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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UPCOMING

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HOUSING MARKET-SCARCE BUYERS

DESCRIPTION: There are far more home sellers than prospective buyers in the U.S., which should work in favor of those looking to buy a home. The problem: many can't afford to make a purchase as prices and mortgage rates remain elevated.

UPCOMING: By 05/30/2025 11:00 a.m. EDT, Photo, Text

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NEW AND DEVELOPING

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FINANCIAL MARKETS

Wall Street drifts toward the end of what may be its best month since 2023

SUMMARY: Wall Street is drifting toward the end of its winning week and month. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% Friday but is still on track for its first winning month in four and potentially its best since 2023. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 13 points, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.5%. Gap weighed on the market after saying tariffs could add up to $300 million to its costs this fiscal year. Hopes had been climbing through the month that the worst of the pain caused by tariffs may have already passed. Treasury yields were steady following encouraging reports on inflation and consumer sentiment.

WORDS: 838 - MOVED: 05/30/2025 10:24 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:6e76cf2c4b77e438b25bbee3b39593f2&mediaType=text

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US--TRANSIT CUTS-CHICAGO

Chicago risks severe cuts to transit. Riders from its poorest suburbs could be hit even harder

SUMMARY: The Chicago area is facing the prospect of bleak service cuts to public transit if Illinois legislators adjourn this weekend without plugging a $770 million hole in the transportation budget. Transit agencies across the country have been grappling with a fiscal cliff spurred by a post-pandemic decline in ridership and the sunset of federal COVID-19 relief funding. Four of the city's eight L train lines and more than half its bus lines could close. The impact could be even more severe in the suburb of Harvey, where 1 in 4 residents live in poverty. Harvey won federal and state funding for a major new transit hub, but service cuts could send it reeling in the opposite direction.

WORDS: 1060 - MOVED: 05/30/2025 10:21 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:ed1363d3cb271633dde2af0829634988&mediaType=text

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US--CONSUMER SPENDING

US inflation gauge cools with little sign of tariff impact, so far

SUMMARY: A key U.S. inflation gauge slowed last month as President Donald Trump's tariffs have yet to noticeably push up prices, while American incomes jumped. Friday's report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer prices rose just 2.1% in April compared with a year earlier, down from 2.3% in March and the lowest since September. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.5% from a year earlier, below the March figure of 2.6%. Economists track core prices because they typically provide a better read on where inflation is headed. The figures show inflation is still declining from its post-pandemic spike, which reached the highest level in four decades in July 2022.

WORDS: 684 - MOVED: 05/30/2025 10:15 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:b96e94fc971045c2a50e642fa85d4397&mediaType=text

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US--MONDELEZ-ALDI LAWSUIT

Oreo maker Mondelez sues Aldi, alleging grocery chain copies its packaging to confuse customers

SUMMARY: Snack food maker Mondelez International is suing the Aldi supermarket chain for packaging its store-brand cookies and crackers in a way that "blatantly copies" products like Chips Ahoy and Wheat Thins. In a federal lawsuit filed this week in Illinois, Chicago-based Mondelez alleged that Aldi's packaging is "likely to deceive and confuse customers" and threatens to irreparably harm Mondelez brands. The company is seeking monetary damages and a court order that would stop Aldi from selling products that infringe on its trademarks. Aldi is a German-based discount chain that primarily sells its own branded products. It has faced copyright lawsuits before. A message seeking comment was left with Aldi Thursday.

WORDS: 314 - MOVED: 05/30/2025 9:41 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:b5324899c62143359a45ecad5314d914&mediaType=text

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EU--BRITAIN-SHIP COLLISION

Russian captain denies manslaughter in North Sea collision as he faces UK trial

SUMMARY: The Russian captain of a cargo ship that collided with a U.S. tanker in the North Sea has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter. The 59-year-old Vladimir Motin from the Russian city of St. Petersburg appeared by video link from prison for the pretrial hearing at London's Central Criminal Court on Friday. Motin was assisted by a Russian interpreter. He denied a charge of gross manslaughter over the death of one of his crew. Motin was ordered detained until his next hearing. His trial was set for January. Mark Angelo Pernia is missing and presumed dead after the March 10 collision between the cargo ship Solong and the tanker MV Stena off northeast England.

