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Jobless claims drop to 196,000

WASHINGTON — The number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped sharply last week, another sign that layoffs remain rare and most Americans enjoy job security. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims slid to 196,000, the fewest since mid-July and down from 206,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, dropped to 203,250. Economists had expected claims to come in at 207,500, according to a survey by the data firm FactSet. Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch ...

Killing endangered animals while logging a forest or building a dam would not be considered illegal unless the animals were specifically targeted, under a new interpretation of the Endangered Species Act. A directive sent to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees this week says imperiled animals or plants must be intentionally targeted for their killing to be considered illegal. That’s a sharp turnaround from past practice at the wildlife service. Historically, it’s held people liable even for accidentally harming protected species such as grizzly bears, manatees and spotted ...

Stocks dip after Fed interest rate hike

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks slipped Wednesday after the Federal Reserve hiked its main interest rate for the first time in three years and suggested more may be ahead as it tries to get the nation’s high inflation under control. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% after giving up a modest gain from earlier ...

Federal Reserve expected to raise benchmark rate

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is widely expected to lift its short-term interest rate Wednesday for the first time in three years to fight stubbornly high inflation, a move that would put the central bank at odds with President Donald Trump’s support for a cut. A quarter-point increase ...

Congress not rushing AI regulation

WASHINGTON — The technology industry’s increasingly urgent warnings about the potential harm of artificial intelligence are slamming into political intransigence in Washington, offering a fresh test of the federal government’s willingness and ability to confront what may become a defining issue of the era. President Donald Trump is leading the opposition to recent calls by tech leaders seeking greater government oversight, including Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and xAI’s Elon Musk. The president dismissed efforts to limit the technology on Monday as a ...

Ticker: Stocks slip after oil, bond market up pressure

The U.S. stock market slipped as oil prices and the bond market cranked up the pressure on Wall Street. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.8%. They felt pressure as the yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed with oil prices. Higher yields mean everyone must pay more in interest to borrow money, which slows the overall economy. They also make people less willing to pay high prices for stocks because they can earn more from sitting in bonds, which are considered safer investments. Carney: Canada can be stronger ...