Business Highlights: Stocks fall, foodbanks see long lines

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Fed ethics inquiry clears Powell and Clarida trades

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s inspector general concluded Thursday that financial trades made several years ago by Chair Jerome Powell and Richard Clarida, then the vice chair, did not violate any laws or ethics rules. At the same time, the letter said the investigation of the presidents of two regional Federal Reserve banks who stepped down after their trading activities came to light remains ongoing. The investigation stemmed from revelations last year that several Fed officials had bought and sold stocks, real estate investment funds and other securities during periods of sharp market turmoil in the spring of 2020 after the pandemic had erupted.

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Long lines are back at US food banks as inflation hits high

PHOENIX (AP) — Long lines are back at outside food banks around the U.S. as working Americans overwhelmed by inflation increasingly seek handouts to feed their families. Many people are coming for the first time amid the skyrocketing grocery and gas prices. The food banks struggle to help even as federal programs provide less food, grocery store donations wane and cash gifts don’t go nearly as far while U.S. inflation hits a 40-year high. Charitable food distribution has remained far above amounts given away before the coronavirus pandemic, even though demand tapered off somewhat late last year.

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Fed board member opens door to 1-point hike if demand rises

WASHINGTON (AP) — Christopher Waller, a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, said Thursday that he would be open to supporting a huge 1 percentage point increase in the Fed’s key short-term interest rate later this month if upcoming economic data points to robust consumer spending. Such an increase would mark a further ramping up of the Fed’s rate hikes as it intensifies its fight against accelerating inflation. Faster rate increases would heighten the risk that the central bank’s anti-inflationary policies would cause a recession.

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Amazon offers concessions to head off EU antitrust cases

LONDON (AP) — Amazon has promised to treat third-party merchants on its website fairly as it seeks to resolve two European Union antitrust investigations. The bloc’s competition watchdog said Thursday that the U.S. online retail giant offered to make a number of commitments to ease competition concerns. The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s top antitrust enforcer, will now seek feedback on those commitments from “interested parties.” The commission launched an investigation four years ago over concerns that Amazon was using data from merchants selling products on its platform to gain an unfair advantage over them. It also opened a separate investigation into whether Amazon favors its own retail business and merchants that use its logistics and delivery system.

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Emirates slams Heathrow Airport’s order to cut flights

LONDON (AP) — Emirates Air has rejected a demand by London’s Heathrow Airport for airlines to cut the number of passengers on summer flights in a bid to ease travel disruptions. The Mideast carrier calls it an “entirely unreasonable and unacceptable” move that shows “blatant disregard for customers.” The airline on Thursday accused Heathrow’s management of “incompetence” for not being ready to deal with the “super peak period” for travel. It comes a day after Heathrow announced it was capping daily passenger numbers at 100,000 and asked airlines to stop selling tickets. It’s seeking to quell travel chaos caused by soaring demand and staff shortages. Heathrow says it’s been seeking help from airlines on solutions for months.

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Officials suggest pipeline company hid problems after spill

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. prosecutors suspect a Wyoming company of potentially concealing problems with a pipeline that broke in 2015 and spilled tens of thousands of gallons of crude into the Yellowstone River. The spill fouled the water supply of Glendive, Montana and took months to clean up. Operator Bridger Pipeline told federal officials that the line had been adequately buried. But prosecutors say one survey indicated it was just beneath the surface of the ever-shifting river bottom. That would put it at greater risk of breaking. Bridger rejected the allegations as “conspiracy theories.” Prosecutors are pursuing a parallel case against a related company that spilled 600,000 gallons of crude in North Dakota in 2016.

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Wholesale inflation in June surged 11.3% from a year ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation at the wholesale level climbed 11.3% in June compared with a year earlier, the latest painful reminder that inflation is running hot through the American economy. The U.S. producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers — rose at the fastest pace since hitting a record 11.6% in March. The report on wholesale prices came a day after the Labor Department reported that surging prices for gas, food and rent catapulted consumer inflation to a new four-decade peak in June, further pressuring households and likely sealing the case for another large interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

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US stocks fall as JPMorgan releases weak earnings, warning

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell broadly in afternoon trading on Wall Street Thursday and banks were among the biggest weights on the market following weak earnings and a warning from JPMorgan Chase. The S&P 500 fell 1.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2% and the Nasdaq fell 0.8%. JPMorgan Chase reported a sharp drop in earnings for its latest quarter, falling short of forecasts. CEO Jamie Dimon reaffirmed a pessimistic view for the economy. Inflation at the wholesale level climbed 11.3% in June compared with a year earlier. It follows a worrisome report on Wednesday showing prices at the consumer level remain high.

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Wildfire threat becomes tool to fight home builders

Environmental groups have been arguing in California courts that developers are not fully considering the risks of wildfire and choked evacuation routes when they plan their housing developments near fire-prone areas. And they’ve been winning. The lawsuits center on housing at the edge of forests and brush, called the wildland-urban interface. Experts say such litigation could become more common. But builders say the concern about evacuation routes is a cover for anti-sprawl activists.

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EXPLAINER: What’s the impact of euro parity with the dollar?

The euro has hit parity with the dollar, falling to its lowest level in 20 years and even skirting just below a one-to-one exchange rate with the U.S. currency this week. That’s the market’s verdict on Europe’s economic prospects. The euro is falling as fears of a recession grow due to Russia restricting natural gas supplies. European officials say it’s retaliation for the bloc’s support for Ukraine amid Russia’s war. Moves by the U.S. Federal Reserve are strengthening the dollar with higher interest rates. U.S. tourists may get a break on some of their travel bills, but Europeans will pay more for imported oil because it’s priced in dollars.

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Russian missiles kill at least 23 in Ukraine, wound over 100

VINNYTSIA, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials say Russian missiles that struck a city in central Ukraine killed at least 23 people and wounded more than 100 others, including children. Ukraine’s national police said three missiles hit an office building and damaged residential buildings in Vinnytsia on Thursday. The city is 268 kilometers (167 miles) southwest of Kyiv, the capital. The missile strike ignited a fire that engulfed 50 cars. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack “an open act of terrorism” against civilians in locations without military value. One military analyst says he thinks Thursday’s attack mirrors previous ones on residential areas that Moscow launched “to try to pressure Kyiv to make some concessions.”

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The S&P 500 fell 11.40 points, or 0.3%, to 3,790.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 142.62 points, or 0.5%, to 30,630.17. The Nasdaq rose 3.60 points, or 0.03%, to 11,251.19. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 18.53 points, or 1.1%, to 1,707.51.

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