Business

Cheaper gas, food provide some relief from inflation

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer inflation eased in March, with less expensive gas and food providing some relief to households that have struggled under the weight of surging prices. Yet prices are still rising fast enough to keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates at least once more, beginning in May. The government said Wednesday that consumer prices rose just 0.1% from February to March, down from 0.4% from January to February and the smallest increase since December. Measured from a year earlier, prices were up just 5% in March, down sharply from February’s ...

Poll: 4 in 10 say next vehicle may be electric

By TOM KRISHER, MATTHEW DALY and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press WASHINGTON — Many Americans aren’t yet sold on going electric for their next cars, a new poll shows, with high prices and too few charging stations the main deterrents. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults are at least somewhat likely to switch, but the history-making shift from the country’s century-plus love affair with gas-driven vehicles still has a ways to travel. The poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago shows that the ...

Ford to convert Canadian plant into electric vehicle complex

DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. says it will spend $1.34 billion ($1.8 billion Canadian) to convert an SUV factory in suburban Toronto so it can build next-generation electric vehicles. The roughly 3,000 workers at the plant in Oakville, Ontario, are expected to keep their jobs depending on market conditions, the company said Tuesday. But some production workers will be furloughed during a six-month construction process to begin in the second quarter of 2024. Ford wouldn’t say which models will be built at the 487-acre (197 hectare) site, which will be renamed the Oakville Electric ...

Finlandia holds job fair for employees, soon-to-be grads

HANCOCK — A day after holding a fair for students to find their next step, Finlandia University did the same for employees and graduating seniors. Thirty companies came to Tuesday’s employment fair. Most were from the Copper Country, though the event also included colleges from ...

Justice Dept, SEC probing collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have launched investigations into the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The investigations – which are separate inquiries – are in the early stages and will also examine the actions of the bank’s senior executives, the people said. The Justice Department’s investigation involves federal prosecutors in California, along with prosecutors involved in fraud cases, the people said. They were not authorized to publicly discuss the specific ...

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