.S., comparable store sales climbed 0.2%. Customer transactions rose 2.1% in the quarter. The amount shoppers spent climbed to $90.71 per average ticket from $90.68 in the prior-year period.
WORDS: 475 - MOVED: 05/20/2025 7:06 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:47e51f7c5c18a5e5a7f407fd25269430&mediaType=text
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AS--HONG KONG-CATL
Shares in China's CATL, world's biggest EV battery maker, surge in Hong Kong after $4.6 billion IPO
WORDS: 776 - MOVED: 05/20/2025 6:44 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:1e87c749f080779e70b4b00b3516a635&mediaType=text
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US-MONEY MATTERS-SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS
Can you control required minimum distributions?
SUMMARY: While you don't have much control over when required minimum distributions start, you have a bit of discretion over the amount and especially which accounts you tap.
WORDS: 705 - MOVED: 05/20/2025 6:00 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:d3a8a14e5751f89b9663dd814f3cfb10&mediaType=text
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AS--TAIWAN-US
Taiwan's president downplays tariff tensions with the US as 'frictions between friends'
WORDS: 579 - MOVED: 05/20/2025 5:36 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:5ccd0b8eae02b89218601e75cc41084e&mediaType=text
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AS--JAPAN-HONDA
Honda pulls back on EV strategy for now and will push hybrid sales
WORDS: 453 - MOVED: 05/20/2025 2:55 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:48fb1e4840c5b3889fda5c9e1531f783&mediaType=text
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AS-AUSTRALIA-ECONOMY
Australian central bank reduces benchmark interest rate to 3.85% in second cut this year
WORDS: 355 - MOVED: 05/20/2025 2:41 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:29f1ce22f9207d53c728353b6102e621&mediaType=text
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US--LAGUARDIA AIRPORT-CLOSE CALL
Passenger jet had to abort takeoff to avoid runway collision at New York's LaGuardia Airport
SUMMARY: Federal officials are investigating why two planes got dangerously close on a runway at New York's LaGuardia Airport earlier this month despite the airport being equipped with an advanced surface radar system that's designed to help prevent such close calls. Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday they are investigating the May 6 incident. A Republic Airways jet had to abort takeoff because a United Airlines plane was still taxiing across the runway. Renee Hoffer said she and the other passengers were thrown forward so hard when the plane abruptly stopped that she wound up in the emergency room the next day with a pinched nerve.
WORDS: 783 - MOVED: 05/20/2025 12:44 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:821fcc0a18d5da17b832b2e17af765c0&mediaType=text
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US--BLACK-YOUTH-GOLF-DETROIT
Organizations and companies are partnering to introduce Black students in Detroit to golf
SUMMARY: As a fan, Shaun Horne is all about Detroit's professional sports teams. But when it comes to playing, the high school junior only has his eyes set on golf. Embracing the game makes the 16-year-old a rarity among his Detroit peers, particularly Black high schoolers. Coaches and community groups are taking ambitious steps that include seeking corporate help and offering college scholarships to spread the game's popularity among students. They say hurdles include costs associated with golf equipment and course time.
WORDS: 865 - MOVED: 05/20/2025 12:05 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:07d24d86a427215e75a8524d0d7f6298&mediaType=text
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