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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HOME SALES
January home sales fall as high mortgage rates, prices freeze out would-be buyers
SUMMARY: Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in January as rising mortgage rates and prices put off many would-be homebuyers despite a wider selection of properties on the market. Existing home sales fell 4.9% last month from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.08 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Friday. Sales rose 2% compared with January last year, marking the fourth straight annual increase. The latest home sales fell short of the 4.11 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet. Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 19th consecutive month. The national median sales price rose 4.8% in January from a year earlier to $396,900.
WORDS: 622 - MOVED: 02/21/2025 10:23 a.m. EST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:ad62e56b3c6e784cb120996cd8ca5748&mediaType=text
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US--PHILANTHROPY-CHESS-JEANS
Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen broke a dress code with jeans. Now he's selling them for charity
SUMMARY: Top-ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen is turning his controversial denim into some greens -- for charity. The Norwegian chess grandmaster announced that he is auctioning off the Italian luxury brand jeans that started a dress code dispute at December's World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships. Carlsen ultimately quit the New York competition after accepting a $200 fine while refusing to change his pants. Chess fanatics and #JeansGate followers now have the chance to own the Size 32 regular fit Corneliani jeans. The auction for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is scheduled to end March 1. The pants' highest offer was $8,100 as of Feb. 21.
WORDS: 248 - MOVED: 02/21/2025 10:04 a.m. EST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:5d97263f06cccabd4a961198039e77ea&mediaType=text
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US--PHILANTHROPY-REFUGEE-WELCOME
Refugees and their sponsors feel stuck after halt to programs letting communities resettle newcomers
SUMMARY: Refugees had been arriving in the United States at levels unseen in nearly three decades, aided by nonprofits and ordinary people across the political spectrum. More than 160,000 Americans across every state signed up to resettle newcomers through the Welcome Corps, a public-private effort launched two years ago. More than 800,000 new arrivals were welcomed with help from U.S. financial supporters through a legal tool known as humanitarian parole. That stopped after President Donald Trump's administration issued a three-month suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program -- a move that stranded thousands of vetted refugees, cut nonprofits' staffing and left sponsors uneasy about the future of fledgling programs they felt had enriched their own lives.
WORDS: 1287 - MOVED: 02/21/2025 10:02 a.m. EST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:39b5254f5b36ac26b06a86581798af57&mediaType=text
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FINANCIAL MARKETS
Stock market today: Wall Street drifts as indexes trade mixed
SUMMARY: Wall Street is hanging near its record after companies turned in a mixed set of profit results. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% in early Friday trading, a day after pulling away from its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 255 points, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%. The company behind Booking.com climbed after delivering a better profit than analysts expected. Akamai Technologies kept the market in check after giving financial forecasts that fell short of analysts' expectations. Treasury yields held steady, while stocks jumped in Hong Kong following an encouraging profit report from Alibaba.
WORDS: 602 - MOVED: 02/21/2025 9:44 a.m. EST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:cb7171a5bb3bc3d64c9247454d753d06&mediaType=text
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US--COINBASE-SEC
Coinbase says SEC has agreed to dismiss case against it, pending commission approval
SUMMARY: Coinbase says the Securities and Exchange Commission has agreed to dismiss its case against the cryptocurrency platform, pending commission approval. In June 2023 Coinbase was targeted by U.S. regulators in a lawsuit that alleged it was operating as an unregistered securities platform and brokerage service. The SEC said Friday that it declined to comment on the Coinbase matter.
WORDS: 308 - MOVED: 02/21/2025 9:34 a.m. EST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:f6f7b6b0e546c854c18cf322658699b1&mediaType=text
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UNITEDHEALTH-INVESTIGATION
UnitedHealth shares dive after report of US investigation into Medicare billing
SUMMARY: UnitedHealth Group shares tumbled early Friday on a report that the U.S. Department of Justice has started an investigation into the health care giant's Medicare billing practices. The Wall Street Journal said federal officials have launched a civil fraud investigation into how the company records diagnoses that lead to extra payments for its Medicare Advantage plans. The paper, citing anonymous sources, said the probe focused on billing practices in recent months. When asked for comment by The Associated Press, a UnitedHealth representative said they "will let you know if we have anything to say."
