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Federal court strikes down new global tariffs

A federal court ruled Thursday against the new global tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed after a stinging loss at the Supreme Court. A split three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade in New York found the 10% global tariffs were illegal after small businesses sued. The court ruled 2-1 that Trump overstepped the tariff power that Congress had allowed the president under the law. The tariffs are “invalid” and “unauthorized by law,” the majority wrote. The third judge on the panel found the law allows the president more leeway on tariffs. If the ...

Stock market hits record after oil prices ease up, profits increase

NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market rose to records Tuesday after oil prices eased and companies kept reporting bigger profits for the start of the year than analysts expected. The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to top its prior all-time high set at the end of last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 356 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite set its own record after rallying 1%. Stocks got a boost after oil prices gave back much of their big jumps from Monday. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 4% to $109.87 after briefly cresting $115 on ...

Scholar Hotels announce investment platform

STATE COLLEGE Scholar Hotels and its affiliate, Scholar Hospitality Holdings I LLC, announced the upcoming launch of a real estate investment platform designed to expand access to private market opportunities — featuring a planned minimum investment of $5,000 and a structure intended to include investors beyond the traditionally limited accredited investor base. The initiative comes amid a broader shift in private markets, where regulatory frameworks such as Regulation A have enabled greater participation from retail investors. Historically, direct investment in ...

U.S. job openings were unchanged at 6.9 million

U.S. job openings were essentially unchanged at 6.9 million in March, another sign the American labor remained sluggish even before the full impact of the Iran war hit the economy. The job market has been up and down so far this year after a dismal 2025. And the Iran war has clouded the outlook. On Tuesday, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that layoffs rose in March. But hiring improved and more people quit their jobs — a sign of confidence in the economy. Job openings have come down more or less steadily since peaking at a record 12.3 million in March 2022 as the ...

Shipping firms being whipsawed as they wait for Hormuz to open

NEW YORK — With hundreds of vessels still stuck in the Persian Gulf and costs piling up, shipping companies are being whipsawed by uncertainty over how and when the Strait of Hormuz might reopen more than two months into the Iran war. On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced “Project Freedom,” a way for the U.S. to “guide” ships to exit the strait. Two ships made the transit, but by Tuesday Trump abruptly paused the effort to allow time for a deal to end the war. Meanwhile, the risks for ships and crew haven’t faded. A cargo container ship operated by the CMA CGM Group ...

Ticker: Lower-income Americans hit hardest by gas prices

Lower-income Americans sharply reduced their gas consumption in the month following the Iran war, yet spiking prices still forced them to spend more at the pump, worsening the economy’s disparities, new research released Wednesday showed. Higher-income households, meanwhile, ratcheted up their spending on gas while barely reducing their consumption, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Middle-income households fell in-between. Hopes for strait reopening push Asian shares higher Asian shares are sharply higher and the price of crude oil was holding above ...