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By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is coasting toward the finish of its best week in the last five on Friday as U.S. stocks hang near their record levels.

The S&P 500 was mostly unchanged from the all-time high it set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 204 points, or 0.4%, as of 1:01 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher. Both likewise set records the day before.

Stocks have rallied with expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate for the first time this year at its meeting next week. Such a move would give the economy a kickstart, and mortgage rates have already dropped in anticipation of it.

Expectations for a cut have built as recent reports suggested the U.S. job market could hit the precise balance that Wall Street has been betting on: slowing enough to convince the Fed that it needs help, but not so weak that it will mean a recession, all while inflation doesn’t take off.

A lot is riding on whether that bet proves correct. Stocks have already soared on it. And if the Fed ends up cutting fewer times than traders expect, including three this year, the market could retreat in disappointment. That’s even if everything else goes right and the economy does not fall into a recession and President Donald Trump’s tariffs don’t send inflation much higher. read more

Christine Benz of Morningstar

There are definitely things I get wrong in my investment portfolio.

I hold too much company stock and cash, and I don’t have the recommended allowance of bonds for a person my age. My record on curbing taxes hasn’t been perfect. I’ve held tax-inefficient funds in a taxable account and have been slow to move money into IRAs each year.

But despite these missteps, my husband and I have managed to do just fine from a big-picture standpoint. Here’s what has worked for us.

We maintained a high savings rate

Luck played a starring role in our ability to save: My husband and I had the good fortune of emerging from college debt-free, which enabled us to buy a house and start saving for retirement early in our careers.

We’ve also both been employed for three-plus decades, meaning that we’ve been able to sock away a good share of our incomes and benefit from employer-matching contributions, tax-deferred growth, and a long runway of investment compounding. We don’t have a budget, but automating our investment contributions has helped us be disciplined about saving. read more

NAGASAKI, Japan (AP) — A United Airlines passenger plane carrying 142 people and bound for the Philippine island of Cebu made an emergency landing in Osaka on Friday after an indicator showed a fire in the cargo room, Japanese aviation officials said.

Footage on Japan’s NHK television showed passengers sliding down escape shooters from the aircraft parked on a runway at the Osaka airport.

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There were no reports of injuries and fire or smoke was not visible in the footage.

The UA flight 32, which departed from the Narita International Airport near Tokyo, had an indicator showing a fire in the cargo room while flying over the Pacific Ocean. Officials later said they were investigating whether there was actual fire or smoke. read more

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE

Amazon’s Zoox on Wednesday launched its robotaxi service in Las Vegas, offering free rides through parts of the entertainment mecca for anyone willing to gamble on the safety of a driverless vehicle that operates without a steering wheel.

The Las Vegas debut of Zoox’s long-planned ride-hailing service reflects Amazon-owned robotaxi maker’s confidence in the safety of its boxy vehicles after two years of testing them in the city.

The robotaxis initially were only available to employees in Las Vegas before gradually expanding to friends and family members. Now, anyone with the Zoox app will be able to request a ride to five designated locations, including Resorts World, the Luxor hotel and the New York-New York hotel. The longest distance the Zoox robotaxis will travel is about three miles (4.8 kilometers) while carrying up to four passengers.

All rides will be provided for free for at least the first few months to help promote the existence of the service in the perennially popular travel destination. Once it begins charging for rides in Las Vegas, Zoox says its prices will be comparable to traditional taxis and ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. read more

By BARBARA ORTUTAY

The Federal Trade Commission has launched an inquiry into several social media and artificial intelligence companies about the potential harms to children and teenagers who use their AI chatbots as companions.

The FTC said Thursday it has sent letters to Google parent Alphabet, Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms, Snap, Character Technologies, ChatGPT maker OpenAI and xAI.

The FTC said it wants to understand what steps, if any, companies have taken to evaluate the safety of their chatbots when acting as companions, to limit the products’ use by and potential negative effects on children and teens, and to apprise users and parents of the risks associated with the chatbots.

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

The move comes as a growing number of kids use AI chatbots for everything — from homework help to personal advice, emotional support and everyday decision-making. That’s despite research on the harms of chatbots, which have been shown to give kids dangerous advice about topics such as drugs, alcohol and eating disorders. The mother of a teenage boy in Florida who killed himself after developing what she described as an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship with a chatbot has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Character.AI. And the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine recently sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging that ChatGPT coached the California boy in planning and taking his own life earlier this year. read more