AP Business SummaryBrief at 10:17 p.m. EDT (2024)

UK's new Treasury chief axes projects to save costs and confirms deal to end doctors strike

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s new Labour government has axed several construction projects and withdrawn a winter fuel payment for millions of retirees to cover what it calls a newly found 22-billion-pound ($28 billion) shortfall in the public finances. It blames the former Conservative administration. The Treasury chief in her first major speech accused the Conservative government of covering up the dire state of the public purse following a review of departmental spending that she commissioned after Labour’s landslide victory. Reeves also confirmed that the government has reached agreement to end the long-running strike of doctors at the start of their career.

McDonald's same-store sales fall for 1st time since 2020 as tapped-out customers hold on to cash

McDonald’s global same-stores fell for the first time in nearly four years in the second quarter as inflation-weary consumers skipped eating out or chose cheaper options. The company says it’s working on fixes, like meal deals and new menu items, but it expects same-store sales to be down for the next few quarters. The Chicago burger giant said on Monday that same-store sales fell 1% worldwide in the April-June period. McDonald's said nearly all of its U.S. franchisees have agreed to extend the company's $5 meal deal through August. The company's second-quarter revenue and profit also fell short of Wall Street's forecasts.

Stock market today: Asian shares mostly decline ahead of central bank meetings

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares are mostly declining in cautious trading ahead of central bank meetings around the world. The Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan are holding monetary policy meetings this week. Benchmarks fell in Tuesday morning trading in Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai. U.S. stock indexes drifted to a mixed finish Monday ahead of a week full of earnings reports from Wall Street’s most influential companies and a Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, coming off its first back-to-back weekly losses since April. The Dow Jones slipped 0.1%.

Thousands protest Serbia's deal with the European Union to excavate lithium

SABAC, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of people have rallied in several towns in Serbia to protest a lithium excavation project the Balkan country’s government recently signed with the European Union. The protests were held simultaneously in the western town of Sabac and the central towns of Kraljevo, Arandjelovac, Ljig and Barajevo. The deal reached earlier this month could reduce Europe’s dependency on China and push Serbia, which has close ties to Russia and China, closer to the EU. The deal, however, has been criticized by environmentalists and opposition groups in Serbia who argue it would cause irreversible damage to the country’s nature while bringing little benefit to its citizens.

Insider Q&A: LinkedIn is bullish on AI. Will that help job seekers?

Like many other tech companies, LinkedIn is all in on artificial intelligence systems that can create text, images and other media in response to queries. Last month, the professional networking platform rolled out new AI features that can help users search for jobs, tailor their resumes and create personalized cover letters from scratch. A May report by the market research firm Emarketer noted that consumer-facing brands have been showing more interest in LinkedIn thanks to new advertising formats and changes in user behavior on the Microsoft-owned platform. The Associated Press recently spoke with LinkedIn’s chief product officer about generative AI, the job market, brand marketing and TikTok creators.

President Milei renews his vow to scrap export taxes as Argentina's powerful farmers get impatient

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine President Javier Milei has told his country's struggling farmers that he was committed to scraping export taxes and rescuing the key agricultural industry. Miller was addressing the gathering of farmers in flat caps and home-knit sweaters, a powerful group that helped vault him to power but has grown increasingly impatient with his progress. The country’s agricultural producers say they’re willing to give the libertarian president more time to deliver on his free-market promises. But many of them are disillusioned that seven months into Milei’s presidency, they remain hobbled by labyrinth currency controls, crushing export taxes and an uncompetitive exchange rate.

Unintended consequences: How NIL in college sports has raised questions about nonprofits

NEW YORK (AP) — The entrance of name, image and likeness deals in college sports has raised questions about what it means to be a tax-exempt charitable organization. It's just one of many consequences of a Supreme Court decision in 2021 that allowed college players to get sponsorship deals or otherwise be compensated for endorsem*nts. After the decision, some donors and fans set up nonprofits to facilitate NIL deals with players and successfully applied for tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service. But last June, the IRS advised that in most cases, paying players isn't a charitable cause. More than a year later, some nonprofit NIL continue to operate.

A parody ad shared by Elon Musk clones Kamala Harris' voice, raising concerns about AI in politics

NEW YORK (AP) — A video using an artificial intelligence voice-cloning tool to mimic the voice of Vice President Kamala Harris saying things she did not say is raising concerns about the power of AI to mislead ahead of November’s elections. Tech billionaire Elon Musk shared the video online Friday. The video uses many of the same visuals as a real ad the Harris campaign released but swaps out the voice-over audio with a convincing impersonation. Musk later confirmed the video was a parody. A Harris spokesperson calls the video “manipulated lies.” AI experts and pro-democracy advocates say the video reveals shortcomings in how AI companies, social media platforms and the federal government regulate use of AI in politics.

Takeaways from AP's story on inefficient tech slowing efforts to get homeless people off the streets

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles is the nation's epicenter of homelessness, where more than 45,000 people live in weather-beaten tent encampments and rusting RVs. But even in the state that is home to Silicon Valley, technology has not kept up with the long-running crisis. Billions of dollars have been spent to get homeless people off the streets, but outdated computer systems with error-filled data are all too often unable to provide even basic information. Better Angeles United is developing a series of apps that the nonprofit group hopes could revolutionize shelter and services for homeless people that includes a mobile-friendly prototype for outreach workers.

Can tech help solve the Los Angeles homeless crisis? Finding shelter may someday be a click away

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Can tech help solve Southern California's homeless crisis? A Los Angeles nonprofit is developing software intended to revolutionize shelter and services in the nation's epicenter of homelessness. Despite billions in spending, efforts to get people off the streets are being slowed by inefficient, outdated computer systems that often don’t work together and can contain error-ridden data. Better Angels United, founded by tech entrepreneur and philanthropist Adam Miller, has a team of tech experts building a mobile-friendly prototype for outreach workers. It is to be followed by systems for shelter operators and a comprehensive shelter bed database the region now lacks.

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