Loading articles...

Business Highlights

___

Stocks, bond yields fall sharply as growth worries spread

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street was roiled Friday by new signs that global economic growth is slowing. The jitters triggered a sell-off in stocks and sent bond yields sharply lower, flashing a possible recession warning. The wave of selling knocked 460 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average and gave the benchmark S&P 500 index its worst day since Jan. 3. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks fell more than the rest of the market as traders offloaded risker assets.

___

Trump to nominate conservative Stephen Moore for Fed board

WASHINGTON (AP) — A fervent advocate of tax cuts, Stephen Moore is close to Larry Kudlow, head of the White House National Economic Council. The two collaborated in shaping the tax overhaul that Trump signed into law at the end of 2017, leading to changes that largely favoured tax cuts for corporations and wealthier individuals with the idea of spurring investment and faster growth.

___

Potential recession signal: A key ‘yield curve’ has inverted

NEW YORK (AP) — One of the most closely watched predictors of a potential recession just yelped even louder. The signal lies within the bond market, where investors show how confident they are about the economy by how much interest they’re demanding from U.S. government bonds. It’s called the “yield curve,” and a significant part of it flipped Friday for the first time since before the Great Recession.

___

Indonesian airline wants to cancel Boeing order after crash

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian airline Garuda wants to cancel of a multibillion dollar order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets following two crashes in the space of a few months involving the plane. The company said Friday that the airline, which had ordered 50 Max 8 jets in 2014 and received just one, has written to Boeing requesting to cancel the order worth $4.9 billion. It says passengers have lost confidence in the jet.

___

Digital scrapbooking site Pinterest files for IPO

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Digital scrapbooking site Pinterest on Friday filed for an initial public offering of stock. It follows a similar filing with securities regulators earlier this month by ride-hailing company Lyft in what is shaping up to be a busy season for technology IPOs. Also expected to sell stock to the public in the coming weeks: Lyft rival Uber and messaging app Slack.

___

Treasury grants further relief on IRS withholding penalties

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department is expanding again the relief it grants taxpayers who had too little in income taxes withheld from their paychecks in the first year of a sweeping tax overhaul. Treasury says that taxpayers will be able to avoid penalties for paying too little in taxes as long as they paid at least 80 per cent of what they owed the government.

___

Italy, China deepen ties under wary gaze of US, EU

MILAN (AP) — Italy’s head of state has told visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping that a new investment and trade deal with China must be a “two-way street.” The Italian president was addressing concerns among Western allies that the so-called “Belt and Road” project is meant merely to amplify Beijing’s global influence. During Xi’s two-day official state visit, Italy is expected to become the first major democracy to sign up to the “Belt and Road” initiative.

___

GM announces jobs, electric vehicle after Trump criticism

ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Less than a week after a series of critical tweets from President Donald Trump over an Ohio plant closure, General Motors is announcing plans to add 400 jobs and build a new electric vehicle at a Michigan factory. The company says it will spend $300 million in Orion Township to build a Chevrolet vehicle based on the battery-powered Bolt.

___

EU takes charge, forces Brexit deadlines on UK’s May

LONDON (AP) — Isolated at home and abroad, British Prime Minister Theresa May must labour against the odds once again to win backers in Parliament for her unloved Brexit deal to a timetable dictated by the European Union. Almost three years after Britons voted to walk away from the EU, the bloc’s leaders seized control of the Brexit timetable from May to avert a chaotic departure by Britain on March 29. She has until May 22 if she can get UK lawmakers to pass her Brexit plan. If not, she has until April 12.

___

Trump slams European automakers, threatens US tariffs

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump criticized European auto makers Friday, suggesting he could impose tariffs on imports from companies such as BMW and Mercedes unless they build more plants in the United States. In an interview on Fox Business Network’s Mornings with Maria, Trump said that he has rejected proposals from the European Union that would bring auto tariffs on both sides to zero.

___

The S&P 500 index dropped 54.17 points, or 1.9 per cent, to 2,800.71. The Dow gave up 460.19 points, or 1.8 per cent, to 25,502.32. The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, slid 196.29 points, or 2.5 per cent, to 7,642.67. The Russell 2000 lost 56.49 points, or 3.6 per cent, to 1,505.92.

The Associated Press