AP Business Digest
Here are the AP's top business stories that have moved or are planned to move today. All times U.S. Eastern. For up-to-the minute information on AP's coverage, visit AP Newsroom's Coverage Plan.
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NEW AND DEVELOPING
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US--TRUMP-TARIFFS
Trump threatens 50% tariffs on EU and 25% penalties on Apple as his trade war intensifies
SUMMARY: President Donald Trump is threatening a 50% tax on all imports from the European Union as well as a 25% tariff on Apple products unless iPhones are made in America. The threats were delivered over social media on Friday. They reflect Trump's ability to disrupt the global economy with a burst of typing, as well as the reality that his tariffs aren't producing the sufficient trade deals he's seeking or the return of domestic manufacturing he's promised to voters.
WORDS: 1127 - MOVED: 05/23/2025 10:09 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:170021e8fad22878d0183b5d48971087&mediaType=text
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US--TRUMP-TARIFFS TIMELINE
Trump's tariffs have launched global trade wars. Here's a timeline of how we got here
SUMMARY: Volley after volley of new tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump have plunged the country into trade wars abroad -- all while on-again, off-again new levies continue to escalate uncertainty. Trump is no stranger to tariffs. He also launched a trade war during his first term in office, but has more sweeping plans now. Economists stress there could greater consequences this time -- and that higher prices will likely lead consumers to foot the bill. There's also been a sense of whiplash from Trump's back-and-forth tariff threats and responding retaliation, including some recently-postponed levies. Still, Trump has announced sweeping trade actions -- most recently with his launch of "reciprocal" tariffs.
WORDS: 2695 - MOVED: 05/23/2025 10:25 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:6ea513a44876c2f4dc948a25c15b0eb0&mediaType=text
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FINANCIAL MARKETS
Wall Street, European stocks and Apple fall following Trump's latest tariff threats
SUMMARY: U.S. stocks are sinking after President Donald Trump threatened 50% tariffs on the European Union that could begin in a little more than a week. The S&P 500 fell 0.9% Friday and was on track for its worst week in the last seven. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 366 points, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.2%. The losses were even worse in Europe after Trump said trade talks were going nowhere. Apple was one of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500 after Trump threatened a 25% tariff on its products if it doesn't shift production of iPhones to the United States.
WORDS: 637 - MOVED: 05/23/2025 9:47 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:cede4ef34e9ab6ff9ed99a403973f3b5&mediaType=text
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EU--BRITAIN-TELEGRAPH-TAKEOVER
US investment firm Redbird agrees to buy Britain's venerable Telegraph newspaper
SUMMARY: A consortium led by U.S. investment firm Redbird Capital Partners has agreed to buy the publisher of Britain's 170-year-old Daily Telegraph newspaper for about $674 million. Redbird said Friday it has reached an agreement in principle to become controlling owner of the Telegraph Media Group. The deal ends a lengthy takeover saga for the conservative-leaning newspaper and its sister title, the Sunday Telegraph. The group was previously owned by Britain's Barclay family and was put up for sale two years ago to help pay off the family's debts. A previous offer by Redbird and a member of Abu Dhabi's royal family was blocked last year by the British government.
WORDS: 332 - MOVED: 05/23/2025 9:40 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:5ae89f1d74a72a54b6eca38794564162&mediaType=text
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JBS-STOCK LISTING
Brazil's JBS asks shareholders to overlook opposition and approve a US stock listing
SUMMARY: Brazil-based meat giant JBS hopes an upcoming shareholder vote will put it one step closer to a listing on the New York Stock Exchange. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a U.S. listing for JBS shares. If minority shareholders approve the plan on Friday, the company could make its shares available for trading in New York as early as next month. Environmentalists, animal rights groups, U.S. lawmakers and some of its own investors have tried to stop the move. They point to JBS' record of corruption, monopolistic behavior and environmental destruction. JBS has more than 72,000 U.S. employees and is America's top beef producer and it's second-largest producer of poultry and pork.
WORDS: 788 - MOVED: 05/23/2025 9:35 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:dd0a0064f50a469ed8805e67d15ec212&mediaType=text
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US--AVIATION SAFETY-THINGS TO KNOW
This redundant aviation safety net helps keep planes safe when controllers lose contact
SUMMARY: News that air traffic controllers directing planes into New Jersey's busiest airport twice lost both their radar and radios is alarming. But pilots, the Federal Aviation Administration and other aviation experts say that even the simultaneous failure of primary and main backup systems left other redundant systems and training to keep planes safely airborne. Former crash investigator Jeff Guzzetti doesn't think the risk of a crash increased significantly during repeated outages affecting the Newark Airport over the past month. He says that's because of all the redundancy built into the system.
