Category: Business

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

By MARC LEVY Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Looking for a quick fix for their fast-growing electricity diets, tech giants are increasingly looking to strike deals with power plant owners to plug in directly, avoiding a potentially longer and more expensive process of hooking into a fraying electric grid that serves everyone else.

It’s raising questions over whether diverting power to higher-paying customers will leave enough for others and whether it’s fair to excuse big power users from paying for the grid. Federal regulators are trying to figure out what to do about it, and quickly.

Front and center is the data center that Amazon’s cloud computing subsidiary, Amazon Web Services, is building next to the Susquehanna nuclear plant in eastern Pennsylvania. Continue reading

Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — As the World Economic Forum’s annual gabfest gets into full swing Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump gave everybody something to talk about with his actions on his first day back in office.

Energy industry executives will mull Trump’s vow to “drill, baby, drill.” Foreign leaders will decipher what he means by his wish to expand U.S. territory. Environmentalists will decry his planned exit from the Paris climate deal. Trade advocates can digest his newly christened “External Revenue Service” to collect tariffs and duties.

From the earliest speeches, panel discussions and back-channel meetings in the Swiss Alpine town of Davos, Trump’s executive orders and evocative oratory will loom large. Continue reading

Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The world economy resisted battering by conflicts and inflation last year and is expected to grow a subdued 2.8% in 2025, the United Nations said Thursday.

In “World Economic Situation and Prospects 2025,” U.N. economists wrote that their positive prediction was driven by the strong although slowing growth forecast for China and the United States and by the robust performances anticipated for India and Indonesia. The European Union, Japan, and United Kingdom are expected to experience modest recovery, the report says.

“We are in a period of stable, subpar growth,” said Shantanu Mukherjee, chief of the Global Economic Monitoring Branch at the Economic Analysis and Policy Division at the U.N.’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Continue reading

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — When Justin Stewart started his career, he juggled several jobs to make ends meet. He poured himself into his full-time role as a news show production assistant from 3 a.m. until noon. Then he rushed to the airport where he rented cars or to the big box stores where he pulled retail shifts.

Sometimes, he slept in his car between jobs. Then he was hospitalized for exhaustion and a staph infection.

“While people around me praised my hustle, I eventually paid the price,” Stewart said. “The doctor looked at me and said, ‘I don’t know what lifestyle you’re living, but you’re too young to be this stressed. You’re going to have to quit something.'”

So Stewart, now 36, began setting boundaries. He gave up the side jobs, deciding he could survive without extra income. If people from the news show texted him after-hours, he let them know he was off-duty and where else to call. Continue reading

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer

ZURICH (AP) — Saudi Arabia was officially confirmed Wednesday by FIFA as host of the 2034 World Cup in men’s soccer, giving the oil-rich kingdom its biggest prize yet for massive spending on global sports driven by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The Saudi bid was the only candidate and was acclaimed by the applause of more than 200 FIFA member federations. They took part remotely in an online meeting hosted in Zurich by the soccer body’s president Gianni Infantino.

“The vote of the congress is loud and clear,” said Infantino, who had asked officials on a bank of screens to clap their hands at head level to show their support.

The decision was combined with approving the only candidate to host the 2030 World Cup. Spain, Portugal and Morocco will co-host in a six-nation project, with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay each getting one of the 104 games.

The South American connection will mark the centenary of Uruguay hosting the first World Cup in 1930. Continue reading

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

By DAVID McHUGH and LORNE COOK Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — Even before the French and German governments collapsed, Europe’s economy had enough difficulties. Tepid growth and lagging competitiveness versus the U.S. and China. An auto industry that’s struggling. Where to find billions for defense against Russia? And now Donald Trump threatening tariffs.

Solutions will be harder to find while the two countries that make up almost half of the eurozone economy remain stuck in political paralysis well into 2025.

Where once there was the so-called French-German axis to push Europe ahead, now there’s a vacuum. French Prime Minister Michel Barnier resigned Thursday after losing a vote of confidence, and while President Emmanuel Macron will appoint a successor, the new head of government will lack a majority. Elections are not constitutionally permitted until at least June. Continue reading

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is set to create a National Energy Council that he says will establish American “energy dominance” around the world as he seeks to boost U.S. oil and gas drilling and move away from President Joe Biden’s focus on climate change.

The energy council — to be led by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s choice to head the Interior Department — will be key in Trump’s pledge to “drill, drill, drill” and sell more oil and other energy sources to allies in Europe and around the globe.

The new council will be granted sweeping authority over federal agencies involved in energy permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation and transportation, with a mandate to cut bureaucratic red tape, enhance private sector investments and focus on innovation instead of “totally unnecessary regulation,” Trump said. Continue reading