Bill Ford shows off 1964 Mustang pace car on ‘Jay Leno's Garage'
Ford’s executive chair said he recently bought the car, which was built in the first hour of Mustang production and driven on the Indy 500 track by his uncle.
Sluggish US jobs report raises question of how much Fed will cut rates this month
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hiring by America’s employers picked up a bit in August from July’s tepid pace, and the unemployment rate dipped for the first time since March in a sign that the job market may be cooling but remains sturdy.
Employers added a modest 142,000 jobs, up from a scant 89,000 in July, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2% from 4.3%, which had been the highest level in nearly three years. Hiring in June and July, though, was revised sharply down by a combined 86,000. July’s job gain was the smallest since the pandemic.
“The labor market is weakening,” said Eugenio Aleman, chief economist at Raymond James Financial. “It is not falling apart, but it is weakening.”
The cooling jobs figures underscore why the Federal Reserve is set to cut its key interest rate when it next meets Sept. 17-18, with inflation falling steadily back to its target of 2%. Still, the August jobs data raises the question of how large a rate cut the Fed will announce. It could decide to reduce its benchmark rate by a typical quarter-point or by a larger-than-usual half-point. In the coming months, the policymakers will also decide how much and how fast to cut rates at their subsequent meetings.
Trump suggests tariffs can help solve rising child care costs in a major economic speech
By JILL COLVIN, ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON and JOSH BOAK, Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump suggested to business leaders Thursday that his plans to increase tariffs on foreign imports would solve seemingly unrelated challenges such as the rising cost of child care in the U.S.
The GOP presidential nominee promised to lead what he called a “national economic renaissance” by increasing tariffs, slashing regulations to boost energy production and drastically cutting government spending as well as corporate taxes for companies that produce in the U.S.
Trump was asked at his appearance before the Economic Club of New York about his plans to drive down child care costs to help more women join the workforce.
“Child care is child care, it’s something you have to have in this country. You have to have it,” he said. Then, he said his plans to tax imports from foreign nations at higher levels would “take care” of such problems.
“We’re going to be taking in trillions of dollars, and as much as child care is talked about as being expensive, it’s — relatively speaking — not very expensive, compared to the kind of numbers we’ll be taking in,” he said.
Florida looking at possibility of expanding use of nuclear power
TALLAHASSEE — It would take years, possibly decades.
But Florida is looking at the possibility of adding nuclear power.
After state lawmakers this year required a study on the feasibility of expanding the use of nuclear energy, Florida Public Service Commission staff members Thursday met with experts and electric-industry officials to discuss what is known as “advanced” nuclear technology.
Myriad questions remain about issues such as costs and regulations. Also, future nuclear might not look like past nuclear. While advanced technology could include large nuclear plants, it also could involve small reactors that might be used by the military or industries.
It’s not just Florida studying the issue. The Biden administration said in May it was forming a working group as part of a goal of “delivering an efficient and cost-effective deployment of clean, reliable nuclear energy and ensuring that learnings translate to cost savings for future construction and deployment.” Also other states have been looking at advanced nuclear technology.
Audi freshens A3 sedan for 2025
The sedan gains a tweaked exterior design, new interior features and additional power.