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^FINANCIAL MARKETS
Asian shares rise after Wall Street gain on solid earnings
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher today after a Wall Street rally driven by healthy earnings reports from U.S. companies.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.2%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.2%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was unchanged, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.3%.
South Korea's Kospi added 0.6% after the Bank of Korea announced it was cutting its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to a record-low 1.25%.
Shares also rose in Taiwan and most of Southeast Asia. India's Sensex added 0.1%.
Yesterday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 index climbed 1% to 2,995.68. The benchmark index is now 1% below its all-time high set in July.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9% to 27,024.80, while the Nasdaq gained 1.2% to 8,148.71. Small-company stocks also bounced back after leading the decline a day earlier. The Russell 2000 index picked up 1.2% to 1,523.30.
^BREXIT
Brexit talks don't get breakthrough, continue on summit eve
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union and British negotiators failed to reach a breakthrough in Brexit talks during a frantic all-night session and will continue seeking a compromise on the eve of Thursday's crucial EU summit.
An EU official, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations were still ongoing, said "discussions continued until late in the night and will continue today."
Both sides were hoping that after more than three years of false starts and sudden reversals, a clean divorce deal for Britain leaving the bloc might be sketched out within the coming hours.
Thursday's EU leaders' summit comes just two weeks before Britain's scheduled departure date of Oct. 31.
^OPIOID CRISIS-COSTS
New study: Opioid crisis cost US economy $631B over 4 years
UNDATED (AP) _ A new study finds that the opioid crisis has cost the U.S. economy $631 billion over the past four years.
The Society of Actuaries released its report Tuesday. It found the highest cost was in lost earnings for those who died in the crisis. Next was health care, a cost borne largely by Medicaid and Medicare.
The society's tally was higher than a cost estimate contained in a 2016 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, but lower than one from the White House Council of Economic Advisers in 2017.
The report was released less than a week before the first federal trial on the opioid crisis is scheduled to begin.
^TECH GIANTS-CONGRESS
Lawmakers: Tech giants have given some of documents sought
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers investigating the market dominance of Big Tech say they've received part of the information they requested from Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple, and expect to get the rest soon.
Tuesday was the deadline for the companies to provide a broad range of documents to the House Judiciary Committee in its bipartisan antitrust probe.
Committee leaders say they expect all four companies will provide the rest of the requested information soon, and they look forward to their "continued compliance" with the investigation.
Letters went out last month to the four companies from the Judiciary Committee and its subcommittee on antitrust, which has been investigating the companies and their impact on competition and consumers.
The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission also are conducting competition probes of the companies.
^FLAVORED E-CIGARETTES-MICHIGAN
Judge blocks Michigan's ban on flavored e-cigarettes
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan judge temporarily blocked the state's weeks-old ban on flavored e-cigarettes Tuesday, saying it may force adults to return to smoking more harmful tobacco products and has irreparably hurt vaping businesses.
The preliminary injunction will be appealed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who ordered the creation of the emergency rules in a bid to combat the epidemic of teen vaping.
The judge said two businesses that sued showed a likelihood of prevailing on the merits of their contention that the rules are procedurally invalid, because state officials did not justify short-cutting the normal rule-making process.
Several states have banned the sale of flavored vaping products amid a rising number of vaping-related lung illnesses and an epidemic of teen e-cigarette use. As of last week, vaping-related illnesses in the U.S. had reached about 1,300 cases in 49 states and one U.S. territory, including at least 26 deaths.
^TALC LAWSUIT-JURISDICTION RULING
Missouri appeals court overturns $110 million talc verdict
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri appeals court has overturned a $110 million verdict in a case alleging that Johnson & Johnson products containing talcum powder caused a Virginia woman's ovarian cancer.
The appeals court ruling Tuesday reversed a 2017 judgment on behalf of Lois Slemp. She is among many women whose lawsuits have claimed that Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder contributed to their cancer.
Johnson & Johnson says its Baby Powder is safe and does not cause cancer.
The appeals court ruling says that the St. Louis court where the case was heard lacked jurisdiction, noting that talc products used by Slemp were made in Georgia and purchased and used in Virginia.
It wasn't immediately clear if an appeal is planned. Slemp's attorney didn't immediately return a phone message seeking comment.
INTEL-DISCRIMINATION SETTLEMENT
Intel to pay $5M to settle pay discrimination allegations
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Labor Department says it has reached a $5 million settlement with chip maker Intel Corp. over allegations of pay discrimination against its female, African American and Hispanic employees.
As part of the agreement, Intel will pay $3.5 million in back wages and interest. It is also allocating at least $1.5 million in pay adjustments over the next five years for U.S. workers in engineering positions.
Intel said Tuesday that it is pleased to have resolved the matter and said it achieved global pay equality in January.
Like other tech companies, Intel employs mostly white and Asian men, especially in technical positions such as engineering. According to its most recent diversity report, 27% of its employees are women, 9% are Hispanic and less than 5% African American.
^HALBANK-INDICTMENT
Turkish bank charged with evading US sanctions on Iran
NEW YORK (AP) — A major Turkish bank has been criminally charged in an indictment with participating in a multibillion-dollar scheme to evade U.S. sanctions against Iran.
The charges against Halkbank, a state-owned bank, were announced Tuesday by federal authorities.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman says senior bank officials designed and carried out the scheme to move billions of dollars of Iranian oil revenue illegally.
He says the crimes were supported and protected by high-ranking Turkish government officials. Berman says some of them received millions of dollars in bribes to promote and protect the scheme.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers called the crimes one of the most serious Iran sanctions violations his office has seen.
A representative of the bank could not immediately be reached for comment.
^MGM PROPERTIES SALE
MGM Resorts sells Circus Circus, Bellagio on Las Vegas Strip
LAS VEGAS (AP) — MGM Resorts International has announced the sale of two casinos that will significantly alter its portfolio of Las Vegas Strip properties.
The Las Vegas-based company announced Tuesday it's sold the Circus Circus hotel-casino for $825 million to Treasure Island casino owner Phil Ruffin.
The company also sold the Bellagio for $4.25 billion.
MGM and the Blackstone investment group are forming a joint venture to purchase the Bellagio and lease it back to an MGM subsidiary for $245 million annually.
MGM Resorts will get a 5% ownership stake in the joint venture and about $4.2 billion in cash.
Circus Circus opened in 1968. MGM purchased it in 2005. Casino magnate Steve Wynn opened the Bellagio in 1998 but MGM took ownership in 2000 when Wynn's Mirage Resorts merged with MGM.
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