Business Highlights

By The Associated Press

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Facing Trump’s tariffs, some companies move, change or wait

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some are moving factories out of China. Others are strategically redesigning products. Some are seeking trade loopholes or even mislabeling where their goods originate — all with the goal of evading President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports. But most of the companies that stand to be hurt by Trump’s tariffs are hunkering down and waiting — waiting because they don’t know when, whether or how his trade war with China will end or which countries the president might target next.

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Netflix subscriber drop hints at streaming-service fatigue

NEW YORK (AP) — How much is too much for streaming video? Netflix price increases during the second quarter seem to have spooked subscribers, and raise the question of how much people are willing to pay for the bevy of streaming services headed for launch this year and next.

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House approves $15 minimum wage, Senate prospects are dim

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats approved legislation Thursday to raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in a decade — to $15 an hour. But the bill has almost no chance in the Republican-controlled Senate. The increase, from what’s now $7.25 an hour, would be phased in over six years. It also raises the tipped wage to the same level. A minimum wage hike has been a top Democratic campaign promise, intended to address income inequality that’s driving the 2020 political debate.

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Facebook’s Libra gets stark warning from G-7 finance chiefs

CHANTILLY, France (AP) — Finance chiefs from the Group of Seven rich democracies have issued a stark warning that cryptocurrencies like Facebook’s Libra should not be allowed before “serious regulatory and systemic concerns” are put in check. France, which chaired the G-7 finance meeting, said Thursday that it is worried that encrypted digital currency could spiral out of control.

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Trump: Administration to review Pentagon computer contract

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the administration will “take a very long look” at a massive multibillion-dollar contract the Pentagon is about to award for a cloud computing system. Amazon Web Services Inc., a division of Amazon, and Microsoft Corp. are finalists for the contract estimated to be worth as much as $10 billion over a decade. Trump says he’s been hearing “tremendous complaints” from other companies that the contract was not competitively bid.

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About 10,000 au pairs to get paid in class-action settlement

DENVER (AP) — About 10,000 live-in childcare workers from around the world will be paid an average of $3,500 each under a class-action settlement that alleged exploitation of the mostly young women who perform the jobs. U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello gave final approval to the $65.5 million deal for au pairs on Thursday in Denver.

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Union Pacific delivers 4% better 2Q profit on lower expenses

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific Corp. delivered 4% more profit in the second quarter even though it hauled less freight because it cut its expenses by 7%. Operational improvements at the railroad helped it beat Wall Street expectations. The Omaha, Nebraska-based company said Thursday it earned $1.57 billion, or $2.22 per share, in the quarter. That’s up from $1.51 billion, or $1.98 per share, a year ago.

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Automaker BMW names production chief Zipse as new CEO

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — BMW has named its top production manager, Oliver Zipse, as its next CEO to lead the luxury automaker through a shift to new ways of doing business such as electric vehicles and offering cars on a per-use basis. The Munich-based company said in a news release that Zipse, 55, would succeed Harald Krueger, who said July 5 he would not seek to renew his contract when it expires next May.

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South Korean political parties back Moon in Japan trade row

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean liberal and conservative parties have vowed to co-operate to help the Seoul government prevail in an escalating trade row with Japan. After a meeting between the parties’ leaders and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, they announced plans to create a “pan-national” emergency body to respond to Japanese trade curbs on certain technology exports to South Korea. They urged Japan to withdraw the new export controls.

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US stock indexes shake off an early loss and close higher

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks reversed course from an early slump and closed higher Thursday to break a two-day losing streak after technology and bank stocks rallied. IBM rose after reporting solid results and helped lift the technology sector. Banks including BB&T and SunTrust led financial stocks higher. Medical equipment makers including Danaher helped health care stocks reverse course after an early loss. A plunge in Netflix sank communications companies.

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The S&P 500 index rose 10.69 points, or 0.4%, to 2,995.11. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 3.12 points to 27,222.97. The Nasdaq composite rose 22.04 points, or 0.3%, to 8,207.24. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 4.85 points, or 0.3%, to 1,555.62.

The Associated Press

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