National Business - The Morning Sun

FILE - A McDonald's golden arches is shown at restaurant in Havertown, Pa., Tuesday, April 26, 2022. McDonald’s expects to open nearly 10,000 restaurants over the next four years, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, a pace of growth that would be unprecedented even for the world's largest burger chain. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

McDonald's burger empire set for unprecedented growth over the next 4 years with 10,000 new stores

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McDonald’s expects to open nearly 10,000 restaurants over the next four years, the fastest period of growth in the company’s history. Ahead of a day-long event for investors, the Chicago burger … more

By DEE-ANN DURBIN | 12/6/23

A group of Norwegian unions says it will act against Tesla in solidarity with its Swedish colleagues

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A conglomerate of unions in Norway says it will take action against Tesla in solidarity with its Swedish colleagues. The Swedes are demanding that the Texas-based automaker sign a collective … more

12/6/23

Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey attends the biannual Financial Stability Report press conference, at the Bank of England in London, Wednesday Dec. 6, 2023. (Hannah McKay/Pool via AP)

Bank of England will review the risks that AI poses to UK financial stability

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The Bank of England says it will make an assessment next year about the risks posed by artificial intelligence and machine learning. In its half-yearly Financial Stability Review, the bank said … more

12/6/23

FILE - Hoboken Police officers stand watch outside the United Synagogue of Hoboken, Nov. 3, 2022, in Hoboken, N.J. A new guide from the Department of Homeland Security aims to help churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship protect themselves at a time of heightened tensions in faith-based communities across the country. (AP Photo/Ryan Kryska, File)

A new Homeland Security guide aims to help houses of worship protect themselves

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A new guide from the Department of Homeland Security aims to help churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship protect themselves during heightened tensions in faith-based communities … more

By REBECCA SANTANA | 12/6/23

FILE - Sanjay Shah poses for a photograph on the Palm Jumeriah Island in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Sept. 29, 2020. A Dubai-based British hedge fund trader sought by Danish authorities for orchestrating a $1.7 billion tax fraud, considered one of the largest tax frauds in the Scandinavian country, has been extradited from the United Arab Emirates to Denmark where he faces prosecution, officials said Wednesday Dec. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Christopher Pike, File)

A British financier sought for huge tax fraud is extradited to Denmark from UAE

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A Dubai-based British hedge fund trader sought by Danish authorities for allegedly orchestrating a $1.7 billion tax fraud, considered one of the largest in the Scandinavian country, has been … more

12/6/23

Europe was set to lead the world on AI regulation. But can leaders reach a deal?

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The generative AI boom has sent governments worldwide scrambling to regulate the emerging technology. It's also raised the risk of upending a European Union push to approve the world’s first … more

By KELVIN CHAN | 12/6/23

The Missing Piece in Green Investing

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Never buy a puzzle from a thrift store because there is too much risk of a missing piece. Last week, my wife broke that rule and bought a jigsaw puzzle from a thrift store, and sure enough, it had a … more

Dr. Richard Baker, Fervent Wealth Management | 12/6/23

A hiring sign is displayed at a retail store in Arlington Heights, Ill., on Oct. 10, 2023. On Tuesday, the Labor Department reports on job openings and labor turnover for October.

U.S. labor market cools

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WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers posted 8.7 million job openings in October, the fewest since March 2021, in a sign that hiring is cooling in the face of higher interest rates yet remains at a … more

By The Associated Press | 12/6/23

A currency trader talks on the phone at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023. Asian shares advanced on Wednesday after most stocks slipped on Wall Street following a mixed set of reports on the U.S. economy. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Stock market today: Asian shares surge as weak US jobs data back hopes for an end to rate hikes

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Asian shares have advanced after most stocks slipped on Wall Street following a mixed set of reports on the U.S. economy. Oil prices edged higher. On Tuesday, Wall Street hovered near its highest … more

By ELAINE KURTENBACH | 12/6/23

Igor Makarov poses for a photo during his interview with the Associated Press in Verona, Italy, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. Most of his fortune earned doing business in Russia and the former Soviet Union is frozen, and his plans to develop his energy businesses are currently shelved. Western officials say sanctions against Russia's billionaires are meant to isolate President Vladimir Putin, choke off support for his war and turn powerful business allies against him. But in the 20 months since the invasion, only a handful of sanctioned businessmen have spoken out against him. (AP Photo/Emma Burrows)

The West has sanctioned Russia's rich. But is that really punishing Putin and helping Ukraine?

