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US economy defies omicron and adds 467,000 jobs in January
WASHINGTON: In a surprising burst of hiring, Americas employers added 467,000 jobs in January in a sign of the economys resilience even in the face of a wave of omicron infections last month. The governments report also drastically revised up its estimate of job gains for November and December by a combined 709,000. It also said the unemployment rate ticked up from 3.9% to a still-low 4%, mainly because more people began looking for work and not all of them found jobs right away. The strong hiring gain for January, which defied expectations for only a slight gain, demonstrates the eagerness of many employers to hire even as the pandemic raged.
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Amazon workers try new tactics to unionize in Alabama
NEW YORK: Amazon workers and organizers in Bessemer, Alabama, are making door-to-door house calls, sporting pro-union T-shirts and challenging anti-union messaging by Amazon-hired consultants as they try to convince their peers for the second time to unionize their warehouse. The union election starts Friday by secret ballot. The new organizing tactics come two months after the National Labor Relations Board ordered a do-over election upon determining that Amazon unfairly influenced the first election last year. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union estimates more than half of the 6,000 workers who voted last time around remain eligible this time. But the RWDSU still faces an uphill battle from Amazon, which doesnt seem to have let up its aggressive anti-union stance.
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Stocks mixed, yields fly as jobs data raises rate outlook
NEW YORK: Stock indexes ended mixed and Treasury yields jumped Friday as Wall Streets expectations rise that the Federal Reserve may soon start raising interest rates sharply. The Labor Department said employers added 467,000 jobs last month, triple economists expectations. The stronger-than-expected data seems to lock in the Feds pivot toward fighting inflation by making moves that would ultimately act as a drag on markets. The S&P 500 climbed 0.5%, even though more stocks fell than rose in the index. The index got a boost from Amazon, which leaped 13.5% following a strong earnings report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%. ___
EU, US to resume trading oysters, mussels after long dispute
BRUSSELS: The European Union and the United States have agreed to resume trade in oysters, clams, mussels and scallops from the end of February. The deal announced Friday settles a 10-year trade dispute. Trade in live mollusks between the EU and the U.S. had stopped in 2011 due to a divide in regulatory standards. Under the deal, Spain and the Netherlands will be allowed to export mollusks to the U.S., while Massachusetts and Washington can now trade to the EU. Both sides praised the deal as another positive step in their trade relationship since U.S. President Joe Biden took over from Donald Trump.
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Kohls: Buyout offers undermine value of business
NEW YORK: Kohls says that recent offers to purchase the department store chain undervalue its business, and it is adopting a shareholder rights plan to head off any hostile takeovers. The shareholder rights plan is effective immediately and expires in a year. The move comes as Kohls has received multiple buyout offers in recent weeks. Private equity firm Sycamore Partners had reportedly approached Kohls about a potential deal last month. A group called Acacia Research, backed by activist hedge fund Starboard Value LP, bid $64 per share, or about $9 billion. At the time the Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based retailer said that its board was reviewing the offers.
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Treasury urges closer watch on money laundering in fine art
WASHINGTON: Fine art isnt just nice to look at. Its also attractive to criminals trying to launder money, finance terrorism and trade illegal drugs and arms. And the Treasury Department wants art dealers and financiers to do something about that. The agency issued a report Friday recommending that financial firms and art dealers set up an information-sharing database to track how sales of fine art are linked to bad actors who make anonymous purchases. The need to monitor art sales has become more complicated and necessary with the recent rise in sales of digital assets known as NFTs, or non-fungible tokens.
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News Corp. hacked, reporters targeted; believed China-linked
WASHINGTON: The Wall Street Journals publisher, News Corp., says it has been hacked, with data stolen from journalists and other employees. The cybersecurity firm investigating the intrusion, Mandiant, says Chinese intelligence-gathering is believed to be behind the operation. The Journal reported that people briefed on the intrusion said it appeared to date back to February 2020 and that scores of employees were impacted. It quoted them as saying the hackers were able to access reporters emails and Google Docs, including drafts of articles. News Corp. says customer and financial data were so far not affected, nor were company operations interrupted.
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Biden solicitor swings mineral rights title back to tribes
FARGO, N.D.: The interior solicitor in the Biden administration says the mineral rights under the original Missouri River riverbed belong to a North Dakota tribal nation. The 68-page memorandum posted Friday by the U.S. Department of Interior is contrary to a May 2020 Trump administration opinion concluding that the state is legal owner of submerged lands beneath the river where it flows through the Fort Berthold Reservation. That memo rolled back an Obama administration opinion favoring the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes. At stake is an estimated $100 million in unpaid royalties and future payments certain to come from oil drilling beneath the river.
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The S&P 500 gained 23.09 points, or 0.5%, to 4,500.53. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 21.42 points, or 0.1%, to 35,089.74. The Nasdaq advanced 219.19 points, or 1.6%, to 14,098.01. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies gained 11.33 points, or 0.6%, to 2,002.36.
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