WORDS: 252 - MOVED: 02/21/2025 8:48 a.m. EST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:07c4b1f14c1dd0a472a6a513d451d152&mediaType=text
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US--PHILANTHROPY-REFUGEE-NONPROFITS
Staff cuts and shifting priorities hit refugee philanthropy after Trump administration's orders
SUMMARY: The Trump administration's 180-degree turn on refugee policy are forcing the philanthropic sector to refocus its resettlement services. The nonprofits tasked with identifying American sponsors and connecting recent arrivals with on-the-ground necessities are not ceasing programs entirely. But the suspension of their federal funding has brought whiplash after a four-year period of increased arrivals gave new wind to their missions. Now, foreign aid restrictions and the State Department's stop-work order are leading to staff cuts. Community Sponsorship Hub Executive Director Annie Nolte-Henning says the order has "had a sweeping impact across our sector, leaving many employees furloughed or without a job altogether."
WORDS: 399 - MOVED: 02/21/2025 8:36 a.m. EST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:40482e8bd4ada2f8f1bda47e766a3952&mediaType=text
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US--TESLA-RECALL
Tesla recalling more than 375,000 vehicles due to power steering issue
SUMMARY: Tesla is recalling more than 375,000 vehicles due to a power steering issue. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the recall is for certain 2023 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles operating software prior to 2023.38.4. The agency said that the printed circuit board for the electronic power steering assist may experience an overstress condition, causing a loss of power steering assist when the vehicle reaches a stop and then accelerates again.
WORDS: 161 - MOVED: 02/21/2025 8:09 a.m. EST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:cbed013def930add1bf27897ddc92103&mediaType=text
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AS--AUSTRALIA-NEW ZEALAND
China issued 'disconcerting' warning of live-fire exercises to planes flying above, Australia says
SUMMARY: Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles says airliners were over the Tasman Sea crossing between Australia and New Zealand when the Chinese navy warned they were flying over a secret live-fire exercise. Marles says Australian authorities only learned about China's live-firing plans in international waters midway between Australia and New Zealand from the commercial airlines. Australian defense officials were uncertain whether any live fire of weapons had occurred. They say the risk had since passed. A Chinese foreign ministry official says the drill was carried out in a safe, standard and professional manner in compliance with international law and international practice.
WORDS: 620 - MOVED: 02/21/2025 5:41 a.m. EST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:08067898b342c350ce7ef7cec56717de&mediaType=text
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AF--SOUTH AFRICA-G20
UK foreign secretary questions Russia's 'appetite' for peace and challenges Lavrov at tense G20 meet
SUMMARY: U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy says he saw no appetite for peace from Russia in Ukraine after listening to a speech by Russia's top diplomat at a tense Group of 20 meeting in South Africa. Lammy was speaking after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed other senior diplomats in a closed-door session at the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Johannesburg on Thursday. Lammy said Lavrov left his seat in the meeting room when it was Lammy's turn to speak. The G20 gathering comes days after bilateral talks between the United States and Russia over ending the war in Ukraine. Those talks sidelined Washington's European allies and Ukraine, who weren't involved.
WORDS: 810 - MOVED: 02/21/2025 5:15 a.m. EST
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:e489b7a48ad5fcc7f5a7583a26865600&mediaType=text
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US--CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES-TENANTS
How LA wildfires are making an already tough rental market even worse
SUMMARY: The Los Angeles wildfires wiped out thousands of homes, forcing families to find new places to live. Tenants who were just getting by before the fires now face a daunting search for a new home amid reports of soaring rent. The Los Angeles rental market had too few affordable homes to start and now has many more displaced families. Attorney General Rob Bonta has warned property owners against price-gouging. He has said landlords can't accept rents that exceed a 10% cap, even if prospective tenants are willing to pay more. The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles warns property owners against rent-gouging but says fears are overblown.
WORDS: 814 - MOVED: 02/21/2025 12:01 a.m. EST
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