AP Business Digest

Here are the AP's top business stories that have moved or are planned to move today. All times U.S. Eastern. For up-to-the minute information on AP's coverage, visit AP Newsroom's Coverage Plan.

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UPCOMING

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US INTEL-OHIO

DESCRIPTION: Intel Corp. is pushing back the expected opening for its semiconductor project in central Ohio by years more, saying the first factory won't start operating until 2030 or 2031 as it slows the pace of construction to align with market demand and the needs of its business. The factory was initially scheduled to open this year.

UPCOMING: By 02/28/2025 11:00 a.m. EST, Text, Photo

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US-CONSUMERS-ECONOMIC BLACKOUT

DESCRIPTION: A grassroots organization "dedicated to economic resistance, government accountability and corporate reform" is calling on like-minded Americans not to spend any money for 24 hours as a way to express discontent with a range of policies and to demonstrate the power of consumers. The People's Union says Friday's "Economic Blackout" is aimed primarily at the nation's biggest retail companies. The group has scheduled future weeklong boycotts of Amazon, Nestle, Walmart and General Mills.

UPCOMING: By 02/28/2025 2:00 p.m. EST, Text, Photo, Video

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NEW AND DEVELOPING

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US--TRUMP-COPPER MINING

Trump makes US copper mining a focus of his domestic minerals policy

SUMMARY: President Donald Trump has made the raw materials of modern life a pillar of U.S. foreign policy. He has talked about acquiring Greenland and its vast mineral wealth and prodding Ukraine for minerals in exchange for help fending off Russia's invasion. This week, Trump took a step toward granting the U.S. mining industry's top wishes by singling out copper as a focus of his domestic minerals policy. Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that calls for bolstering domestic U.S. copper production. While the U.S. mining industry praises Trump, groups opposed to stalled copper projects in Arizona and Minnesota say they shouldn't go ahead.

WORDS: 964 - MOVED: 02/28/2025 10:03 a.m. EST

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:bf9ce8863558efc2abb6f9563cfc4ebb&mediaType=text

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US--LOBSTER CATCH

US lobster catch drops as crustaceans migrate to colder Canadian waters

SUMMARY: The U.S. lobster industry continued a multiyear slide in catch last year. Fishermen face many challenges as the valuable crustaceans migrate north to colder habitats. The industry is based mostly in Maine, where lobsters are both a cultural signifier and the backbone of the coastal economy. The state's haul of lobsters declined every year from 2021, when it was nearly 111 million pounds, to 2023, when it was less than 97 million pounds. State officials say that decline extended into 2024, when the haul was about 86.1 million pounds. Officials say a major factor in the decline in catch was a series of devastating storms.

WORDS: 547 - MOVED: 02/28/2025 10:03 a.m. EST

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:091ffbaaa2d32fcf47abca3a0e66f8e7&mediaType=text

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FINANCIAL MARKETS

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts toward the close of its worst month since April

SUMMARY: Wall Street is drifting toward the close of its worst month since April following an economic report highlighting both encouraging and discouraging trends. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 51points, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.5%. Treasury yields edged lower after a report said inflation decelerated a bit last month and behaved exactly as economists expected in an encouraging sign for the market. But the report also said U.S. consumers cut back on their spending. That's a potentially more dangerous signal when consumers have already said they're worried about tariffs. Asian stock markets tumbled on tariff concerns.

WORDS: 716 - MOVED: 02/28/2025 9:44 a.m. EST

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:a80355efea6fd7454df04d68cf3a79a1&mediaType=text

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AS--BANGLADESH-NEW PARTY

Bangladeshi students who led uprising that ousted ex-premier Sheikh Hasina form new political party

SUMMARY: Students in Bangladesh who led a mass uprising to topple former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August are now diving into politics by forming a new political party. It's called the National Citizen Party. The aim is to create a new political space in a fiercely divisive dynastic political landscape. The country's politics has been dominated for decades by two former prime ministers and archrivals. They are Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia. The announcement of the new party came Friday at a rally in front of the national Parliament building in Dhaka.

WORDS: 828 - MOVED: 02/28/2025 9:38 a.m. EST

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:7565d2860be1ed4c03bfd9a5beb4f539&mediaType=text

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AF--CONGO-FIGHTING-ONE MONTH

It's been a month since rebels seized an eastern Congo city. Goma residents say they are struggling

SUMMARY: Rwanda-backed rebels captured a key eastern Congo city a month ago Friday. Residents in Goma say they are struggling on various fronts even as the rebels try to consolidate their administration and restart normal life. Economic activities have largely slowed down in Goma since the M23 rebels took over on Jan. 28. Banks are still shut, basic services such as trade are slowly restarting and thousands displaced by the conflict are desperate for aid and temporary shelters. The 26-year-old Jeannette Safari said that "finding food has become a real challenge." The mother of one is now making plans to flee to Burundi.

