Audit finds NHTS auto safety defect probes take too long

( ) -q-30- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “important safety issues.”

A government audit has found that the U.S. agency charged with keeping the roads safe is slow to investigate automobile safety defects, limiting its ability to handle rapidly changing or severe risks.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: In addition, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation doesn’t have an integrated computer system for its probes. The audit from the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General found that the office has made progress in restructuring and modernizing its data and analysis systems. But it found that weaknesses in meeting the office’s own goals for timely investigations increase possible delays in probing important safety issues.

Meta tests blocking news content on Instagram, FB for some Canadians

( ) -q-24- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “the bill passes.”

Meta is preparing to block news for some Canadians on Facebook and Instagram in a temporary test that is expected to last through the end of June.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: The Silicon Valley tech giant is following in the steps of Google. Earlier this year, Google blocked news content from some of its Canadian users in response to a government bill that will require tech giants to pay publishers for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online. Meta says it’s prepared to block news permanently on Facebook and Instagram if the bill passes.

US, Taiwan sign trade deal over China’s opposition

( ) -q-28- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “island’s elected government.”

The United States has signed a trade agreement with Taiwan over opposition from China, which claims the self-ruled island democracy as part of its territory.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The measure was signed by employees of the unofficial entities that maintain relations between the United States and Taiwan, a center for high-tech industry.

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VERBATIM: The two governments say the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade will strengthen commercial relations by improving customs, investment and other regulation. The U-S and Taiwan have no formal diplomatic ties, but maintain unofficial relations and have billions of dollars in annual trade. The Chinese government accused Washington of violating agreements on Taiwan’s status and demanded the U.S. government stop official contact with the island’s elected government.

American Airlines to appeal ruling breaking up JetBlue partnership

American Airlines says it will appeal a court ruling that would break up a partnership with JetBlue. Last week, a federal judge said an alliance between American and JetBlue to work together in New York and Boston violates antitrust law. American Airlines CEO Robert Isom says he disagrees with the ruling. He notes the partnership is helping consumers by creating more competition against Delta and United in the Northeast. That’s an argument that the judge rejected.

Europe sees inflation drop to 6.1%, but consumer relief will take months

Europe is getting a break on inflation. Price increases for the 20 countries that use the euro fell to 6.1% in May. That’s down from 7% in April. But that doesn’t feel like much relief for people going shopping for food and other necessities. That’s because price increases this summer are coming on top of already-high prices from last year caused by the war in Ukraine.

A wave of retirements is leaving some US industries desperate to hire

Across the U.S. economy, a number of industries are facing the same formidable challenge. That challenge is replenishing a workforce that is being diminished by a surge of retirements that began during the pandemic and has continued since. Since 2019, the proportion of retirees in the U.S. population has risen from 18% to nearly 20%, the equivalent to about 3.5 million fewer workers. And the trend seems sure to accelerate.

Applications for jobless benefits tick up slightly

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week. Applications for jobless claims were 232,000 for the week ending May 27, an increase of just 2,000 from the previous week. The four-week moving average of claims fell by 2,500 to 229,500. Overall, 1.8 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended May 20, about 6,000 more than the previous week.

China factory activity slows, adding to economic strains

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “to cool inflation.”

A survey shows China’s factory activity has decelerated in May, adding to signs its economic rebound after the end of anti-virus controls is slowing.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. At home, Chinese consumer spending revived after anti-virus curbs on travel and business activity were lifted in December. But the recovery has been weaker than expected.

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VERBATIM: A monthly purchasing managers’ index issued by China’s national statistics agency and an industry group declined to 48.4 from April’s 49.2 on a 100-point scale. Numbers below 50 show activity is declining. Chinese manufacturers have been hurt by weakening global demand after central banks in the United States, Europe and Asia raised interest rates to cool inflation.

China warns of AI risks, calls for beefed-up national security measures

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “poses to humankind.”

China has warned of the risks posed by advances in artificial intelligence while calling for heightened national security measures.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The official Xinhua News Agency said Xi urged “dedicated efforts to safeguard political security and improve the security governance of internet data and artificial intelligence.”

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VERBATIM: The statement was issued after a meeting chaired by Communist Party leader and President Xi Jinping. It underscores the tension between the government’s determination to seize global leadership in cutting-edge technology and concerns about the possible social and political harms of such technologies. It followed a warning by scientists and tech industry leaders in the U.S. about the perils AI poses to humankind.

