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Month: October 2025

Global carmakers brace for production cuts on chip shortage

Global carmakers brace for production cuts on chip shortage

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By Nicholas Takahashi, Bloomberg News

Carmakers around the world are planning to scale back production after an export freeze on a Chinese semiconductor company based in Netherlands threatened to disrupt the industry’s supply chains.

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Honda Motor Co. said it has cut or suspended production this week at some plants in North America as a countermeasure to the chip shortage, which stems from China blocking Nexperia BV — owned by Chinese company Wingtech Technology Co. — from exporting products made at its local plants. That was a retaliatory move after the Dutch government took control of Nexperia under emergency powers to protect strategic production. read more

Americans staying put: US home turnover rate at lowest level in decades as housing slump drags on

Americans staying put: US home turnover rate at lowest level in decades as housing slump drags on

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By ALEX VEIGA

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The number of U.S. homes that typically change hands as people relocate for work, retire or trade-up for more living space hasn’t been this low in nearly 30 years.

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About 28 out of every 1,000 homes changed hands between January and September, the lowest U.S. home turnover rate going back to at least the 1990s, according to an analysis by Redfin.

The home turnover rate represents the number of homes sold, divided by the total number of existing sellable properties. While sales data show whether more or fewer homes are selling in a given period, the home turnover rate helps illustrate how homeowners are staying put longer. read more

Fast chargers are expanding quickly, but American EV drivers still fear running out of juice

Fast chargers are expanding quickly, but American EV drivers still fear running out of juice

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By M.K. WILDEMAN

KENT, Conn. (AP) — For most Americans, there’s less reason than ever to worry about finding chargers to fuel up an electric vehicle. But charging worries remain a top hesitation for potential buyers, second only to sticker shock.

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Those concerns linger even as fast chargers multiply. More than 12,000 have been added within a mile of U.S. highways and interstates just this year, an Associated Press analysis of data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory shows. That’s about a fifth of quick-charging ports now in operation.

Yet a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago finds about 4 in 10 of U.S. adults still point to range and charging time as “major” reasons they wouldn’t buy an EV. That’s significant considering only about 2 in 10 Americans say they would be “extremely” or “very” likely to make a new or used electric vehicle their next car purchase. read more

Amazon carries Wall Street to the finish of another winning week and month

Amazon carries Wall Street to the finish of another winning week and month

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By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon led the U.S. stock market on Friday to the finish of another winning week and month.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% and pulled closer to its all-time high set on Tuesday. It closed out a third straight winning week and a sixth straight winning month, its longest monthly winning streak since 2021.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 40 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6%.

Amazon led the way and jumped 9.6%. The retail giant was by far the strongest force lifting the market after reporting profit for the latest quarter that blew past analysts’ expectations. CEO Andy Jassy said growth for its booming cloud-computing business has accelerated to a pace it hasn’t seen since 2022.

Amazon’s massive size of roughly $2.4 trillion means its stock movements carry more weight on the S&P 500 than almost any other company’s. Without it, the S&P 500 would have been down for the day.

Another highly influential stock, Apple, had less of an effect on the market even though it’s bigger than Amazon. The iPhone maker, which is worth more than $4 trillion, swung between modest gains and losses through the day before finishing with a dip of 0.4%. read more

Restaurant surcharges are changing the math for credit card rewards

Restaurant surcharges are changing the math for credit card rewards

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A few weeks ago, I was about to pay the HVAC technician who had repaired my home’s heat pump. Out of habit, I pulled a credit card from my wallet — I figured I’d earn rewards on this pricey transaction — but then the tech warned me that his company assesses a 3% surcharge on credit card payments. Thankful for the heads-up, I wrote him a check instead.

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Credit card surcharges aren’t new, but they’re becoming more common. According to J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Merchant Services Satisfaction Study, “34% of merchants are adding surcharges for customer purchases made using credit cards.” Compare that number to just a year before, when 20% of merchants reported assessing surcharges, per a 2024 State of the Industry Report from CMSPI, a payments consultancy firm. read more