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US home sales fall in July; Some buyers see a silver lining.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The housing market’s high-flying days are winding down from earlier this year, with home sales falling for the sixth consecutive month in July. High mortgage rates, inflation, and inflation at all-time highs are making homes cheaper. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales fell 20.2% from July last year, the slowest pace since May 2020, around the time the pandemic began. But the recession is beginning to equalize home buying, even if only slightly, favoring house hunters to stay in the market and stay away from sellers.
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Few Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week
WASHINGTON (AP) – Fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the labor market remained the strongest part of the U.S. economy. Jobless claims fell 2,000 to 250,000 for the week ending August 13, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Last week’s figure, which raised some eyebrows, was improved by 10,000. The four-week average for claims, showing some week-to-week volatility, fell by 2,750 to 246,750. Unemployment applications generally reflect layoffs and are often seen as an early indicator of where the job market is headed.
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Ineligible railway workers fight for disability.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific has lost three lawsuits over how it fired workers with health concerns over safety concerns, and hundreds more lawsuits have been filed against the railroad. The lawsuits will first be part of a class-action case before a federal appeals court decides whether the cases should be handled separately. The first few lawsuits have now resulted in judgments of more than $1 million in all three cases, but more than 200 more discrimination complaints are pending with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which could turn into lawsuits. Union Pacific has defended the policy in court, saying the railroad is designed to protect its workers and the public from serious injury risks.
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Stars Coffee, anyone? Starbucks successor opens in Russia
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian fans of Starbucks coffee shops are getting a chance to see if a homegrown replacement can measure up. Entrepreneurs who bought the property after the U.S. company left Russia following Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine are opening stores in former Starbucks locations this week. They have an almost identical Star Coffee name and a logo that is indistinguishable from the old one. The venture follows a strategy of renovating closed McDonald’s outlets with a new name but essentially the same menu. After Western companies left the country, Russian entrepreneurs suddenly saw an opportunity in unoccupied stores.
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Unions are pushing airlines to promise to avoid share buybacks
DALLAS (AP) – Labor unions are pushing U.S. airlines to stop buying back their own stock. The unions want the airlines to hire more workers and spend money to fix problems that cause widespread flight delays and cancellations. The four largest U.S. airlines spent more than $39 billion on stock purchases from 2014 to 2019 instead of investing in helping employees and passengers, unions said Thursday. American, United and Southwest say they have no plans to buy back shares when the buyback ban expires on Sept. 30.
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Kohl’s cuts 2022 outlook, caps mixed week for retailers
NEW YORK (AP) — Kohl’s cut sales and profit expectations for the year as the department store chain ramped up discounts to get rid of unwanted merchandise. Looking ahead, Kohl’s said it is reducing merchandise orders for the crucial holiday season. The announcement sent shares of Wisconsin-based Kohl’s down 8% on Thursday and capped a mixed week for the retailer. Kohl’s gloomy forecast is the latest indication that consumers are cutting back on clothing and other consumer goods amid high inflation. They are shifting spending priorities as they emerge from the pandemic.
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Stocks ended higher after much choppy trading on Wall Street
NEW YORK (AP) – Stocks edged higher on Wall Street after another day of downbeat trading. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% on Thursday, returning it to the green for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose a touch. As tech companies gained ground, so did the Nasdaq. Cisco Systems rose after better-than-expected quarterly results. Energy companies have also increased along with rising crude oil prices. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.87 percent. Last week, the U.S. government reported that fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits as the labor market remained strong.
Starbucks must reinstate fired workers, federal judge rules
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – A federal judge has ordered seven workers at a Memphis, Tennessee store to be reinstated after they tried to unionize their stores earlier this year. In Thursday’s ruling, U.S. District Judge Cheryl Lipman agreed with the National Labor Relations Board, which had asked the court to intervene in May. Lippman’s decision requires Starbucks to give its workers five days to return to work. The case is one of the most closely watched in the union effort at Starbucks. More than 220 US Starbucks stores, including the Memphis store, have voted to unionize. Starbucks opposes the union’s efforts.
Climate accounting is unlikely to benefit: the US oil and gas industry
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – Renewable energy incentives in the climate bill signed by President Joe Biden are expected to significantly reduce overall U.S. emissions. But some analysts say the law will boost oil and gas companies by offsetting at least some of the emissions cuts. The Act mandates the sale of several oil and gas leases. It also locks renewables and fossil fuels together for 10 years. So if the Biden administration wants solar and wind, it must first offer new oil and gas leases. In the year Economists estimate that by 2030 it could produce more planet-warming carbon dioxide than oil and gas produced in the U.S., even though most of the fuel is exported.
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The S&P 500 gained 9.70 points, or 0.2%, to 4,283.74. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 18.72 points, or 0.1%, to 33,999.04. The Nasdaq added 27.22 points, or 0.2%, to 12,965.34. The Russell 2000 index of small companies ended up 13.41 points, or 0.7%, at 2,000.73.
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