Author: Dow Jones
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U.K., EU agree on draft Brexit deal, paving way for key vote
BRUSSELS • U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government and the European Union agreed to new terms for the country’s exit from the bloc Thursday, paving the way for a high-stakes vote in the British Parliament. The accord was endorsed by the leaders of the other 27 EU countries at a summit here. Johnson now faces…
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Sondland criticizes Trump over efforts to pressure Ukraine
WASHINGTON • Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, criticized President Trump over his efforts to enlist Ukraine in investigating a political rival and said he and other U.S. officials were disappointed by the president’s directive to work with Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine matters. Sondland made the comments in prepared testimony to House…
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Expanded U.S. trade blacklist hits Beijing’s artificial-intelligence ambitions
The U.S. decision to add eight Chinese companies to its trade blacklist strikes directly at China’s ambitions in artificial intelligence, threatening its companies’ access to crucial components and relationships with U.S. firms. Some of the companies affected are among China’s most advanced in core areas of AI, including technology involved in recognizing sounds and faces,…
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ADP: Private sector added 135K jobs in September
Private employers in the nonfarm sector added more jobs in September than economists expected, but the pace of job creation remains muted compared with last year. The private sector added 135,000 jobs last month, according to the ADP National Employment Report. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal were expecting 125,000 jobs. Large business accounted…
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FanDuel owner buys PokerStars in $6B deal
FanDuel owner Flutter Entertainment agreed to buy PokerStars owner Stars Group for about $6 billion, creating an online gambling giant as internet and app-based betting is taking hold in the U.S. The deal also connects FanDuel with Fox, which owns a minority stake in Stars and recently launched its own betting app, Fox Bet. Flutter,…
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More workers to qualify for overtime pay under new rule
WASHINGTON • An additional 1.3 million Americans are set to qualify for overtime pay under a retooled Labor Department regulation completed Tuesday. The rule would increase the annual salary threshold below which workers generally qualify for time-and-a-half pay for logging more than 40 hours a week. The revised rule affects workers and employers in industries…
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U.S. current account gap narrowed in 2Q
WASHINGTON • The U.S. current-account deficit, a measure of the nation’s trade and financial flows with other countries, narrowed to a seasonally adjusted $128.19 billion in the second quarter from a revised $136.19 billion in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a $128.0 billion…
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High-dose opioid pills helped fuel Purdue Pharma’s growth
Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy filing this week punctuates a fall from its perch as one of the pharmaceutical industry’s most recognizable marketers of opioid pain pills. At its height, Purdue’s signature OxyContin product notched billions of dollars in annual sales, fueled in part by booming demand for high-dose pills. Purdue made about 10% of pills containing…
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FedEx Shares Plummet Following Dismal Results
FedEx shares plunged the most in a decade after the company’s global Express business showed its vulnerability to global trade disruptions. The Memphis, Tenn.-based delivery giant on Tuesday cut its earnings guidance for the fiscal year citing lower revenue projections in its Express unit, which ferries packages and cargo by planes around the world. With…
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Johnson insists Brexit will happen Oct. 31 despite new law ruling it out
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stuck to his pledge that the U.K. would leave the European Union on Oct. 31 — even as a law came into force preventing the country from leaving on that date without an agreement and Parliament again rejected his bid to call an election before then. In his first meeting…