Business Highlights

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Trump: China needs to reach a trade deal more than he does

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’s under little pressure to reach a trade deal with China when he meets late this week with President Xi Jinping and is prepared to impose further tariffs on Chinese imports. “The Chinese economy’s going down the tubes,” Trump says in an interview with Fox Business Network. “They want to make a deal more than I do.”

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Trump says he ‘made’ Fed Chairman Powell

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is keeping up his attacks on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Trump says he “made” Powell but now would like to trade him in for Mario Draghi, the head of the European Central Bank. In an interview on Fox Business, Trump says “we should have Draghi” instead of Powell because of Draghi’s announcement last week that he was prepared to provide more stimulus if necessary to support the lagging European economy.

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Wayfair workers protest sale to detention centre

BOSTON (AP) — Employees at online home furnishings retailer Wayfair are walking out to protest the company’s decision to sell $200,000 worth of furniture to a government contractor that runs a detention centre for migrant children. More than 500 employees at the company’s Boston headquarters signed a protest letter to executives when they found out about the contract. Wednesday’s walkout was organized when Wayfair refused to back out of the contract.

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California, Canada sidestep Trump, ink deal on emissions

DETROIT (AP) — California picked up an important partner its dispute with the Trump administration over vehicle emissions and fuel economy by announcing a deal with Canada to reduce pollution. The agreement comes as the state is in a standoff with its own federal government on the same issues, with little hope of resolving the dispute out of court.

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Senior EPA official steps down amid House ethics probe

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Environment Protection Agency official who helped lead the Trump administration’s rollback of Obama-era restrictions on carbon emissions is resigning amid a congressional probe into whether he improperly aided former industry clients. EPA Assistant Administrator Bill Wehrum is expected to depart at the end of June. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced Wehrum’s resignation on Wednesday.

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Tech giants face questions on hate speech going into debates

WASHINGTON (AP) — Executives of Facebook, Google and Twitter have faced questioning by a House panel on their efforts to stanch terrorist content and misinformation on their social media platforms. The scrutiny comes as the tech giants step up safety measures to prevent disinformation online targeting the Democratic presidential debates. The hearing Wednesday by the Homeland Security Committee was prompted by the mosque shootings in New Zealand that killed 50 people, which were livestreamed by the alleged gunman.

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Refinery to close after fire; modest gas price impact seen

Analysts say summer travellers in the Mid-Atlantic region could see gas prices rise after the announcement that a Philadelphia oil refinery hit by a fire will close. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said Wednesday that Philadelphia Energy Solutions had informed him of its decision to shut down the facility in the next month, affecting more than 1,000 workers. AAA says motorists will likely see modest price increases as more summer travellers hit the road.

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French lawsuit accuses Google of violating EU privacy rules

PARIS (AP) — A leading French consumer group has filed a class-action lawsuit accusing Google of violating the EU’s landmark 2018 privacy rules. The UFC Que Choisir group announced the filing Wednesday, and is seeking 1,000 euros in damages for each of about 200 Google users involved in the complaint so far.

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US told Palestinian economic plan must have political vision

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Participants in a conference promoting the Trump administration’s $50 billion economic support plan for the Palestinians say the initiative cannot be divorced from the political elements of a Mideast peace deal, as U.S. officials insist the two be presented separately. The warnings come as the Palestinians repeat their outright rejection of the plan because it ignores their political demands, including the creation of an independent state, something the administration has refused to endorse.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks closed slightly lower on Wall Street Wednesday after an early rally fueled by optimism over the next round of trade talks between the U.S. and China lost momentum toward the end of the day. The wobbly finish extended the S&P 500 index’s losing streak to a fourth straight day, though the market is still on track to end the month with solid gains.

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The S&P 500 index dropped 3.60 points, or 0.1%, to 2,913.78. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11.40 points, or less than 0.1%, to 26,536.82. The Nasdaq composite, heavily weighted with technology stocks, gained 25.25 points, or 0.3%, to 7,909.97. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks fell 3.26 points, or 0.2%, to 1,517.78.

The Associated Press

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