CEOs got smaller raises, but still far outpace typical worker salaries

( ) -q-30- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “workers too wide.”

After ballooning for years, CEO pay growth is finally slowing.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The median pay for workers at companies included in the AP survey was $77,178, up 1.3%. That means it would take that worker 186 years to make what a CEO making the median pay earned just last year.

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VERBATIM: The typical compensation package for chief executives who run S&P 500 companies rose just 0.9% last year, to a median of $14.8 million. That’s according to data analyzed for The AP by Equilar. It was the smallest increase since 2015. Still, that’s unlikely to silence mounting criticism that CEO pay has become excessively high and the imbalance between company bosses and rank-and-file workers too wide.

Goats to the rescue in California

( ) -q-24- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “out of business.”

Grazing goats are in high demand to devour wild grass and shrubs that are proliferating across California after a drought-busting winter of heavy rain and snow.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: When the summer heat arrives, that vegetation will dry out and provide fresh tinder for wildfires. Public and private landowners are turning to goats as an environmentally friendly way to clear vegetation instead of using machines or chemical herbicides. But goat-herding companies say California’s farmworker overtime law is making it more expensive to provide grazing services and threaten to put them out of business.

Elon Musk meets with a top Chinese government official in Beijing

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “to improve relations.”

China’s foreign minister has met Tesla CEO Elon Musk and said U.S.-Chinese relations require “mutual respect” while touting the promise of the country’s electric vehicle industry.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Musk’s visit comes at a time when the ruling Communist Party is trying to revive investor interest in China’s slowing economy.

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VERBATIM: U.S.-Chinese relations are especially tense after Washington shot down a Chinese balloon that was believed to be gathering intelligence and warned Beijing against supplying arms to Russia for its war against Ukraine. Qin Gang said the two governments “need to keep the steering wheel in the right direction of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.” He gave no details of steps to improve relations.

Prosecutors say Sam Bankman-Fried’s arguments to dismiss cryptocurrency charges are meritless

( ) -q-22- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “of regulatory issues.”

New York prosecutors say Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers made meritless arguments in a bid to convince a judge to toss out criminal charges.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Bankman-Fried has been living with his parents in Palo Alto, California after posting a $250 million personal recognizance bond after his December extradition from the Bahamas.

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VERBATIM: Those charges allege that the FTX founder stole from investors in his multibillion dollar cryptocurrency fund. Prosecutors arguments responded to early-May filings in which Bankman-Fried’s lawyers insisted that the federal government overreached in its case against Bankman-Fried. They contend prosecutors made federal crimes out of regulatory issues.

Foreign companies in China seek “greater clarity” about cybersecurity changes

A business group says foreign companies in China want “greater clarity” about changes in China’s cybersecurity and other rules

VERBATIM: The British Chamber of Commerce in China says it also wants to know how the ruling Communist Party will enforce them after they were rattled by raids on consulting firms. The chamber said companies are optimistic and want to invest, but are waiting for steps to “restore the trust and certainty” amid geopolitical tension and official plans to promote self-reliance. President Xi Jinping’s government says foreign companies are welcome and is trying to encourage them to invest more.

Local currency in Zimbabwe plunges in value against the U.S. dollar

Shoppers in Zimbabwe are increasingly turning to street traders to buy what they need as the local currency plunges in value against the U.S. dollar

VERBATIM: The southern African nation uses both types of money. Supermarkets and other stores must charge in Zimbabwe dollars, and their prices are rising rapidly. But costs are stable on the street, where the U.S. dollar is exclusively used and not pegged to an official exchange rate that’s artificially low.

A measure of inflation closely tracked by the Fed increased in April

( ) -q-23- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “two-percent inflation target.”

A key index of U.S. prices ticked higher in April as consumer spending rebounded.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Consumers kept spending last month despite the price rise: Their spending jumped 0.8% from March to April.

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VERBATIM: The index showed that prices rose 0.4% from March to April, much higher than the 0.1% increase the previous month. It’s a sign that inflationary pressures in the economy remain high. The year-over-year figure of 4.4-percent was down sharply from a peak of 7% last June, yet remains far above the Fed’s 2% inflation target.