WORDS: 244 - MOVED: 05/30/2025 8:54 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:83eff790379ae0b3ecfa31271dc73181&mediaType=text

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AS--JAPAN-CHINA

China set to resume imports of Japanese seafood halted over Fukushima water discharge

SUMMARY: Japan says China will resume Japanese seafood imports it banned in 2023 over worries about Japan's discharge of treated but slightly radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. China said Friday that talks this week made "substantial progress" but did not confirm an agreement on the issue that has been a significant political and diplomatic point of tension for the wary Asian powers. Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the two sides reached an agreement after Japanese and Chinese officials met in Beijing and the imports will resume once the necessary paperwork is done.

WORDS: 606 - MOVED: 05/30/2025 8:16 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:23791041e39ddac889515ef9624edcfb&mediaType=text

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AS--INDIA-NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand hails 'breakthrough' in trade talks with India, but no timeline for deal

SUMMARY: New Zealand's deputy prime minister says that talks over a free trade agreement between his country and India were ongoing. But Winston Peters didn't provide a timeline for when the two nations will eventually sign a deal. Peters is on a two-day visit to India. He said on Friday that the negotiations were "going with real meaning now." India and New Zealand began negotiations for a trade pact in March. They had aimed to sign a deal in 60 days. But there have been delays because of differences over tariffs on dairy products. Bilateral trade between India and New Zealand stood at $1.7 billion in the 2023-24 financial year.

WORDS: 321 - MOVED: 05/30/2025 7:02 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:70681e7cae6e610dbce57f1604a2f882&mediaType=text

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US-GOOGLE-ANTITRUST-SEARCH

Google, Justice Department face off in climactic showdown in search monopoly case

SUMMARY: Google will return to federal court Friday to fend off the U.S. Justice Department's attempt to topple its internet empire at the same time it's navigating a pivotal shift to artificial intelligence that could undercut its power. The legal and technological threats facing Google are among the key issues that will be dissected during the closing arguments of a legal proceeding that will determine the company's fate in the wake of its dominant search engine being declared an illegal monopoly. The Justice Department is trying to persuade a federal judge to order a radical shakeup that would ban Google's lucrative deals with Apple and force the sale of its Chrome browser

WORDS: 925 - MOVED: 05/30/2025 1:10 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:eb5ac349271329d0681d0042120310e8&mediaType=text

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US-MUSK-BACK TO BUSINESS

Think your return to the office was rough? Musk faces some big challenges

SUMMARY: Elon Musk is leaving Washington after a short but turbulent stint in government and getting back to his numerous businesses, each with their own set of issues for the billionaire to address. While how much Musk accomplished in his role as President Donald Trump's chief cost-cutter is up for debate, it's clear his association with right-wing politics damaged Tesla's brand and tanked sales. Musk's social media platform X, formerly Twitter, needs to rebuild its advertising base. His aerospace company SpaceX appears to be financially promising but has seen some recent setbacks. And it's unclear if his satellite business Starlink can keep striking deals without Trump nearby.

WORDS: 1049 - MOVED: 05/30/2025 1:00 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:e5206c756299f47e81fb90fb4734661a&mediaType=text

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CB--PUERTO RICO-GOVERNOR ADDRESS

Puerto Rico governor pledges to improve island's crumbling power grid after repeated outages

SUMMARY: Puerto Rico's governor has pledged to improve the island's crumbling electric grid and boost the economy in her first address after being elected as anger intensifies over chronic power outages and an increase in cost-of-living expenses. Gov. Jenniffer González Colón, of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, spoke for nearly two hours on Thursday as she listed her accomplishments since taking office in January and announced multimillion-dollar investments to improve Puerto Rico's health, education and public safety sectors.

WORDS: 518 - MOVED: 05/30/2025 12:01 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:d966a3dc81920c1ffa4b231b7e2bc86b&mediaType=text

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US--TRUMP

Trump holding Pennsylvania rally to promote deal for Japan-based Nippon to 'partner' with US Steel

SUMMARY: President Donald Trump is holding a rally in Pennsylvania on Friday to celebrate a details-to-come deal for Japan-based Nippon Steel to invest in U.S. Steel. He says the plan will keep the iconic American steelmaker under U.S. control. Trump initially vowed to block the Japanese steelmaker's bid to buy Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel. But he changed course and announced an agreement last week for what he described as "partial ownership" by Nippon. It's not clear if the deal Trump's administration helped broker has been finalized or how ownership would be structured.

WORDS: 907 - MOVED: 05/30/2025 12:01 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:7d8a252934abef553ca9ea7e9e8febc2&mediaType=text

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