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Western officials say sanctions against Russia’s billionaires are meant to isolate President Vladimir Putin, choke off support for his war and turn powerful business allies against him. But in the … more

By EMMA BURROWS | 12/6/23

FILE - Then-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, right, congratulates members of the Russian delegation, from left: conductor Valery Gergiyev, businessman Roman Abramovich and Nizhny Novgorod Gov. Valery Shantsev; after it was announced that Russia would host the 2018 soccer World Cup in Zurich, Switzerland, Dec. 2, 2010. When Putin came to power in 2000, the outside world viewed Russia's "oligarchs" as men who whose vast wealth made them almost shadow rulers. Putin was reported to have told about two dozen of the men regarded as the top oligarchs in a meeting later in 2000 that if they stayed out of politics, their wealth wouldn't be touched. (AP Photo/Alexei Nikolsky, Pool, File)

Under Putin, the uber-wealthy Russians known as 'oligarchs' are still rich but far less powerful

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When Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000, the outside world viewed “Russian oligarchs” as men who whose vast wealth, ruthlessly amassed, made them almost shadow rulers. The term has persisted … more

By JIM HEINTZ | 12/6/23

FILE - SAG-AFTRA member Bruce D. Mitchell participates in a post apocalyptic-themed picket line outside Netflix studios, Nov. 8, 2023, in Los Angeles. Hollywood’s actors have voted to ratify the deal with studios that ended their strike after nearly four months, leaders announced Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Actors vote to approve deal that ended strike, bringing relief to union leaders and Hollywood

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Members of Hollywood’s actors union have voted to ratify the deal with studios that ended their strike after nearly four months. The 78% approval from the members of the Screen Actors … more

By ANDREW DALTON | 12/5/23

China raises stakes in cyberscam crackdown in Myanmar, though loopholes remain

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China has intensified a crackdown on online scams operated in border areas of Myanmar. The drive has been showcased by confession videos and national TV broadcasts of arrests of high-profile … more

By HUIZHONG WU | 12/5/23

FILE - A CVS store sign is displayed in Pittsburgh on Feb. 3, 2023. CVS Health is introducing changes to how its prescription drug pricing model works, and that could lead to some savings for customers starting next year. The health care giant said Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023 that it will role out a new reimbursement model designed to make costs more predictable at the drugstore counter. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

CVS Health lays out changes to clarify prescription drug pricing that may save some customers money

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CVS Health is introducing changes to how its prescription drug pricing model works, and that could lead to some savings for customers starting next year. The health care giant said Tuesday that it … more

The Associated Press | 12/5/23

FILE - A Brightline train is shown at a station in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Jan. 11, 2018. A high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area is getting a Biden administration pledge of $3 billion to help start laying track. Nevada's two Democratic U.S. senators said Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023 the $12 billion project led by Brightline West has all required right-of-way, environmental and labor approvals. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

High-speed rail line linking Las Vegas and Los Angeles area gets $3B Biden administration pledge

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A high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area is getting a Biden administration pledge of $3 billion to help start laying track. Nevada's two Democratic U.S. senators said Tuesday … more

By KEN RITTER | 12/5/23

FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner waits on a runway for departure from Denver International Airport, Sept. 1, 2023, in Denver. Frontier Airlines has settled a lawsuit filed on behalf of pilots who said the airline discriminated against pregnant and breastfeeding employees. In the settlement announced Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023 Frontier will let pilots pump breast milk in the cockpit during “noncritical phases” of flights. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, file)

Frontier Airlines settles lawsuit filed by pilots who claimed bias over pregnancy, breastfeeding

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Frontier Airlines has settled a lawsuit filed by female pilots who said the airline discriminated against pregnant and breastfeeding employees. In the settlement announced Tuesday, Frontier will let … more

12/5/23

FILE - Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor poses for a photo in 1982. O'Connor who joined the Supreme Court in 1981 as the nation's first female justice, has died at age 93. (AP Photo, File)

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will lie in repose at the Supreme Court on Dec. 18

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The Supreme Court says retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will lie in repose at the court on Dec. 18. A funeral service at the National Cathedral will follow the next day. The first woman on the … more

12/5/23

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to media after a Senate Democratic policy luncheon, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Federal Trade Commission is investigating ExxonMobil's $60B deal to acquire a Texas oil company

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Security filings show the Federal Trade Commission is investigating ExxonMobil’s $60 billion deal to acquire a Texas oil company, potentially one the largest energy industry mergers in two decades. … more

By MATTHEW DALY | 12/5/23

FILE - Workers in protective suits clean the contaminated beach at Newport Beach, Calif., on Oct. 6, 2021, following a pipeline rupture that spilled tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil off the Southern California coast. Federal regulators on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, concluded the 2021 rupture of an undersea oil pipeline off the Southern California coast was likely caused by the proximity of anchored shipping vessels. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu, File)

US officials want ships to anchor farther from California undersea pipelines, citing 2021 oil spill

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Federal investigators have concluded that a 2021 rupture of an undersea oil pipeline off the Southern California coast was likely caused by the proximity of anchored shipping vessels. The National … more

By AMY TAXIN | 12/5/23

FILE- The U.S. Treasury Department building is shown at dusk in Washington on June 6, 2019. The U.S. on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, imposed sanctions on a Belgian involved in procuring electronics for the Russian military, his companies and a group of Belarusian firms and people tied to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

U.S. imposes new round of sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine

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The U.S. has imposed sanctions on a Belgian involved in procuring electronics for the Russian military, his companies and a group of Belarusian firms and people tied to Russia’s invasion of … more

By FATIMA HUSSEIN | 12/5/23