Minnesota’s governor nixes pay raise, benefits for Uber, Lyft drivers

Governor Tim Walz has vetoed a bill that would have mandated higher pay and job security for Lyft and Uber drivers in Minnesota. Walz says that ride-hail drivers deserve fair wages and safe working conditions, but the legislation wasn’t ready to become law. It was Walz’s first veto ever in his five-plus years as governor. Walz issued the veto as Uber threatened to offer only premium-priced service in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and cut off service altogether in the rest of Minnesota.

An electric battery plant to be built in Georgia

( ) -q-18- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “in North America.'”

Hyundai and LG Energy Solution say they will build a $4.3 billion electric battery plant in Georgia.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. It’s the second huge electric battery plant that Hyundai is partnering to build in Georgia. The Hyundai-LG battery plant will employ 3,000 workers, part of the 8,100 jobs already pledged for the site.

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VERBATIM: The factory would be on the site of the new electric vehicle assembly plant that Hyundai Motor Group is building near Savannah. The companies will split the investment, starting production as early as late 2025. Hyundai says it wants to “further accelerate its electrification efforts in North America.”

US, Chinese trade officials express concern about each other’s restrictions

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “on security grounds.”

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and her Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, have expressed concern about policies of each other’s governments.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Raimondo’s office said she “raised concerns” about Chinese actions against U.S. companies in China. Wang’s ministry said he “expressed key concerns” about U.S. policy on semiconductors, exports and trade.

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VERBATIM: The concerns come following Chinese raids on consulting firms and U.S. restrictions on exports of semiconductor technology. The two governments announced no progress in disputes over technology and security but said Raimondo and Wang promised to strengthen exchanges on trade issues. Companies from both sides have been buffeted by tighter official controls on trade in semiconductors and other activity on security grounds.

US economic growth revised up to a still-tepid 1.3% annual rate

The U.S. economy grew at a lackluster 1.3% annual rate from January through March. Businesses wary of an economic slowdown trimmed their inventories, although the latest figure is a slight upgrade from the government’s initial estimate of an 1.1-percent annual rate last quarter. The revised measure of growth in the nation’s gross domestic product marked a deceleration from the second half of 2022. Despite the first-quarter slowdown, consumer spending, which accounts for around 70% of America’s economic output, rose at a healthy pace.

Shell to pay $10 million for air pollution at new PA petrochemical plant

Shell has agreed to pay $10 million to resolve allegations that it polluted the air around its massive new petrochemical refinery in western Pennsylvania. Shell acknowledged the plant violated air emissions limits. The multibillion-dollar refinery near Pittsburgh opened in November, only to be shut down months later after Shell said it identified a problem with a system that’s designed to burn off unwanted gases. Shell said it has fixed the problems, and plans to restart the facility.

Microsoft: State-sponsored Chinese hackers target U.S. communications

Microsoft says state-backed Chinese hackers have been targeting U.S. critical infrastructure. The company says the hackers could be laying the technical groundwork for the potential disruption of communications between the U.S. and Asia in future crises. The targets include Guam, where the U.S. has a major military presence. Hostile activity in cyberspace — from espionage to the advanced positioning malware for potential future attacks — has become a hallmark of modern geopolitical rivalry.

It’s not so simple for companies to leave Russia; Others quietly staying put

Companies around the world are finding out that leaving Russia isn’t as easy as the first announcements might have made it seem. When Russia invaded Ukraine, companies were quick to respond, some announcing they would get out of Russia immediately. Others vowed to curtail sales and new investment. Increasingly, Russia has put hurdles in the way of companies that want out, requiring approval by a government commission and in some cases from President Vladimir Putin himself, while imposing painful discounts and taxes on sale prices. They also risk running afoul of Western sanctions and public opinion.

Court annuls EU approval of $140 million of COVID-19 aid for Italian airlines

( ) -v-35- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “std.”

A top European Union court has ruled that the European Commission was wrong to approve millions of euros (dollars) in aid to help Italian airlines cope with the impact of COVID-19 restrictions. Correspondent Jeremy House has more on the story.

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VERBATIM: The E-U general court said the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, failed to provide “a statement of reasons for its finding that the measure at issue was not contrary to EU law provisions other than those governing state aid.” Italian authorities informed the European Commission in October 2020 of their plans to provide 130 million euros to airlines holding an Italian license under certain conditions, and the commission did not raise objections. The case was brought by low-cost Irish carrier Ryanair, which also was struggling to survive at the time…JH reporting.