WORDS: 1075 - MOVED: 05/23/2025 9:23 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:27393e296dc5557948aeab023125fda4&mediaType=text
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EU--FRANCE-KARDASHIAN-HEIST
Kim Kardashian robbery case nears end as Paris court prepares verdict
SUMMARY: It's been nearly a decade since robbers stormed Kim Kardashian's luxury residence and tied her up at gunpoint. A Paris court will decide on Friday the verdict in one of the most audacious celebrity heists in modern French history. Nine men and a woman stand accused of carrying out or aiding the crime during Paris Fashion Week in 2016. Masked men dressed as police entered Kardashian's Paris home, bound her with zip-ties and vanished with $6 million in jewels. At the heart of the trial is Aomar Aït Khedache, a veteran of Paris' criminal underworld. Prosecutors have asked for a 10-year sentence. The loot was never found.
WORDS: 816 - MOVED: 05/23/2025 9:07 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:ff574b4b9427f7908ab32e3ee0008fef&mediaType=text
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US-HOME IMPROVEMENT SPENDING
Homeowners spend on renovations and repairs despite the uncertain economy and higher prices
SUMMARY: U.S. homeowners are boosting spending on home renovation projects, bucking a broader pullback by consumers amid diminished confidence in the economy. Sales at building materials and garden supply retailers rose 0.8% last month from March, the biggest gain since 2022, while U.S. retail sales overall rose 0.1%, a sharp slowdown from March. The trend comes even as prices for home improvement products have been rising and threaten to keep climbing due to the Trump administration's ongoing trade war. Even so, elevated mortgage rates and rising home prices are likely to keep driving spending on home renovations higher this year.
WORDS: 681 - MOVED: 05/23/2025 6:59 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:cf1dde472d6940b395aca51c076dda40&mediaType=text
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EU--GERMANY-ECONOMY
Germany's economy grew by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. That's double the initial estimate
SUMMARY: The German economy, Europe's biggest, grew by 0.4% in the first quarter thanks to stronger-than-expected exports and manufacturing. That was double the growth initially estimated. The Federal Statistical Office had reported at the end of last month that the economy expanded by 0.2% in the January-March period compared with the previous quarter. The head of the office said Friday that "the surprisingly good economic development seen in March" led to the revision. The last time Germany saw stronger growth was in the third quarter of 2022, when gross domestic product expanded by 0.6%.
WORDS: 279 - MOVED: 05/23/2025 3:19 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:8b809e6a333cb8900874e6b93f0e2d40&mediaType=text
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AS--JAPAN-US-TARIFFS
'Investment, not tariffs,' says Ishiba after telephone talks with Trump before 3rd round of talks
SUMMARY: Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday that he held telephone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and agreed to hold "productive" discussion at an upcoming tariff talks between the two sides. Ishiba, after the talks, said Japan's position to keep pushing Washington to drop all recent tariff measures is unchanged and that he plans to push for Japanese investment in the U.S. in exchange. The two leaders held talks as Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, headed to Washington for a third round of talks with his U.S. counterparts.
WORDS: 294 - MOVED: 05/23/2025 1:37 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:dc8fa85fcb2461b1929a362fe0061b6b&mediaType=text
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ENT--CANNES-AMFAR
Stars convene for amfAR gala to raise millions for AIDS research
SUMMARY: Artwork by Adrien Brody and James Franco and a chance to sit courtside at a Knicks game with director Spike Lee were among the starry offerings at the annual amfAR Gala to raise money for AIDS research. Held at the famous Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes on Thursday, the evening attracted scores of celebrities in the area for the Cannes Film Festival. Guests included Brody, Lee, Colman Domingo, Michelle Rodriguez and Heidi Klum. The Brody and Franco artwork included lunch with the actors, while Lee sold a walk-on part in his next film. The Foundation for AIDS Research, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and advocacy.
WORDS: 500 - MOVED: 05/23/2025 1:31 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:eb01706c7d021ec16338dbfacf6603cf&mediaType=text
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AS--JAPAN-RICE-EXPLAINER
Emergency reserves, high prices, rationing. How did Japan's rice crisis get this far?
SUMMARY: Rice is essential to Japanese culture, tradition and politics. People take pride in the oval-shaped sticky Japonica grain which is still a staple even though total consumption has fallen over the decades. But prices have soared since last summer as supplies have fallen short of demand. The government has long paid farmers to cut back on rice acreage and change to other crops to keep prices relatively high. The government has released rice reserves to cope with shortfalls this year. But the grain has been slow to reach supermarket shelves. That's left consumers frustrated and wondering where's the rice?
WORDS: 1067 - MOVED: 05/23/2025 12:37 a.m. EDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:6e21bc9017c8f6d8c0a1f179e50e975f&mediaType=text
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