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US chip controls threaten China’s technology ambitions
BEIJING (AP) — China’s leaders are seething at U.S. efforts to cut off access to technology to make advanced computer chips. They appear to be struggling to figure out how to retaliate without hurting their own ambitions in telecoms, artificial intelligence and other industries. President Xi Jinping’s government sees the chips that are used in everything from phones to kitchen appliances to fighter jets as critical assets in its rivalry with Washington and efforts to gain wealth and global influence. China has its own chip foundries, but they can supply only low-end processors used in autos and appliances. The U.S. government, Japan and the Netherlands have cut off access to chipmaking tools they say might be used to make weapons.
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Credit Suisse investors slam failures as chairman apologizes
ZURICH (AP) — Shareholders of Credit Suisse have upbraided its leadership for years of mismanagement, scandal and obfuscation that sent its stock price into the gutter. Executives at the annual shareholder meeting Tuesday apologized and insisted the only way forward was a government-engineered takeover by rival UBS. A largely polite but sometimes boisterous, emotional and angry mood pervaded at what’s likely the last annual meeting in the bank’s 167-year history. One shareholder wore a red tie “to represent the fact that I and plenty of others today are seeing red.” Credit Suisse Chairman Axel Lehmann acknowledged the shock and anger people felt and said “the bank could not be saved.”
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Feb job openings slip to 9.9M; a win in inflation fight?
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job openings slipped to 9.9 million in February, fewest since May 2021 and a sign that the job market may be starting to cool, which would be welcome news for the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve. The Labor Department said that vacancies were down from 10.6 million in January.The American job market has proven resilient in the face of sharply higher interest rates. Over the past year, the Fed has raised its benchmark rate nine times in a drive to corral inflation that last year hit a four-decade high. The surge in consumer prices has eased since mid-2022 but remains well over the central bank’s 2% year-over-year target.
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New IRS leader promises faster, easier tax filing process
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Internal Revenue Service’s new commissioner promises that with billions in new funding, the agency will be faster, more service-focused and tech- savvy and will provide “real-world improvements” to taxpayers. “This is our moment in history to transform the IRS,” said Daniel Werfel, who was ceremoniously sworn into his new role at the IRS headquarters, Tuesday. He said the IRS has “a great deal of work ahead of us to ensure a more modern and high-performing IRS that provides world-class services to taxpayers.” President Joe Biden nominated Werfel to steer the IRS as it receives nearly $80 billion over the next 10 years through the Inflation Reduction Act, which Congress passed in August.
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Student aid startup founder arrested on fraud charges
NEW YORK (AP) — The founder of the student loan assistance startup company Frank that J.P. Morgan Chase acquired for $175 million has been arrested on charges that she duped the financial giant by dramatically inflating the number of customers her company had. Charlie Javice of Miami Beach, Florida, was arrested Monday night in New Jersey on conspiracy, wire and bank fraud charges. A charging document in Manhattan federal court said she claimed her company had over four million users when it had fewer than 300,000 customers. Authorities said Javice, who appeared on the Forbes 2019 “30 Under 30” list, would have earned $45 million from the fraud.
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Wall Street dips, snaps win streak after weak economic data
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell on Wall Street Tuesday following a pair of weaker-than-expected economic reports. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq composite lost a similar amount. The reports on job openings and factory orders may have reinforced forecasts that a recession could hit the economy. They could have a potential upside for markets if they give the Federal Reserve a reason to hold rates steady at its next meeting in May, instead of hiking them as it has for the last year. Treasury yields fell following the reports.
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About 5K GM salaried workers take buyouts, avoiding layoffs
DETROIT (AP) — About 5,000 white-collar workers at General Motors took the company’s buyout offers, which the automaker says is enough to avoid layoffs at this time. GM says in a statement Tuesday that the offers will save about $1 billion per year in costs, about half of the $2 billion it wants to cut annually by the end of 2024. The company now has about 58,000 salaried workers in the U.S. Last month GM offered buyouts to white-collar workers with at least five years of service, and global executives who have been with the company at least two years. The offers come as the auto industry is in the midst of a transition from internal combustion to electric vehicles.
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J&J proposes paying $8.9B to settle talcum powder lawsuits
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — Johnson & Johnson is earmarking nearly $9 billion to cover allegations that its baby power containing talc caused cancer. The amount more than quadruples that which the company had previously set aside to pay for its potential liability. Under a proposal announced Tuesday, a J&J subsidiary will re-file for bankruptcy protection and seek court approval for a plan that would result in one of the largest product-liability settlements in U.S. history. The $8.9 billion that J&J would transfer to the subsidiary, LTL Management, would be payable over the next 25 years. The amount is a significant increase from the $2 billion that the company previously set aside.
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GM passes Ford to take No. 2 spot in EV sales behind Tesla
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors has ridden strong first-quarter sales of the Chevrolet Bolt to bump crosstown rival Ford out of second place in the U.S. electric vehicle sales race. But GM’s EV sales of 20,670 remained far below those of industry leader Tesla, which delivered more than 161,000 vehicles in the U.S. from January to March. That’s according to estimates from Motorintelligence.com. Ford sold only 10,866 EVs during the quarter. The company said that’s largely because it had to stop making the top-selling Mustang Mach-E while it retooled a factory in Mexico to increase production. GM delivered 19,700 of its top-selling EV, the Bolt hatchback and utility vehicle.
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The S&P 500 lost 23.91 points, or 0.6%, to 4,100.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 198.77 points, or 0.6%, to 33,402.38. The Nasdaq composite dropped 63.13 points, or 0.5% to 12,126.33. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies shed 32.66 points, or 1.8%, to 1,769.65.
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