Business News Digest

LINDSAY WHITEHURST

April 02, 2025

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--HEALTH DEPARTMENT-HEAD START-EDUCATION

DESCRIPTION: President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday laid off scores of Health and Human Services employees, including many who ran the Head Start early education program. Preschool operators say they have received no communication from the Office of Head Start. They say they don't know who to turn to if they have questions about grants or need the office to sign off on equipment expenses. The problems for Head Start began days after Trump took office. A brief freeze on federal grants forced nearly two dozen Head Start centers to close temporarily.

UPCOMING: By 04/02/2025 8:24 p.m. EDT, Photo, Text, DigitalPlans

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NEW AND DEVELOPING

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FINANCIAL MARKETS

Stock market today: Wall Street falls in final hours of trading before Trump's tariff announcement

SUMMARY: U.S. stocks are swinging again in the final hours before President Donald Trump unveils the tariffs he promised as part of his "Liberation Day." The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% Wednesday after paring an early loss of 1.1%. It's had a pattern this week of opening with sharp losses only to finish the day higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 140 points, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.2%. Tesla helped pulled the market lower after it said it delivered fewer electric vehicles in the first three months of the year than it did in last year's first quarter. Treasury yields sank despite a better-than-expected report on the job market.

WORDS: 768 - MOVED: 04/02/2025 10:02 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:7b5da6b0302cbd6d6ca105d48256384c&mediaType=text

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US--NINTENDO SWITCH 2

Nintendo offers new Switch 2 details ahead of June 5 launch

SUMMARY: Nintendo has announced a June 5 launch date for its latest gaming console, the Switch 2, which will introduce interactive chat and screenshare functions to connect gamers. At its 60-minute Nintendo Direct presentation, the company revealed new information about the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware and software. Central to its updated portable gaming console is a new "C" button on its Joy Con controller, which will launch a new "GameChat" that allows you to "communicate with friends and family while playing a game."

WORDS: 315 - MOVED: 04/02/2025 9:56 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:0d6fd4c826a229c56cb193c854f9b742&mediaType=text

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US--NEW YORK CASINOS-TRUMP

New York's casino sweepstakes could put $115M in Donald Trump's pocket

SUMMARY: A high-stakes contest to decide who gets to build a casino in New York City could potentially result in a $115 million jackpot for President Donald Trump. The Republican stands to win big if state officials award one of three available gaming licenses to Bally's Corp., which wants to open a casino at a city-owned golf course that used to be run by Trump's company. Bally's paid Trump $60 million in 2023 for the rights to operate the public 18-hole course in the Bronx. But under a side deal, Trump would get another $115 million if Bally's were to get a casino license for the site. Bally's and the Trump Organization did not return requests for comment.

WORDS: 820 - MOVED: 04/02/2025 9:47 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:252cc3bafd1b097adf7a8afd516f1859&mediaType=text

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US--TESLA-SALES

Tesla sales drop 13% in first quarter as Elon Musk backlash, aging models hurt demand

SUMMARY: Tesla sales fell in the first three months of the year in another sign that Elon Musk's once high-flying electric car company is struggling to attract buyers. The company reported that deliveries of its electric vehicles dropped 13% in the January to March period. The weak demand was likely due to a combination of factors, including its aging lineup, competition from rivals and a backlash from Musk's embrace of right wing politics. It also is a warning that the company's first-quarter earnings report later this month could disappoint investors.

WORDS: 400 - MOVED: 04/02/2025 9:39 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:67da667cd1267789fecf68376f2b5d14&mediaType=text

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US--TRUMP-TARIFFS

Trump is set to announce 'reciprocal' tariffs in a risky move that could reshape the economy

SUMMARY: President Donald Trump is set to launch a barrage of so-called reciprocal tariffs on friend and foe alike. Wednesday's tariffs come on what the Republican president has dubbed "Liberation Day" to free the U.S. from what he says are years of unfair trade practices. By most economists' assessments, the risky move threatens to plunge the economy into a downturn and mangle decades-old alliances. The White House is exuding confidence despite the political and financial gamble being undertaken. Importers would likely pass some of the cost of the taxes on to consumers. The Budget Lab at Yale University estimates a 20% universal tariff would cost the average household $3,400 to $4,200.

