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Briefcase: Nominations open for Centre County awards

STATE COLLEGE The Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County has opened nominations for the 2026 Centre County Business Awards, presented by Stuckey Automotive. These awards recognize local businesses and individuals whose work strengthens the economy and enhances the quality of life across the region. The Centre County Business Awards is a cornerstone event recognizing outstanding achievement through a peer-led nomination and selection process The six awards categories are: Nonprofit of the Year; ATHENA Champion Leadership Award; Emerging Business of the Year; Small Business of ...

Ticker: Trump refuses to sign bipartisan housing bill

A sprawling legislative package aimed at lowering the cost of housing and spurring more home construction won broad bipartisan approval from Congress this week, but it’s hit a major roadblock in becoming law. Although the White House supported the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, President Donald Trump canceled the housing bill signing ceremony on Wednesday. He says he won’t sign the measure until Congress passes separate election reform legislation. The delay could impact aspiring homeowners and renters at a time when many Americans are burdened by the cost of housing. Tech ...

Briefcase: Sharp drops in Big Tech pull indexes lower

Pullbacks in big technology companies sent indexes lower on Wall Street. The S&P 500 fell 1.4% Tuesday. The selling was concentrated in AI-related companies that have had huge run-ups in recent months and sent the market to record after record, most recently in early June. Investors are becoming worried that the growing likelihood of interest rate hikes this year to fight inflation will weigh on economic growth. The Nasdaq fell 2.2%. The Dow, which has less weighting in tech, held up better with a drop of just 0.1%. Chip companies, which have soared in recent weeks, sank. Micron ...

AI slump raises concerns for investors’ spending

Technology companies are spending big to incorporate artificial intelligence into their businesses and to build huge data centers. Investors who had jumped on the bandwagon appear to be having second thoughts. Proponents of artificial intelligence see it as the next great revolution for the global economy. The revolution won’t come cheap. Just four companies — Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft — plan to spend up to $720 billion this year, primarily on AI data centers. This week, investors are looking at the huge sums being spent and questioning whether AI can produce ...

Senate passes housing bill aimed to lower prices

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a bipartisan housing bill on Monday that aims to reduce federal regulations and expand local control, one of the most sweeping efforts in recent decades to increase supply and bring down prices. The bill, which passed 85-5 and now heads to the House, has been ...

Mexico’s president seeks to restart oil shipments to Cuba

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that her country seeks to restart oil shipments to Cuba soon, a move that could provide much-needed relief as the island’s crises deepen given a lack of petroleum. Sheinbaum said her administration would seek to send the oil via commercial and privately owned firms instead of state-owned companies as it has done in the past. Mexico became a key fuel supplier to Cuba after the U.S. attacked Venezuela in early January and halted critical oil shipments. But those shipments, which had already been reduced, were ...