WORDS: 726 - MOVED: 02/28/2025 9:31 a.m. EST

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:71c81f9bedf5471e3ee38c2dbc51d4d7&mediaType=text

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EU--RUSSIA-US

Russia offers to restore direct air links with the US, during Istanbul talks

SUMMARY: Russia's Foreign Ministry says it has suggested restoring direct air links between Russia and the United States during the latest round of consultations with Washington. Russian and U.S. diplomats met in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss normalizing the operation of their respective embassies after multiple round of diplomats' expulsions during previous years. The ministry also said Friday that it offered the U.S. "to consider the possibility of restoring direct air traffic." It didn't specify what the U.S. reaction was and Washington had no immediate comment on the issue. U.S. and other Western nations cut air links with Russia as part of a slew of sanctions imposed on Moscow after it sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

WORDS: 535 - MOVED: 02/28/2025 9:29 a.m. EST

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:bdd30deb545fc6dc1ac7edc605b74e32&mediaType=text

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US--CONSUMER SPENDING

US consumers cut spending in January more drastically than at any point in the last four years

SUMMARY: A key price gauge declined last month, a sign that inflation may be cooling though stiff tariffs threatened by the White House threaten that progress. Yet data released Friday by the Commerce Department also showed that Americans cut their spending last month 0.2% in January from the previous month, likely in part because of unseasonably cold weather. Still, the drop may raise alarms about whether Americans are growing more cautious amid widespread uncertainty about the economic outlook. Inflation declined to 2.5% in January compared with a year earlier, down from 2.6% in December, the government said. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices dropped to 2.6%, the lowest since June, from 2.8%.

WORDS: 616 - MOVED: 02/28/2025 9:16 a.m. EST

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:b8eacbe9b948af91a4efc97dd3f85cfa&mediaType=text

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US--EGG PRICES

Are egg producers inflating prices during the bird flu outbreak to boost profits?

SUMMARY: Egg producers blame the ongoing bird flu outbreak for driving prices up to record highs. But some believe giant companies are taking advantage of their market dominance to profit handsomely at the expense of egg buyers. Advocacy groups, Democratic lawmakers and a member of the Federal Trade Commission are calling for a government investigation after egg prices spiked to a record average of $4.95 per dozen this month. Most experts agree with the industry that bird flu is to blame. Millions of birds have been killed, but critics say egg supplies remain too robust to justify the higher prices.

WORDS: 952 - MOVED: 02/28/2025 8:14 a.m. EST

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:1e3d66b4af9556a503125cf8259b1647&mediaType=text

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EU--MIGRATION-SPAIN-ECONOMY

Foreign workers help Spain's economic growth outpace the US and the rest of Europe

WORDS: 1175 - MOVED: 02/28/2025 6:55 a.m. EST

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:c3abff0d83b60c9712fe4932b780eb21&mediaType=text

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AS--INDIA-EU

India and EU agree to conclude a long-pending free trade agreement by the end of this year

SUMMARY: India and the European Union have agreed to finalize a long-pending free trade agreement this year and boost cooperation in trade, technology, connectivity and defense. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that the two sides have directed their teams to conclude the bilateral free trade deal by end of this year. Modi said many decisions were taken to "elevate and accelerate India-EU partnership" in the meeting. The European Commission chief said the agreement "would be the largest deal of this kind anywhere in the world." The EU is India's largest trading partner. In the 2023-24 fiscal year, exports and imports to the European bloc accounted for more than $130 billion.

WORDS: 480 - MOVED: 02/28/2025 4:47 a.m. EST

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:309ab4795ad0206b66fe20bef5ca9a92&mediaType=text

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AS--THAILAND-UYGHURS-DEPORTATION

Thailand deports 40 Uyghur men back to China after more than a decade in detention

SUMMARY: Thai and Chinese officials have confirmed that a group of 40 Uyghur men detained in Thailand for more than a decade have been deported to China. The men made a public appeal last month to halt the deportation. They said that they faced imprisonment and possible death in China. The Chinese Embassy said Thursday that 40 Chinese nationals who entered Thailand illegally were deported to China's northwestern Xinjiang province on a chartered flight. U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk called the deportation "a clear violation of international human rights laws and standards." China's brutal crackdown against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang is considered by some to be genocide.

WORDS: 1030 - MOVED: 02/28/2025 2:17 a.m. EST

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:7a05b58e7f552a3651b90d76a0899e92&mediaType=text

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