WORDS: 1120 - MOVED: 04/02/2025 8:15 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:2a031b3c16120a5672a6ddd01da09933&mediaType=text

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BEHIND THE WHEEL: HONDA CIVIC VS KIA K4

Edmunds small sedan test: 2025 Honda Civic vs. Kia K4

SUMMARY: Anyone seeking the most bang for their buck when shopping for a new vehicle should check out the 2025 Honda Civic and the 2025 Kia K4. These compact cars have a sense of style, are comfortable and offer the technology today's consumers want at a price many people can afford. In this market segment, the Honda and the Kia are among the best models you can buy, but for different reasons. Choosing one over the other depends on what you want most from your next car. Edmunds compares the two to help you make that decision.

WORDS: 832 - MOVED: 04/02/2025 7:37 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:a6f38198c8ed595f2ad5759a814aca4c&mediaType=text

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US--TIKTOK-TRUMP-LAW

Why no one is challenging Trump's executive order that keeps TikTok running

SUMMARY: President Donald Trump's executive orders have spurred more than 130 lawsuits, but one related to TikTok barely generates a peep. None of those suits challenges the Republican president's temporary block of the 2024 law that banned the popular social video app after the deadline passed for it to be sold by its China-based parent company, ByteDance. Few of the 431 members of Congress who voted for the law have complained. The director of Cornell University's Tech Policy Institute says "it's as if nothing ever happened." Trump is meeting Wednesday with aides about possible suitors for TikTok, which has headquarters in Singapore and Los Angeles. TikTok says it prioritizes user safety.

WORDS: 1188 - MOVED: 04/02/2025 7:05 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:37284ac35241b1822c9f5da7c9d719d2&mediaType=text

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EU-TURKEY-META

Meta hit with fines by Turkey after refusing to restrict content on Facebook, Instagram

WORDS: 248 - MOVED: 04/02/2025 6:30 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:59f16571e884fd6f0f9597a72771131f&mediaType=text

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AS--ASIA-US TARIFFS

Counting the potential toll of Trump's tariffs on major Asian economies

SUMMARY: Export manufacturing and free trade helped transform China and other Asian countries into economic powerhouses. U.S. President Donald Trump's barrages of tariffs are aimed at compelling companies to keep or set up their factories in the United States. That's a challenge for all Asian economies, large and small, in an era when the most populous region of the world is supposed to be driving global economic growth. Higher costs already have led manufacturers to shift away from China to other economies in South and Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America. But for now the prevailing uncertainty over what Trump will do next may lead most to sit tight and see what comes next.

WORDS: 1075 - MOVED: 04/02/2025 6:09 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:3efd0f1c83d32a1895cea03219eb39d2&mediaType=text

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EU--GREENLAND-DENMARK

Danish prime minister heads to Greenland as Trump seeks control of the Arctic territory

SUMMARY: Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is traveling to Greenland for a visit aimed at building the trust of Greenlandic officials as the Trump administration is seeking control of the Arctic territory. Frederiksen announced plans for the three-day trip starting Wednesday after U.S. Vice President JD Vance visited a U.S. air base in Greenland last week and accused Denmark of underinvesting in the territory. Greenland is a mineral-rich and strategically critical island that is becoming more accessible because of climate change. U.S. President Donald Trump has said Greenland is critical to Washington's security. The island is geographically part of North America but is a semiautonomous territory belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark.

WORDS: 470 - MOVED: 04/02/2025 6:07 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:eac862993ca6c43f19a2ba9e1a454574&mediaType=text

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BBO--SALARIES

MLB's average salary tops $5 million for first time, AP study shows

SUMMARY: Major League Baseball's average salary broke the $5 million barrier on opening day for the first time, according to a study by The Associated Press. Juan Soto's record $61.9 million pay from the New York Mets led the way. The Mets topped payrolls for the third straight opening day, at $322.6 million, just ahead of the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers at $319.5 million. Those two teams each spent roughly five times as much as the Miami Marlins, who at $64.9 million ended the Athletics' three-year streak as the lowest spender. The average rose 3.6%, up from a 1.5% increase last year.

WORDS: 673 - MOVED: 04/02/2025 6:00 a.m. EDT

https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:3a7fa2c98113172be62b36a9119d0675&mediaType=text

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