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By DEE-ANN DURBIN, Associated Press Business Writer

U.S. retail egg prices fell in April from the record-high prices they hit earlier this year, according to government data released Tuesday.

The average price for a dozen Grade A eggs declined to $5.12 last month after reaching a record $6.23 in March, according to the Consumer Price Index. It was the first month-to-month drop in egg prices since October 2024.

Overall, the average price of eggs of all sizes fell 12.7%, the steepest monthly decline since March 1984.

While wholesale egg prices have been coming down for a while, it was unclear how much store prices would decrease in April because consumer demand is usually high around Easter and Passover.

Still, retail egg prices remain near historic highs as a persistent outbreak of bird flu wipes out flocks of egg-laying hens. The April average price for a dozen large eggs was 79% higher than the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported for the same month a year ago, when the price averaged $2.86 per dozen. read more

By STAN CHOE, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Most U.S. stocks rose Tuesday following an encouraging report that showed inflation unexpectedly slowed across the country last month.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.7%, coming off an even bigger gain to start the week after the United States and China announced a 90-day pause in their trade war to allow for negotiations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 269 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.6% as AI and other tech stocks led the way.

Stocks have been roaring back since the S&P 500 fell nearly 20% below its record last month on hopes that President Donald Trump will ease his stiff tariffs on trading partners worldwide before they create a recession and send inflation spiking higher. The S&P 500, which sits at the center of many 401(k) accounts, is back within 4.2% of its all-time high set in February and positive again for the year so far.

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By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, Associated Press Business Writer

UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty is stepping down for personal reasons and the nation’s largest health insurer suspended its full-year financial outlook due to higher-than-expected medical costs.

Chairman Stephen Hemsley will become CEO, effective immediately, the Minnesota company said.

Hemsley was UnitedHealth Group CEO from 2006 to 2017. He will remain chairman of the company’s board. Witty will serve as a senior adviser to Hemsley.

It has been a punishing period for UnitedHealth, starting in December when executive Brian Thompson was targeted outside of a New York City hotel and killed. While unrelated to the financial operations of the $340 billion healthcare giant, its shares have tumbled severely since the attack.

“I’m deeply disappointed in and apologize for the performance setbacks we have encountered from both external and internal challenges,” Hemsley said during an early Tuesday conference call. “Many of the issues standing in the way of achieving our goals as well as our opportunities are largely within our control. I am optimistic about our future as these issues are within our capacity to resolve. We will approach them with humility, rigor and urgency.” read more

TALLAHASSEE — Backers of a renewed attempt to pass a recreational-marijuana constitutional amendment have joined a court challenge to a new law that makes it harder for groups to place initiatives on the ballot, saying the measure imposes “draconian restrictions on Floridians’ sovereign” right to change the state Constitution.

The law (HB 1205), finalized by the Legislature on May 2 and immediately signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, includes sweeping changes to the initiative process that make it more difficult for signature gatherers to collect petitions, create new crimes and heighten existing penalties for wrongdoing and shorten the time frame for petitions to be submitted to supervisors of elections.

The Republican-controlled Legislature approved the changes following fierce fights over ballot proposals in November 2024 aimed at allowing recreational use of marijuana and placing abortion rights in the Constitution. DeSantis led crusades to defeat the measures, which fell short of receiving the required 60 percent approval to pass, and pushed state lawmakers to impose stricter regulations on the ballot-initiative process. read more

By JOSH BOAK and DIDI TANG

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s agreement with China to temporarily slash tariffs for 90 days offered the world a bit of welcome relief. But what persists is a sense of uncertainty and the possibility that some damage from the trade war could already be done.

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The Trump administration agreed after talks this weekend in Switzerland to pare back its 145% in tariffs charged on imports from China to 30%. The Chinese government chose to reduce its retaliatory import taxes on U.S. goods from 125% to 10% while the sides continue to negotiate. read more