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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US NEW JERSEY TRANSIT-ENGINEERS
DESCRIPTION: The union representing New Jersey Transit engineers holds news conference to discuss the status of contract talks and next week's strike deadline at the nation's third largest commuter railroad.
ON MERITS: By 05/09/2025 2:00 p.m. EDT, Text
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US--TRUMP-MASS FIRINGS
DESCRIPTION: San Francisco -- Cities, counties, nonprofit organizations and labor unions are asking a California federal judge to halt 20 executive federal departments from firing or reorganizing its personnel per orders from DOGE, saying that Trump did not have the authority to order such sweeping changes. Story on Merits.
ON MERITS: By 05/09/2025 3:00 p.m. EDT, Text
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US-CONGRESS-PUBLIC LANDS
DESCRIPTION: Republicans tout their plan to sell potentially hundreds of thousands of acres of federal land as a way to generate revenue and ease housing pressures in fast-growing western states. Skeptics say it's a giveaway that would benefit developers and mining companies with no promise that it could ease the region's affordable housing crisis. By Matthew Brown, Matthew Daly and Jesse Bedayn.
UPCOMING: By 05/09/2025 3:00 p.m. EDT, Text, Photo
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US--TRUMP-TARIFFS-DOLLS
DESCRIPTION: President Donald Trump's assertion that children will be fine having two dolls instead of 30 if his tariffs raise consumer prices drew swift reactions on social media. There were memes of the president portrayed as the Grinch who stole Christmas and photos of a young Barron Trump's toy room. Trump's comment pointed to the possibility of certain items becoming harder to find as the year progresses. Nearly 80% of the toys sold in the U.S. are made in China, and most American manufacturers have paused shipments from there due to the 145% tariff Trump put on most Chinese products.
UPCOMING: By 05/09/2025 7:01 p.m. EDT, Text, Photo
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UGANDA COFFEE SISTERHOOD
DESCRIPTION: A female business owner in Uganda wanted to create a coffee sisterhood. The coffee sisterhood has grown by paying more per kilogram of coffee if a woman brings it for sale. The idea has taken off. Over 600 women now take part, up from dozens at the start.
UPCOMING: By 05/09/2025 9:00 p.m. EDT, Text, Video, Photo
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NEW AND DEVELOPING
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FINANCIAL MARKETS
Wall Street drifts as it waits for a highly anticipated US-China meeting on trade
SUMMARY: U.S. stocks are drifting as Wall Street heads toward the end of an unusually quiet week. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% Friday and was on track to erase its small loss for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 86 points, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6%. It's a respite for stocks after they whipsawed for weeks on fears about President Donald Trump's trade war and then on hopes that he'll relent on some of his tariffs. Treasury yields and other financial markets are also holding relatively steady ahead of a highly anticipated meeting on Saturday between China and the United States on trade.
WORDS: 680 - MOVED: 05/09/2025 10:25 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:9a2c78a2fbf47931dfb2e9f192bae006&mediaType=text
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US--TRUMP-TARIFFS-CHINA
Trump floats cutting China tariffs to 80% ahead of meeting as he looks to deescalate trade war
SUMMARY: President Donald Trump has floated cutting tariffs on China from 145% to 80% ahead of a weekend meeting among top U.S. and Chinese trade officials as he looks to deescalate the trade war between the world's two largest economies. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are set to meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Switzerland. It will be the first major talk between the nations since Trump sparked a trade war with stiff tariffs on imports. An 80% tariff on Chinese goods would still be an extremely high import duty that could create supply chain problems and push up prices.
WORDS: 648 - MOVED: 05/09/2025 9:57 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:41d189bfe510e3ed7692da8647a14e64&mediaType=text
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US--TRUMP-MAINE FISHING
Fishermen battling with changing oceans chart new course after Trump's push to deregulate
SUMMARY: Commercial fishermen are eager to see if President Donald Trump's command to shed federal fishing regulations will boost one of the nation's oldest industries. Trump's April 17 order cites the nation's more than $20 billion seafood trade deficit as the reason to overhaul the industry. The order calls on the federal government to reduce the regulatory burden on fishermen by later this month. Many fishing groups have long said deregulation is needed to revitalize the industry. Scientists and conservation groups say catch limits and other regulations are critical to prevent overfishing and keep fish populations healthy.
WORDS: 1033 - MOVED: 05/09/2025 7:26 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:abd37f0baaeaf6897a2926902eba10e6&mediaType=text
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AS--JAPAN-PANASONIC-JOB CUTS
Japanese tech company Panasonic cuts 4% of its global workforce as profits falter
WORDS: 353 - MOVED: 05/09/2025 6:57 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:68e34146574bc9e614f558c711a4b474&mediaType=text
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CHINA-ECONOMY
China's exports to US sink, offset by trade with other economies, as US tariffs hit global trade
SUMMARY: China's exports to the United States have tumbled while its trade with other economies surged in April. Data released Friday showed China's total exports rose 8% last month from a year earlier, much faster than most economists had been expecting. Exports to the U.S. sank 21% as President Donald Trump's tariffs on Chinese exports rose to as high as 145%. But China's total exports remained resilient, with exports to Latin America, India and Southeast Asia expanding at a double-digit pace in the first four months of the year. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other senior trade officials are due to meet with Chinese officials in Geneva for talks this weekend.
WORDS: 675 - MOVED: 05/09/2025 3:20 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:1ccca562b7381cd8546263342c640f52&mediaType=text
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