Business Highlights

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Investors are fleeing once-popular emerging markets

NEW YORK (AP) — If you think investors in U.S. stocks have had it rough, consider the hapless folks who followed Wall Street’s advice to buy emerging-market stocks.

The MSCI Emerging Markets index has lost 25 per cent over the past year, while the most widely held U.S. fund, the Vanguard Total Stock Market index, is down less than 1 per cent.

After the financial crisis, plowing money into emerging markets seemed like a sure bet. China was gobbling up raw materials from Brazil, Indonesia and Russia, and their stock markets were soaring. Wall Street cranked up its marketing machine, creating 246 funds to ride the boom.

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Samsung unveils circular smartwatch, but are apps available?

NEW YORK (AP) — Samsung is juicing up its smartwatch with a circular face and more battery life than the Apple Watch, but it’s unknown how many apps will be available for it.

The limited selection of apps is one of the main challenges facing Samsung’s smartwatches. They have been around for longer than the Apple Watch but haven’t generated as much interest or sales.

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Get Started: NLRB ruling can hurt small business, groups say

A National Labor Relations Board ruling that modified the definition of an employer could hurt small businesses including franchises and subcontractors, according to industry groups that advocate for those companies.

The NLRB decision Thursday came in a case involving waste management company Browning-Ferris Industries and a staffing company, Leadpoint Business Services, which supplied workers to Browning-Ferris. The NLRB ruled that Browning-Ferris is a joint employer with Leadpoint. The board said it will consider factors such as whether a company exercised control over employees “indirectly through an intermediary, or whether it has reserved the authority to do so” in determining whether companies are joint employers.

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Blue Bell resumes selling ice cream after listeria recall

BRENHAM, Texas (AP) — Blue Bell ice cream is back.

Blue Bell Creameries resumed selling its products at some locations Monday, four months after the Texas-based retailer halted sales due to listeria contamination at some plants prompted health concerns that drew the regulatory scrutiny of federal and state officials.

Blue Bell ice cream is available again at stores in the Houston and Austin areas, including in the company’s hometown of Brenham, plus in parts of Alabama.

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Jeep recalling 206,668 Cherokee SUVs for wiper defect

DETROIT (AP) — Fiat Chrysler is recalling 206,668 Jeep Cherokee SUVs because the windshield wipers can stop working unexpectedly.

Cherokees from the 2014 model year are affected. There are 158,671 in the U.S., 18,366 in Canada and 3,582 in Mexico. The rest were sold outside North America.

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Apple aims to boost mobile device sales with Cisco’s help

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple is leaning on Cisco Systems’ Internet networking expertise in its latest attempt to sell more iPhones and iPads to corporate customers.

The alliance announced Monday calls for Cisco to ensure that corporate Internet connections relying on its gear deliver content quickly and securely to iPhones and iPads. Cisco will also help Apple develop ways for iPhones to interact more smoothly with workers’ office phones.

Financial terms of the partnership weren’t disclosed.

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India’s antitrust probe into Google moves into next phase

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A lengthy investigation into whether Google has been abusing its dominance of Internet search to stifle competition in India is moving into its next phase.

The preliminary findings of the three-year-old probe have been submitted to the Competition Commission of India and to Google.

The inquiry revolved around complaints filed by several websites contending that Google has been unfairly highlighting its own services in its influential search results at the expense of its rivals.

The allegations are similar to other accusations of illegal self-promotion in the U.S., Europe and other parts of the world.

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Epix reaches multiyear Hulu deal, ends Netflix agreement

The cable network Epix jumped from Netflix to Hulu, landing a multiyear, digital subscription video on demand deal with the streaming service.

Beginning Oct. 1, Hulu subscribers will get films from Lionsgate, MGM and Paramount, the companies announced late Sunday. That includes “Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” ”Wolf of Wall Street,” as well as new titles, library films and Epix original programming.

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Japan bids adieu to landmark that hosted presidents, stars

TOKYO (AP) — The Hotel Okura, a favoured Tokyo lodging for U.S. presidents, movie stars and other celebrities, is closing the doors of its landmark half-century-old main building on Monday to make way for a pair of glass towers ahead of the 2020 Olympics.

The redo raised an outcry from those who love the Okura’s unique melange of modernism and traditional Japanese esthetics. But social media campaigns, a petition and other efforts to “Save the Okura” just underscored the futility of resisting Tokyo’s floodtide of pre-Olympics urban renewal. Other major landmarks, such as the decades-old fish market in Tsukiji and the National Stadium also are being replaced over the protests of many who are sad to see them go.

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Eurozone inflation stable at low rate of 0.2 per cent

BRUSSELS (AP) — Inflation in the 19-nation eurozone was stable in August at an annual rate of 0.2 per cent, an official report shows — another weak figure that may help push the European Central Bank toward doing more economic stimulus.

The European Union’s statistics agency, Eurostat, said Monday that a large drop in energy prices made up for increases in the costs of food, alcohol and tobacco, services and industrial goods.

The inflation figures remains far below the European Central Bank’s aim for an annual rate of just under 2 per cent.

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Massive gas find promises to ease Egypt’s fuel crisis

CAIRO (AP) — The discovery of a huge gas field off Egypt’s coast promises to ease a long-running fuel crisis and boost the economy after years of unrest, but it will take years to develop and won’t bring Gulf-style riches to the Arab world’s most populous country, experts said Monday.

The new “supergiant” offshore Zohr field, revealed a day earlier by Italy’s Eni SpA and billed as the “largest-ever” found in the Mediterranean Sea, could alleviate Egypt’s need for gas imports in the coming years, when a booming population will lead to a spike in domestic demand.

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By The Associated Press=

The Dow Jones industrial average gave up 114.98 points, or 0.7 per cent, to close at 16,528.03. The S&P 500 lost 16.69 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 1,972.18. The Nasdaq composite fell 51.82 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 4,776.51.

U.S. crude rose $3.98 to close at $49.20 in New York. Oil is up 29 per cent since it fell to a 6-year low a week ago, with the vast majority of those gains coming Thursday, Friday and Monday. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, rose $4.10 to close at $54.14 in London. Wholesale gasoline rose 11.8 cents to close at $1.640 a gallon. Heating oil rose 9.8 cents to close at $1.674 a gallon. Natural gas fell 2.6 cents to close at $2.689 per 1,000 cubic feet.